Jesus is a great deep sleeper…

Mark 4:35-41 (NKJV)

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Can you imagine how crazy the disciples were acting. Probably screaming and crying and acting like they had no hope. Meanwhile the “hope” they needed was sleeping on a pillow on the stern of the ship. No stress, no worry, just got up and told the storm to calm down. That’s what I’m calling POWER. Speaking to nature and telling it to listen.

So why do we stress?

I believe it’s because we truly aren’t surrendered over to Him. We are still trying to navigate the storm ourselves. We look at the surrounding “storms of life” and concern ourselves more with them than what God has called us to do.

Even in the midst of “STORMS” we still have a purpose to do that overrides the issues around us. In most life circumstances (family, job, relationships) we battle through issues, neglect pending punishment, ignore risks….when we truly want something. If you want something bad enough, you will FIGHT DESPERATELY for it! Are we doing that even in the ministry of life?

How about this great CHRIS TOMLIN song – “I WILL FOLLOW”

“Where you go, I’ll go, Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move, I will follow you
Who you love, I’ll love, How you serve I’ll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you, I will follow you”

In Luke 9 – Jesus is saying that if you truly want to FOLLOW ME you will have to risk something. If you truly want to walk in POWER and in LOVE you will have to battle through STORMS….but you can navigate through them and literally tell them to BE STILL as you discover who you are in CHRIST.

Matthew 16:24-27 (NKJV)
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Most of us think first of only ourselves when we go through STORMS….self preservation. Jesus looked right at the STORM and told it to CHILL OUT because He knew His plan and purpose was much more important than worrying about what was going on around Him (that’s TRUE freedom).

An interesting fact is what was waiting for Jesus on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. On the “other side” of this boat ride was the Man filled with a LEGION of devils – (which ultimately got cast into pigs). The “storm” came to distract and sidetrack Him from the plan and purpose at hand. Most of us get “sidetracked” from walking in power and love because we focus on the circumstances instead of focusing on the ONE that controls the circumstances.

We can do the very same things that Jesus did when he walked this earth. We can speak to the storms and they will obey.

Are we walking in His power or trying to do it on our own?

Are we more worried about the circumstances around us than the purpose and plan God has destined us to complete?

Walking in obedience doesn’t mean we won’t encounter storms. It does mean that we will have the power to get through them.

Maybe that will help you to be a deeper sleeper as well?

MR

Posted: September 29th, 2011 under Culture/Society, Leadership.
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For the last 10 wks different churches in the city of Spring Hill have been joining together to pray for our nation, city, people, churches, etc to see God move…all of this leading up to the 10th anniversary of Sept 11 (tomorrow). Join us tomorrow as we all meet at City Hall (3-4pm) to pray together with other churches, fire dept, local law officials and the people of this city. It’s an exciting time to see God move in our midst as we join together to seek Him and glorify His name together as one voice.

MR

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Posted: September 10th, 2011 under Church info, Culture/Society, Videos.
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Interesting talk on TED.com from Julian Treasure regarding “listening”. How well do we really listen? Many people say that they don’t hear God speaking, but are they really listening? Many people say so much, but how much of it do we really listen to? Do husbands listen to their wives, do parents listen to their kids, do we care if we shut people off?

Give this talk a listen. Some interesting stuff on our state of listening…

Julian Treasure : 5 Ways to Listen Better

MR

Posted: August 19th, 2011 under Culture/Society, Life Stuff.
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On Sunday I shared about the story of the servants and the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The part that stood out to me was the end.

Matthew 25:29-30 “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Whoa…are we really being good stewards of our blessings? Are we really bearing fruit that people desire to want in their own life? As Christians I believe most of us suck at making fruit. Most of our fruit is rotten and unappealing to others. God desires for our lives to be so filled with His blessings that people want to be part of it. Check out what the Word says about “fruit”.

John 7:16-20 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

So what is “fruit”? I believe from the standpoint of God’s Word that “fruit” is the evidence of Blessing, Growth and Abundance in our life. Just as natural growth should be part of getting older, we need to continue to grow in our spiritual life as well. Unfortunately many of us are like the 3rd servant. We hide our talent (blessings) in the ground and figure this is the safest and best way to live life. How can we get hurt or burned out if we just play it safe? I believe we should live a life of adventure. The blessings that we all possess (and yes we are all VERY blessed) should be on display in our everyday lives. Here’s some ways people will know us by our “fruit”:

You will know them by…
-how they act when they have money and when they don’t.
-how they act when the pressure of life gets turned up or when things are going great.
-how they respond when the Holy Spirit shows up.
-what they value and devalue.
-their Facebook status. (oops….check your status right now)
-their spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend.
-where their money goes to.
-their reputation at work/school.

What kind of fruit are you bearing? Will people desire to know more of God after knowing you? Do you shine forth His goodness, grace, mercy and love? Do people radiate with His glory after spending time communicating with you?

We’ve each been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to allow us to be more blessed than we could ever be alone. It’s not you that does these great things, but it’s Him, THROUGH YOU, that gives you the power to do great things (John 15:4). Let’s bear the fruit that shines His glory and illuminates His majesty. Come on Church….BE the Church. The beautiful bride that God has called us to be.

We are a Blessed people and through our blessings we can help usher in the Kingdom of God!

MR

Posted: July 29th, 2011 under Culture/Society, Leadership.
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I’m excited about being a part of some powerful city prayer over the next few Tuesday nights leading up to Sept 11 (from 7pm-8pm). This September 11th is the 10 year anniversary. Thompsons Station Church is hosting these prayer nights under the organization of AWAKENING AMERICA and “Cry Out America”. They have already done 2 nights but have quite a few more to go. Each Tuesday night will be led by a different local pastor. My night to lead is coming up on August 2nd. I hope we can see all of you come out for an hour to pray with other local Christians. One hour goes by fast and think of all the power that will be coming from a room full of people, from different denominations and backgrounds, lifting up our families, our city and our nation. It’s going to be good!

M

Here is a link to view and download more info about this event.

CRY OUT AMERICA in SPRING HILL, TN

Posted: July 18th, 2011 under Culture/Society, Leadership.
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