When I hear "get your eyes on God", it can feel like "Christian" speak rather than anything truly helpful. Well, there are ample REAL reasons for doing this and Psalm 121 gives us four...

• God is huge...He made this canopy of stars and holds this little, fragile earth in His hands!
• God does not need sleep...this is hard to even imagine!
• God is at our side 24/7...He is the ultimate security system!
• God takes on evil and wins...our fears of being overcome are never realized in God!

Read Psalm 121 and Look Up today from any circumstances, no matter how tough it may seem...

Have you ever felt guilty for not trusting God? Rather than apologizing all over yourself...consider that God wants us to do something quite different. Here's some good theology for a great life:

Romans 4:20
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God...

A few sweet shots of truth from the life story of Abraham...

• Abraham had flashes of "distrust". You can too and God won't condemn you for it. If we were capable of never distrusting God we would not need a Savior!
• Don't "waver" on the promise. Stay committed and focused on the promise of God, no matter the circumstances of life.
• If you do the above two...you will "grow strong in faith".
  

This is dynamic liberty for those who want to live in honesty. Distrust happens...bust through it to realize the promise!

Authentic faith isn’t safe. It’s risky. When we put it all on the line and trust God to take us forward, He gives us a life of thrill. God becomes our source of joy, protection, provision and delight.

But let’s be realistic. Thrill isn’t simply synonymous with joy. Thrill is the fusion of every emotion we experience, along with every action we take, as we jump into the river with God. Trusting, fearing, shouting, wrestling, praying, cheering and reminiscing are all taste teasers of the fullness of the thrill. God has designed a unique plan and itinerary for each of us. The truth is that the thrill can be painful at times; it may in fact cause us to experience pain such as we’ve never even imagined. But there’s overwhelming peace in knowing that we belong to God. He specializes in navigating through any suffering or challenge we might encounter. Your trip will be different from mine, and mine will be different from that of the guy on the other side, but make no mistake—He’ll get each of us through because each of us has been designed for thrill!

Straight line is the best way to communicate with people and God. It is a way of communicating that holds the best chance for God to work His power and grace. "Straight line" is the way of life.

Jesus actually asked for "straight line" relations when He said that "weary and heavy laden" people need to "come to me" (Matt. 11:28). How much pain we endure by taking a meandering route to God? How much weariness could be avoided, how much joy could be claimed if we went "straight line" to God?

Human effort to produce life-change is ultimately frustrating or a breeding ground for pride. Self-will either causes us to break and see a need for something transcendent or puffs us up with delusion that we actually are transcendent. The later on sets us up for a painful collapse (Prov. 16:18).

The answer is to Die...Die to self in every way. Grace fueled effort is the only effort that transforms (II Cor. 12:9). Our only hope is to lie down in submission to Jesus. For some of us, we need to die again because we've now returned to working on our lives in our wisdom and strength (Gal. 3:1-3). The sooner we die to self today...the sooner we will truly live!

Our mind is a war zone! The battle we face every single day is real (Eph. 6:10-11). Evil wants to beat us down with regret, shame and his unique ability to mock us mercilessly. I believe that the only ones immune to the constant onslaught of accusation and deception from Thrill Killer (Satan) are those so marinated in pride that they are no threat to the kingdom of darkness.

There is one weapon against these attacks that trumps all others...God's word (Eph. 6:17). So how does this work? Read it, rehearse it and do that over again. The reason God makes multiple references to hiding truth in our hearts (Psalm 119:1)...is because walking in the truth implies the need to standing strong against the lies.

Listen, Satan is ruthless. He takes no prisoners (John 10:10). If you're tired of getting hammered with lies and brutal attacks on you as a person...get into the word today and get the word into you!

Chapter numbering can get in the way of a good story. In the 24th chapter of Matthew we find vivid descriptions of "end times" happenings. The last three words of chapter 24 are "gnashing of teeth". "Wow, freak me out and everyone around me", is what I say! But why stop there? Good news, Jesus didn't.

No, the story goes on. Chapter 25 leads right into the story of ten virgins followed by the story of the talents. Here's a few things to take away:

• Yes, the end is coming but we all have a level playing field and God is an equal opportunity kingdom builder.
• God passionately and lovingly asks us to be prepped for the end of time here on earth.
• God actually forecasts the expansion of His influence and how we can be a part of spreading the good news before the end comes.

Don't freak people out about "end times" without helping them get prepped and pumped about Christ's return and the future grace of eternity!

PERSONAL PURITY + INDIVIDUAL CLARITY + RELATIONAL UNITY = SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION

Jesus said it; our "oneness" is a powerful validation of the Deity of Jesus (John 17:20-21). God is more believable if we are unified. So why do we lack spiritual revolution? Possibly, it's because we are ravaged by unchecked gossip and personal passion to climb ladders and receive acclaim or to "win" in a personal vendetta (James 4). The reality is that this doesn't have to be. With a simple application of Jesus' teaching we can avoid widespread and destructive gossip (often rationalized as "concern") and watch God bring people together without discrediting Christ's name.

Simple steps from Matthew 18:15-20

• "go and tell him his fault"
  • First...go directly to him or don't go with it to anyone
  • Any need for "support" comes after giving the other person a chance to hear it first
  • Be clear and don't gloss over what we feel
  • Expect that God may soften his heart and that you're on the path to resolution
• "if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you"
  • Focused still on retrieving a brother and not saving our own skin
  • No need to gather "support" outside the one or two who are going with you
  • Any sharing outside this group is plunging us into the sin of gossip
  • Expect that God may soften his heart and that you're on the path to resolution
• "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church"
  • The goal still remains to be focused on the persons spiritual vitality
  • This is the first and only time that more than three people know about the offense you're addressing
  • The goal is not to pile on, but rather, to lift up and restore
  • The separation that follows should be painful for all who want God honored and a person restored

In the past I've been part of an active "christian culture" that lived opposite of what we find in Matthew 18. I find myself battling old habits of talking about people's sin rather than first talking to people about their sin. I thank God for His forgiveness and ask you to join me in a quest for spiritual revolution that flows out of the principles and teachings of Christ - lived out in true community.

PERSONAL PURITY + INDIVIDUAL CLARITY + RELATIONAL UNITY = SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION

Knowing how God has wired you is a great thing...knowing how God hasn't wired you may even be better! Many Christ followers go through life feeling like we have to be "good" at most everything. This can produce some considerable stress and it becomes a battlefield for evil to pound us with accusation. Here's a few thoughts from Romans 12:3-8:

• Getting in our gifting lane and staying there allows others more room to exercise their own gifting.
• Attempting to be good at everything only diminishes our ability to excel in those "main things" God wired us to do.
• It's an act of humility to NOT attempt to do things that God hasn't gifted us to do.
  

PERSONAL PURITY + INDIVIDUAL CLARITY + RELATIONAL UNITY = SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION

When we hear the words "personal purity" we almost instantly get bombarded with thoughts that are anything but from God. We think, "I'm a loser", "I better get busy being good" or "I'll never be able to do it". None of the these are true and yet we are called to "be holy in all you do" (I Peter 1:15). What gives?

Here's a few thoughts that I'm preparing for our 180 OneDay events:

• If God asks us to be holy it must be possible
• Purity and perfection are not the same thing
• Personal purity is only possible in Christ alone