Romans 12:1-2 :: Worship or Words

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)  Click Here for the TNIV

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.  Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (The Message)

At the Springs, we like to frame the life of a Christ-follower in terms like holistic, complete, investment, all-in, 24/7.  We speak about the dangers of "compartmentalizing" your faith.  In case some of you have ever asked, here is where that comes from.  It actually comes from everywhere in the bible, but here is a passage where it is even more clearly defined than some.

You see, for some people, their faith is something that they have confined to a church service they attend once a week, or maybe even once a month.  That is the place where they "go to worship."  They rely on that one hour or so per week to "get them through" the rest of the week until they can do it all again.  In many ways it's like a sort of vending machine.  I'll put my dollar in on Sunday and hope God blesses me during the rest of the week.  During the week, though, they aren't putting in daily investments to keep the relationship strong.  Can you imagine making this sort of deal with your spouse?

Paul insists that following Jesus is about releasing your whole life - your everyday, ordinary life - to Jesus in all that you do.  To drive home his point he mentions sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around.  To show this is not something new, look back at Deteronomy 6:4-9 to see what instructions God gave the Israelites.  As followers of Jesus, we are expected to follow with all of our lives - our sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around.  As parents who follow Jesus, we are to teach our kids the ways of Christ in all of their lives - when they wake up, go to bed, sitting at home or driving around town.

Where in the world did we pick up the idea that we could relegate our faith to one day a week and not have it affect our daily rituals?  I think this may be one of the most damaging deceptions that we have bought into because it robs us of the more and better life that Jesus promised in John 10, and keeps us blind to the things of God during 99% of our week.

How does God impact your everyday life?  How have you made the move from compartmentalizing your faith to holistically experiencing your faith on a daily basis?  Is this even realistic to expect as much in today's world?

Romans 10:4-10 :: What is Salvation?

Romans 10:4-10 (TheMessage and TNIV)

Moses wrote that anyone who insists on using the law code to live right before God soon discovers it's not so easy - every detail of life is regulated by fine print!  But trusting God to shape the right living in us is a different story...

The word that saves is right here, as near as the tongue in your mouth, as close as the heart in your chest.

It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go and work and set things right for us.  This is the core of all we do and teach.  Say the welcoming word to God - "Jesus is my Master" - embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead.  That's it.  You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you.  That's salvation.  With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"

What do you think?  Is it really this simple?  How do you trust God to shape the right living in you?  

Romans 8:9-13 :: All About Us?

Romans 8:9-13 (The Message and TNIV)

When we trusted God to set-us-right-with-him, we were given certain gifts that make it possible to live the life that God has always desired for us.  One of those is the antidote for living a life that is all about ourselves.  Once God takes residence of our lives, he becomes the centerpiece.  Those who do not live in this sort of relationship with God, won’t understand what we are talking about.  Now that the “alive-and-present God” lives in us, we can expect him to do the same things he did in Jesus - bringing us alive to himself.  We no longer have any need to live in a way that places us at the center because that life isn’t really life at all.

Some questions to ponder with this section today:

• If we are still thinking of ourselves, has God really taken up residence in our lives?
• If those who don’t have a relationship with God won’t understand what we are talking about, do we need to spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways for them to understand?
• Do you feel like you are experiencing the same kind of “alive-ness” as Jesus had?  Do you even think it’s possible?
• Is there really “nothing” in our old life that is for us?
• What does it mean to “get on with your new life”?

Remember:  Sometimes asking important questions is as crucial to a right understanding as hearing the right answers.

Romans 6:12-18 :: Wholeheartedly and Full-Time

Romans 6:12-18 in The Message and TNIV


So, how do we “throw ourselves wholeheartedly and full-time into God’s way of doing things”?  Does this mean we have to set our preset stations to KSBJ...all of them?  Do we change the way we dress?  Do we change where we eat, where we shop, etc.?  Do we no longer go to movies?  How do we keep from “running little errands that connected with that old way of life”?

If we are living in the freedom of God, can’t we just do whatever we want with an eye toward God and everything will be fine?  Paul says no, but why not?  Paul says that when we offer ourselves to the ways of God that freedom never quits, but is that true?  It doesn’t seem to be that way.  Or does it?

