What it isn't:

• The consensus'.  A sampling of 20 people could give you 20 different answers to questions about faith.  It's as if you've been given 20 different compasses each with a different calibration of true North.  Think about the conversations you've had in your neighborhood, a party, at a bar, or at work... 
• The latest.  New ideas, new belief systems, new churches, a new friend, a new book, or a new zen position most likely will simply be a new faith flavor of the month which will change next month. 
• What's popular.  In our culture, what feels good, what I want right now, and what I can justify in the moment is the message.  If faith remains undefined and open to every individuals interpretation, ultimately everything goes.  If it's OK in my mind and world, I can do as I please.

What Helps Me:

• Seeking Truth.  I need to regularly seek knowledge and put myself in an environment that will build my Faith.  I work to be a lifetime learner in what I read, the podcasts I listen to, and taking steps to act on the Truth I learn.  Truth won't land in your lap and consume your mind.  Seek it and you will find it.
• Choose my peers wisely.  I want to surround myself with people that demonstrate joy, love, peace, and genuine Faith in their lives.  Why would I want to align myself with someone wandering aimlessly in life simply growing older?  I want to learn from people that are focused and intentional in their lives.  These same people will encourage me, help me be a better spouse and parent, and help me get back on the path of Purpose.
• Know myself and my weaknesses.  For me, I can get consumed in my work and often get in "overdrive" spending 60-70 hours a week hyperfocused on performance and getting tasks done.  I often find myself trying to grab control of my life's steering wheel and relying on myself rather than God.  My faith can drift into the background... How about you?  What trips you up?  Work? Unhealthy relationships?  Substance abuse?  Money?  Does anyone else know your tendencies and have you given them permission to help you?

In my life (and for full disclosure), I've found the life of Jesus Christ and His story through the Bible to be trustworthy and life-changing.  To be a Christ-follower doesn't mean I need to be judgmental, a homophobe, or holier-than-thou.  It's quite the opposite.  I'm called to love people unconditionally, live out my Faith in a way that can bring Hope to others, and to serve others.  I fail everyday.  However, I believe each of us have a purpose to be part of God's story to truly change our world despite all our flaws and missteps.

Proverbs 29:18 (The Message translation)

 If people can’t see what God is doing,
they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals,
they are most blessed.

You've lost your job,

How can we possibly have a sense of purpose for the crappy hand we've been dealt in our life?  How can we have any hope of doing anything with significance?  So what do we do?

• One reason why it's said the Bible is true is that they are events that happened but continue to happen all around us in our lives or the lives around us...
• Moses felt like a failure.... he murdered someone, tried to run away from his problems, struggled with being a stutterer.... He felt like he was dealt a bad hand yet God had a greater purpose in his life...
• In the video during the service, listen to the testimony of Stephanie... you can watch Online here at 6:30 or 8:30 EST tonight (January 24th) or will be able to view after January 25th for a week...   Her comments include: "I spent the next 10 years trying to find something to fix me...", "I felt like I was the one who caused the problems in my life and others...", "I didn't feel like I was qualified to do what God asked me to do..."   It's a remarkable story.

• “It’s not about the hand you’ve been dealt, it’s about the hand of God in your life…”- Jason Miller
• More often than not, God works through us in a series of steps that will take time... one small step at a time....  "  Many people want God to be a silver bullet that will immediately make their pain go away or change their circumstances immediately...   "there was no magic wand, it was a very slow process..."- Stephanie
• The point is, "who will you be?".... "who has God created you to be?"....  When we can identify that in our lives, it changes the way we are in our relationships, our job, with our spouse, with our kids, and how we spend our time...
• For a few, you know you've actually been dealt a pretty good hand, you've been blessed...  However, the question remains the same....who will you be?  Who has God created you to be?  What steps are you taking to get out of your comfort zone?

We're in this together, all dealing with the hands we've been dealt...  What's your next step?  Stephanie's story is worth hearing, I invite you to check it out.

"There's always an option to maximize the moment...."-  Mark Beeson  

It may sound cliche', but I have a hard time living in the present.  With raising a family, working, trying to pay bills, worrying about things on my to-do list, or frustated about some past mistakes.... engaging in the here and now is harder than it seems.

How do we live in the present?

Hope and Vision for the Future:

• If we believe life leads to nothing, our days can become meaningless with no hope for tomorrow....  Do you really believe life is short, you die, and that's it?
• God has us hard-wired for eternity.  We can have joy in our todays because of our future destiny.... eternity in heaven... (2 Corinthians 5: 6-11)
• We were created for a purpose to be the hands and feet of God... We are made to bring Hope to the world, to tackle the giants of Poverty and Hunger, and everyday we can take steps in this purpose.
• First we must believe who we are in Christ and to shift our focus to living one day at a time knowing we have a role to play in God's story.

Stuck in the Past?

