Text the Pastor Answers: Why did wars begin?

Recently during one of our worship services we decided that the sermon message would be based off of questions that our congregation "Texted to the Pastor". Because of time, I was not able to answer all the questions during the service, so over the next several weeks, I will be answering the ones I didn't get to in my blog. Some may be long answers, others shorter, but hopefully they will stimulate you to consider your own answers to these questions. So, here we go!

Why did wars begin?

Wars on earth are merely a result of (or an extension of) a war (battle/conflict) that occurred in heaven between Satan and God and continues today on earth.

In Revelation 12:7-12 we read about this war between Satan and God; between Satan and his angels (Satan’s followers) and God and his Angles (God’s followers, lead by Michael).

We see that this battle originally took place in heaven, with Michael winning this particular fight. Satan is overpowered and cast to earth (forced to retreat) with his followers.

Note:

1) Satan was not destroyed, simply caste out of heaven.

2) Satan didn’t change his ways, rather he just change the location of where the future battles would take place.

So, what caused this fight to begin in heaven in the first place? I mean its heaven, right? Everything is all good, streets of gold, peace & harmony, right?

If we take a look at Ezekiel 28: 14-17 we get what I think is a description of what the cause of this war was back then and it is still the cause of many wars today.

Satan was an “anointed cherub” who was in heaven “the holy mountain of God” and walked and moved about with God. He was “perfect in his ways from the day” he was created.

Note:

3) This does not mean that Satan was perfect on the inside…just at that point his actions were perfect.

It is then that there was an “iniquity found in” Satan. Whatever this “iniquity” was, it caused him to be “filled with violence” and led Satan to sin.

Note:

4) What was inside of Satan (the “iniquity”) took over Satan and began to drive his action, causing Satan to move form being “perfect in his ways” to sinning against God.

We then read that Satan was cast out of heaven “the mount of God”. Then in verse 17 we start to read about what might have been the “iniquity” that drove Satan to sin (and still drives many of us to sin…and is the cause of many of the wars that have ever been).

Satan’s heart became PROUD because of his 1) beauty 2) wisdom 3) splendor.

Note:

5) Other angels in heaven followed Satan into battle, so the Pride in Satan must have been contagious to some of those around him.

So, what was the source of Satan’s contagious pride that changed him and some of those around him? Let’s take a look at Isaiah 14: 12-15

Isaiah describes Satan’s down fall in verse12. Then in verses13 & 14 we see it. Isaiah describes the root of what was going on in Satan’s heart (the root of Satan’s pride).

Satan wanted to take over God’s throne in heaven!

Satan wanted to be like God.

In some warped way Satan thinks he can be God by defeating God. Satan, who hasn’t created anything, nor can create anything, is trying to destroy the Creator. Since that isn’t going to happen, Satan then turn to God’s creation (the cosmos… AKA: Earth, and its inhabitants… AKA: Humanity) and tries to get them to join him.

And when would Satan try to do this? … look at Genesis 3:1-19

Pay close attention to the actual temptation of Eve… it’s not the apple… the temptation is found in verse 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”.

Up to this point, things were perfect; Adam and Eve’s actions were perfect (like Satan’s were at one time). But like Satan, something wasn’t right in the hearts of Adam and Eve, and Satan could see it (ever heard that phrase “it takes one to know one”? That phrase holds true here).

Satan tempted humanities heart with the same temptation that his heart yielded to…. wanting to be “like God”. And what sin did this cause? Disobedience to God. (not a good thing.) How things might be different with more self-discipline when it comes to temptations like this…

Guess what. Even though humanity was tempted into sinning against God, that still didn’t make Satan God. So, Satan’s focus turned to destroying the one and only heir of God, the one who would one day take over the throne of God… God’s one and only Son, Jesus the Christ.

Having said all that, I’m back to the original question… Why did wars begin?

Because humanity continues to succumb to the prime deception of Satan that one day some person (or group of people) might be in control of everything (like God is) and can implement their own will (how they want things to be) on all that they control.

So one side fights to do it their way… and another fights to stop it.

