Just for 1 day, Pretend your in heaven.

Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

It's about making the world as close to heaven as possible. The world does not have to be the way it is. This is our world and it is made up of a lot of little people who individually can choose to be destructive or constructive.

A story of constructive

I remember when I went to a lake house when I was a younger more self centered version of my current self. I was all about having fun and doing what I wanted to do, not taking any care of anyone else or anything else. Now I wasn't a destructive delinquent teenager but I was doing what I wanted to do. Mostly eating.

The parental supervision unit that took me and others on this trip was working on the screen door of the lake house we were visiting. I asked him why he would do this. "This is not your house. The person who owns the house won't even notice that you fixed the screen door." His response.

I always try to leave a place in a better condition than how I found it.

This is something that has always stuck with me. Obviously since I am blogging about it.

Knowledge isn't power, unless it is practiced

"The importance of the church in creating the moral as well as the practical infrastructure to deal with some of the biggest problems facing the world."

Bono

I think we as humans fall into a trap personally where we feel like just knowing right from wrong is good enough. Well "I have news brother", in real life we aren't measured by our knowledge, we are measured by our actions.

I think many churches fall into this trap. The church does its best to educate the body. So that the body can go forward and do what it does but the church does not make anyone follow through.

This is going to sound kinda wierd and don't go after the literal syntax but churches need to do less enabling and more doing.

It is one thing to talk about the crisis in Africa, or the poverty in the innercity, or the racial barriers that plague our societies, or the devastation of Katrina, or the starving children in third world countries, or the illegal labor trades.

Do anything, Do something, Do one thing.

Love Thy Neighbor

"Love your neighbor is not advice. It is a command."

Bonoism

The "ten commandments" were not and are not the "ten rough guidelines".

I was so happy when I moved into my new neighborhood this time last year. Angela, Camille and I were one of the first families in. When we got bailey in the early summer I made sure to walk the rough streets of Prairie Lane to make sure I met everyone and told them how excited I was to be back in Milan. I think that my neighbors are a true blessing. I know that I can't be friends with all of them but I can be a witness to all of them. Our goals everday should be to express love to a perfect stranger everyday.

You don't have to love someone to show someone love.

One Service Fits All

"Stop asking for God to bless what you are doing. Find out what God is doing, because it is already blessed."

Bono

I remember being on a trip with friends and we were working really hard and food was put in front of us. We all immediately began scarfing. A trigger went off in my head. Hey guys we forgot to pray. One of them spoke up. He said, "I find that when I am working for God he will have already blessed me and my food"

It made me feel better at the time but overall it sent me a message I haven't heard before.

God blesses those who are seeking (insert all of what seeking means) him.

I feel that we fall in traps sometimes in our service. We want to do something that is true to us or that fits our style or our skills perfect. We wait and pray and wait and find excuses not to get our service off the ground.

Here is an example. I would love to go abroad and find a way to share the life and love of Jesus to third world countries through team sports. Instead of solely focused on that goal and praying and praying and waiting. And then eventually doing nothing. I will find something now that I might not necessarily want to do but I know God is blessing and let him steer me from there. For example New Orleans is my ice breaker. Sure gutting houses in New Orleans is not sharing basketball with AIDS inflicted children but God is already blessing MercyResponse. I feel like New Orleans is preparing me for something closer to my vision. And as a result of my first trip and soon my second God has shown me more blessings than I could imagine a service like this could. I do enjoy being handyman but I suck at it when it is my own home. But when God puts me on a team with other great Jacks than all of a sudden I do better work. Surely not from my own ability.

This is why our God is so cool.

It isn't a matter of volunteering for something you are good at (that sure would limit some of us). It is how good you are at volunteering that matters.

You can't volunteer for the wrong outreach. Its impossible.

Christianity isn't a Right, Wrong religion. - - - - - - It is a Yes No.
Service isn't a Good Fit, Bad Fit for a person. - - - Its one service fits all.

Find a service that God is already blessing and plug in. When he wants you to move to another service or start one he will make it happen.

I do still pray for the day when I find that trip to give hope to the hopeless needing my skillset, whatever that is.

And the Lord Sayeth "NO"

"No prayers are unanswered, its that sometimes the answer is no."

another Bonoism.

For some reason when something in our lives doesn't go the way we don't want it to we blame someone else. Sometimes we blame God. How can we blame God for anything.

Why can't we as humans accept no.

Why do we believe that God intends everything to be easy for us here on earth once we believe in Him.

Oh I am a Christian only good things happen for me.

How about I am a Christian and even when bad things happen for me I have a greater perspective of what is and is not important and I have a God to pray to who understands and takes care of me.

Avoid "Christians" at all costs.

"I never had any problems with Christ but Christians were always a bit of a problem for me. I would always avoid them if I could."

Bono

He speaks for many with this quote which is pulled from his interview with Bill Hybels. Don't for one second think that he is just speaking what is on his mind. He is speaking what is on the mind of many.

What have we done that we have allowed ourselves to be considered in this way.

Have we allowed ourselves to appear judgemental, stubborn, radical, unsocial, racist, etc..

I agree. There are more "Christians" that I have come across that I would rather not waste any more time with.

What must we do. What must we be.
What will we do. What will we become.

Here is the question I think everyone needs to answer to themselves. What do I offer?

What do I offer myself.
What do I offer my friends.
What do I offer my spouse.
What do I offer my church.
What do I offer a stranger.

You could replace what do I offer with what do I do for?