Rewriting your future

Want to know what your future will be like?  There may be a way to answer that which doesn’t involve time travel or horoscopes (don’t get me started on that one).  What’s more, there may be a way to actually help determine what your future will look like.

It’s been said, “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you where you’ll be in ten years.”  The assumption is that our future is being written by today’s decisions and actions.  Which is quite true.  Think about your present reality.  How much of that was shaped by your decisions and actions 5, 10, or 20 years ago?  (Scary thought, right?)

As it turns out, there is a powerful tool available to help us live in such a way NOW that we’ll have a preferred FUTURE when we get there.  It’s a collection of the best life-skills ever assembled, and it’s found in the pages of the Bible.  It’s a little book called Proverbs.  And it’s a book we’re going to be exploring during the month of August, in a series called, “Got Wisdom?”  You’d be hard pressed to find a more practical collection of sayings anywhere on the planet!

So to help us get the most out of this book, I’m asking our entire church to join me in reading through the entire book of Proverbs as we go through August.  And the cool part is this: there are 31 days in August, and 31 chapters in Proverbs.  So it’s as simple as opening your Bible (or your Bible app ), checking to see which day it currently is, and reading the 25 or so short proverbs in that chapter.  You can do this.  We can all do this.

When you read, you’ll start to discover some interesting things. 

• You’ll find one or two individual proverbs that jump out at you that day. 
• You’ll find yourself sharing some of these gems of wisdom with others.  (We’ll have a web site where you can do that if you’d like.) 
• And as you apply some of these proverbs, you’ll actually get wisdom.  Which will not only affect your present life, but your future.  You’ll literally start to rewrite your future. 

If you can think of a better way to invest 10 minutes a day for the month of August, I’d like to hear about it.  So will you join us in this journey?  Will you rewrite your future over the next 31 days?  I hope so.  We’ll start on Monday, August 1^st.  

-Pastor Mark 

P.S. Feel free to post your comments and thoughts in the space below as you begin this incredible summer journey.

Tame Jesus?

The picture of Jesus that we often carry around in our head is that of the golden haired, soft-spoken, gentle guy who would never say or do anything to offend anyone.  He’s the Jesus who makes us feel all warm and safe.  He’s the Jesus who leaves us in our comfort zone.  He’s the tame Jesus.

Then there’s the Jesus that actually walked around on the planet.  This is the Jesus who says things like,

• If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. 
• Anyone who doesn’t hate his own father and mother cannot be my disciple.
• The first will be last and the last will be first.
• What good does it do to gain the whole world and lose your soul?
• Anyone who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of heaven.

With these kinds of statements, Jesus forced people to sit up, listen, and choose.  He offended their sensitivities and their beliefs.  He messed with their worldview.  He threatened the stability of their religious beliefs.  And he frightened people who thought they knew exactly who God was.  In short, he was about as far from tame as you can get. 

Which Jesus are you familiar with?  The tame, safe Jesus?  Or the real, life-changing Jesus?  I hope you can join us for the continuation of our series, “SERIOUSLY?”  Each Sunday we’re exploring what Jesus meant by his outrageous statements.  And we’re learning what it means to follow the real Jesus.  To borrow a phrase from C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, where the children asked if Aslan, the lion, was safe: “Safe, of course he’s not safe.  But he’s good.”

Is your God-signal getting faint?

Chances are you’re one of the millions of people who’ve come to use and appreciate the Global Positioning Satellite system, known as GPS.  It’s a wonderful way to determine where you are, and help you get where you’re going.  Who doesn’t love that!  But a recent news story tells of a potentially serious problem with your GPS device. 

 

It seems that a company wants to install a nationwide network of cellular towers that might interfere with the faint radio signals coming from the GPS satellites.  If that happens, your trusty GPS device would be unable to “hear” the faint GPS signal from outer space, because it would be drowned out by the much stronger cellular signal from nearby. 

So why am I telling you this?  Because our lives are also guided by a type of GPS.  It’s the faint signals we receive from God.  Signals that inform us where we are, who we are, and which direction to go next.  But those faint signals can often get drowned out by the strong signals around us.  Signals that tell us we’re only as valuable as our looks, or our friends, or our portfolio.  Signals that tell us that God is distant, or uncaring, or angry.  Signals that tell us we should follow the crowd, and leave our values behind. 