Romans 6:1-5 :: Old and New

Romans 6:1-5 in both The Message and TNIV
(Today's post was adapted from our Reading Plan)

At the end of his football career, the great Emmitt Smith left the Dallas Cowboys to play for the Arizona Cardinals.  After a very long career with the Cowboys, everything changed when he moved to Arizona.  On the day of his first game with the Cardinals, Emmitt arrived  to the stadium and went to the locker room.  He got dressed and went through all of his pre-game rituals.  As the team was introduced, they ran out on the field clad in their red shirts, white pants and white helmets with the Cardinal on both sides.  When Emmitt’s name was called, he came running out on the field.  Expecting to hear cheers for the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, he heard what seemed to be laughter coming from the 75,000 fans.  Then some of the laughs turned to boo’s.  Emmitt ran out in his silver pants, white shirt and silver helmet with a star on either side!  That’s right, he dressed in what he knew and what was familiar...in his old uniform!

Okay, this didn’t really happen.  It’s ridiculous to even think about it that way, but we see it every day with people who have left their old way of living to follow Jesus’ way.  We have changed 
“teams” but we still continue to dress in our old uniforms and run our old plays.  Our baptism is a picture of leaving that old team and putting on the uniform of our new team...for good.  We have entered into a new country of grace.  We live in a new way!

Why do you think think we go on sinning?  Is Christ's death/resurrection really powerful enough to defeat our sin or will we just have to live with it until we die?  What does premeditated sin communicate about the seriousness of sin?  Do you have areas in your life where you keep wearing your old uniform and keep running your old plays?

Romans 5:18-21 :: Out Of It v. Into It

Romans 5:18-21 in The Message and TNIV

This morning as I read through our text for today, a few things popped out at me.  First, there is the issue of the phrase "many people in the wrong" (MSG) or "many were made sinners" (TNIV).  Why didn't Paul say, through one man "all people were made sinners."  Another thing that stands out is the idea that the law actually increases the number of lawbreakers.  I resonate with this because I have kids, and we parents know that as soon as we declare parent law on some activity, they want to do that activity.  It's just how we seem to be wired up...or messed up based on our previous readings.

But there was one idea that seemed to stand out above both of those to me.  The idea comes from the phrase "But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!"  As I repeated this phrase over and over, I began to think of the times that I have viewed my relationship simply as God getting me out of something.  When I first became a Christian, God was getting me out of hell.  Then he was getting me out of my circle of friends.  Then he was getting me out of bad language.  Then he was getting me out of secular music.  Then he was getting me out of partying.  Then he was getting me out of trouble.  I am not convinced that this is a completely bad thing when you are young in the faith.  Jesus called his disciples away from what they were doing, so he could show them the way in which he would want them to live and love.  For me, I think there is a problem staying in this mode of living.

At some point, we have to move from seeing our relationship with God as getting us out of something and instead getting us into something.  If we don't, we become "No Christians."  You know what this is don't you?  It's the Christian who is always running away from things because they are not "spiritual" enough.  They are the ones who refuse to eat at the best burger joint in town because they serve beer.  They won't let "non-Christian" kids play with their kids because they will "corrupt."  They create fall festivals instead of heaving fun out in the neighborhood with all the people God loves deeply.  You got it right?

Now, if we are going to be people who "get into life", what do you think that will look like?  God infuses life into everything we do.  Maybe we are families who participate in city sports instead of upward sports, and we train our kids how to be Christ-like in difficult situations.  Maybe we trust God enough to let our kids play with the kids down the street who cuss all the time, training them to stand for what they believe and not be swayed by the actions of others.  Maybe we stay in that difficult job because there are people around us who need to hear the life-giving message of Jesus.  Maybe we see Halloween as an incredible opportunity to get to know our neighbors and discover that we actually like them.  Maybe we are a church who stands up for the poor and the unfortunate, rather than knocking down the people and companies that don't do it the way we think they should.  Just maybe...

What are your "maybe's"?  "All sin can do is threaten us with death.  Grace...invites us into life" (v20-21)  What ways can we live as Christ-followers who offer life rather than simply threaten others with death by our actions?  What ways do you see this being fleshed out in your life?

Matthew19::Divorce

Matthew 19

Have you ever read something, knowing that you had the opportunity to post something and you could hardly make it through because you were so excited to write about what you were reading? Yeah, that's not me this morning.

Jesus' teaching in chapter nineteen is difficult. It's difficult to discuss when over 2/3 of marriages in our culture end in divorce. I hope you know that I do not take this subject lightly, nor do I expect the teaching to sit well with everyone who reads these words. I do, however, want to respond to what I read in the first twelve verses this morning.

The Pharisees were badgering Jesus again, hoping to catch him in a slip-up when it comes to the letter of the Mosaic Law. They ask if it's legal for a man to divorce his wife for any reason. These were not honest, broken people who are struggling in a marriage that exhibits nothing but heartache, anger, frustration, pain, etc.. These were men with an agenda - and the agenda had nothing to do with marriage.

