Lord, You said you would give us the desires of our hearts. Hear my heart today…
I want a home - a place where men and women can love You together, dream about and implement revival - Your Kingdom here and now. I want a home where we can play - both in the natural and the spiritual. I want a home where we can host Your presence, where we can host the church, a home that can elevate believers and release them into the world.
I want a home where worship is as natural as breathing – a place where the songs of heaven are released to Your sons and daughters. I want a home where there is freedom to create. A home where the wonder and beauty of Your love can be expressed through the individual believer.
I want a home where there is peace, where You are breathed in the atmosphere, where healing and restoration are daily expressions of salvation. I want a home where believers learn risk because they know love intimately. I want a home where rest is a way of life.
I want a home where the prophetic is released so that we would know who we are, a home where revelation is imparted – that we would know in greater measure Your love and our identity.
I want a home where my kids can know and become love - where their hopes can be inspired by You – where they can have greater access to an open heaven.
I want a home… Amen
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
New Song - I'm Becoming Like You
It isn't an interesting melody or a unique rhythm and it needs some production but I wanted to put it up as the lyrics to this song are the cry of my heart - God that I would become like you.
Ive been Your echo
Ive been Your shadow
But my heart is to know You so I can be Your voice
Ive stood on mountains
Ive knelt in valleys
From glory to glory my heart will always be Yours
I'm becoming like You
I’m becoming like You
Its the cry of my heart my King
That I’d display Your majesty
I'm becoming like you
I'm becoming like you
Let Your love be all I know
Till Your glory becomes my own
Ive been Your echo
Ive been Your shadow
But my heart is to know You so I can be Your voice
Ive stood on mountains
Ive knelt in valleys
From glory to glory my heart will always be Yours
I'm becoming like You
I’m becoming like You
Its the cry of my heart my King
That I’d display Your majesty
I'm becoming like you
I'm becoming like you
Let Your love be all I know
Till Your glory becomes my own
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Open Table - The Presence - Chapter 3 day 4 - The Original Version
When we bought our last house it was late fall and most of the leaves had fallen off the trees. Everything was bare. When spring arrived the trees started to bud and it was then that we noticed our neighbor’s tree was dead. During the winter it looked like every other tree in the neighborhood but once spring hit, it stood in stark contrast to the life all around us.
Regardless of species, trees all have one thing in common; the first sign of life is always the budding leaf. Some trees go on to bear tastier fruits like apples or walnuts, but the first fruit of a tree is its leaves.
The Bible refers to God as a vine and us, the church, as the branches. John 15:4 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The vine, God, is always about producing life. In fact, Jesus refers to himself as “life” in John 14:6. So its pretty straight forward, a love relationship with life (God) will bear fruit. And if we engage Gods love, we enter into fruit bearing life. If we say yes to love we are saying yes to life.
So what’s life look like, well, its green and leafy and sometimes there are apples or walnuts. Life is about fruit. Or maybe I should say it this way. Fruit is the evidence of life. My neighbor’s tree, the one without the leaves, it was dead.
Ok Jason, I’m with you, so love bears fruit, how does that apply to community? Well, I’m so glad you asked…
There is another scripture in the Bible that talks about what a community grounded in love looks like using the metaphor of fruit. It say’s, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23)
A love community is essentially a place that models the fruits of the Spirit. Love always bears fruit, so love communities will always have signs that point to life. A love community will have evidence of Gods presence and that evidence looks like the fruit described in Galatians 5:22-23.
I think when we look for a community to make our own, when we seek mentors, brothers and sisters to live the journey with, we are looking for a people marked by Gods presence, a community with evidence of Galatians 5 fruit.
When I look for a place to find community, I want to know that we are pursuing the same thing – Gods presence. A community is simply a group of people running together toward a common purpose and the purpose of a love community is always the presence of God. I’m not saying we have to agree on everything, true community is not about conformity but transformation - it’s about being transformed into the image of Christ.
If you want to know what Gods presence looks like in a community, look for evidence of the fruits of His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the revealed presence of God and it always looks like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the attributes of a love community and this scripture gives us practical mile markers for what community is meant to look like.
When it comes to fruit, be it the leaf, apple or walnut, it takes time. Fruit doesn’t just happen over night. A community of love may not exhibit all the fruits - it’s a journey. But if the presence of God is the central pursuit, there will always be evidence of life.
I encourage you to find and nurture a community of love that is practicing Galatians 5. I encourage you in all things to always seek his presence.
Regardless of species, trees all have one thing in common; the first sign of life is always the budding leaf. Some trees go on to bear tastier fruits like apples or walnuts, but the first fruit of a tree is its leaves.
The Bible refers to God as a vine and us, the church, as the branches. John 15:4 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The vine, God, is always about producing life. In fact, Jesus refers to himself as “life” in John 14:6. So its pretty straight forward, a love relationship with life (God) will bear fruit. And if we engage Gods love, we enter into fruit bearing life. If we say yes to love we are saying yes to life.
