If there has been one thing I have learned over the years it is that LOVE is one of the greatest change agents that we posses.  We were created by a God who quite simply “Is Love”.  If we are a reflection of who he is and we are striving to be more like him then Love should be one of our greatest priorities.  Not gifts, Not sacrifice, Not Knowledge, (I could keep going).

1 Corinthians 13 talks about this very thing.

1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.2 And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.3 And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.

8 Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.

I always thought that if I said the right thing or if I had the “leader” title that I would have influence to make a differnce in someones life.  While those things do give influence they don’t always bring the trust that is needed to really make an impact on someone who is hurting, angry, bitter, insecure, and so much more.  When someone knows that you love them and care about their situation they are so much more willing to allow you to speak into their life.  I have seen coutless times that when I show how much I love someone, they were willing to allow me to help them regardless of my title or influence.

John Maxwell says it best “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

My question to you is are you basing your influence off of your position, title, knowledge or maybe even your God given gift?  Remember all those things mean Nothing unless you have LOVE!!

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.  -Jim Elliott

I have been reading in Ecclesiastes this week and it has really caused me to think about what I am putting my energy towards. Solomon talks about how he was one of the Wisest men of his time and he spent his energy towards gaining material things.  He had everything he wanted, and denied himself nothing.

He says in Eccl. 2:10 & 11 “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.  I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure.  For my heart rejoiced in all my labor and this was my reward  from all my labor.  Then I looked at all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled: and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.  There was no profit under the sun.”

So many times we spend our time working for material things, the things in life that bring us pleasure only for a moment, or we work to maintain our standard of living and we forget to enjoy life.  We don’t know how to make time for the things that truly matter.

I started to examine myself, and even in planting this church it is easy to get lost in just the labor aspect, and how many people come, and how awesome our services are, or how much outreach we do and forget about diving into the lives of the people that are needing the discipleship and encouragement.  I become selfish because sometimes it is easier to labor and work physically rather than taking the time to build relationships and see lives truly transformed.

The “things” that we are working for will stay here on earth when we are gone, but the one thing that we can take with us are the lives that have been impacted for  Christ.  The people that we have invested our time in and seen their lives transformed. Something that TJ & I say a lot is that “change doesn’t happen in a weekend church service it happens through the relationships in our lives”  There are so many relationships that I have had in my life that have shaped who I am today and my prayer is that I can do that for others.

We are all working for something, what are you spending your time working for? Happiness? Satisfaction? Material things?  I want to challenge you to start investing in relationships and allow God to use you to inspire someone to change, your time and effort will be worth so much more when you see the outcome of your investment.

Through out this process of planting a church I have realized just how big God is and what he is capable of. There is no way possible we could ever do this on our own. God has been blowing our minds with his faithfulness and provision. I have learned that if I just trust God and have Faith, he will make sure everything falls into place. I know that I have to be faithful and do the things he asks and when I do he does over and above what i could have ever imagined.

Do you know how big God is???? Are you trusting him with everything??? I have found that obedience is a HUGE part of God doing big things in our lives. When we are obedient to what he is urging us to do it opens the doors to his blessings. I want to encourage you to be obedient to what God is telling you to do, whether it is praying for someone or taking a huge risk, I promise it is worth it every time.

Proverbs 14:4
Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.

So many times in life we want to play it safe and not risk messing up. We want everything to be easy and simple…we don’t want to rock the boat of life. Proverbs 14:4 stood out to me this morning during my quiet time and I got excited because we are in the process of preparing the ox. We have played it easy and kept our life too clean for a long time and now we are ready to see God do amazing things through us because we were willing to GET DIRTY for what matters.

I wonder how many of us need to fill our stable with something that matters? What do you need to be preparing in your life in order to get ready for the harvest for your life? Is it a job you need to pursue, a relationship that needs to be mended, or maybe a call that God has on your life that you have been running from? What ever it is lets prepare for what God has for us and stop trying to play it safe and keep life clean….Let’s pepare the stable of our life for the harvest that is waiting. GET DIRTY for what matters. Prepare for greatness when you let go of what has been holding you back…Get uncomfortable.

Have you ever had to step out into the unknown? Taking that step is the most difficult and the most rewarding experience you will ever have. As TJ and I have been moving forward with the vision God gave us to plant Coastal Community Church we have experienced so much growth in our Faith that we may have never experience unless we took the step. We know God has huge plans for Coastal and we can only dream and imagine what that will look like. I know that when God gives you a vision he will always make a way, it may not always be easy, if it was I would wonder if it was truly God. You must have Faith to accomplish the dreams and plans God has given you, and the first thing you have to do is Step Out. You never know what each step holds but that is where Faith come in. If you don’t need faith to step out then seek God more and dream bigger, let God challenge you to accomplish all he wants to do in your life.

One of my passions is to see people find their vision and purpose in life. I believe it starts with Passion or desire. Inside all of us is something we are passionate about something we long for. When you recognize that start praying and asking God specifically how he wants to use you. Ask him to reveal to you a vision for your life. The thing about vision and purpose is that when you find it everything you do can revolve around it. Decisions are easier because, each decision can take you towards your vision or away from it.

What are you passionate about? What desires are in your heart? God is doing something inside of you, ask him, I promise he will show you. Stay faithful in seeking him for your purpose. God has something amazing in store for each and every one of us. If you are someone who knows the purpose God has for you but you have not started moving towards that, I want to encourage you to STEP OUT!!!!

I was reading today in Proverbs and I was very challenged and convicted by what I was reading. Hunger is such and important part of what drives us.

Things to think about:
What are you hungry for?
Have you lost hunger for what matters most?

I was reading yesterday in Numbers and God gave me some great revelation that helped me to put things in perspective as TJ and I are starting on a new adventure in our life. God told Moses to send a group of men out to spy out the land that he was GIVING to the Children of Israel, the Promise Land. They spent 40 days there and when they came back they gave a report(Numbers 13: 27) “It was a land flowing with milk & honey, there were also giants in the land.”

Among the men who went to spy out the land were Caleb & Joshua, Caleb reported “let us go up at once and take possession, for we are WELL ABLE to overcome it” he was confident and I believe he was seeing the situation with eyes of Faith. However some of the other men who were with him were looking at it completely different. They gave the children of Israel a bad report saying “The land we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw are men of great stature, there are giants and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight and we in their sight.”

I started to look at how different these perspectives were. You see God had already promised them this land, it was theirs. Caleb was seeing the situation with the correct perspective that they were WELL ABLE to overcome them and the other men were seeing the situation from a Fear perspective, forgetting that God had already promised them the land, they just had to take action.

The next few scriptures were very big for me. (Numbers 14: 6-9) Joshua and Caleb were frustrated with the situation because the bad report from the other men instilled fear in the children of Israel. Here was their response “If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into the land which flows with Milk & Honey, only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them!” Joshua and Caleb knew what God promised them and that is what they focused on, they did not see and focus on the giants in the Land. Circumstances don’t matter when God tells you to do something.

What is the promise that God has given you? Are you focusing on the problems instead of the promise? When God makes a promise and shows you what he wants to do in you and through you he will always provide what we need. God was giving the children of Israel an amazing land but all they could see was the obstacles they had to overcome.

Are you seeing through eyes of Faith or eyes of Fear? As TJ and I are moving on to the call that God has for us and his promises for us, it is easy to see the obstacles but I know that focusing on the promise helps me to see through the eyes of Faith instead of Fear.