One side starts out defending something (like freedom or democracy, etc) only to fall to the temptation of becoming the Master of (Controller of, God of) freedom and democracy.

One side’s passionate fight for justice leads them down a slippery slope called pride, where they implode in the battle because they lose sight of why they went to war in the first place.

The internal urges to “be like God” (doing things “my way”) when unchecked by the self-discipline provided to those who love God and are guided by his Holy Spirit, to live and love as His one and only Son Jesus does, will always lead to wars and rumors of wars.

Hopes this helps.

Dorsia

Loving Through Awkward

I hate being in places or situations that make me feel awkward. Don’t you?

It’s not that the places or situations that I am in are “good” or” bad” that cause me to feel awkward, usually I feel awkward because I have not been in that particular place or situation before, and I don’t know how to act or behave. (Heck, I have been in the same place or situation many times again, and I still felt somewhat awkward.)

Think about your first kiss. Was that awkward? Come on now. Think about all the things that led up to that first kiss. All the thoughts that went through your mind weeks and days before that kiss. The things you `watched on TV or in real life to get a heads-up on what a good kiss should look like. Remember the conversations you had with your close friends (some who had already experienced their first kiss, and others who hadn’t, but since they were your best friend you listen to their first kiss advice and tactics anyway)

Awkward, I tell you. AWKWARD.

But thank God, I didn’t quit.

Heck, many of us learned to get over that awkward feeling so well that we would actually look forward to sitting around with a bunch of our friends, spin a bottle, and then a guy and a girl would go into a closet and have their “first kiss” with each other while the rest of the group made strange noises outside the door. (Shut up, you know you’ve done something like this…or at least heard about it)

So many good things can happen when we learn to overcome awkward in a healthy way. In fact, if I had avoided kissing in order to avoid awkwardness, I wouldn’t have gotten a second kiss (or a third kiss for that matter). Yes, avoiding “awkward” could have cost me 29 years of a happy marriage.

Jesus had the same kind of approach when it came to overcoming (not avoiding) awkward.

Time and time again in the Bible, we see Jesus coming across a situation that was awkward…like the time some religious leaders brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus, in order to get his nod of approval to have her stoned to death (which their laws said was just and reasonable punishment).

Talk about AWKWARD!

Awkward for Jesus…Awkward for the woman…Awkward for the religious leaders.

But awkward didn’t scare or intimidate Jesus. Jesus didn’t hide from awkward, or avoid it, but rather Jesus overcame awkward.

How?

With Love.

Jesus loved through awkward! He loved & forgave the woman who had messed up…His words to her, “go and sin no more”.

Jesus loved those misguided religious leaders who may or may not have had good intentions, but definitely missed the mark when it came to humility, empathy, compassion, and forgiveness. Jesus reminded them of what they really looked like in the eyes of God by saying, “you without sin, you go ahead and cast the first stone”.

Jesus’ actions always match His words. Jesus always loves us through awkward.

This is one of the things that I love so much about LifeSpring Church where I pastor.

We all remember awkward…

The first time we visited the church, the first time we were asked to serve, the first time we met someone who had different values and upbringings, the first time we met people might know our past, our ex-spouse, our mistakes, our short comings, our failures, our lifestyle choices…

And since we remember our awkward past, we don’t avoid awkward with others, we simply love others through it (like someone did to us).

We are learning every day new ways to love others through awkward, just like Jesus loves us through awkward.

Below is a blog post by Seth Godwin that stimulated my thoughts about the hypocrisy of saying one thing and doing another. He reminded me that what we say isn’t the problem. It’s what we do.

I choose to love through awkward, what about you?

Blog post by Seth Godwin

We say we want a revolution...

Of course, what we say doesn't matter so much. What we do is what matters and we have far more influence that we'd like to confess.

We say we want local merchants to offer great service, deep selection and community values, but we cross the street to the big box store to save $3.

We say we want companies to honor their promises and act transparently, but one new product or big discount from a business that has deceived us in the past and we come right back for more.

We say we're disgusted with Congress, but almost all of us vote to re-elect the dufus we sent there in the first place.

