The Mission -- It's not about you...or me!

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
That is the mission..in a nutshell. Isn't it funny that Jesus said...GO to us...not "have them come to me"? And yet the church through 2000 years has changed that command to "Come to our church building, where if you fit our mold we will accept you and we will preach to you our gospel"

The world is lost. Jesus knew that; He died for that reason. I believe He also knew that to save the lost, his disciples (that includes us) were going to have to get their hands dirty. They were going to have to give up what made them comfortable. Read the book of Acts...they did...Peter met in a Gentile's home, Paul met with the lost amongst the Idols of Athens...check it out.

For the most part, the lost are not comfortable in our sanctuaries and holy places. The lost are comfortable in their world...that is where they gather. We are comfortable meeting on Sundays, Wednesdays and any other day the saints can gather at the building. Do you see the disparity? So did Jesus...And he suggested...no wait...He commanded that we go into all the world. We can not reach the lost if we are not where they need us to be. This doesn't just apply to missionaries in Africa or Asia... this means us making ourselves open and available to love and communicate the gospel (Jesus'--not ours)to a world that is dying. Yeah, for our locality it means ball fields, Starbucks, stores, restaurants and our homes. Sometimes, it may mean we have to rearrange a service time or extend ourselves to meet when the world is available...on their terms...not ours.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the retoric of "well, I really like everyone to meet together", "I like seeing you" or "I really draw encouragement from our meetings" that we fail to see the commonality in each of those statements.... "I". Somewhere it became all about what makes ME comfortable, encouraged and happy. What about the 100's (maybe 1000's) in our immediate area who will never hear the gospel because we are most concerned about ourselves. I understand we need to be together and encourage each other...there is no bad in that. However, that, I am afraid has become our key focus. We only give lip service to Christ's gospel...we expect the world to come...not us, go.

I heard a preacher speak recently about the parable of the sower. And He added a new place that seed is being sown. We sow our seeds against the insides of our church buildings and then we wonder why they don't sprout. The fertile soil is away from our buildings where the lost are so afraid of being judged and condemned. Our goal should NEVER be about us and how to increase OUR numbers...our goal is to increase the number of people who hear that Jesus loved them enough to DIE for them and that He was raised to give them eternal life. AND THAT IS THE WHOLE GOSPEL...and Jesus did not ask us to sell it...just to tell it.

Look around on Sunday...Wednesday...How many lost are walking in the doors of our buildings? The lack of response is not due to singing, preaching or a chance to respond. There is no response because by and large, there ARE NO RESPONDERS!! THE WORLD THAT IS LOST IS OUTSIDE! No matter how many invitations we offer inside our walls...they can not hear us!

So...what can we do? We need to find the places where the lost are and we need to share the God who loves them so exquisitely. We need to not worry about "getting them saved" but just share the love of God and let Him do the saving. Believe it or not...He has a lot of experience and He is pretty good at it.

So... DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!! Get uncomfortable...meet in weird spots fro study, use your home groups, use your life groups, do kind things for peple, tell people God still loves them, LOVE PEOPLE, pray for them...do something besides just coming to the building and waiting for God to bring them here...God is moving! You better be watching 'cause He may be moving without you!

Delight!!

You know, it never ceases to amaze me...I really enjoy my children...and I don't think I am alone in this. This weekend was crazy...a soccer tournament and prom all rolled into a very short 2 days. The weekend started with torrential flooding Friday night and trekking through the water (at 11:30pm) to pick up a stranded son. Good thing we have that "bus" suburban! After two soccer games Saturday on the other side of Houston, we rushed home to help get Josh off to prom and of course take tons of pictures! Sunday held two more soccer games and then on to life groups...

Somewhere during the weekend, Jenna told me, "mom...you know you don't have to go to my games." She doesn't understand. I LOVE watching her play ball. Whether she has a great game, a horrible game or somewhere in between...I just love to be there and watch. When Josh came down all suited up for prom, my heart was filled with pride...not just because he actually cleans up really well, but because of the man I saw before me. A man of God...a man, I believe, who seeks God's Heart. Oh, I know he is going to make a lot more mistakes, but he is my child and more importantly, he is God's.


I delight in watching the kids do things...whether they succeed or fail miserably, I just want to be a part...I want to share in their joy AND in their heartbreak. I don't want to be a parent who stays at home coming up with rules and discipline to apply...I want to be part of their lives...I LOVE being part of their lives. I have felt this way from day one.

AND...I believe this is exactly the way God feels about His children. (only exponentially more) He DELIGHTS in us! He LOVES being part of our lives. He gave us His Spirit,(John 14 & elsewhere) so He could ALWAYS be right with us. We are never far from Him. We never need to ASk God to draw near us...He is ALWAYS present with His children. We just need to be aware of His presence. And know that even though sometimes we just choose to ignore Him, God delights in us! (Ps 147:11)

So do we act like we know this?? Do we live like we have a father who wants to be a integral part of our lives? Or do we instead live like children of an uncaring tyrant, just waiting for us to fail? Yes, our God will disipline us when needed...but that is not His desire...His desire is for us to love Him and fellowship Him and to take joy in the fact that He is always there for us.

You know...it really makes me smile in those moments when my kids let it slip that they are glad I attend all the games and am part of their lives. I think it makes God smile when we are glad He is an integral part of our lives...

Look for Him!! He is not waiting for you to fail...He is cheering you to success.

I just wonder...

Have you ever wondered what would happen if we just took Jesus at His word?? What would the world be like if every child of God focused on what He said was most important...

1. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength! Wow that pretty much covers every aspect of my life. If I love God like this...I am guessing obedience would just naturally fall in line!? (Why in the world would I choose to purposefully sin against a God I know loves me and who I sooo love??)

2. Loving others as much as we love ourselves. Okay...we all love ourselves...Jesus knew that! Most of us love ourselves so much that we think our way is at least the best way...if not the only way. I usually am first concerned with MY needs being met...If I love like this...I guess that means others needs become just that important??

If all the people of God in the world embraced this, what would change?

I am guessing the bickering and devouring each other over the "external" marks of the church ( you know - music, worship style, name, etc)would become very unimportant. If we focus on God and on loving Him and His creation...we won't have time or desire to prove we are right. We will be much too busy serving the people in need of HIS love! (and in the meantime we will realize how little it mattered anyway)

So...what's wrong with us? Jesus said these two things were the most important; God said it more than once in His Word. Maybe He meant it? I think he knew how our humanness was going to make this a fiercely difficult concept for us. It is so much easier to establish a firm set of rules and rituals and say "here's what you gotta do". It's much harder to submit to a loving, passionate God and be a loving passionate child.

It is so much easier to condemn those around me who are different...whether in color, thought, worship or whatever. The hard part is to accept that the same God who is able to see through my error and faults can do the same with others. We are all on a journey. JESUS is the ONLY way to the finish line. It is only because He stands for us in the presence of God that we have any chance of being found worthy.

When we focus on loving God and others, Christ will change us. When we shift our focus from how we "do church" to how we can love God and His creation...not only will we be better for it but the whole world will be changed!