These thoughts and beliefs are not necessarily the thoughts or beliefs of those who attend The FUSION! My mind is off the wall and sprat-tic to some and may be under the influence of coffee! If you like comfortable and easy then this blog is not for you! If you like to challenge status quo and look outside the box and think what if and is that possible if I try then we will get along well! I love to call all into question that which is and ask the hard questions of why? P.S. No comments will be posted as anonymous! Get a pair!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Get Away From Me, Nag!

Who wants to be married to a nag? Not me! I don't need someone telling me what to do, how to do it, and then pointing out how I did it wrong! I've lived far too long with a nag in my life!

I don't know how I put up with it for so long...I guess I thought it was the norm.

Or why I thought it was a healthy relationship...it just made me doubt myself.

I couldn't stay married to that nag. So I got away...and you can, too.

Religion has reduced God to a nag--a tedious rule keeper who lays on the guilt whenever we're bad...someone shaking his head as we're caught red-handed...someone who keeps a running tally of our every mistake. When I dedicated my life to God, everything started out great...but as time passed, we settled into our routine like an old married couple. And I guess I was the annoying one in the marriage because I was reminded regularly of how I was doing it wrong.

Maybe I was the mess up, maybe I was doing everything wrong. But apparently there were others who were doing everything wrong, too--everyone I knew at church struggled with the 2 a.m. vague panic of not measuring up.

Is that how we think God works?

Peter (the impulsive, down-to-earth, swearing fisherman) suspected Jesus was a nag when they first met. Sure, Jesus did a miracle right in front of Peter, that's pretty cool. And the miracle was an obscene amount of fish that helped Peter's business! But after the dinner and a show, Peter became increasingly aware of Jesus' holiness. And holy is awesome--as in stand-in-awe awesome--but without relationship, it translates into NAG. So all Peter could hear is "You're a dirty fisherman telling dirty jokes with your dirty language, you're not good enough, you lose your temper, you're not a religious man so WHAT are you doing with this HOLY ONE?! You should be ashamed!"

Jesus didn't say anything like that to Peter, but Peter looked at Jesus and said, "get away from me, I'm a sinful man". (Luke 5)

Holiness can be intimidating. It's like unknowingly tracking dog crap on someone else's pristine white carpet. No one has to say anything to you--you know what a dork you are and you feel ashamed of yourself even though you weren't even aware you were doing it! Then you spend the next half hour inwardly scolding yourself that you should have known better... Jesus didn't scold you. YOU scolded you!

We understand who's doing the scolding at that moment, but in the blur of our day we sometimes attribute that inward scolding to God Almighty. We humans know the difference between good and evil (remember, Eve ate the apple) and when we recognize we're in the midst of evil, we go to work on ourselves.  And every religious, persnickety, judgmental yuck we've ever had the pleasure of coming into contact with is more than willing to help us along.

But God himself says He dances over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17)! That's how much he ENJOYS us! Simple ol' us! He's not dancing and singing over the perfect angels but over US! Probably as we sit on the toilet or complain about our job. (happy thoughts)

As Peter spent time with Jesus day after day, he began to see this unconditional love right in front of his eyes. And even after Peter impulsively denied Jesus three times, abandoning Him and betraying Him when He needed him most, Jesus still made a point to forgive Peter. Jesus once again performed a miracle that resulted in an obscene amount of fish for fisherman Peter. Peter and the other disciples were in a boat (newly loaded up with fish) and Jesus was just a vague figure on the shore. But when that miracle happened, Peter knew exactly WHO was on the shore and impulsively dove out of a perfectly good boat into the water because he simply couldn't get to Jesus fast enough! Isn't that what we do when someone makes us feel incredible, we HAVE to to be near them. That dirty fisherman was no longer ashamed to be around the HOLY ONE! Jesus' unconditional love made Peter comfortable with himself, occasional potty-mouth and all! (John 21)

Let God's unconditional love sink in! He's not busy judging you, despite what you may feel or what religion has told you. God's not a nag so go ahead and give that nag the boot! Give up all the shame and regret! And reacquaint yourself with your singing, dancing, unconditionally loving God!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

For Those About To Rock, We Salute You

I was listening to a little AC/DC and this song really struck me. I could see a crowd, excited and intense, cheering on their champion. The wild enthusiasm of the fans coursing through the athlete's veins. The thunderous applause feeding His adrenaline. And here He comes: Jesus, fresh from an annihilating beating. He's carrying His cross on His massacred body as he focuses all His might to put one foot in front of the other. He falls and people jeer and boo.