When that happens, we can find ourselves lost, confused, and headed in the wrong direction.  So how do we keep it from happening?  How do we ensure that the signals from God don’t get drowned out?  Here are four suggestions:

1. Move closer to God’s signal.  It’s a simple as ten minutes of solitude spent listening to God.  It’s like prayer without a to-do list for God.  Just listening to him.  Which at first will be hard, but over time will grow easier.  You’ll find yourself moving closer to God.  The closer you get to the source of a signal, the stronger it becomes. 
2. Install a filter.  An electronic device uses a filter to sift through the competing signals and reject the ones you don’t need.  God’s word often works like a filter.  Anything that doesn’t match with what God has said about himself, or about you, gets rejected.  Five minutes a day reading God’s word could be a gigantic step forward in receiving the signals you need from God.
3. Look around.  If you’re driving and you suspect your GPS isn’t doing its job, look at your surroundings.  Sometimes a visual check will do wonders for navigation.  In your spiritual journey, look around.  Is your life where you want it to be?  Do you like the things you see around you?  Is your interior life headed in the right direction? 
4. Ask for directions.  Sometimes the best way to confirm where you are and where you’re headed is to roll down the window and ask for an outside opinion.  Find a spiritual friend (see the podcast from June 19, 2011 for details), and ask them where they think you are.  Or if they see you moving in a healthy direction.  Very often God can speak through spiritual friends…but we have to ask. 

The signals from God are consistent, but rarely overpowering.  They can get lost in the crowded, noisy lives we lead.  So this week, if your signal from God is not clear, try one of the steps above to get back on track, and to reconnect with the God who made you. 

-Pastor Mark

Seven reasons to go to a different church

It’s vacation season.  Since last summer we’ve endured the Redskins season (ugh), the winter of way too much snow, and another pollen-festival, sometimes called spring.  And now we’re ready for summer!  Beaches, mountains, relaxation, and more.  Chances are you’ll be gone for a Sunday or more.  But no matter where you are, here are seven reasons to go to a different church wherever you happened to be:

1. You’ll remember again what it’s like to be the guest, and be thinking about that when you return to Seneca Creek.
2. You’ll witness the variety of ways in which people worship God, and be reminded that we’re just one part of God’s richly diverse family.
3. You might pick up a new idea, song, or inspiration to bring back with you to Seneca Creek.
4. You might meet someone and discover that God brought you together for a divine appointment.
5. You might be able to experience God in a powerful way, especially if you’re busy serving every week at Seneca Creek.
6. You might create some rich family conversations as you talk about what you experienced in a different place.
7. You’ll probably return with a fresh appreciation for the unique church that God has built here at Seneca Creek.

All in all, seven great reasons to seek out a local church wherever your vacation travels take you this summer.  And then please, be sure to share your experience with us when you return.  Bon voyage! 

-Pastor Mark

Four questions that will rock your friendships

The response to the series, “iRelate,” has caught me by surprise.  God is doing some incredible things in peoples’ lives and in their relationships as a result of the tough, painful conversations we’ve been having.  Many of you could probably tell stories similar to the one I shared last week.  This is an area that is so real and so challenging for all of us.  But before we leave this topic and move on, I’d like to invite you to a challenge based on last Sunday.

Just like in every other area of life (career, hobbies, fitness, etc.), our friends can be game-changers in our spiritual health and growth.  If you were with us last Sunday, you know all about being P.E.A.S. in a pod.  Spiritual friends Pray for us, Encourage us, Ask great questions, and Share the journey.  (If you missed last Sunday, check out the podcast here.)  And one way to kick-start your friendships toward becoming life-changing spiritual friendships is with questions like this:

How are you experiencing God?

What is God teaching you?

Where are you stuck in your life?

What are you attempting for God?

So as you launch into summer this week, why not take 10 to 15 minutes and do something radical.  Ask the questions that will rock your friendship.  Your life and your friendships will never be the same!  And when you do, I’d love to hear how it goes…and how your friends are shaping your journey toward God. 

And if possible, join us this Sunday as we revisit some of the questions that you asked during our winter series, “Making Sense of the Bible.”  

- Pastor Mark

What would you say in a crisis?

When things look bad or hopeless, it can be tempting to say nothing.  It can be easy to assume that, “no one will listen…I’m just one person.”  Igniting HOPE can feel like someone else’s job, or it can seem like an impossible task.  

Which is why I was so inspired by the words of Ryuichi Doi.  He lives in Japan, and was touring the region devastated by the recent earthquake and tsunami.  Here’s what he said,

“This is my responsibility, to tell the people.  As a Christian and also as a politician.  Let’s start from this.  Let’s have hope.  We need faith.  Here in Japan we are a very small group [of] Christians in this society.  We must tell them how to have faith.  From this situation people can live again.”

Understand that only 1% of the Japanese population is Christian.  And yet here’s a courageous Christian leader , and a Japanese congressman, who’s saying, “It’s my responsibility, AS A CHRISTIAN to tell them how to have faith.  How to have hope. 

The next time you encounter someone in a crisis, let Ryuichi Doi be a reminder and an inspiration.  And tell someone how to have faith…how to live again.

- Mark

P.S. If you have a story of attempting to do this, why not share it?  Use the box below.