We say we hate spam, but we send it. And sometimes buy from it.

We say we'd like people to think first and act later, but we get cut off in traffic and all bets are off.

We say we love art, the brave work that touches us, but we listen to oldies and rarely head out to hear live music or visit a cutting edge gallery.

Hypocrisy may be an epidemic, but the problem isn't in what we say. It's what we do.

Momentum: It’s essential to moving forward

Today I learned an important lesson on the ski slopes on Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia about MOMENTUM.

It's been nearly 5 years since my last attempt at skiing. In the first couple of hours, I am proud to say that I only fell once, and it really wasn't a bad spill. Skiing on a recovering stress fracture in my shin did have me moving very gingerly across the snow.

It was then that I came across a long, basically flat section of snow. After slowing down as I came down the hill (fear of falling at a high speed compelled me to slow down), I realized that I didn't have enough momentum to make it through this flat section of the ski trail.

I leaned forward as for as I could using my ski poles and upper body strength to keep me moving forward.

And then it happened. Moving at a snails pace, leaning forward, trying to pick up momentum, I lost my balance and fell face first in the snow. (For those of you who know me, no curse words came out…not because they weren't on the tip of my tongue, but after the word "OH…." came out of my mouth and before the next word did come out, my face was in the snow, my open mouth full of snow, and my skis were sticking straight up in the air…Imagine me kneeling face down to pray with my face on the ground and my backside up in the air, and you sort of get the picture)

My lack of momentum caused me to press forward hard to get it back, and I busted my face in the process (only a small cut, and some "snow rash" on one side of my face, and what looks like half my eyebrow hair is gone…I may blog about this another day).

Momentum is one of those things that when you have it, you know you have it, and when you lose it, well, you know you've lost it. Without it, there are times you feel like whatever you do, no mater how hard you try, you just can't get on track.

Momentum is important in skiing for sure, but it is also important in one's life and in the life of a church.

People & churches spend great amounts of time trying to get momentum, countless hours of energy trying to keep it, and when it's gone, they struggle trying to figure out "how the heck did we lose it".

The truth is, if we are going to find the results we as individuals are hoping for, and the "fruits" our church is striving for, we definitely need momentum in both areas.

Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church, outlines the two elements of momentum; creating it and sustaining it. Here are four of those points.

• If you want to create momentum you are going to have to change something.


• Change always produces conflict.


• You have two choices to deal with conflict.
  
  
  
  • Choice one is to back off when you are in conflict. This will result in decline.
  
  
  • Choice two is to push through the conflict and the results will produce growth.


• If you want to sustain momentum you have to practice certain "key routines" in "excellent ways" over and over.

Here's a couple of things I have learned about momentum in life, in the church and in skiing.

First, momentum is not constant. It comes and goes, moves up and down, and is a lot like a wave on the ocean.

Second, though many may disagree, I believe that people, a church, even a team can do things that can help them catch the wave of momentum when it comes by.

So, with all this said, how should I catch momentum, in my life, in my church, and in skiing?

Well, you really can't just sit back and wait for it…because momentum most likely won't just come to you. I could have waited for someone to come by and give me a "push" when I slowed to a stop skiing, but no one was stopping to do that (just like no one offered to help me up after my face first crash).

For many people, they are caught in this trap of hoping for momentum to just come back to them, and use this as an excuse to just do nothing while telling others they are actively watching and waiting on the signs that momentum is passing by, and then they will "jump on board".

I believe that if your have lost momentum in your life, your church, or your team, you have to begin by DOING SOMETHING…EVEN AT THE RISK OF FALLING FLAT ON YOUR FACE!

Change something!

Don't keep doing the same things and expect different results.

Get a quick win!

Don't just talk about it for 6 months, find a change that will have a positive impact on attitude, and JUST DO IT! Start something new every month if necessary, knowing that half will make it and half will "fall face first into the snow". The half that make it will give you enough momentum to overcome the crashes.

Do certain practices well, over and over!

The only way to sustain something is to do it well over time. Keep practicing! Don't give up! Don't let a failure, a head first crash, or a few people stop what you need to do! If they want to be critics in the stands, fine, but if you're like me, we're in the game of life and want old "mo" on our side.

