Craig Groeschel tells a story of being a church staff pastor a while back. He had worked really hard for months to get three of his friends to come to church one Sunday. They were far from God, but they were getting closer, and finally they came. They sat down on the front row. Along comes a woman named “Fern” who realized these young bucks were in her seat. So she shooed them away. Those guys got out of Fern’s seat, walked out of the church and didn’t come back. Craig was heartbroken. Any of us would be, but before we get angry at Fern think about this . . .

All of us have a family member or a close friend who is far from God – a cousin, grandchild, uncle, best friend from childhood. Think of them right now, get their picture in your mind. What if that person walked into a church in their city this Sunday? What kind of experience would we want them to have? . . . What kind of experience would serve to connect them to church in a way that would make them want to come back? Would it depend on the singing/music? What about the preaching? Or how about the coffee 🙂 – would that be a significant motivator for them to return? Those things are all important, but in our socially starved culture studies and experience confirm that hospitality is the one factor that outshines them all. The Scripture agrees . . .

Rom 12:13, “Always be eager to practice hospitality.” (NLT)

Every church says they are super friendly. Yet, the biggest reason first time guests say they don’t come back a second time – friendliness – at the same churches who say they’re super friendly!!!! Where’s the disconnect? We all tend to overestimate our friendliness. It doesn’t count when we’re only friendly to the people we already know. This Sunday at Journey Life Church someone’s cousin, or uncle, or grandchild that they’ve been praying for, for so many years will walk in our doors to sit in our gathering. Let’s treat them like they’re ours. (This is so key) When that gathering ends connect with them meaningfully, ask them about their story, invite them into your life, tell awesome stories about the church! 

There is power in hospitality, that’s why it’s listed as a spiritual gift (1 Pet 4). Love everyone as if they’re spiritual life depends on it . . . because it does.

Have you ever thought – why is this road winding so much? Anyone who has spent significant time in the Northeast part of America has experienced the angst of roads that wind this way and that, for no apparent reason. Arrrgggghhh! The efficiency expert inside of me goes nuts! I want to get there, I can see it from here, why do I have to go left and right and left again! That’s a whole different kind of road rage – haha.

As I understand it, the Northeast part of America was settled before the US government was able to master plan a road system, therefore people squatted on the land and started building houses and farming areas. So then the roads just had to work around them. It would have taken a significant amount of vision and foresight for those early settlers to plan a road, and then plan to settle. They must have been too busy worrying about silly things like not starving.

The point is that it takes vision to foresee the possibilities of life where they do not exist yet. Isaiah spoke to this . . .

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isa. 40:3 NIV)

The voice is commanding a highway to be made in the wilderness. For a highway to be made correctly in the wilderness, the city (the life) that is coming there someday has to be envisioned. As you go on in Isaiah 40, you see that life is coming to the wilderness, that’s why the highway has to be built first. In other words, wherever we envision life or growth coming personally or professionally, we need to plan and build the path to sustain it now. It takes vision.

Where in your life is God showing you that growth is coming? Where do you see your business growing? Your family growing? Your faith growing? Now begin to build the highway for it, through prayer, through strategic mentor relationships, through an infrastructure of relationships and skillsets that will make sustaining that life possible. It may look like a wilderness now, but God is preparing you for growth. See His vision and build the highway.

I want to be the kid in this video so bad!!! That laugh just makes me smile and laugh over and over!!! It does good things in my soul and my body. Solomon wrote, “A cheerful heart is good medicine,” (Prov 17:22) thousands of years before modern science has confirmed this statement to be completely accurate . . .

• Scientists have found that laughter reduces stress responses by increasing bloodflow and oxygenation.
• Laughter boosts the immune system – by increasing a type of white blood cells that attack cancer.
• Laughter combats depression – even forced laughter produces a cocktail of hormones that can increase your mood.
• Laughter relieves pain – people who laugh often are bothered less by the pain they do experience, scientists have found.

So here’s the point – laughter is awesome and we need a cheerful heart – so besides putting the baby laughing video on repeat for the next hour (which I highly recommend – hehe), how do we lean into Jesus statement from John 15:11 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (Jn. 15:11 NIV). Here are some steps to complete joy . . .

1. Remain in Jesus’ love. That is the “this” from verse 10 that verse 11 is referring to. Recognize that Jesus loves you, over and over and over. Let it get down deep into your soul until it produces a smile in your body.
2. Let Jesus’ joy in, consistently, habitually and fully. If this is hard for you, set a timer in your day to have a belly laugh, and turn on this video (or something like it) and recognize that our Heavenly Father knows how to push your buttons for joy just like this father does with his baby.
3. Imagine Jesus smiling. Some of you are unsure of this one – but just try it. It will be fun. Imagine Him laughing with you. Imagine what perfect joy looks like and then experience it with Him.

I can just feel us getting healthier already. Now, it’s time to give that health away. Be joyful with someone else, and let your health and healing become contagious – just like Jesus!

