The Usual Suspects

It’s bittersweet in that we have been in Acts for the past two years, we have gone verse by verse, chapter by chapter, 58 messages in 12 mini-series and now we are finishing strong in the last chapter of Acts with a series called “The Usual Suspects”. You never know where life is going to take you or who you will meet along the way; but God is preparing divine encounters where you might be blessed by a stranger or be a blessing to a friend. There is a special e-vite that you can send to your friends inviting them to be your guest at The Fellowship this weekend. Just go to The Fellowship home page and click on the banner that says "Invite a friend to The Fellowship".

Just a note - this Sunday is daylight savings time so "Fall back" one hour and don't forget that we are having Donuts for Dads. So bring the kids, leave the pajamas on and have some donuts!

Spells, Spirits and the Unseen

Halloween is always a mixed bag for Christ followers. Its origins run deep into the past practices of ancient Celtic pagans where October 31st was considered to be the most powerful day of the year for casting spells and calling upon spirits. Yet it is also the eve before "All Saints Day" - where as early as 270 A.D. Christians would celebrate the anniversary of a martyr's death in an all night vigil followed by the taking of communion at the fallen saint's grave. Like many religious events, this pagan practice has become secularized and what we experience today in Katy, Texas, didn't even exist before the 1950's. The truth is that the origins of this day have little to do with what people believe and practice on Halloween. But it is does bring into focus the very issue I shared on Sunday about the "unseen". Remember that in 2 Corinthians 4:18 Paul writes that we are to "... fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." So what can you fix your eyes upon this Halloween? Is it the sites and sounds of candy, costumes or a child's customary "Trick or Treat" that will be the focus of our evening or is there more than the senses can detect. What is truly going on the spiritual realm? The Bible tells us that there is a battle raging against rulers, authorities and powers of the dark world, spiritual forces of evil. (Ephesians 6:12) This battle that is 24/7, not just relegated to one evening a year where goblins and ghouls haunt the night. The truth is that the enemy, though cloaked in the darkness, has been exposed by the light of God's presence, truth and love. God is present tonight! Let his light shine in all we do in his name and for his glory. Why do we as Christ followers have parties at our churches, hand out tracks about Christ or engage in the evening's festivities ... it is because our God reigns and not even one single night a year will we allow an evil darkness to come over our community and world. So let your light shine on this Hallowed Eve and pray that all who step into the dark of night would be drawn to the eternal light of the truth of God's love and grace!

I hope that you will join me tonight at the Hallelujah Hay Day at The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch, bring a friend!

Betcha That's a Great Ride

The city of Banda Aceh is alive with activity, the hustle and bustle of a normal urban environment. If you want to get around you can hire a car, take a small bus, taxi or the best way to see the town, a Betcha! Yes, it's my favorite way to get around town and yes it is pronounced just the way it sounds. Will is the photography and he went along for the ride. The city is alive like any urban scape, with sites, sounds and sensory experiences, but the challenge is to look beyond the five senses and exegete. It doesn't take long to see hurt and hope, suffering and smiles, pain and pleasure on the faces of people as they pass by. This is a city living in the reality of its only moment, today. They are people filled with so much life after suffering so much death. There are indeed signs of hope, just ride a betcha and see!

Serious Coffee

A morning cup of coffee to get the blood flowing and the senses awaken. I'm sitting at a little shack on the banks of the Acehnese river where they make a mean cup of coffee. Acehnese coffee is for serious coffee lovers. It's smooth, rich and strong ... can't you just smell that aroma. I'm bringing back about 5 kilos, so if you want some, let me know and I will share some of my beans with you. Sipping coffee is just a small part of the experience, it's more about sitting with new friends, watching and soaking up the new day filled with all its opportunity.

This morning we are going into the villages up in the mountains to visit some areas heavily populated by freedom fighters called Guam. They are a people traumatized by 30 years of civil war, death and destruction but they weren't as impacted by the tsunami. They are angry and untrusting, but yet they have a deep longing to be a part of the new building and prosperity of Aceh. They need education, job training, medical and so much more. They feel little hope about the future, but our God is a god of hope! Pray that the work among the Guam will continue to open doors of blessing for the future.

A Little Piece of Paradise

I know it looks like I got photo shopped into this picture but trust me this is the real deal. I am standing on the edge of a 1/2 acre of paradise where we will be building a retreat center for training and respite. As soon as we have something built it will also be a place for our teams to spend a day or two to train as well as retreat. We took a hydrofoil to the island of Wey and then across to the other side of island by the capital city called Sabang. We went to the "Tuna" cafe and then walked over to the property. It is tropical with cliffs reaching out over a emerald green sea. It is truly a little piece of paradise! As I walked the property I prayed that God would use this place as a blessing to so many who continue to love the Acehnese people with the love of God.