• Every minute or every day we live in regret of the past, we miss out on what could happen today.
• If you haven't noticed, time flies.  You'll be done with school sooner than you think, your kids will grow up before you know it, and soon it will be the next generations turn to take the ball and move it forward.  Can you really afford to lose today?  What opportunity might you miss?
• Nothing you have done in your past can't be forgiven.  Our God is a God of second chances.  Hand over your past to Jesus so you can be free to live today.

Stuck in the Future?

• I can be guilty of working on plans for the future and completely miss the life that is happening right in front of my eyes today.  Being stuck in the future is not always about fear, sometimes it's simply not being content in the present.
• The Bible says not to worry about tomorrow because today has enough worries of its own.  Are you full or worry about tomorrow?
• We don't live in the past and tomorrow is not here yet.... The "now" is all we have...

What might it look like?

• Putting your work away to spend that extra 30 minutes with your kids...
• Going the extra step in whatever you're doing right now...  What is the next right thing to do?  Do that.
• Think of one way you can serve someone today to take the focus off yourself.

Other great quotes from Mark Beeson this week:

"Following Jesus is simple, it's just not easy."  ("If you've been hurt, how easy is it to love mercy?  I love mercy when you give me mercy.")

"If you're trying to live the Christian life without giving your life to Christ, you've bitten off more than you can chew."

And right now God.... You seem to be dropping the ball on My Plan.... what's up?

If I really look at my days, my weeks, or my to-do lists.... I can drift into this warped thinking.  Uh, who am I making God here?  As Rob Wegner discussed this past weekend:

• THE LORDSHIP SLIP:   Assuming God’s role is to help me accomplish my “dream” life

The goal is to shift from asking God to fit in my story to have my life fit in a much bigger story…. God’s story.

• God's story is called shalom, where things are the way God wants them to be
• In the midst of our rat race trying to accomplish our competing dreams, God calls out "shalom"
• Shalom is the way things ougth to be

Clearly things aren't the way they should be in our world:

• UNICEF says there are 2 million children in the sex trade
• Every 6 seconds, some child dies of malnutrition
• While God's perfect plan is a beautiful tapestry, clearly there are frayed lives everywhere

The religious treadmill:  We see a broken world, we feel guilty, we help someone out to make a difference, we don't feel guilty anymore, we hope God is happy and then gives us what we want in our dreams.

We have the opportunity today to engage in the broken, dark places in our world....to bring shalom.

Have you been on the religious treadmill?

What dark place in your community or what relationship in your life can you bring shalom to this week?

What step do you need to take to realign your dreams to God's perfect plan?

If I stay on the current trajectory of my life and the decisions I’m making… am I headed to become the person I was meant to be?  Am I on the right path?

It's been said, "if you keep doing the things you've been doing for the last five years, you're going to get the same results..."   Here are some areas I've been off the path in my life (to name a few):

• My identity was wrapped up in my career and what I was able to accomplish in my job
• I used to obsess about my retirement spreadsheet, how much money I would need to retire, and how soon could I retire
• My past pains created fears for my future
• I would say "yes" too often, be spread too thin, and wouldn't have a real impact anywhere
• Any remaining "white space" I had to my calendar was filled with a side business with hopes to make more money
• Many weeks I would be gone three or four evenings during the week filled with busy activity rather than investing in my wife or kids

There are two things I've learned I am great at.... being busy and spending money.  Amazingly, both come very easily for me.     When it comes to my next five years, my time and the money I've been entrusted with will dictate much of where my heart and future legacy will be.

• Can I reallocate $15 a week or more out of renting movies, eating out, or buying gadgets and shift those funds into building churches in India and expanding the opportunities of Online Church?
• Could I shift 2-3 hours a week of emails into spending more time with my family and kids?
• What if I spent one less late night watching mindless TV and repurposed that time to having coffee with a new friend?

We get the opportunity to connect with hundreds of people online here every week who want to live a life that's on purpose.  Are you connecting with new people to take steps with?

So how about you?  Who will you become in 5 years? 

So what if today was my last day?  What things in my current schedule would simply become irrelevant?  How would I spend those last 24 hours?

Here are some things that come to my mind:

• I would want to spend it with my wife and kids
• I would want to reassure, encourage, and speak life into my loved ones.... I'd want to do anything I could to tell them to live the life God created them for, make a difference, and leave a mark
• I'd thank my friends for the memories and the impact they all had on my life... 
• I'd write notes to my kids that they could hold onto forever
• I would shoot a video for my funeral

Someday we're all going to die.  It seems to make sense that each of us should be pressing in to what we want our remaining years to be remembered for....

As we launch into our life together at Granger Community Online Church, we have an opportunity to:

• Be part of launching 250 new churches in India
• Invite literally anyone from anywhere in the globe to experience and share church together and discuss
• We can be intentional about surrounding ourselves with a few friends to be on mission with us wherever we are
• Launch new service times as we build volunteer teams to reach more people across the globe encouraging them to get in the game and play their part

What are you choosing to be intentional about?  How would you spend your last day?

Great days are ahead!