PREPARATION

Over the years, I have come to know a few people who were raised on the "You Don't Make Mistakes" philosophy. Regardless of how good they were, it was never good enough, because since the fall imperfection is in our DNA.

The faith journey is not a bootcamp producing perfection. It's not trying to be what others think you should be or ought to be; the faith journey is your personal walk with God. It's filled with road blocks, stumbling blocks, and mental blocks, with failure and brokenness lying in wait round every corner. There is no perfection pill or training routine with a money-back guarantee. After all, this is a mystery not an infomercial. That's why faith is a prerequisite.

Monty Roberts is the Horse Whisper. Truth is, he listens more than he whispers. And every horse has a story to tell. Monty watches and listens and then sets the horses free to do what comes naturally, to run.

We need a little horse whispering in our churches--call it "faith whispering." Too many churches have taken another track. There has been too much manipulating, cajoling, and forcing believers to hide who they are inside. The end result is too much pretending. There is a kingdom-side need for believers who are freed to do what comes natural.

If you are one of those trapped believers, pretending to be like all the other trapped believers, consider this your whispered call to discover the untapped self, the person inside that God made you to be. There is an opening on the faith team made just for you.

God has a collection of original thinkers, provocateurs, rebels, inventors, dreamers, visionaries, who have been compliant and silent too long. Time for these adventurers to stop trying to figure it all out and answer all the doubts. It's past time to bring fresh faith to the table.

Do you hear the call?

The mystery is still being written, and you have a unique part: "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 NLT
 

INSPIRATION

Bob Dylan is one unique songster. Not perfect, but very unique.

(Interviewer) What influenced your music?

"McCartney, the Beach Boys, Elton, Billy Joel, they made perfect records, so they have to play them exactly the way people remember them. My records were never perfect so there is no point in trying to duplicate them."

"Most of my influences could be thought of as eccentric. I was drawn to the trailing performers passing through. The side show performers--bluegrass singers, Quasimodo, the Bearded Lady, the half-man half-woman, the deformed and the bent, Atlas the Dwarf, the fire-eaters, the teachers and preachers, trebles singers. I remember it like it was yesterday. I got close to some of these people. I learned about dignity from them, freedom, too, civil rights and human rights. Most others were into the rides and the tilt-a-whirl and the roller-coaster. To me that was the nightmare. All the giddiness and artificiality…"

(Interviewer) But, you've sold over a hundred million records."

"Yeah I know, It's a mystery to me too."

Like Bob Dylan we came into the world with unique DNA. Then, like him, we have been shaped by hundreds of humans along the way. So, we are a mystery, and we will continue to be a mystery, whether we know it or not and whether we like it or not.

MOTIVATION

Looking for mystery clues:  If you had the talent and resources what would you do for God? What yet to be revealed dream is buried inside your heart?

Make a list of the things God's Spirit brings to your mind.

Forget whether they are feasible or workable or realistic. Just let God take you on a tour of the possibilities stuffed inside your head.

Now that the fire of curiosity has been lit, expect the unexpected. God died to bring out the hidden in you. He has something bigger than you planned.