Tomorrow is my last day and then I will be heading home. This trip has been strategic for Bridges of Hope and The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch. I want to say again how much your prayers have strengthened me on this journey. I will be sharing more this Sunday, I can't wait to see all of you!

It's All About The Foundation

You can build all day long but in the end if the foundation is flawed the building will be compromised. We went with a friend who has developed a way to make bricks without using a kiln. This is a huge idea because if you look at the massive Sumatran jungle it won't take you long to see swaths of jungle spanning miles where the trees are being harvested to keep kilns burning to fire the bricks to rebuild the city of Banda Aceh. But a brick, made of sand, cement, water and other ingredients with little or no environmental impact is huge. They make the brick, put them under clear tarps to create a curing process that takes about 30 days. As they have been experimenting with bricks they keep discovering cracks that don't effect the quality of the building just the looks. But as they continue to build they know that it all depends on a level, well done foundation. Jesus reminded the disciples to pay attention to what you are building your life upon! There is only one solid foundation.

Radical Inclusiveness

I remember when I was little singing the song, "He's got the whole world in his hands ..." Sing it with me "... you and me and brother, in his hands, he's got you and me and brother ..." O.K., people are starting to stare at you! :-) But that song reminds me of the simple truth, that God's heart is an inclusive heart. God's desire is that none should perish into an eternity absent of His presence, but rather that they should know His love and redemption for all eternity. This is indeed an age of radical inclusiveness where God's plan for the nations is unfolding before our eyes. This morning I listened as a brother shared his journey to read all of scripture,Genesis to Revelation,highlighting every place where the word spoke of God's heart for the world, all people, all nations. His journey has been life changing as he began to see God's heart and promises for all people, and he's only through Jeremiah. I am so glad that God included you and me and that He has called us to share the love of his radical inclusiveness to the Acehnese people. Psalm 145 would be great place to spend some time just to see what I mean!

Visions and Dreams

The people of Aceh are praying daily in the Mosques prayers that say they want to know God and yet they can't find him. They are hungry for the truth and long to know God but debate and propositional truth makes little inroads to their search for meaning. As I listened to a man speak of how men and women are having visions and dreams where Jesus appears to them, I was reminded of Isaiah 29:8 says "as a hungry man dreams that he is eating, but he awakens, and is hunger remains; as when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking, but he awakens faint, with his thirst unquenched."

In the Islamic world dreams are important to discerning truth and to understanding what God wills. Through history God has used visions and dreams to lead people to an understanding of His will for their lives. That is evident even today among the Acehnese people. The Lord is appearing to them and leading them to believers who can explain the way. So pray ... pray that the Lord of the universe will appear to men and women in visions and dreams leading them to seek out the truth from those whose are pointing the way.

A Hope and a Future

What an awesome day here in Banda Aceh. It began with an early morning run, shower and a Zone bar before spending time in Jeremiah 29. Jeremiah reminds Israel as well as all Christ followers that if we seek God, we will find Him, when we seek Him with all our hearts. The heart is filled with desires and I have to constantly ask, is my deepest desire to know the Lord more intimately and to follow him more closely. On most days in my little part of the world called Katy, the answer is yes. But on days like today sitting at the feet of some men and women whose passion burns so brightly that it casts a shadow of doubt. Lord I want to seek you with such abandon, and obey you with a reckless heart.

Some of those that I met today I won't share their names nor their causes for the sake of their own safety, but believe me they are making advances for the cause. When you see the sacrifice, suffering and service of these great people, I am moved at the deepest places of my soul. It is exciting to know that in our faith community called The Fellowship, there is a desire to radically and recklessly love others. From our community, city to the Acehnese God is at work.

Keep praying, keep seeking, keep serving, keep loving, keep hoping and believing God for He has a future for you, me and The Fellowship.

The Value of a Mom

Salary.com, a Massachusetts firm specializing in determining compensation, surveyed 40,000 mothers and found that if she were paid for all her work, the average mother works 92 hours and week, and would earn almost $140,000 a year. The company concluded the average mom works at least 10 jobs, including housekeeper, teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, van driver, psychologist, and chief executive officer. Calculating the median salaries for each position and the number of hours worked at each during the week, the firm came up with an average salary of $138,095 a year. Salary.com’s calculations found that even mothers who work full-time outside the home, put in approximately $86,000 worth of work as mothers every year.

Proverbs reminds us, … Who can find a wife with a strong character? She is worth far more than jewels. Her husband trusts her with {all} his heart, and he does not lack anything good. She helps him and never harms him all the days of her life. She seeks out wool and linen {with care} and works with willing hands. She is like merchant ships. She brings her food from far away. She wakes up while it is still dark and gives food to her family and portions of food to her female slaves. She picks out a field and buys it. She plants a vineyard from the profits she has earned. She puts on strength like a belt and goes to work with energy. Proverbs 31:10-17 (GW)

I hope that every mother realizes that her worth and impact go far beyond her monetary value, for the role and blessing of motherhood can and should have an eternal value that even surpasses her temporal worth. Let’s celebrate motherhood and all moms and moms to be this Sunday.