Lead by example!

Understand that people watch what we do. If you try something to catch momentum in your life, church or team, and crash face first in the snow, and quit, what example are you sending to those following you (like your family, church family, or your self-esteem). Get up, try it again. Try something else. But don't quit after the 1^st try. Let people know by your example it's ok to strive for something that is important and miss the mark, but it's not ok to quit after just a few tries.

Momentum is essential in moving a skier forward.

Momentum is essential to moving a congregation forward into a new future.

Momentum is essential to individuals move into their God given potential and purpose in life.

Momentum; GET SOME!

Is this a God Vision/Purpose for me or am I just talking to myself?

Earlier this week I was driving through town at night headed to CCF Devotionals & Dinner. I was in a congested part of town, when I see cars slowing in front of me. Then, I realized they were slowing down for an older lady, walking toward traffic, on the edge of the road (not off the road, shoulder area, but ON the road). The road was so narrow, that each driver had to move over into the oncoming traffic to avoid hitting her. She was carrying a bag of groceries, and a large over the shoulder big purse. As I passed by, I thought to myself, “Why is she waking ON THE ROAD? Why doesn’t she move over further to the shoulder OFF THE ROAD? That old lady is gonna get hit by a car! What an idiot! Somebody ought to help or say something to her. What grocery store is around here that she got that loaf of bread she’s caring? She’s got to be somebody’s grandma, why didn’t her family give her a ride? Where was I going…and what time am I suppose to be there? Boy oh boy, that was a crazy old woman walking in the dark on the side of the road.”Now all these thoughts happened in my mind in a matter of maybe 2 seconds (a couple of those thoughts are the curse of living with ADD: Attention Deficit Disorder.). But then, as I was about a block or so away from the “crazy old woman walking in the dark on the side of the road”, I heard a similar voice in my head say, “Turn around and offer that lady a ride”. Long story made short, after another block of arguing going on in my head, I turned around and gave the lady a ride…to her AA meeting. She was a 25 year sober recovering alcoholic. I was truly blessed to have met and talked with this lady for those 12 minutes she was in my car.

So, what’s my point?
In discerning God’s vision or purpose for our lives, in our preparation to pray a Sun Stand Still prayer like is found in Joshua 10:12-14;

12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on[a] its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

How do we know if it’s God speaking to us or it’s our inner conscience? In other words, if we were to call in the experts to verify that our vision is authentic, what would the “real thing’ look like?

Here are 4 qualities of True Vision or Purpose from God:
1) The Vision or Purpose will be Biblically Based
a. Joshua’s Vision or Purpose came from an earlier conversation with God in Joshua 1:2-5.

2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

God told him what God was going to do & what God wanted Joshua to do. IT DON'T GET ANY PLANER THAN THIS. Keep in mind that all the “how to do it” was not as clearly defined at this point…but make no doubt…the WHAT TO DO was very clear.

b. For us it today, it means that the Vision or Purpose will be revealed through Biblically based prayers, reading and marinating in the scriptures (some people call this meditating on the scriptures you’ve read), worship, and life experiences.

2) The Vision or Purpose will be Affirmed by key people
a. These people want God’s Vision or Purpose for your life as much or more than what you may want it.

3) The Vision or Purpose will be focused on Jesus
a. What I mean here is that you won’t be the focus of the Vision or Purpose, Jesus (AKA: God) will be

4) The Vision or Purpose will be tied to/bound to you passions, gifts, & life experiences
a. God won’t waste your passions, gifts & life experiences (even if the life experiences were not pleasant ones). God Vision or Purpose will require you to use those passions & gifts, and life experiences to be able to accomplish the great things God is calling you to do or be.

So, was the voice in my head telling me to turn back and give a ride to the “crazy old woman walking in the dark on the side of the road”, God? It certainly sounded a whole lot like the earlier voice in my head that called her and “idiot”. I think the second voice was definitely God.

And I am thankful that I was able to distinguish between the two voices that sounded the same… or I would have missed a great blessing as God blessed another person through my obedience.