Jesus responds directly to these men. There is no need to be sensitive, no need to be compassionate and no need to be empathetic. He states the letter of the law emphatically back to them. A man and woman were made for a union that was not intended to be broken by anything. Concessions were made because of our hardheartedness, not by God's design. If there is infidelity in the marriage, there is wiggle room when it comes to divorce. If there is not, it doesn't appear so according to the law. It is important to remember that permission is a concession, not part of God's plan. There you go. You have your answer to all your questions. You can call Elin Woods and tell her that she has permission to divorce Tiger.

How are we supposed to respond to this? What if we weren't Christians when we got married, are we still bound to the same "laws" that govern a Christ-follower? What if one spouse is not a Christ-follower? What if there is abuse? What if we just can't get along? What if...what if...what if...what if? I realize that we can come up with all kinds of scenarios to fit our situation and make our situation sound different and more justified. The bottom line is the bottom line, though...isn't it?

Based on my reading of this passage, I know that divorce is not God's plan. Period. It's not his plan in ANY situation. If we divorce, we fall short of God's plan for our marriage. If we divorce, we miss the mark that was intended. If we divorce, we sin. In eight days, we will read a chapter that explains what happened to that sin. We will see how ugly our divorce was in the eyes of the Father. We will see what our divorces cost. The price tag on our divorce is no different than the price tag on my slander, or my gossip, or my lust, or my jealousy, or my...or my...or my... If you have never been through a divorce and feel like you've got a special place in God's little world because of your "faithfulness," remember that the log in your eye might just be blocking your view. If you have been divorced, I hope you know that the Father has not left you or turned his back on you. He still has plans for you and His purposes in you do not have to be thwarted because of a failure on your part OR a failure on the part of your spouse.

If it's a struggle right now and you don't see hope, it's still there. Father can redeem the most dire of situations and breathe life into any relationship. If you have been wronged or violated, you have every right to be angry, hurt, upset and maybe to even leave, but God might have something larger in store for you. If you have wronged or violated your spouse, you screwed up. Yes. But it's not the end of His relationship with you. Father wants you...He wants your heart. He wants to redeem you through humility. Don't give up.

I realize that it's hardly fair to open up a subject like this, but I wanted to remain faithful to my commitment through this book - read and open up what stands out to me. I know I could have studied more and brought more to the discussion. I could have probably been more sensitive or more definitive in spots, but this is where I am and what I felt like sharing. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts. We are not Pharisees trying to trick you, but we would love to hear your heart regarding this sensitive subject. What has Father taught you?

Matthew17::Satisfaction

Matthew 17

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

I read this chapter twice and this verse could have been written in bold neon lights because it jumped out of the page to me.  Just over 13 years ago, I heard a man named John Piper speak at an event called Passion in Austin, Texas.  He made a statement that has echoed in my mind and my heart ever since that day.  He said, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."


I have lived most of my life since then trying to find my most satisfaction in Him, not in others and not in stuff.  Since having children, it's been harder to keep my focus, to be honest.  I get a whole lot of satisfaction in them and I have to remember that God may be glorified when I am satisfied in them, but He is not most glorified.  I always thought satisfaction was like pregnancy...you either are or your not.  Is it possible to be slightly satisfied, almost satisfied or 90 percent satisfied?


I want to be "most satisfied" in God.  I want to get the most enjoyment when I am who He made me to be, I love the way He created me to love and I serve the way He made me to serve.  But even saying that, I'm not quite sure what that means.  Talk to me friends.  What offers you hints of satisfaction?  Have you ever felt "most satisfied" in God?  What was that like?  I'm not sure I've tasted that kind of satisfaction in Him.  I do like a good porch with a great view though...

Matthew07::Two Houses

Matthew07

At the end of this incredible sermon, Jesus says, "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on (7.24)."

One of the greatest dangers of living in a "christian culture" is that we view the words of Jesus as nice little fortune cookies for life. They look good in a frame on a wall, but they are not engrained in who we are as a people. They sound good on Sunday mornings, but don't let them really effect my day-to-day life. Being a Christ-follower is invasive. Following Christ gets in the way, and in the middle of a lot of things. Think about a typical day. It gets into how we wake up and view the day ahead. It gets into how we wake our kids up, how we pack their lunches and how we send them off to school. It gets into how we sit in traffic on the way to work. It gets into the things we think about as we drive. It gets into how we perform at our jobs. It gets into the breaks we take, the emails we forward and the conversations we have in the office. It gets into our responses to traffic on our ways home. It gets into how we treat our families when we do get home. It gets into the activities our kids are involved in and how involved we are. It gets into how we help our kids with homework and how we tuck them in at night. It gets into what we watch on television. It gets into our relationship with our spouses - physically, emotionally and spiritually. It gets into our vacations and our weekends, our vehicles and our homes, our clothes and our toys.

