But, when have your “thoughts” ever done anyone any real good?  We always say this to those who are facing tragedy or have just endured tragedy.  While thinking of them might be a nice sentiment…and perhaps still a nice thing to say to them….it really doesn’t do much for them or their situation.

Prayer on the other hand can literally work miracles.  The prayer of faith can save the sick (James 5:15).   Fervent prayer avails much according to the bible (James 5:16).  Prayer can bring about deliverance (Philippians 1:19).  Don’t ever underestimate the power of prayer.

Here is the #1 meaning of the word straight from the dictionary:
      any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.

A powerful compelling emotion is not wrong.  In fact, what could be more right for us as follower’s of Jesus Christ.  I have a passion to reach people who are far from God.  I have an overwhelming emotion that drives me to bring a message of hope to those who desperately need to hear it. 

There is a reason that movie a few years back was called the Passion of the Christ.  He didn’t die for a passing whim, He died because of a powerful compelling emotion of love.  Jesus set the bar for us, and he set it high.  We should have a powerful compelling emotion of love for the people around us.  John 13:34

Are you trying to pray yourself out of a situation you behaved your way into?
-Andy Stanley

Personal responsiblity is not a popular thought these days.  We see ourselves more as the effect and less as the cause.  We see ourselves as victims and yet at times we are really only victims of our own crime. 

I’ve had many conversations with teenagers about how it’s better to study for a test than to wait for test day and pray that God will supernaturally put the answers into their brains.  We are all guilty of this though.  We make bad decisions, we say wrong things, we do wrong things, we sin…and then we wonder how we ended up here?

Recently I suggested to our teenagers at nxt.lvl that they not date.  You’d think that I recommended that they don’t eat.  The thought of going through middle school or high school without a “love life” seems foreign to them.  How many times have we heard the story of the teenage girl who thought, “It was just a one time, we didn’t plan this…”

Mistakes are not just for the young.  Sin is not a sickness for lesser aged among us only.  Had that teenage girl and boy avoided the place where they were alone…the opportunity of sin could have been avoided too.  So what situation have we found ourselves in lately that a better decision or a change in our behavior could have prevented?

2 Corinthians 10:4-6

Isn’t that our purpose?  Isn’t that what the church ought to be about?  Jesus said in John 13:34 that he has given us a new commandment.  He said a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.  As the church we need to live out this love.  What can you do?  What can I do to help others today?  Let’s be the church.

So here is the question of the day…  What can I “do” better in my life?  What is it that I can do better so that my life better demonstrates the good news of Jesus Christ?  What can I do better so that people will recognize that I have been with Jesus the same way that people recognized that Peter and John had been with Jesus?  (Acts 4:13)

The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach
Acts 1:1

Those words “to do” and “to teach” keep ringing in my head.  This message we have, this gospel, is one of demonstration (1 Corinthians 2:4).  We have all heard expressions like, “If you can’t walk the walk then don’t talk the talk.”  I think most of us as followers of Jesus Christ know that we have a responsibility to live out what we believe.   In our “church speak” we normally call this “our witness”.  Basically we are saying that we need to live our lives according the standards that match what we believe.  We should practice what we preach, right?

Well if you examine the scripture above, it says that Jesus began to do and to teach.  Can you recognize the order of things here?  It’s first “to do” and then “to teach”.  I believe this is the example we need to follow.  We should first practice it and then we should preach it.  This is a gospel of demostration, so we can demonstrate to others what we believe.

The truth is that if we can live it out first, people will be more likely to listen to what we say second to that.

I’m praying for Carter, Neil, and Miranda.  May the God of hope bring you strength, courage, and healing.  God we know there is nothing that is too big for you.

“We will never ever do what God wants for us until we understand what He’s done for us.”
-Perry Noble

It’s impossible to fully grasp the importance of the call of God on your life until you fully understand the sacrifice God has made for you.  Each day I believe I feel this more and more.  I feel a sense of urgency to do what God has called me to do.  Jesus didn’t die for us to just be complacent christians.  He died for us to be the salt and light.  He died so that we might have life.  Now it’s our turn to take that same transforming power that God has worked in our lives and bring it to those who are in such desperate need.

Church, we have been rescued!  We have to got to have a sense of urgency.  We live in a world where we are surrounded by deeply hurting people who are need of rescue too.  Without Jesus they are going to die and go to hell.  That is the reality of the world in which we live. 

When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Mark 2:17

Let’s fire up the ambulance, turn on the lights and sirens, and roll.  Our urgency has got to be at that kind of level.