Sun Stand Still - Audacious Faith

It’s time for Audacious Faith.

This past week I began a new message series called Sun Stand Still at LifeSpring Church. It is based off the Biblical account of a prayer that Joshua prayed as recorded in Joshua 10:12-13. Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church, wrote a book about his churches experience as their congregation embraced the concept of developing their personal faith to the point that they dared to ask God for the impossible.

Now, I’m not talking about just praying impossible stuff, like “God, I really need $10,000,000” (5 years ago, that prayer would have been for $1,000,000, but with inflation and all, the amount had to go up).

I also am not suggesting that people can grow their ordinary, mundane faith into a powerhouse of audacious faith, with the purpose of manipulating God for their own purposes.

What I am talking about is an individual developing an audacious faith which is lived out in their lives, that is based off of the understanding that the Greatness of God can be directly connected to a person’s potential to do great things on His behalf, when that person is connected with their God-sized purpose and potential.

Let me define for you what I think audacious faith is…

AUDACIOUS FAITH:

Having the boldness or daring to ask God for the Impossible, the thing(s) that only God can do.

We read about this happening throughout the Bible. Audacious faith that leads to miraculous healings, miraculous pregnancies and births, miraculous instances of financial restoration and blessings, seemingly broken and destructive relationships between family or loved ones being restored.

In fact, in the course of my life, I have seen the impossible done on several occasions within my own family.

Any day I get in one of our 2 cars to drive, I am reminded of a time when Jodi & I were unable to afford a newer car, even though we were having “car problems” (and we all have had car problems at one time or another…you know the type…when it’s better to keep adding oil, radiator fluid, or giggling the ignition key to start the vehicle…or keeping one foot on the brake and other foot on the accelerator while sitting at a stoplight so the car doesn’t shut off…all because you don’t have the money to fix the car).

Then one day, out of the blue, someone I have never met before in my life, and have never seen since, delivered a newer used minivan to me at the church where I was leading a Bible study. This man said, “God wants you to have this”. I’m serious! It freaked me out a little at the time.

I made several attempts to persuade the man to tell me who the “human” or “humans” were who donated this minivan to Jodi & I, so I could personally thank them. It was then that the deliveryman finally said, “Those person’s names don’t matter. They are doing what God has told them. What does matter is that the God of the universe has just given you a minivan … And God let me be a part of that miracle by delivering it to you today”. And with a big smile on his face he said, “God bless you and your ministry”, and he got in car driven by some lady I had never seen before and they drove off, leaving me standing there with the keys and title to a minivan, with my Bible study group all looking out the window or standing on the porch wondering what the heck was going on and who was this guy that just interrupted their Bible study.

Let me just say, that was the first time in my life that I recall ever being so speechless that I couldn’t even finish leading my Bible Study (truth is, they were as dumbfounded & teary eyed as I was).

So, here’s the BIG QUESTION for you today:

Does the brand of faith you live by produce the kinds of results in your life that you read about in the biblical stories of men and women of faith?

If not, would you consider joining me, and the congregation of LifeSpring Church over the next 8 weeks, as we begin to explore the actions and faith needed to move from a warm “snuggie” faith of comfort to an audacious faith that allows God to do the impossible through us for His glory.

BTW, we have copies of the Sun Stand Still books, by Steven Furtick, available at our Next Steps table each week at LifeSpring Church for you to take and read.

For those of you who missed the first message of this series, you can listen to it here. I have also included the completed message notes for that week as well.

Feel free to share your thoughts and personal stories of how you have seen God at work in your life. And I DARE YOU to form your own Sun Stand Still prayer and stand back and be amazed at the work you will see God do… that is, if we ask Him audaciously.

Tybee 1/2 Marathon- The race that keeps on giving

Today's blog is a combination of things that have happen since my running of the Tybee 1/2 Marathon Saturday, 2/4/12.

It was my first 1/2 & I did finish. HOWEVER, it nearly whooped my butt. It seems the pain in my right leg during the last 2 weeks of my training was not shin splints...but a stress fracture (found that out 3 days AFTER the race, after the Dr read the x-rays).