Calling all Super Heroes!

I started reading a book this week, called “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. It is subtitled, “How Little Things Can make a Big Difference”. In the first chapter Gladwell talks about the three agents of change; the law of the few, the stickiness factor, and the power of context. Over the next few weeks I’ll share some additional thoughts on this book but let me just say this … it only takes one person to make an eternal difference. We all know the story of Paul Revere and his midnight right to warn all that “the British are coming.” It was that lone voice that created a sonic boom of resistance against the British on April 19th 1775 and ushered in the American Revolution. Gladwell says that “it is safe to say that word of mouth is – even in this age of mass communications and multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns – still the most important form of human communication.” That’s how the gospel of Jesus Christ has spread around the world, one voice adding to another till the sound reverberates to every continent – Jesus Christ is Lord! That is our mandate, our calling, our mission … to love and lead our community to Christ, to communication in word and deed God’s eternal love and grace. That’s what we are doing here at The Fellowship this summer … mobilizing all God’s average ordinary everyday superheroes in Christ.

I need you to consider the Mexico mission trip this summer, click this link for details (http://www.thefellowship.org/global_impact/mexico/index.htm) we need 15 more men, women and students who are willing to take the time and make the trip – it will be worth it, life changing!

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said “There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” What are you waiting for? Don’t forget that you are an “Average, Ordinary, Everyday Superhero … out to save the world!” Sign up for the Mexico mission trip today by emailing Pastor David Ruzicka (david@thefellowship.org).

Back Home Again

What an incredible two weeks in Indonesia studying its history and Islamic influence in Southeast Asia. I am so glad to be back and I look forward to sharing my experiences and insights with each of you. Also, let me take this opportunity to say thank you for your prayers and encouragement as I continue my doctoral studies in Transformational Leadership. I could not do this if were not for a great staff, encouraging Elders and a supportive church family. You are all such an incredible blessing.

Traveling outside the United States brings a profound awareness that all eyes are on the US. I landed two weeks ago in Taipei to news of the Virginia Tech massacre and then in Jakarta I watched, as any global citizen would, the news reports and wondered, “How could this happen?” “Why did this happen?” The world and its woes are a complicated mixture of anecdotes and analysis that leave all of us wondering what will happen next. But in the midst of global chaos, the words of scripture resound, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) In the midst of a life of uncertainty these words cause me to stop and fall to my knees in intercession for the world, recognizing that nothing escapes God’s notice, I say thank you Lord for your promises, your provision, and your eternal protection. These words cause me to live with a prayerful heart toward heaven.

Tomorrow, Thursday May 3, is the National Day of Prayer (http://www.thefellowship.org/prayer/pdf/prayer_guide_ndop_07.pdf) this link is the prayer guide for you to use. There are several ways to participate: You can join me and others 8:30 a.m. in the loft for prayer. You can download or print out the prayer guide and use in your S.O.A.P.ing up. You can download and print out the prayer guide and handout at your office and lead in a time of prayer at lunch or sometime during the day. You can use the prayer guide for a family devotion with your children. I would love to hear how you participated in praying for your nation – email me jerry@thefellowship.org. Listen, there is to much going on in our nation for us not to take some time and join our hearts together with Christ followers all of the United States to pray that God would bless our country.

Love is ...

It's Valentine's Day or as my kids like to call it, Single Awareness Day. It is a day every year where I wonder what I can buy for Gail that will communicate the depth of my love and devotion to her. How do you say "I love you!" in ways that transcend mere words? Love has been written about, portrayed on the stage and in movies and yet there is nothing as poignant a picture of love as 1 Corinthians 13 ...

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

John 15:13 where Jesus, "Great love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. The ultimately expression of love is laying life down and picking up an agenda that is God's born out of a love for him. Just today I received an email from Naomi Contreras, a passionate follower of Christ here at The Fellowship, who shared these words with me. They were penned by a young man in Africa and tacked to a wall in his house. The exact story I can't verify but, it has been said that in 1980 this young Rwandan man was forced to renounce Christ or die. When he refused, he was murdered on the spot. The night before his death he had written these lines. Words like these express a love that moves beyond sentimental notions, leading us to live a life of worship, giving God our attention, adoration, affection and allegiance - our very lives.

I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence,prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few,my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me--my banner will be clear!

