Flame

Just a little rob bell to put things into perspective for me

Art is in the Eye of the Beholder

Go ahead and try to control the uncontrollable! See where you'll get. Is it really worth your time and sanity? Cause what happens over and over again will always be the same no matter what. Doing the same thing but expecting different results.....hmmm.....isn't that the definition of.....what was it???

Those thoughts were in my head the past couple of days. I have been thinking about some stuff in my life. and just keep wondering..Why do we always make the same bad judgment calls?? Ok ok, I know that we are all human, we are all foolish, we are all mistake prone, but when do we decide enough is enough? When do we actually decide the point where we REALLY learn our lesson and move on??

I was listnening to a great podcast from the Cornerstone Church, yes yes that's the home of Francis Chan, The topic for the day was Grace and Pain. The rhetorical question was "Why does God let bad things happen to good people?" The answer completely floored me! " The trials that God places in our lives are completely necessary." Are you kidding me? So you're telling me that all the crap, and pain, and heartache, and all the other stuff that really sucks is because it's neccessary for something? I started thinking...What kind of plan is he preparing me for?? Its like God has all these colors of paint...The different colors of pain...HE splatters them around and from the beginning we don't know what is going on, nor do we know what he is creating. But I guess God needs all the colors in order to make the wonderful tapestry that is our life. I guess that if we say that we trust God, lets ACTUALLY trust Him. Hey, I'm pointing the finger at my own forehead and I think its starting to get red now. I guess what I'm learning is...does it all really matter? All the things we become so concerned with in our lives, all the crap we worry our minds with, all the fears that control our wellbeing and mental peace? Is it really worth being bent out of shape considering our ultimate goal, which is to hear that we are a good and faithful servant. It kinda puts into perspective. It's funny though, I'll probably write about this same topic next month and the month after and the month after that. So, lets do this..lets be honest with ourselves and lets live in truth. Lets get rid of these rose colored glasses we have been using for so long and look at the reality which is our lives, and then...let us trust in God. He has everything planned, everything worked out for our good and His glory. As bad or as dark it can get in our lives, lets trust that the finished product is more glorious than we can ever imagine!!

The Red Ones Smell The Best

My mind usually runs at approximately 374.067 miles per hour. I think that’s what I clocked it at the last time…A good friend asked me this evening, “ When you go home...you must either pass out right away or stay up all night..” I hated to agree that it was the later of the two. It makes me wonder (surprise! surprise!)…Am I missing out on life cause I don’t stop and smell the roses??

I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of over analyzing things… did I turn off my laptop and lights before I left the house?? Am I going to the gym after work or am I going to hang out with friends tonight?? What’s going to happen with the Home Churches?? Where is the next Nourish event going to be held?? Are we going to have to wait 2 hours for a table?? Does she like me?? How does my hair look??(Yeah, I have to be honest that question comes up a lot) I get so preoccupied with so many questions and worries that it tends to be time consuming. I think that if I put more effort in realizing what’s going on around me, and less time focusing on things I can’t necessarily control, a lot of those questions would be answered. I have come to the realization; I don’t have any control over anything. I need to stop thinking I can remedy everything by just analyzing the situation and trying to figure out a solution. I can’t even fix myself for goodness sake! You know what?? This is completely fine. God doesn’t want us to fix each other, or else why would we need Him?? Instead he wants us to lay ALL of our “junk” at his feet. He wants us to have him sort through our pillowcase full of good values, unfailing faith and love towards one another, and he’ll get rid of the occasional “unwrapped Tootsie Rolls”.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light “–Matthew 11:28

I have read this scripture so so So SO many times but it really hit me tonight. It’s like God was asking me, “Why are you juggling all these knives? Don’t you know you’ll eventually cut yourself? Why not give them to me and relax. I have it all taken care of.” I have accepted Jesus in my life as my Savior, so that means I’m saved right? So why don’t I act like it? Shouldn’t I rejoice and celebrate because my life is now redeemed? But for some reason I’d rather go and sacrifice myself day after day over meaningless worries. I have written over six times that I trust God will be there for me and that he will be my provision, and I truly believe it…So then, why the endless laundry lists of questions?

When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me? –Psalm56:3-4

Here is my prayer for us all:
Lord, let us live out our lives in true peace,
Let our hearts be still yet let our passion burn for you God.
Help us trust you whole heartedly and without fail.
Give us a desire to live out your truth,
A desire to be more like you...
Because you God are Love...

“Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”-Philippians 4:8-9

Community

So I was writing another blog entry about authenticity because that’s what we are talking about in church, but I think GOD wanted me to talk about Community. Stay tuned for the authenticity blog…

Community- n. 1: a unified body of individuals: a group linked by a common policy 2a: joint ownership or participation b: common character : likenes c: social activity : fellowship

What is it like to build a sense of community as well as build a culture within that community? The definition kinda sums up what community really is. Community is a large group of people with a general commonality. What unites our community? Personally, I want a society full of Love and Grace. So a couple of Thursday’s ago, I went to the latest Element Info Meeting. Bobby was talking about how we are going to transition from Revo to Element. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m on an emotional roller coaster when it comes to the transition. Part of me is very excited, while the other is scared to death. Well the main vision of this church is to “be the church”. “Church is not 4 walls, and a place you attend, but it’s who we are and what defines our identity.” I’ll be honest with everyone, ever since I started attending Revolution; it felt like my life has been going in the right direction, it felt like I have been building my identity. I’m not saying that I don’t know who I am, I’m just saying that I have learned so much during my time at Revo. I have built so many wonderful relationships with people, I have built my life on God’s foundation and I have truly found myself. It scares me to see Revolution end, and have nothing to smoothly transition to. It really does feel like Revo was my second family and this whole situation kinda reminds me of Mike D’s going away service. He said “You never really know what you have until it is gone.”

So now that Revolution is coming to a close, and Element Church is just revving up, we are tasked to build a sense of community. Come to think about it, there are about 70-80% of the people that attend Revo that are probably going to Element. The other 20-30% of the Revolutionaries attend their own church on Sunday’s and some will stay with the Crossing. So how do we build this community? As you probably read in my last blog, I am going to have a Home Church. This will consist of 10 or so people (slightly larger than a small group). I have been wrestling with the idea of where when and how this Home Church will happen. All I know is the home church will be stripped down to its basic core. God has been placing in my heart these 3 areas: Celebrate ME. Formulate Deep Relationships With Each Other. Love Others Without Falter. And just to make sure I got that through my thick stubborn skull he showed me this:

“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!” - Philippians 4:3

On top of this Nourish (www.myspace.com/NRSH) will still hold strong. I think God’s vision for Nourish is to unite everyone; those who aren’t going to Element as well as those who might have “fallen through the cracks.” Nourish is a group of individuals in search of GOD as well as good food. We journey through Tampa Bay to experience each other as well as experience new cuisine. I would like to see the Nourish Events be the celebration of what values Revo stood for, and what it brought so many people; a sense of belonging. So my challenge to everyone is to plant our seeds within each other, I mean really try. Let’s burrow our roots so deep that even when the Revolution services end, the actual Revolution will begin!

“Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.”

-Galatians 6:8-10