A Friend We Haven't Met Yet

This weekend Mark Scandrette is in town. He is a leader of another community trying to navigate this journey of life and walking with Jesus. He is part of Reimagine. Mark and a few friends will be at our house Saturday night to hang out and talk about this road we are on.

Sometimes it is good just to hang out with others, and be reassured that you aren't crazy,... or that at least you have company.

Peace,

K

Politics and Religion

Here is an interesting glimpse into the thoughts of our political leaders regarding politics and religion. I think the worst comments come from the Heritage dude. Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc were pretty "Political" in their non-answer, but what's new. I liked what Layton and Harper had to say.

Peace,

K

Christmas & Church

So, we aren't doing church this Christmas. It falls on a Sunday and we feel it is important that families and friends spend time celebrating together without having to add one more activity to an already crazy day. It seems like Jesus gets forgotten in the business. Some have taken great joy in telling me that we have this in common with some of the mega-churches. Yeah.

One thing I have noticed is how some of us who follow Jesus may be in danger of worshiping church. I have no problem with people wanting to do church on Christmas Sunday. I am concerned about the motivation of some. When people talk like this is their one great opportunity to let Jesus shine, I get concerned. When someone says, "even if just me and my wife show up,... we are doing church". Why? What are you proving, and to whom are you proving it? Yourself?

One pastor said he had to set an example of good Christianity to his kids and family. What about the rest of the year. Shouldn't this be an everyday thing. Maybe the example to set is that your family is important. Let them know that you see how much they sacrifice all year to "the church" and this day is theirs. Your kids get you to themselves. Hmmm, maybe a recipe for less bitter PK's.....

Anyway, whether you do church this Christmas or not, have an awesome celebration of Jesus.

Peace,

K

The Question

Is what we are doing here on this earth to make disciples worthy of Christ's death? Those of us who profess to believe that Jesus' death was significant, need to ask our selves this question; Is your dedication to Christ worthy of His death.

I hate to say it, but I think many of us relegate our "ministry" to our 'spare" time, of which we have little. Therefore we do very little that furthers the Kingdom of God. God loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us. Do we love Him enough to sacrifice more than our spare time for? Do we love Him enough to sacrifice our leisure time, status, ambition for? If not the world is right, our faith is irrelevant.

Dying for your faith is easy, living for it is the hard part.

Peace,

K

Starbucks & Ricky

So, Rick Warren submitted a quote to Starbucks to be printed on their coffee cups, and they accepted. For those of you who live in a cave, Starbucks prints quotes on its cups to entertain and create discussion among its patrons.

"You are not an accident. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He wanted you alive and created you for a purpose. Focusing on yourself will never reveal your real purpose. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense. Only in God do we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny."

-Rick Warren

Now, I am not a big Rick Warren fan, nor a fan of any "bandwagon" Christianity. However, I have heard several comments about Rick's possible motives for submitting a quote, mostly suggesting that he is trying to sell more books. In my opinion, this is an over the top cynicism that is ridiculous. The quote has nothing to do with his books or the purpose driven movement. It is a statement about God and His desire for a relationship with people. Instead of celebrating Ricky's creativity and Starbucks courage, we seem to want to find reasons to discount his effort. How stupid can we be? Well, apparently quite stupid....

Maybe,.... Rick has a desire to share Jesus with the world...

Pray for those who read his quote, that they will think about their lives and God's purpose for them,.... oops, I said "purpose"....

Peace,

K