Sacred Garments

The last few weeks I have been reading, thinking about the wound that we all share ... the depravity wound. I see it everyday on the news, in the headlines and on the Internet. Just this morning I was listening to reports by reporters who just couldn't understand how smart men and women could do dumb things or why rich individuals would choose to do lead destructive life styles. There is this belief that educated, well off people have the capacity to "be better" than those who are less educated or less well off financially. The truth is that no person is immune when it comes to the depravity wound; that wound which is from our sin nature, which no matter how hard we try, it just doesn't heal on its own. In the Search for Authentic Manhood by Robert Lewis, he talks about this wound and how it can't be overcome by education, money or self effort. It is a wound only God can heal. As I was S.O.A.P.ing up yesterday and today in Exodus 20-30, I came across God instructions to Moses about the priests clothing and how they were to, "Make sacred garments ... to give him dignity and honor." That really caused me stop and think about how you and I are able to go before God because of the sacred garment of Christ's righteousness which gives us dignity and honor. When I think about all that Christ has done to take a life suffering from sin and cloth it with the sacred garment of His righteousness ... it is to his glory. Paul said in Romans 8:10, "But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." I am alive in Him and as Isaiah wrote ... "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." May my life reflect that truth on the sacred journey.

Meeting with God

What an awesome Sunday. We welcomed our new Worship Pastor, John Cordes and his family as we worshipped our audience of one, God himself! I was S.O.A.P.ing up this morning in Exodus 20-30, Iwas just going to read a chapter or two but I just got enthralled with Moses' conversation with God on Mount Sinai. After my worship experience yesterday I couldn't wait to meet with God this morning. Two things really stuck out in these 10 or so chapters ... one was in 20:20, Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." A healthy fear that keeps you from sinning is key to living a life that honors God. I always tell my children, "You can choose your sin, but you can't choose your consequences." Too often I look right past the glaring potential consequences of my choices and only see the immediate gratification and pleasure of my sin. It is the reality of the consequences and the God who loves me enough to discipline me, or administer those consequences that causes me to slow down and choose wisely. Fear is indeed the beginning of wisdom. I know it breaks God's heart when I choose to sin and thus choose the consequences. I have told my children, "I don't understand why you chose this punishment." They look at me rather incredulously and say, "I didn't chose this!" My response is, "Sure you did! You knew the consequences and chose to ignore them, therefore you chose them." As a parent it breaks my heart to enforce their choices, I can only imagine how God feels.

The second thing that really stuck out in these chapters I'll share with you tomorrow. Have a God filled day on your sacred journey - Jerry.

Red Sky

I wish you could see the sky right now. We are at Cat Springs on a staff retreat and it is 6:50 a.m. and the sun is coming up and the sky is incredible. Th red is a ablaze and I am profoundly aware of God as the majestic creator. I am S.O.A.P.ing up in Exodus 33:12:33 where Moses is talking with God about going with him where ever he goes. The text records God's response and it echos in my mind, "My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest." I am often driven, living out of a sense of missional urgency, wanting to live and move with a sense of purpose. But everyday I find God calling me, reminding me that purpose flows from his presence, and strength from His rest! Further on that passage Moses says to the Lord, "Show me your glory..." As I gaze at the morning the sky it is truly a reflection of God's glory and a blazing reminder of God's beauty, creativity and majesty. It also reminds me of his fire that burns in my bones and the warmth of his embrace. I pray that you see and expereince his presence, rest and glory today. Blessings. On the journey together!

Garbage In Garbage Out

Every new year we make resolutions and about this time of the month they have taken a back seat to the tyranny of the urgent. We are three weeks into a new series that has challenged my mind, body and soul. If you haven't listened to all of the messages you can go www.thefellowship.org and listen. This past week I was taking about the mind and its power over our lives. I shared from Dallas Willard's book Renovation of the Heart, about what he says are the complex components of the mind. (I think I went a little fast on this part on Sunday so here they are ...

• Thoughts – all the ways in which we are conscious of things. Including memories, perceptions and beliefs.
• Ideas – very general models of or assumptions about reality. They are patterns of interpretation, historically developed and socially shared. Like, what is a family, what does it mean to make a living, to love your neighbor, etc.
• Images – concrete and specific, as opposed to the abstractness of ideas, they are heavily laden with feeling. smiles of your children, pictures of your family arguing, a favorite vacation – all with the potential to illicit powerful emotions.
• Information – without information our ability to think has nothing to work on. We need to know what God says so that we can put his word into your lives, our actions.
• Thinking – the activity of searching out what must be true, or cannot be true, in the light of given facts or assumptions. It extends the information we have and enables us to see the “larger picture” – to see it clearly and to see it wholly.

This morning I was S.O.A.P.ing up on Romans 12 where Paul speaks about the temptation to let the world squeeze me into its mold. The only way to experience the transformation of the mind is through Christ's work in my life with special attention given to the thoughts, ideas, images, information and thinking of my mind. You know the saying GIGO (garbage in garbage out) ... after all the mind is a terrible thing to waste!