The words just fell out of my mouth like a glorious accident, but it was more than that. I smiled, the person I was praying with nodded in agreement, the presence of God intensified with the words, “Lord we repent of the anxiety that we entertained before this breakthrough moment.” The breakthrough had already come. God was showing off and it was fun, and I realized that I had missed my moment to be free from anxiety, or should I say moments.

Some of you know my story of bouts with stress and anxiety (read more about it here). Since that moment yesterday, I have been asking the Lord, can we repent of anxiety? What does that look like? Here’s some insight . . .

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil. 4:6 NIV)

My thoughts . . .

1. Repent of anxiety before the breakthrough. If we wait until after the breakthrough it is actually late for maximum growth in us. I found after I had repented I was still so geeked up about the breakthrough that I lost even more energy and crashed harder later. I know – right! The only way to win in this area long term is to get to peace before the breakthrough.
2. Repent of anxiety at the moment it comes. The Bible says, “every situation” not just to mean every kind of situation, but to mean every moment of the situation. Anxiety and stress compounds over time through the little things in life. Stay humble before God every moment, knowing that His plan for peace is greater.
3. Thank God for what He’s about to do. We don’t know what’s coming – but when doing life with Him, it’s going to work out for good (grin – Rom 8:28). We get the prophetic privilege of thanking God ahead of time!

Embrace the moment right now. Think of that thing that’s given you ulcers, kept you up at night, made you say things you didn’t know you had in you (oops) – and then repent. Change your mind, to recognize the fact that God has a great plan for your future!

Mark tells the story (Mark 5) of a woman who touched Jesus cloak. Power went from Him to heal her and the disciples told Him He shouldn’t ask, “Who touched me?” because of the huge crowd (the nerve of those guys – haha). Yet Mark records this . . .

“But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.” (Mk. 5:25 NIV)

Why did Jesus keep looking? … Because the greatest power wasn’t in the healing itself, the greatest power was in the prophetic encouragement that followed. The healing authenticated the message that Jesus knew needed to be shared with this woman. Here’s the message . . .

“He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’” (Mk. 5:25 NIV)

She was already healed, why did Jesus need to tell her, “be freed from suffering?” Because her real suffering was mental and emotional. Her real suffering was the intense stigma of being unclean all the time. Her real suffering was feeling like God had rejected her, feeling like an orphan. What was Jesus first word? “Daughter” In one word, Jesus undid years of animosity from religious people, years of distance between her and God. Peace now became her inheritance.

So many of you have had the opportunity to minister healing to people recently and this makes me so excited! Here’s the next charge from your pastor, after you see healing – keep looking. Keep looking for God’s message to that person. Keep searching God’s heart and mind, for the nugget that He saw in that person to make them a candidate for supernatural confirmation. Pouring out God’s heart to them in that moment is a way to steward what God has done and be a candidate for more.

Since summer arrived early this year, my kids were out playing with the neighbors yesterday. It was sweaty hot – and my baby was doing the tight rope walk (hands out to the side – as opposed to the gorilla walk with hands over head – hehe) all over the back yard and playground. She wanted to be where the action was, but it was like she was searching for cool. It was sweaty in the park, it was sweaty on the deck, by the other kids, when she tried to fan herself with her hands – it was sweaty everywhere!

Isaiah describes us being in a similar uncomfortable place, and our striving prayer doing nothing . . .

“LORD, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. ¹⁷ As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, LORD. ¹⁸ We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life.” (Isa. 26:16 NIV)

. . . Then my baby girl gave up trying to find cool, sat in the dust and just played with the twigs and grass. Finally, her brothers and sisters decided to turn on the hose, and see how much of the water bill we could waste – haha. Inevitably the battle ventured over to little Jolena and she got drenched in water – which was shocking and overwhelming for a minute. Then she realized that water meant cool and she decided to hang out right next to the hose :-). Isaiah continues . . .

“But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise– let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy– your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” (Isa. 26:19 NIV)

Striving to get cool in a hot environment doesn’t produce cool. We can fan ourselves furiously, and run ourselves around silly trying to produce enough wind to stay cool and we’re just going to produce more sweat. It can be this way in God’s presence – we strive and fret and fuss and fan ourselves when one thing is required – dying, laying down in the dust, and allowing God to recreate the environment in us through resurrection power.

Stay there. Stay in God’s presence, in His atmosphere of peace. Stop striving and let His resurrection power surge through your life again. That’s how we stay cool.

“How do you do it?” is generally the first question we get after meeting a new person and they hear we have 4 kids. When we gain a little camaraderie in the conversation, if they’re a parent the next question tends to be, “What are you’re tips for disciplining well?” I have so many things I could say in that moment – there’s a rush of ideas and memories – some funny, others sad, many ridiculous. I keep finding myself saying, “Be creative, anyone who thinks they have parenting handled is simply one season change away from a mess.”