We had a group of 8 that trained together from LifeSpring Church over the last several months. The final race times for our team ranged from Alex, who ran the fastest for the guys in his first ever 1/2 marathon and finished at 1hr. 41 mins. Next for the guys was Josh, who was not far behind Alex.

Deb, finished in 1hr & 50 mins. which was top for our girls, with Courtney & Shannon just a few mins or so behind her.

Dave, Rebecca and I, like Alex, were attempting our first ever 1/2. Dave and Rebecca did remarkable finishing in 2hrs. 44 mins & 2 hrs. 41 mins respectively.

Check out the pictures of the team racing on our facebook page called LifeSpring Fitness Lifegroup

Then come the ole preacherman. Yep, 3 miles of running before the pain was so bad that I had to walk and run mile 4. From then on is was a slow, tearful, and extremely painful hobble, to the finish line that was 9 miles away.

I had time to ask lots of questions: questions to God “why me”, and questions for myself “what the heck are you doing Dorsia”.

I had time to pray: Pray for my teammates, pray for the pain to stop, pray for the strength to endure the pain, pray not to throw up because of the pain, pray for that 100 year old lady not to pass me at mile 6…(she passed me, along with several hundred others).

So, with all that time, I “shuffled on”, until I crossed the finish line..... at a blazing time of 4 hrs. 21 mins.

Since Saturday, I have been put in a walking boot and placed on crutches for 3-4 weeks, and told no running for 10 weeks (there was a time when that phrase “no running” would have been good news...but honestly, I already am missing running...crazy for an old, fat guy, right?). The doctor just shook his head and said, “the pain alone should have stopped you…unbelievable”, before he said “mid distal tibia stress fracture” and suggested I drink more milk and take calcium supplements.

And, unbelievably, I even preached the next day…sitting in a chair. Moreover, some said it was the best, emotional sermon they had heard from me… to bad we didn’t recorded it for posterity.

Below is a copy of an email that I sent to those who attended that Sunday’s worship service with a few things that I felt I needed to say. I hope your will read it and that God will give you encouragement and hope through the words.

From the LifeSpring Church message series titled RUN: the 2/5/12 sermon called: Execution.

As you could tell, this was an emotional message for me to deliver. Early on, as a young man, I was taught to keep your emotions in check… sort of like that old Secret deodorant commercial; “never let them see you sweat”… well, for me, it was; “never let them see you cry”. This is really difficult for a person who is as passionate about life as I am, and who also has my mother’s blood running through their veins (Momma Ruth will start crying when she reads just this much of the email…sorry about that dad).

Anyway, due to time on Sunday (and my emotional state), I was not able to tell you of the BIGGEST blessing I received during the ½ marathon race at Tybee. I feel that it is important that you hear this, and this is why you are receiving this email.

This Sunday’s message, as well as the others in the RUN series revolved around Philippians 4:13 “I can do EVERYTHING through (Jesus) who strengthens me.”

I spoke of about my goals for the race were: 1-having the endurance & stamina to finish the race & 2-not passing out or throwing-up in front of anyone.

I also shared some of my intimate personal commitments (aka…promises…covenants) I had made with Jesus over the years: 1) I will walk to you and with you 2) I will follow your plan 3) I will give you my all 4) I will give you glory in all areas of my life 5) I will do all this in a way that others will see the Life-Change I have is from you 6) I will lead others to a similar type Life-Change found in their living out Jesus’ purpose in their lives

I talked about how I liked the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible when it uses the word “BELOVED” verses the New International Version (NIV) when it uses “Dear Friends”.

I spoke about the bonding that I had developed with my “Beloved” runners from LifeSpring, especially my running partner, during our training. I told of how the LifeSpring running team’s words of encouragement, as well as just seeing them running their race and achieving their goals as we passed one another on various parts of the race route, was so encouraging to me.

I even had an overhead that emphasized this by saying; “Christians are drawn together to strengthen each other, so they can stand alone.”

