Faith and Facebook

It seems that I, a thirty-three year old woman, am mildly addicted to Facebook. At first, this realization freaked me out a little. Then I realized that my love for this social utility is rooted in my desire for deep and abiding fellowship with others. This is a good thing.

Please don't get me wrong. Facebook has its flaws. Some people use it to keep tabs on others or stalk someone. These things disturb me. But at its core, it is really a fantastic tool. I am connected to people from every major period in my life because of it. It keeps me connected to people I would struggle to stay in touch with otherwise. And it provides me with a space where I can send quick notes to people I love to encourage them or let them know I am thinking of them.

I get very excited when I get a message or someone posts on my wall. I like seeing the faces of those I only have the luxury of seeing every once-in-a-while...it makes them seem closer. I especially love to read the "About Me" section of my friends. It is insightful and often funny.

One such friend is my buddy Rob. Random. Adventurous. Loyal. Deep. Lover of Jesus. All of these things make me appreciate what he states are his "religious views" on Facebook.

"It is not God that I don't like, it is just His fan club that annoys me."

This makes me smile...and think. It makes me smile because it is just like Rob to say something so pointed/funny/profound. It makes me think because it is the truth. Our reputation in the world - especially the Western World - is not the best.

What are you doing to change that?

Passion 2008 // Dallas, TX

A handful of us attended the 2008 Regional Passion Conference in Dallas, TX this past weekend. I speak for all of us when I say that it was a powerful experience from start to finish. The music was incredible (and loud!), the messages were inspiring/challenging, and the movementof the Spirit was felt through it all.

I am not going to lie. The volume of the music made me feel a little old. A lot of bass. A lot of sound effects. A lot of intensity. I am officially old. :) Noise level aside, it was incredible. Just watching people like the David Crowder Band, the Chris Tomlin Band, Kristian Stanfill, and Christy Nockels is a sight to behold. Music done with excellence to the glory of God. Not to mention the fact that all around us were 6000+ college students being energized, inspired, and humbled by it all. It was a beautiful experience just to watch it all happen.

The messages were Spirit-filled and unbelievably convicting, encouraging, inspiring, and challenging. Yes, all of those things. Louie Giglio did not disappoint. He is such a gifted storyteller with a heart for The Story. He is passionate about our Overcoming God and in his belief that one life can make a difference for The Kingdom. Francis Chan was also awesome. He was funny and deep. A rare combination that blessed us all. I would love to hear him again and again, soon.

I am not sure that I've processed our weekend at Passion just yet. Every piece of it (including the unbelievable hospitality of our host family!) inspired me. All I know right now is that God is powerful and can do mighty things through each of us...individually and corporately. I knew that before, but Passion just reminded me of that. It is my prayer that we all take more seriously our part in The Story and that we seek to point out Christ daily for a world that is desperate to know Him.

The new Passion album is called "God of This City." The title track was written by Chris Tomlin. The entire song is a beautiful prayer we can pray for our campuses and for our world. The refrain really resonated with our group and I offer it to you today.

"Greater things have yet to come

and greater things are still to be done in this city."

May you begin to see and to play your part in the "greater things" still to be done on your campus, in your life, and in this world to the glory of God.

Our Great and Only Delight

"The great and firm foundation of the spiritual life is the offering of ourselves to God and being subject to his will in all things. We must completely forget ourselves, so that we regard ourselves as an object which has been sold and over which we no longer have any rights. We find all our joy in fulfilling God's pleasure - his happiness, his glory and the fact that he is our great and only delight. Once we have this foundation, all we need to do is spend our lives rejoicing that God is God and being so wholly abandoned to his will that we are quite indifferent as to what we do and equally indifferent as to what use he makes of our activities."
~ Jean-Pierre De Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence

Walking Together

(Map of the Christian Year by John David Walt)

Just a few short hours ago, we began our Lenten journey for the year. Lent is the 40+ days leading up to Easter. It is meant to be a season of reflection, fasting, and self-denial. During these days we do whatever it takes to follow Jesus into the valley of the cross. To really make the journey with Jesus, we have to renounce ourselves. This usually gets translated into "giving up" something for the season of Lent. This is a great idea...but only if it causes deeper reflection and identification with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection.

To be perfectly honest, for the better part of my life Lent has been more about me than it has been about Jesus. I spent many years giving up the same things and getting the same results. I'd succeed (most of the time) at staying away from whatever I gave up, but fail miserably at really focusing on Christ during the season. Year after year I would reach Easter, heart unprepared, frustrated.

