- living the dash (this blog has moved to livingthedash.tv)

From time to time, we all need to get away from the…

• noise
• busyness
• pressure
• stress
• chores
• distractions

of life.

Jesus modeled this behavior for us…..

Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Matthew 26:36 (MSG)

While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed. Mark 1:35 (MSG)

As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer. Luke 5:16 (MSG)

Where do you go to get away?

My favorite place to get away……Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

“sons of hell”

“blind guides”

“hypocrites”

“filthy”

“full of greed”

“snakes. Sons of vipers”

Those are strong words.

Those are the words that Jesus used to describe the Pharisees in Matthew 23.

Jesus could see right through their religious dress, their religious activities, and religious rituals.

On the inside, their hearts were dead.

God is not interested in our religion…..he is interested in our hearts.

At church and in my small group we have been studying heaven.

Before we started, honestly, I didn’t understand the importance of doing a deep study on heaven.

After all, it is a perfect place in the presence of God and it lasts forever…..and I am going there someday. That was good enough for me.

Several weeks into this study, I am beginning to understand why God provides glimpses of heaven in His Word.

Here is what I am learning…….

• Focusing on the eternal nature of heaven allows me to more clearly see the temporal nature of this world and all the stuff in it.

• Focusing on the perfection of heaven allows me to more clearly see the brokenness of this world and everyone in it (including me).

• Focusing on the magnificence of heaven allows me to more clearly see the insignificance of my possessions in this world.

• Focusing on heaven allows me to more clearly see that I need to live differently.

If you have children…..or no children

If you have experienced loss or tragedy…..of if you haven’t

If you believe in God……or if you don’t

Watch the videos here

Thanks to Pete Wilson for sharing the videos…..but more importantly, thanks to Todd and Angie Smith for sharing your story.

John Eldredge says this about Joy in his new book Walking With God

Joy as a category seemed….irrelevant. Nice but unessential. Like owning a hot tub. And distant too. The hot tub is in Fiji. Wouldn’t it be nice? Ain’t going to happen. Life’s not really about joy. I’ve got all this stuff that has to get done.

Then he asks…..

Really now – how much do you think about joy? Do you see it as essential to your life, something God insists on?

Those are good questions. I would say I think about it. Even experience it. But essential? That God insists on it? Never thought of it like that.

He offers up these scriptures where Jesus talks about joy……

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11 (NIV)

Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks! John 16:24 (MSG)

I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. John 17:13 (NIV)

I want to be like David when he said…..

He proved he’s on my side; I’ve thrown my lot in with him. Now I’m jumping for joy, and shouting and singing my thanks to him. Psalm 28:7 (MSG)

Loved Mark Batterson’s In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day.

So I have been wanting to give his first book, ID: The True You, a read.

Finally popped it open tonight. Great so far.

I noticed something in both of his books. He is great at packing wisdom into simple 1 liners.

Here are a few from my reading tonight:

If anything is going to undermine your reliance upon God and become a source of pride in your life it’s going to be your gift.

Here’s the problem with worshipping yourself. If you’re anything like me, you run out of stuff to worship real quick.

And so it is in our relationship with God: the more we grow the bigger God gets!

The significance of uniqueness is this: no one else can worship God like you.

All of us start out as one-of-a-kind originals. Too often we end up carbon copies of someone else.

You need to come to terms with who you’re not, but don’t let what you can’t do keep you from doing what you can!

You need to know that God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

Everything God allows in your life today is preparation for something He wants to do in your life tomorrow!

What you need to understand is that preparation for the frontlines of life usually happens on the backside of life.

Who you are is more important than what you do because what you do will ultimately be a reflection of who you are.

I have posted a few times about the idea of Simplicity since I read Simplicity: The New Competitive Advantage in a World of More, Better, Faster

here

here

here

I came across this tonight while reading through Luke in The Message.

Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God’s kingdom and heal the sick. He said, “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment. - Luke 9:1-4 (MSG)

Keep it simple; you are the equipment.

Keep it simple; you are the equipment.

At age 12, Marcus is still just a boy, but I am confident that he will eventually be a giant of a man.

I don’t know a lot about Marcus and his family situation.

I do know he doesn’t have much. At least when it comes to money, toys, and other material possessions.

I do know he lives with his grandparents in the shadows of The Woodlands, TX. One of the wealthiest areas in the Houston area.

And I know he shows up every single Sunday morning with a smile on his face to serve 4 year olds in the children’s ministry at my church.

My wife is on the children’s ministry staff and she purposely arranged for Marcus to serve with me in my class in the hopes that he could learn from me.

Funny thing is…….I am learning a lot from Marcus.