Yes, for over 3 ½ hours, the thoughts, memories, and past words of encouragement from my teammates helped me to continue hobbling toward the finish line. And maybe that is what has helped you get to where you are today with your spiritual journey with Jesus. The past thoughts, memories, and past words of encouragement from significant people in your past… your teammates.

But, as Paul Harvey says, “here’s the rest of the story”… Hobbling alone in pain somewhere past the 11 mile marker, I heard a yell behind me…a yell loud enough I heard it over my headphones (Yes, even though I was injured and hobbling I was still listening to my “running playlist” of songs). I looked to see Lindsay & Laura, two LifeSpringers who had come just to support our running team & take pictures for historical documentation of this great event. Behind them were Alex and Rebecca, my running partner, who had just finished the race a good while earlier. I quickly turned my head and acted like I didn’t hear them, and proceeded to thank the nice policeman for his patience for waiting on me as he blocked traffic so I could cross through intersection of the road. As I kept hobbling, tears just started flowing out of my eyes like a water faucet. The good thing is since Lindsay & Laura had not been training to run, and Alex and Rebecca were exhausted from already running 13 miles, it took several minutes for them to catch up to me. This allowed for me to collect myself (aka “get my stuff together”) before they got to me.

And do you know what? They all walked the last 2 miles of the race with me. In fact Josh, Shannon, Deb, Dave, all came back to walk with me (Courtney had also came, but she went a different direction looking for me and never found me). OUR WHOLE LIFESPRING TEAM CAME BACK FOR ME! Even though they had finished the race, had the car keys and had other things to do that day, THEY CAME BACK FOR ME. Even though there was a period of time when we were separated and alone, and had to rely on our thoughts, memories, and past words of encouragement from each other…they understood that wouldn’t be enough. AND THEY CAME BACK FOR ME! They went the extra mile (in my case 2 ½ miles) and walked it with me. They said things like, “we started as a team, and we’ll finish as a team”, “no one gets left behind…no one, not even you preacher”.

I’m not sure of what you are looking for out of life. I’m not sure what you are looking for out of a church. I’m not sure what your relationship is with Jesus. I’m not sure of how God is going to use you and our church to bring about Life Transformation in our areas of influence. I’m not even sure of why I am writing you this email, other than to say this….

I am sure I am trying my best to follow Jesus wherever He leads.

I am sure our church will do everything we can to obediently follow Jesus wherever He leads.

I am sure you are invited to be a part of Jesus’ Team of Christians.

I am sure you are invited to be a part of the LifeSpring Team.

And I promise you this, if you join Jesus’ Team & the LifeSpring Team, you may feel at times that you are alone… but YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

I also promise you this. Your fellow Christian teammates, especially the ones at LifeSpring, WILL COME BACK FOR YOU! You won’t finish the race alone! Because we believe that Life Changing encounters of Jesus’ love are best found when DOING LIFE TOGETHER. “We started as a team, and we’ll finish as a team”, “no one gets left behind…no one, not even you”.

I hope to see you this Sunday as we take church to a “Whole ‘nother level” as we begin the SUN STAND STILL message series.

Blessings,

Dorsia, Pastor of the most AWESOME LifeSpring Church

May The Legacy of Truth Never Die

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today written by Seth Godin, which is called Seth Goldin’s Blog (real unique). In his Blog, Seth placed a couple of quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.

This sparked me to search and read more about Dr. MLK, Jr., one of the greatest leaders, heart-moving speakers, passionate lovers of God, Jesus, and his fellow man we could all learn from.

Martin Luther King, Jr’s willingness to put his life of actions behind his words (words which were very Biblical based) demonstrates one of the best modern day examples of a person living out a life of sacrificial love and leadership with the purpose of transforming a community (a state, a nation, a world) into the likeness of the Kingdom of God, that has been seen in the last 75 years.

Take a few minuets and read some of these quotes and reflect on their truth…truth that continues to be lived out today in each of our lives. When reading them, keep in mind the conversation between Jesus and Pilate found in John 18:37-38 “What is truth?”

Martin Luther King, Jr. Born: 1/15/29 Died: 4/4/68

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.”

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

“All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.”

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”