This just shocked my socks off!!

Have you ever had one of those moments when you realized something that changed everything? I remember when I was unloading presents from a black Hefty bag when I was a kid, and saw the tag that read "To: Andy From: Santa," and I even recognized it as my mom's handwriting... That was one of those moments. I just had one of those moments this afternoon while reading one of my favorite authors, Mark Batterson. In his new book Primal, he said something that blew my mind!
"But what would happen if we saw people through the eyes of God? I don't think we'd see their sin, because that is forgiven and forgotten."
I'm not sure if your mind is reeling like mine was when I read that, but let me tell you how my mind broke that down. When God looks at me, He doesn't see my sin. Okay, I knew this. I've preached this a million times. I've even said that when the Father looks at us He sees the perfection of Christ in us. But that is only half the story. God doesn't just see Jesus in us, He still see us. So then, what does He see? He sees my potential!!!
This might sound like a simple truth to you, but this hit me like a ton of bricks. Potential is dangerous!! Why are we afraid if Iran and North Korea? Because they have the potential to lower the boom on us! Potential is scary!! Potential is powerful! Potential is potent (duh!)!!
My potential in the Kingdom of God is scary! It's powerful!! With the life-giving flow of Christ's blood in me, nothing is impossible!! I could lower the boom on Hell. I change the face of my neighborhood, my church, and even the world because of the potential in me! (and in you too!)
But I even knew that...
The thing that connected the dots for me was to realize that when the Father looks at me, He not only sees my potential, He doesn't see anything else. I had known that He doesn't see my sin. I had known that He sees my potential. But I had never put the two together. I had never let that sink into my heart. He sees what is good in me, and the good He wants to do in me. He not only sees my potential, He is anxiously trying to draw it out of me. He is trying to make me more like Him.
I feel free right now. I feel completely free from the problems of the past. I feel totally free to explore my potential! This is what God wants for me!!
Don't be afraid. Set aside your fears. Lay down the guilt and shame of your past. Begin to see the potential that Heaven sees in you. Then get your running shoes on, and explore!!

Imagination

"I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment. I am never satisfied with my work. I resent the limitations of my own imagination." -Walt Disney
When you think of imagination, you can't help but think of Walt Disney (and every time I think of Walt Disney, I think of a warm churro from Disneyland!). In this world, he was the king of imagination. Disney doesn't hold an animated candle to God! God is not only the King of Imagination, He's the creator of it!! Imagination wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for God!
Sometimes I think that we misunderstand the fact that God is unchanging. He is definitely stable. He is absolutely firm in the truth (He is the Truth!) He never goes back on His word. He is unchanging... but He doesn't lack imagination.
Do you have any idea how many species of beetles there are? Me either!!! There is way too many for me to count, or even try to track down. Wouldn't one kind of beetle be enough? Certainly the world would survive with only one species of beetle, but that wasn't good enough for God. He had to flex some imaginative muscle. He had to make things interesting!
God is not afraid of imagination. Why are we? Why are we so scared to let our minds wander through the things of God? He is so huge, so incomprehensible, that even the stretchiest parts of our imagination could never touch the edges of who He is (I'm not sure He has edges, but you get what I'm saying).
This year I want to dare to dream. I want to let my mind wander. I want to imagine with God-sized imagination! I hope you'll join me. I hope you will dream, and hope, and think, and imagine. Let God fill your heart with the wonder of creation again. Be consumed with the overwhelming power of His love for you.
Just imagine...

Connecting with The Body

The Body of Christ is a kinda funny thing. We call it a body, but so many times were are disjointed and spread everywhere like we don't exist to one another. Today, I had a great time connecting with another member of the Body. I had lunch with Pastor Joseito Velasquez from Healing Waters Family Center in Wheatridge, CO today. It was fun!!
No matter what we said it would have been fun because we went to a BBQ place... way fun! But the reason it was so great was because of the connection we made. We are the same age and in very similar situations in very similar churches. Sometimes it is just nice that you aren't the only one dealing with what you're dealing with. It is awesome to connect with someone else!
In the world we live in we can be right next to someone else and not connect with them. Right now I am sitting next to two other guys who are also on their computers. We are sitting right next to each other, but it's like we don't exist to each other!
I am making it one of my goals to try to make better connections with people. There are incredible people with incredible experiences all around us, but we never know because we don't connect. I want to connect up with the rest of the Body of Christ.

Family Matters

Check out Matthew 13:53-58. It talks about Jesus and His family. It actually talks about Jesus not getting along with His family. I'm sure none of us can relate. With Christmas just passed, we all have fresh memories of family dynamics at thier best. It just seems weird that Jesus had a disagreement with His family.
I imagine it went something like this: "I can do miracles" Followed by a, "No you can't," from one of His brothers. "Yes I can!" "No you can't"... We've all been there.
I just had lunch this afternoon with my older brother, Greg. I have always admired my older brother. When we were kids, I always felt like I had to live of to the standards of excellence he had set ahead of me. He is really smart, really athletic, really freindly, and he was always a lot better with girls than I was (although I did luck out and find a blind girl that would marry me!). It was impossible to be better than him.
It must have really stunk to be one of Jesus' younger brothers. Talk about a standard of excellence!! He never lied, never stole, and was never disrespectful. I bet His brothers couldn't even complain because He was "looking at me" because it was the gaze of God Himself!! No wonder His brothers didn't like Him!!
I just think it's encouraging to know that Jesus had family issues to deal with. Now when I read in Hebrews 4:15 that He can sympathize with my weaknesses because He has been tempted in all things, that I can apply that to family too! Don't get me wrong, I had a great time with my brother, and I have been having a great time with my in-laws for the past few days, but I just love knowing that Jesus has dealt with it all!
If He can deal with jealous and disbelieving family members, then He can deal with anything! It just makes me so thankful that Jesus lived a regular life for 30 years. I know He has been through it, and that He can help me through it!! Thank you Jesus for letting us get a sneak peak at your family dynamic!

In The Beginning....

Genesis 1:1.... That's how it all started. God decides He will create, and He just does it. He follows His heart and creates an entire universe as a way to express His love.
It just took me 15 minutes to create this blog, and the biggest decision I had to make was what to name it. I agonized over that one simple decision!! Just think of the millions of decisions and details that had to have gone through the mind of the Father as He created everything that's around us!!! Our eyes alone process more information in 1/100 of a second than the world's fastest computer can handle in a week!!!... and God just willed it, and it happened.
There have been times that I have wondered why it would take God 6 days to create this place, but when you break down everything He did, 6 days is a miracle!!!
I have created this blog because I want to be able to share what God is doing in my heart with the people of the church that I pastor, as well as other people of faith, and people who are curious about God.... and, because I think the word blog is fun to say! Some of my intentions are honorable, and others are just for fun. God's intention with creation was to construct a place for Him to express His love.... way cooler than my reason.
The problem with love is that its fullest expression is found when it is given and received! God created with the intention of giving love, but He also desired to receive love. Lord, I want to show you love by letting your Word invade my heart, and sharing the results with others..... Let's blog!!