"If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock...But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach (7.24-27)."

Being a Christ-follower impacts more of my life today than it did 5 years ago, but it's not near what it should be or what I want it to be. I still compartmentalize and I still work outside this standard of living. I still do things I don't want to do, and fail to do things that I do want to do. I don't think I am alone in this struggle, but I hope I'm not alone in saying it out loud...or typing it in the blog.

What hit you today? Did you make it through the chapter or did something stop you in your tracks?

Zero Gravity :: Get Out of the Boat

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday Teaching

Well, it's been a great summer, but now we have launched into our Fall teaching series at our Sunday gatherings. Today, Cameron led off the series by teaching the story of Jesus coaching Peter to walk on the water. We often take a look at this story and think that it was about the faith of Peter to get out of the boat, but I contend that the story is less about Peter and more about Jesus. I can have faith to get out of the boat, but if Jesus isn't on the other end, I am going to sink immediately. If this story was about Peter, I think we would all be walking on water as normal living today.

Jesus is the one who is the center of this story. Jesus is the reason that Peter could get out of the boat, filled with fear and doubt and walk on the top of the water. Jesus was the calming voice on the sea. For you and for me, the same is true today. No matter what our circumstances, Jesus is the reason we can get out of the boat...Jesus is the reason we can say no to the gravitational pull of our disappointments, failures, hurts, etc.

What boat are you in today? What is the gravity that is pulling you down.

For us, as Christ-followers, staying down is not an option!

Core Practice :: Single-Mindedness

I focus on God and His priorities for my life.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33

Core Practice::Single-Mindedness

I focus on God and His priorities for my life.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Matthew 6:33 (TNIV)

Ever heard a sentence that just didn't seem to give you enough information? I feel this way about Matthew 6:33. But? But what? All these things? All what things? As well? As well as what? This is simply a verse that begs us to read the verses before it. So...

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Well okay, now we've got something significant to discuss. But gives a contrast between two worldviews. First, is the world of the pagans who ruthlessly pursue selfish desires of the flesh with no regard to anyone or anything but themselves. "What shall we eat?" "What shall we drink?" "What shall we wear?" This worldview is a consumptive view of everything. Get more, get more, get more. Everything is seen through the lens of today and how can we keep up with those around us. Today, this view manifests itself much the same way. Our families stretch themselves beyond their means in order to get certain things. "Where shall I live?" "Where shall my kids go to school?" "What shall I drive?" "What league will my kid play in?" "Where will we go on vacation?" These are just some of today's questions that rattle around within this world view. But...there is an alternative.

Jesus tells his followers to not pursue those things because he is faithful to provide you with what you need to live. He offers an alternative worldview. "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness," he says. The kingdom of God is now. It's seeing life through an eternal lens, rather than a temporary one. It's recognizing that what we do today is an investment in our future, the future of our family and the future of our community. God's kingdom is bigger than our experiences today. When we realize that, we are able to focus on His priorities for our lives. His righteousness has been offered to us. By focusing on his righteousness, we stop demanding perfection from ourselves and from others. His righteousness allows us to love others unconditionally. His righteousness allows us to experience his personal nature. His righteousness covers up our unrighteousness. His righteousness covers up our neighbors' unrighteousness.

Now we can relax. We don't have to be so uptight because we know that Father will take care of us. He will provide. This doesn't mean we cease to work, but it does allow us to break free from the tyranny of the temporary. Because we have a bigger view of our situations than just today, we can rest in the comfort of his priorities for our lives. Those priorities are seen throughout the pages of the Bible, as people embrace the Jesus way of life.

Single-Mindedness: Flows from the foundational belief that God is personal and that he cares about our daily lives. The fruit of single-minded living is found in the list of virtues.

Kid's Q&A:

Big Idea: I love God by focusing on His plan for me.

Hand Motion: Hands on sides of face around eyes signifying focus.

Have you ever had something that you couldn't get out of your mind? What was it? How did it affect you during the day? When we get something "stuck in our mind" it influences everything we do during the day.

How do you think focusing on God's plan for you would affect your day? It might change the way you answer your teacher when she asks you to do something. It might change your response when your parents say to clean your room. It might change the way you think about that video game that you "can't live without."

We can trust God's plan because He promises to take care of us. Just as the birds don't spend time worrying about their clothing or where they will get food, Jesus wants us to know that we don't have to worry about those things either. We focus on Him and He takes care of that stuff.