PREPARATION

It's time to clear the air, past time.

I’m embarrassed by the screeching voices and angry tone of misguided people who claim a special calling from the God of the Bible. These self-appointed, hate-spewers are giving my God a bad rap. They pop-off, picket, and protest in defense of their own guilt and close-mindedness. Their prayers may grab media attention, but no one else's.

While Jesus constantly looked for the good in people, these preachers see the bad in everything. The public accusations are unending. That story is getting old.

Jesus didn't come to judge and condemn. He came to show us how the Father wants us to live. His visit opens the door to unlimited and unstoppable life in all dimensions. The old Law was set in place to teach us the impossibility of living under its demands. Jesus came with a NEW agreement--a new vision based on grace. The Old Testament was written on stones and skins, but Jesus saw to it that his new vision is being written on hearts. Yours and mine (Hebrews 10:15-25).

Show people how to live beyond themselves and the bad is willingly traded for the good. The good news Jesus proclaimed is focused on life and love and our parts in his continuing life giving story.
 

INSPIRATION

She glanced over and spied my business card sticking out of the folder, "So, what's a faith coach?"

Before I could get more than three words out of my mouth, she interrupted, "It doesn't matter. I bet it's another 'Christian' attempt to screw-up America."

I tried to capture her gaze, but she was looking past me, oblivious to any part of me. In a matter of speaking, to her, I was nothing.

"I gave your religion a shot, but it's impossible. Give this up, stop that, quit, refuse, just don't. What kind of life is that? And they called it good news, huh!"

Then without a word from me, she got up and walked out the door. For days, I wrestled with what I could have said, given another chance. I have concluded that my "God Story" message would have to be shaped by the context and God's Holy Spirit. There is no cut-and-paste right answer, but in general here's a shot

Let me introduce you to the God I have spent a lifetime getting to know...the God who inspired the Bible and writes on hearts.
 
Others may follow a god who accepts them after they have jumped through a bunch of hoops, or only if they believe all the approved doctrines, or if they are good enough. My God loves me “as is,” in spite of flaws and failures.

My God didn't just create this world and walk away; he's still creating and shaping and speaking. I sense his presence in the pages of his Book, and in the eyes of the people I meet in Starbuck's and at church.

Think of it this way, he interrupted eternity to create a time and place for people. After all, it's his show, his interstellar reality show, but we all get to choose our parts, our roles in his story. How daring is that?

My God invented second chances. For some incredible reason he loves me in spite of my brokenness, forgetfulness, and selfishness. He loves me and enjoys every detail of my live. How good is that? And in the middle of the darkest hours he finds ways to inspire hope.

He invested centuries of earth-time showing us how impossible it is to live perfect and keep all the rules, then he punched a hole in the sky and invaded the impossible with the unthinkable--incarnation--God in human skin.

That "Jesus event" changed everything. The promise is no longer confined to a book. It's written on human hearts--yours and mine. Jesus didn't die to set up a new ruling system, or build a tax shelter, or establish a religious institution. He didn't come to leave us with a world religion. He came and lived and died to do one thing, to grace us with a personal invitation, a calling, to life beyond ourselves.
 
He gifted me with free-will, passion, and promise and wants me to live without a smidgen of fear. He knows about life with the WOW factor because he put it there. And when I let him, he shows me how to live with thankfulness in every dimension of life

I have gotten angry with him, I've denied him, and I've fought him, but I can't get away from him. He will not let me ignore him. He never runs out of ways to get my attention.

He has transformed roadblocks and stumbling blocks and mental blocks into roadsigns and epiphanies. He has caught my tears while I was still hiding them, listened to my heart before I knew the words to speak, and gave me a dream that has become a mission. Through it all, I have a story to tell.

He has pruned my intuition, challenged my values, tested my decisions, refine my motives, and grabbed my attention. It was his idea to give me instinct and imagination, and it's his plan for me to use everything to make him look good. WOW!

MOTIVATION

I have one task for you this week, only one. Write your "God Story." Begin writing and let the Spirit shape the words.

You will be blessed beyond your expectations.