Cluster of learning and community

Like I’ve posted earlier, I’ve had the honor of hanging out with some great guys who’ve been there, done that, learned a lot, are continuing to learn, and who are real. It’s been a privilege to soak up so much stuff from them. Here are some things that have resonated with my soul.

• What God wants to do in us is more important than what we want God to do through us. Maybe I’m the only one who struggles with this (I doubt it), but in my quest to do for God I miss being with God and letting God do his work in me. At times I feel as if this church planting journey is more about my sanctification than anything else and at times I feel bad for all of you that have to suffer the ramifications of my messy discipleship. At the same time, however, I don’t think any of you are a part of this church plant by accident, and God is working (or trying to work) in you just as much as he’s working in me. He wants all of us to be conformed into the image of his Son (Romans 8:30).
• Obedience to God’s voice and commands opens the door for God to do the work he wants to do in us. I wonder how many times we miss out of what God wants to do because we refuse to submit to him. I can’t emphasize enough how important obedience is for Christ followers. We’re going to discuss this one day soon.
• Obedience to God doesn’t mean everything will work out alright. We’ve believed the lie as American Christians that being a Christian and following Jesus will make us all shiny happy people, but that is rarely the case. But as I say often, God is more concerned with our character than with our comfort.
• Make your life a quest to hear the voice of God so that you know what to do. That’s pretty self explanatory. It’s simple, but it’s hard as @#$%^!
• I need to be more concerned with what God is doing in me than in building a church. Jesus is the one who promised to build his church. Why do I feel like I have to do God’s job? When I take over for God I miss what God wants to do in me (Do we see a theme here?). Intimacy with God must be my number one priority.
• Wake up each day asking: What does God want to do in me today, instead of, What do I have to do today. I get so consumed with my to do list because there’s always so much to do, but I need to slow down. All that crap really isn’t that important compared to what God wants to do in me. The same is true of you. No matter what you have to get done today or tomorrow or next week, none of that is as important as what God wants to do in you. Don’t miss out on what God wants to do in your life. Do whatever you have to do to change the pace of your life.

These are just a few of the things that God’s been teaching me this week. We’re going to use this Sunday night to discuss some of these. We’re going to create some space for Jesus. We’re going to talk about the most important thing. Our time may be a bit uncomfortable, but I think it will be the best hour of your week. You don’t want to miss it.