We were in bible study last week, studying 1 Corinthians and one of the guys started telling this story. A story about his roommate who we will call larry for the sake of the story. 

 

 Larry was reading this book. This book was telling him how the Roman Catholic Church was holding a mass in a community that was filled with poor people who were in need of a good meal.  So the catholic church decided that they would step up and provide a meal for anyone who was willing to come to their evening mass.  You were not allowed to have a meal however unless you actually attended the worship service. 

 

And it struck me. It struck me how un”christian” this act was. Who are we to make it our choice to hold ransom, if you will, the gospel of Jesus Christ?

 

Then our group of guys started talking about how there are ministries that provide the most needed medicines to countries in africa as part of their ministry to God’s Kingdom. I mean, without revealing any of these ministries names, there are hundreds if not thousands that give money to support these organizations. But these ministries are doing something very similar to what the Roman Catholic Church did hundreds of years ago.

 

You see… what happens with these ministries is that they pair up with a local church in africa and one of two things happen… first, they give the medicine to those that are already christian… which most likely contradicts the mission statement of these organizations… or two, the churches only give the medicine to other people in the community if they start attending this specific church. 

 

one of these stories was about a young boy, who’s family did not regularly attend one of the selected churches that received the medicine. In desperate need to help their son live longer and to help the pain and/or fore-long the process of Tuberculosis, they thought that God had spared them…. however the church ruined this excited emotion when they disappointed the family by saying you needed to start coming to our church and then we will get you some of this medicine.

 

so this family had to go to church, for the wrong reasons of course, just to get medicine that would allow their son to live!

 

 

 

How often do you and I do this on a daily or weekly basis?

 

try this. try looking at your church, or your youth ministry. Try looking at your college ministry, or the community of faith surrounding you!  How often do we, not realizing it, hold the gospel for ransom! Only allowing those who hear a gospel presentation the opportunity to get a warm meal at the soup kitchen, or the only way to get an opportunity to win a playstation or Xbox is to come to this worship service and hear some dude talk about a man who loves you… WHAT? that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

 

Ever wondered why Christians are looked at as the most hypocritical group of organized people on this planet?

 

 

I mean… what is our purpose to this world and to those who are lost?  is it to intice a family in need to come to church for the wrong reasons just so their son can live… or is it to love them and regardless of weather or not they want to listen to what we have on our hearts… just provide for them.

 

‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  - Matthew 25:45

 

Over and Over the bible speaks about these kind of acts. The problem is that due to the fact that people are “filling out a card” we justify it as right in God’s eyes.  This was not his intention however. 

 

 

 

I want you to hear me clearly though… I’m not saying that the next time you do an outreach event you need to make sure that you don’t give away incentives to be there… or the next time you go and serve food at the kitchen your not acting christian by sharing the gospel while someone is eating the food that was paid for by people who want you to fulfill your mission of making disciples. 

 

I’m just trying to make sure that you do everything in you to not hold the gospel for ransom.  We should be the people that go and do a soup kitchen just because. Just because we want to love on the community around us! We should be the community that strives to create a fun and safe environment  while giving away gifts for the youth just because!  Just because we want to love the community around us for who they are… not what they need to hear! 

 

This will make such a larger impact than trying to entice someone to buy into the thought of Jesus, when the physical aspect of Jesus isn’t what they need… they need the savior! 

 

in the heart of it… we just need to let love shine the gospel of grace. and let love be the ransom that we put the gospel in. 

 

 

 

 

 

If we take the approach to an outsider and say.. listen the only thing you have to let me do to is love on you! who would resist? no one!

 

So lets stop trying to make people hear what we are trying to say… lets stop trying to take worldly gifts to entice someone to hear about Jesus. Lets let LOVE do the talking. Lets let our lives be the ones that convey a love worth finding.  If we know that a meal or an Xbox-360 can’t change someone’s life… why are we holding that as the thing that hold’s ransom the gospel? 

 

We need to let love be the life changer. Let love and the way we live our life be the one thing that impacts the lives of hundreds… thousands… and potentially millions!