The past few years have been a different story. I haven't given anything up...I've added some things instead. More time in the Word, specifically the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion. More time in prayer. Specifically about the things that bind me and keep me from God. More time reflecting on Christ and His sacrifice and what He is calling me to do in response. It has made all the difference in the world.

If you've already decided to give something up during this season (chocolate, Facebook, etc.), please don't take this post as an encouragement not to do so. Go for it. Self-sacrifice is a good thing. But in the midst of it (whether you're giving something up, adding some things, or whatever), be present these 40 days. Ready your heart for what is to come in the days ahead.

Walk.

Listen.

Watch.

Reflect.

Learn.

Sacrifice.

Pray.

Renew.

Fast.

Feast.

Worship.

Surrender.

Transform.

Take the journey with Jesus down to the valley of death. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him (Matthew 16:24). All the way. You will never be the same.

Sunshine and the Sacred

My office has many windows. This can be a good and a bad thing. On gray and blustery days (like we've been having...), it makes my office dark, depressing, and cold. I find that a little extra diet coke or a nice, hot cup of coffee is necessary on those days! But on a sunny day like today, it means that my office is brighter, warmer, and happier. I love days like this. Sunshine just has a way of affecting my attitude and my motivation. It is not that I hate a gray day. Those can be good and productive days, too. Gray days are some of the best days to curl up with a good book or spend extra time in silence and prayer. Each day - gray or sunny - has something to offer.

But there's something about a bright, sunny day that affects us. It gives us...energy...hope. It invigorates us. I don't think this is a bad thing. Sunshine is God's ideas...and so is shade. Both types of days ought to teach us something. Perhaps sunshine invigorates and gray days cause us to contemplate. Maybe for some of you it is something completely different. One thing is sure, thought. Everyday is a day that the Lord has given us and that alone ought to cause us to praise him - sunshine or rain.

Roald Dahl, author of the peculiar Willy Wonka books, once said, "Watch with glittering eyes the world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely of places." I've framed this quote and placed on my desk here at work. It serves as a reminder to me just to be present each day and take notice of what God is doing and saying around me. I am not sure that is what Dahl was aiming for with his words, but that is what they inspire in me. May they do the same for you.

Living Free

Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don't ever become slaves of the Law again."
- Galatians 5:1 (CEV)

What does it mean for us to live free? It is clear that God desires it for us, but how do we do it? How do we hold on to our freedom and fight our tendency toward enslavement? Why do we so often choose a life slavery over the free life that we have in Christ?

God wants us to experience true freedom in this life. He wants for us to experience joy and freedom in Christ now. But very few who call themselves Christians are really living free. We are trapped by our own ideas of what a Christian should look lie. We are enslaved to what others think of us. We are bound by our culture. We are tangled in a web of rules we have created for ourselves.

"You were called to be free."
- Galatians 5:13a

I dare you to do it. Live free. Loose the chains of the law and live out of the overflow of your love for God and for others. I guarantee you that you will fail if you attempt to do this on your own. But connect yourself to Christ, walk with him in the details of the everyday, and you will succeed.

There is this old hymn that I love called "Make Me A Captive, Lord." It was written by George Matheson in 1890, but the words still speak to us today. I believe the first verse really captures what freedom in Christ ought to look like. Make these words into your prayer that you might live free now.

"Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms when by myself I stand;
Imprison me within Thine arms, and strong shall be my hand."
- Make Me a Captive, Lord by George Matheson

Making All Things New

There is something about the turn of a new year that excites us. There is this strange sense of anticipation and exhilaration as we begin again. We find that we have all sorts resolve to make this new year count. We vow to make this year better than the last, even if the previous year was a good one. The new year brings with it new...hope.

And so we make resolutions. Eat healthier. Exercise more. Spend more time in the Word. Remember birthdays. Save money. The list is endless. The great thing about the fresh start of a new year is that we find ourselves really believing we can make those changes. And we do...at least for the first few weeks. Then the smallest failure discourages us and causes us to give up completely.

I think this is a problem. Not because we fail to keep our resolutions. The problem is that we give up so easily. Of course we do...because we cannot do it. We do not have the strength to make needed changes in our lives. Changes that honor God, but are apart from him if we do not ask him for help.

"Behold, I am making all things new," our Lord says to us in Isaiah 43:19. God makes a way for us. Failure is not the end of the story. It never has been. Over and over again in the Bible, we see how God makes his mercy and grace new for us every morning (see Lamentations 3:22-24). And so we begin again. Each morning is a new year, a new chance to honor God with our lives. With each new day, let us resolve to rely on God more. Go ahead and make resolutions. Change is good if it honors and relies on God.