“Both the criminal and the guard are in prison.”

Got this from the Faith Men’s Breakfast this morning – a gift from Marvin Walker.

How’s that strike you?

Travis

Last night in the Living Room (Sunday night Transit group for 18-20somethings) we were talking through verses 1-14 of John 14…things like do we really know the way to God? Does the promise of heaven hold enough of our attention to keep us moving on the right path? and whether or not we take Jesus seriously when He said we would do the things He’d been doing, oh wait, “and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father”. And all so that “the Father may be glorified in the son” – hopefully God will look at us and it will glorify Jesus’ work…not make us God’s stupid ones. Deep, I know.

Whatever we are asked by God to do is our mission and should be taken on in all seriousness…so our goal is to be obedient whether God’s request is big or (we think) small.  So we ended by asking the questions about what is in the way in our lives – why aren’t we more obedient, which we agreed would lead to “greater things” in our lives.    Is it our lifestyle choices?  lack of discipline?  stubbornness?  Are we living in a way that actually requires faith?  Are we risking enough and allowing God to do what only He can do?

I love the questions – and loved the honesty of the answers.

So this week ask yourself: What is standing in the way of living the most obedient life I can live – one that only Jesus can get credit for because I am living with an overwhelming amount of faith?  What needs to change in the next 7 days?

Thoughts?  Share them here…

Travis

Oh, and as Drew taught us – if God’s answer to your prayer of what should I do is “clean your room”…trust Him and clean your room.  Ask him about it, it’s a great story.

A couple things...first there is a release of a new audio version of “The Screwtape Letters”, by C.S. Lewis {get it here}.  And then this quote where the book is referenced…

“Christian young adults are becoming way too secularized and enmeshed in pop culture. The movies they feel they have the liberty to watch, the TV shows they watch, the music they listen to, the way they talk, interact, relate, it’s all very secularized! It’s pretty scary. I love pointing them to the book “Screwtape Letters” by CS Lewis and having them see that the enemy has a plan for their life and he is taking this war a little more serious than most of us.” –

Alex Bryant – College and Young Adults Pastor of The House at First A/G in Fort Myers, FL.

This may seem obvious to some – but is probably hard for others to hear.

We instantly want to be defensive – but if you feel the need to defend, consider why.  If you “take Jesus” into every place you go, conversation you have and thought train you allow yourself to roll down and He’s ok with it, then who am I to challenge you.  But if you hesitate to have Him OBVIOUSLY a part of something in your life, you might want to consider that it’s time for change.

Things to consider:

Social Drinking – Amy always says that people love to say “Jesus drank wine”.  Which he did.  However, she points out his conversations and thoughts while doing so.  If ours our as pure and spiritual as His and we don’t struggle with overdoing it – then MAYBE we can make a case for it.

Purity - the way we dress, “fall asleep in the same place”, deal with the word that rhymes with ‘must’ and live on the line of pure/impure physically speaking…oh, and the thought life and internet stuff…do we really live more godly than those who don’t “follow Christ” like we are supposed to be doing?

Rough Language (not dialects…), White Lies & Justified Cheating – are they ever really ok?

Tough to take an honest look at life sometimes, but starting with the things we treat as old issues can often help us get started down the road of growth.  Remember, if we follow Jesus we give up our rights and put His way of living in place of ours.  None of us are perfect at it, but if we quit trying, we fail.

Here’s to never quitting!

And now, your thoughts please…

Travis

Read this today {I’m a little behind on my blog reading}…

“He was a Christian plumber posing as a non-christian plumber. Perhaps he was trying to be “relevant” or something, I don’t know.”

It’s from THIS POST by Donald Miller.  You should read it {the whole thing}.

Travis

I’m still learning the proper balance of celebrating wins that aren’t total wins.  Like when you have something go really well, but as you walk away you see all the things that could {maybe should} have been better and it takes some of the win out of it.

Here’s to growth!

Do you know what I mean?

Travis

Read this great post from a guy named Scott Rodgers…about being teachable.  This is something I am desperately working on – if the last few years have shown me nothing else they have shown me how little I know and that I need to learn!  Maybe it will help you too.

A quote from the piece:

“Some people mistake experience for teachability. 10 years of experience + teachability = 10 years of experience.  10 years of experience – teachability = 1 year of experience, 10 times.”

Read the full post here:  http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/04/27/guest-scott-rodgers-3/

So what are you learning these days?

Travis

OH My Goodness – sometimes you get your hands on something that is overwhelmingly helpful.  ”Integrity: The courage to meet the demands of reality” is such a book.

I’m almost halfway through and am feeling incredibly challenged and encouraged at the same time.  Dr. Cloud is probably most famous for his book “Boundaries“, but “Integrity” is a must read for anyone.  And I mean that.

He writes from a level of professional and Christian experience that is rarely seen and he deftly weaves all aspects of life into the text.  From being a great parent, spouse, business person, church leader…and it fits in a very natural way.  This is because you can’t properly grow in one area without considering all of the other areas in your life – and Dr. Cloud tackles holistic growth in a seemingly effortless manner.

The book integrates ancient wisdom with modern points of understanding – as well as some Shakespeare.  A quote from today’s reading -

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”  - Shakespeare

Dr. Cloud is, in many ways, able to be a mentor to many without ever being able to meet them.

So, obviously I recommend the book.  I don’t care what you do or what level of the food chain you work at – read this book.

What would you recommend we read?  Click here and tell the world…

Travis