 

STOP holding ransom the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for crying out loud!!! just love people!

 

lover for the kingdom,

L.

 

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Do you ever find it tough to start something sometimes?  I mean… isn’t it strange that starting is usually the most difficult stage in accomplishing a task, whether it consists of reading a book or following a dream, asking someone out on a date… or just looking for a job!

 

In life we have so many things that God may be calling us to start… he may be calling us to start to make a difference in just the slightest way on our campus, or workgroup.  God may be asking us to start to actually follow him and make the relationship with his son Real. Or God may just be saying to us… in our most desperate times of need… just start trusting me to lead your life! 

 

I thought of this the other day when I was talking with a friend. She was telling me about a paper she had to write for a class she was taking.  What was funny what when I asked her how it was coming…. she said “well… I haven’t really started yet.” 

 

but thats the thing, isn’t it. We haven’t really started yet.

 

 

so often in life we just make it a point to talk about the things that God is stirring in us…. “oh, I just feel like I need to talk with him about that.” or “I really need to make it a point to begin to invest in her even though we don’t get along very well.”  you know these thoughts just as well as I do… the thought that God has you in a divine place in your life for a specific purpose. The question is… are you just going to keep talking about your purpose, trying to make obvious to everyone around you that there is a need at hand… or are you going to step up to the plate and start to make a difference somewhere?

 

Maybe for some of you the last blog made an impact on your life… the concept of leaving a legacy behind… and crafting and controlling what that legacy looks like… well have you started yet?

 

maybe for some of you, you soo want and know you need to be a spiritual leader in your circle of friends… so you can make an impact with those around you!  well…. who have you started to lead?

 

maybe you just want to make a difference on your campus or in your workplace, or in your family. Well.. what’s holding you back from starting?

 

 

everything has a beginning. Everything has a start. except one. GOD.  and the good thing is that he is on your side.  Starting was never meant to be easy… that is where God wants us to bring him along side. So often we get so consumed with what the end is going to look like that it clouds our perception of where to start.  But if we shift the focus from the middle and end to what needs to be the start… things begin to look a lot easier and big change can be made.

 

 

 

 

so… you may know exactly what it is that God is trying to use your life for in this world… and you may know exactly what God is waiting for you to start.  Why are you waiting?

 

 

This week, make it a point to start something. figure out what it is that needs to be started and start it. Don’t get overwhelmed with what you need to do later, or what you need to finish.  Just start. Let God take the faith that you put in him when you start and blow your mind away with unbelievable revelations of who he is in your life!!!

 

 

start to make a difference.

start a change.

start to love.

start to learn.

start to trust God.

just START.

 

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I kinda freaked myself out a few days ago… and started to think about life… and of course when I think about life, I begin to think about death…  maybe everyone does it… but maybe i’m just a bit strange like that.

 

so… I was thinking about what people do when you die.. they talk about you for a while after you have passed on…  they tell funny stories that remind them of fun times, they share memories that cause them to miss you, they even graze through picture books to try and piece it all together again.  They mourn a lost loved one or a lost friend in different ways and in different situations.  But have you ever noticed that most people who have been gone for a year or more are usually summed up in one or two sentences?

 

when someone asks… who Larry Johnson?  they usually say, you know the guy who made football his life.. and we rarely saw him!  or who was Sally O’brian? oh, you don’t remember her, she was awesome!  she always made it a point to make you smile!

 

Everyone has a one sentence liner that will eventually be attached to your life.  It is pretty weird to think that people can and will be summed up in one or two sentences.  I mean… if you think about it, we spend our entire lives trying to achieve our goals, or make a difference, and in the end we are remembered with one or two things.

 

 

well, this thought hopefully doesn’t bring you down… I know some people don’t like thinking about death… and what people will remember them for… but I think that is how you make the biggest difference in this world!  thinking about your legacy. 

 

 

 

so… what do you want your one or two sentences to be? do you want people to say… what an awesome guy, he spent every ounce in him to make a difference for the kingdom!  or do you want people to say… dude… she was pretty cool! I mean… we didnt see her much because she worked all the time, but when we got to hang out… she was something else!

