Building a Kingdom Culture pt.2

3-13-11 - Kingdom Culture - Nothing Is Impossible - Joshua Finley from EGC on Vimeo.

Building a Kingdom Culture pt.1

3-6-11 - Kingdom Culture - God Is Good - Joshua Finley from EGC on Vimeo.

bulletproof love.

To help one another experience Christ's transforming love...

That is the goal of the Kingdom culture Elim Gospel Church is working to cultivate in our faith family.

Our mission statement also has a big "so that" in it. To help one another experience Christ's transforming love SO THAT we can love Him, ourselves, our family, our church, and our world.

In fact, "I only love God as much as the person I love the least." -Dorothy Day

Jesus' love is able to literally change the way we view Him, ourselves and every other person in the world.

Helping one another experience Christ's transforming love sounds simple but can very quickly become painful. To bring love to a fearful or hurting place in another person can come with it the very real possibility of pain.

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no
more hurt, only more love."—Mother Theresa

A love that hurts is a love that is also able to heal. Jesus' death on the cross for each of us is a perfect example of this paradox lived out.

Let's give what we've been given.

Christ followers are are by nature, stewards of a mysteriously consuming and supernaturally transforming love.

A love that is vulnerably bulletproof.

Let's find the courage to risk giving some of it away.

lifetime learner.

"In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." Eric Hoffer

It is very true that we need to reflect on the wisdom of the ages. The years still teach us what the days will never know.

BUT...it is vital that we remain openly aggressive in our learning.


Just because I've been a husband for 10+years now and Anna hasn't tried to poison me, does not mean I've arrived and have unlocked the mysteries surrounding my wife...

Just because I've been a parent for 5+ years and both of our boys are still alive, does not mean I a clue how to navigate the next season we will face with our boys...

Just because I have been a Christ-follower, church goer and Bible consumer for 2 decades does not mean my spiritual learning is complete or give me the option to slow up my pursuit for more of God!

Many times solutions or mindsets that beautifully brought fruit in the past, will only painfully produce frustration in your present challenges.

A mentor of mine tried instilling in me at an early age to embrace the lifestyle of a novice....never assuming that you know it all or have arrived in any area of your life.

Keep learning. Renew your mind. Stay teachable. Embrace humility.
Be a lifetime learner.


Join the conversation with your comment:

• When was the last time you unexpectedly learned a lesson from someone you would have deemed as less mature than you? a child, a friend?
• Why is it so easy to embrace a "Been there, done that, got the t-shirt" mentality?
  

the smile of heaven.

"The whole outlook of mankind might be changed if we could all believe that we dwell under a friendly sky and that the God of the heaven, though exalted in power and majesty, is eager to be friends with us." -A.W. Tozer The Knowledge of the Holy

A.W. Tozer is one of the most provoking Christian writers I have ever read.

It would have been nice to have the chance to meet him while he was on this side of eternity but nonetheless his voice still carries a clear call to seek God.

There is no question that the goodness of God is one revelation I am continually trying to feed in my life.

It's a game changer-no question.

• I seek God differently when I catch a glimpse of His goodness.
• I treat others differently when I experience His goodness.
  
• I am more comfortable in my own skin when I soak in His goodness.
• I enjoy walking out my assignment when I sense His good pleasure over my life.

I am one of those people that regularly talks to themselves.

One of the most frequent things I say and pray over myself is the reminder that I live under the "smile of heaven".

Even though I have been a Christ-follower for two decades now, I still have repeating, "broken record recordings" that the enemy of my soul tries playing in my head each day.

That is why I remind myself what Jesus did on the cross.

Because of His sacrificial and overcoming life, I now stand in a position of great favor in God's eyes.

Give it a shot. Develop a personal mantra in your daily dialogue.


Join the conversation with a comment:

• What things do you have to say to yourself on a regular basis?
• When was the last great reminder you had of God's goodness?