So what’s life look like, well, its green and leafy and sometimes there are apples or walnuts. Life is about fruit. Or maybe I should say it this way. Fruit is the evidence of life. My neighbor’s tree, the one without the leaves, it was dead.
Ok Jason, I’m with you, so love bears fruit, how does that apply to community? Well, I’m so glad you asked…
There is another scripture in the Bible that talks about what a community grounded in love looks like using the metaphor of fruit. It say’s, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23)
A love community is essentially a place that models the fruits of the Spirit. Love always bears fruit, so love communities will always have signs that point to life. A love community will have evidence of Gods presence and that evidence looks like the fruit described in Galatians 5:22-23.
I think when we look for a community to make our own, when we seek mentors, brothers and sisters to live the journey with, we are looking for a people marked by Gods presence, a community with evidence of Galatians 5 fruit.
When I look for a place to find community, I want to know that we are pursuing the same thing – Gods presence. A community is simply a group of people running together toward a common purpose and the purpose of a love community is always the presence of God. I’m not saying we have to agree on everything, true community is not about conformity but transformation - it’s about being transformed into the image of Christ.
If you want to know what Gods presence looks like in a community, look for evidence of the fruits of His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the revealed presence of God and it always looks like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the attributes of a love community and this scripture gives us practical mile markers for what community is meant to look like.
When it comes to fruit, be it the leaf, apple or walnut, it takes time. Fruit doesn’t just happen over night. A community of love may not exhibit all the fruits - it’s a journey. But if the presence of God is the central pursuit, there will always be evidence of life.
I encourage you to find and nurture a community of love that is practicing Galatians 5. I encourage you in all things to always seek his presence.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Open Table - Cover Art
Here it is, the cover art for "The Open Table" This is the DVD but the book design is the same - and no, my name is not on that cover either but I really did write it, I promise.
While there where at least 25 people interviewed for the project, (Its a discipleship guidebook and film in a small group format for new believers) my dad, my daughter and I made it onto the cover. I'm thinking that the folks at Thomas Nelson have a good eye for lookers...or something.
The book releases in August.
The Good News
This is another edit from "The Open Table" releasing in August...
In the early church, the story of Jesus’ love was known as “the good news,” or “the Gospel.” And in Romans 1:16, Paul says about this gospel that it is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” There was a wonderful thing happening in those early days- still is happening today in fact. The love of God was and is being experienced first hand. The distant God found through religion was suddenly a close
God found in relationship. It is called salvation. Its a beautiful word - salvation.
It is also a word that has been used so often by believers that I think much of its wonder sometimes gets lost. Salvation or “saved” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word sozo, which means, delivered, restored, healed and made whole. Think about it for a moment. When we asked Jesus to be our best friend, when we invited him into our hearts and made him Lord of our life we got saved. Right? And it was an all-encompassing life changing event – this salvation we are talking about.
And the word we use for this decision, for this experience is saved. It’s a good word and true. We once were lost, now we are found. We once were dead and now we are raised with Christ, we are alive. We once were destined to a life of empty striving and now we are promised a day in day out love story where grace and mercy color a purpose filled life adventure.
But how many of us have simply applied the word saved to mean, we no longer are going to hell when we die? That’s not the only power of the gospel. What Paul was saying is that healing, deliverance, restoration; these are all available to those who believe. That’s pretty good news if you ask me.
Its the believing that Jesus loves us that leads us to salvation and this salvation releases us to the power that is the love of God - His goodness, grace, mercy, hope, peace and joy – its all available to us regardless of life’s circumstances. That’s good news! Good news for me and for you, for your friend and their friends and their friends friends…
In the early church, the story of Jesus’ love was known as “the good news,” or “the Gospel.” And in Romans 1:16, Paul says about this gospel that it is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” There was a wonderful thing happening in those early days- still is happening today in fact. The love of God was and is being experienced first hand. The distant God found through religion was suddenly a close
God found in relationship. It is called salvation. Its a beautiful word - salvation.
It is also a word that has been used so often by believers that I think much of its wonder sometimes gets lost. Salvation or “saved” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word sozo, which means, delivered, restored, healed and made whole. Think about it for a moment. When we asked Jesus to be our best friend, when we invited him into our hearts and made him Lord of our life we got saved. Right? And it was an all-encompassing life changing event – this salvation we are talking about.
And the word we use for this decision, for this experience is saved. It’s a good word and true. We once were lost, now we are found. We once were dead and now we are raised with Christ, we are alive. We once were destined to a life of empty striving and now we are promised a day in day out love story where grace and mercy color a purpose filled life adventure.
But how many of us have simply applied the word saved to mean, we no longer are going to hell when we die? That’s not the only power of the gospel. What Paul was saying is that healing, deliverance, restoration; these are all available to those who believe. That’s pretty good news if you ask me.
Its the believing that Jesus loves us that leads us to salvation and this salvation releases us to the power that is the love of God - His goodness, grace, mercy, hope, peace and joy – its all available to us regardless of life’s circumstances. That’s good news! Good news for me and for you, for your friend and their friends and their friends friends…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