 

 

 

the reality we have to face is that people will sum you up.  Even worse, they will sum you up in a sentence or two. So what do you want it to say?  

 

 

I know for me I have always wanted to make a difference… thats all I want to strive for in this world, being a part of something larger than life… and making it count towards something.  I want my small flame to actually have been a part of a huge bon-fire for the Lord. So what I have to figure out… and what you have to figure out… and what WE have to figure out, is how exactly we take what we want our one or two sentences to be… and make it a reality. 

 

You won’t be able to control your sentence unless you make it the focal point of what and who you are.  They can’t be just the main point and a bunch of sub-points that go along with it… can’t be just a overarching theme that is noticable with everything else we are involved in… they have to be THE point.  they have to be THE purpose. THE reason. THE drive… THE legacy. 

 

 

SO go ahead… and figure out what you want your sentence or two to be… Everyone will have one, and now is your chance to control what you want it to say… 

 

write it out… memorize it… live it… act it… pray it… exhaust it… 

 

 

 

and… make it who you are.

 

L.

 

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I just want to start out with this…

 

God is a really really really really cool God.

 

I have found that in my years here on planet earth.. and particularly the past few months since I have been challenged to write a blog every week… God has worked in soo many different ways!  and he uses the most unique ways to speak to your life. here is an example of one tonight…

 

I have been watching the number of people that have been checking out the blog.. and obviously God is doing something cool with this website because I have done ZERO advertising… in fact a lot of my friends at belmont don’t even know that I have a blog… the only ones that really are aware are the close friends… but they don’t read it. They get enough of me! haha.    But… God has obviously wanted to use this to impact the lives of thousands of people!  and I mean thousands because over the past 6 months, God has impacted over 8,000 people through this blog! 

 

But thats not what has caused me to look back at what God is doing here and be utterly amazed… its the sheer fact that God is and always wants us to know he is there… he is talking… and he is in control.  

 

so…. I logged onto the statistics page for this blog tonight to see how many people have been checking in with us this past month [january] and God just jumped out of the statistics.  

 

I mean, have been praying that God do something crazy with this little website.  and that when he does do something EXTRAordinary, he does it beyond my control and the only response I have is to just say…. I dont know… it was a God thing. God made this very clear tonight with the number one. 

 

a lot of people would have looked at the number 1999, which happens to be the people who have been connecting with us here… as a disappointment.  But  I look at it as God doing something really really really cool!

 

 

 

God keeps all of us humble.  and he likes to keep us in the palm of our hand.   with that… God can and will use us to glorify his kingdom while here on earth! 

 

Life isn’t about the numbers, life is about the impact we make  The impact that you truly can make on someone else’s life through the power of the cross.  

 

The power of one.

So I don’t know what or why or how or when God decided that he was going to land us one short of 2000 this month… But I do know that he made clear the point that even one  can make a big difference.

one person.

one event.

one prayer.

one plan.

one life.

 

each of us have a plan… and each have a God-breathed path in front of you. the question is not in the sheer fact that we take the path before us… it is already mapped out… its the choice of whose one life are we going to impact along the way?

 

 

with one choice you can make a difference.  One has the potential to grow into an extraordinary thing! virtually everything in life starts with one.  and that one adds one… and those each add one… and each one of those adds one… and before you know it you are in millions and billions.

 

The power of one is always overlooked in life.  But in the overlooking we don’t act upon the most powerful number!

 

 

so my simple and desperate question is this… are you going to act upon the one?

 

 

 

 

are you going to find that one person who you know is loved by a creator… just doesn’t see it quite yet….

are you going to find that one family member who you know is lost… you just aren’t ready to admit it….

are you going to find that one friend who you know is seeking… but you’re afraid you can’t answer all their questions….

 

Are you going to continually pray for God to put you in tough situations… and in situations where the only answer to ‘how did that happen’ is nothing more simple than… “God.”

 

 

 

Are you risking the One so that you can impact 1,999?

 

 

 

 

the inefficient but consistent one,

-L.

 

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