And that’s true. But here’s the last 2%, we are fully dependent on the Spirit of God for our creativity as parents. There is no amount of manuals or methods, webinars, blogs or Facebook postings that could ever teach us fully how to meet the unique needs of each of our unique and amazing gifts from God. Not that we don’t read, listen, learn and ask questions. However, our kids deserve parents who are listening to God’s Spirit in order to propel them into their passion and purpose. Not only that, but EVERYONE we influence and invest in deserves people who are fully dependent on God’s Spirit for creativity in order to propel them into their passion and purpose.

God sees the best in each of us and He knows precisely how to bring that out in us. Here’s the catch, we don’t necessarily see it – until we’re fully plugged in to Him. Who do you need to invest in today? Take a moment to listen (and look – God speaks in pictures) to God’s voice for someone in your life. For real . . . right now . . . set your timer for one minute . . . Listen. Now give it away.

At Journey Life Church a few weeks ago I talked about Fluffy the sheep. Imagine being a 5 year old Jewish kid in the 1^st Century and your parents got you a cute little lamb you named Fluffy. He’s your new best friend and you go everywhere together. One holiday, you and the family go to the temple and your parents tell you to bring Fluffy along! You’re so excited – you and your best friend on an adventure. You bring Fluffy to the temple and the priest asks you if you’ve been respectful all year to your parents – they shake their head “no.” He asks if you’ve told any lies, they shake their heads “yes.” And all of sudden there goes Fluffy to the altar – NOOOOOOO . . . . poor . . . . Fluffy.

“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Heb 9:22)

Thank God that we do not rely on Fluffy the sheep for a clean conscience anymore. Why? Because, “[Jesus] has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Heb. 9:26 NIV) The fact is, Fluffy the sheep was only good to clean a conscience until the next sin and for their next meal.

Here is the truth,

• Outside of Christ no sacrifice is meaningful.
• In Christ, all sacrifice is meaningful. Even when you and I lay down our lives and selfish desires for each other, we are infused with supernatural life and vitality through God’s Spirit. Because all sacrifice takes on significance when we are dedicating our lives and our sacrifice to Jesus. All sacrifice that is led by Jesus carries His greatness.

Think back right now on the things you have sacrificed in life – to be a student, a parent, a child, a friend, a Christian, to be the church – dedicate your life and your sacrifice to Jesus. He gets it, and He makes your sacrifice worth it,  even right now.

That’s my baby girl! How do you say “no” to that face? How do you say “no” to that smile? I mean, really? There’s just one problem – I know too much. I know too much about electrical outlets, knives, poisonous liquids, toilets, stairs, etc (you get the picture, our houses are death traps – aaahhhhh).

I’m sure God feels the same way about us sometimes too. We are just so cute, that He just wants to say “yes” all the time, to every request. There’s just one problem – God knows too much. He knows too much about addiction, useless thinking, hurtful words, Satan, anxiety, etc (you get the picture, our world is full of soul traps, that will suck the life out of us). That’s where God’s grace comes in . . .

“His grace teaches us to say “No” to godless ways and sinful desires, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope— the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12-13)

Wait a second Pastor, I thought grace was God saying yes. It is, kind of. It’s God saying yes to self-control, right living, godliness, patience and blessed hope (there is a hope in Him that can only bless – so good)! There is no room for that unless we understand this . . .

• A well placed “no” leaves room for the more beautiful “yes.”

Saying no to godless ways and sinful desires, creates margin for the beauty and passion of the “yes” that God desires! This reminds me of the real definition of grace (hint: it’s not unmerited favor): Grace is the empowering presence of God to become what God sees when He looks at us.

God sees so many beautiful “Yes’s” for you. Sometimes you just need to wade through a couple “No’s” to get there. Think about that the next time you save a baby from falling down a staircase – that’s what God’s doing for you. That’s grace.

I missed breakfast yesterday … and a shower … and waking my kids up on time … you get the picture – it was kind of rough. I spent the rest of the day trying (in vain mostly) to get my bodily rhythm on track. I just felt slow and disconnected most of the day.

How easy is it in the rhythms of life to feel like a prisoner of negative thinking? Sometimes it’s just the simplicity of one daily habit factor that we don’t account for, and we will almost unconsciously be wandering into scary thoughts. Here’s the truth – Believers, we are never prisoners of negative thinking – Look at what God calls us . . .

Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. (Zech. 9:12 NIV)

Our fortress is doing life with God! You know that all throughout the day yesterday, even through feeling slow and disconnected from my world I never once felt disconnected from God! God was always there providing me with HOPE. He is always one thought, one prayer, one belief away. Why? Because as believers, we believe, it’s what we do. We’re prisoners of hope.

Confess that about yourself today “I’m a prisoner of hope, I couldn’t get away from trust and belief if I wanted to. My God, has a fortress for me to run to and twice as much to restore to me.” If hope is a prison, I don’t ever want to be released during this life!