But all of Heaven stands up: FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK, WE SALUTE YOU!

Heaven and the Past and the Future celebrate the victory that is this Warrior's manifest destiny. He was about to throw down, leave it all in the ring, give it everything He's got, and hold nothing back. The air fills with that 21 gun salute and ALL the admiration and ALL the honor! Jesus rocked it hard on that hill called "The Skull" and then He wiped the mat with Death and the Grave until those fools were utterly red-faced defeated. His earth shattering victory is worthy of (rock) anthems and parades and celebrations--even 2014 years later!

I always knew listening to AC/DC was a spiritual experience.



All I can say is: Jesus, You ROCK and I salute You! With all my heart!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

N8's mind: Dark Horse Rising

N8's mind: Dark Horse Rising: History has some pretty interesting stories to tell. Stories about the dark horse who came from behind and no one saw it coming. We could t...

Dark Horse Rising

History has some pretty interesting stories to tell. Stories about the dark horse who came from behind and no one saw it coming. We could talk about people like Steve Jobs, Susan Boyle, Michael Oher, James Braddock, Erin Brockovich, Nelson Mandela, Kurt Warner and J.K. Rowling, just to name a few. We read their bios, cheer their teams on, or watch their movies just hoping to capture their unique brand of never-give-up and translate it into our own situation.
One of these dark horse stories is the story of Mary Magdalene. Maybe you've read this story so often that her strength and courage have been lost in familiarity, but take another look. Mary Magdalene enters the story of Jesus when He casts seven demons out of her. That life-changing moment transformed her world in a bigger way than any infomercial has ever dared to promise, sans ginsu knives! She went from Me, Myself, and Irene to Oprah Winfrey in one ecstatic moment.  Her purpose becomes singular: support Jesus at any cost. She becomes part of the entourage and donates money to the ministry. Her whole life revolves around her Savior as she watches Him day after day perform cataclysmic transformations on people, just like the one that wrecked her world. It was mesmerizing! It was heaven on earth!
And then it all went wrong.
Jesus died and Mary Magdalene’s life didn't turn out the way she'd envisioned it. The purpose she'd dedicated herself to, the cause she poured all her time and money into, the solid ground she had metaphorically built her house on all came crashing down in a landslide.
Anyone who's experienced that landslide gets a jarring welcome to the transitional land of Now What. The first steps into this monotonous territory question everything that led us to this place: I thought I was living a good life, I thought I was on the right track, I thought I had what it takes, I thought I had made all the right connections, I thought...
"But the landslide brought me down..."
For three days Mary Magdalene must have been in agony. Did she eat? Did she sleep? Did she feel like a fool? Those three days may have been an eternity, but Ms. Magdalene didn't give up. It takes courage to keep traveling a difficult road all the way to the end. You have to follow your gut and not your eyes. You have to follow your heart and not your head. Passion has to weigh more than the opinion of people. That's how legends are made. That's how world changers are forged.
Mary Magdalene followed her heart to visit the dead person who embodied her dead purpose. It's hard to give up a life purpose because, really: how do you find a new one? She was stumbling around Now What when she came face to face with the risen Jesus. Funny thing is, at first she didn't know Him. She was wrapped up trying to find that beat up Jesus. She was consumed with tying up the loose ends of her unraveled life. She was headlong in her hopeless cause and didn't even recognize the upgraded version of her Purpose.
Jesus Himself had experienced a cataclysmic transformation. For starters, He was no longer dead, but alive! Mary Magdalene recognized Him as soon as He said her name and her life was wrecked again, in the best way possible. Her purpose wasn't deceased, but it was drastically different. Her life's work wasn't over, it was just beginning! She doesn't go down in history as a failure: she is famous on Earth and in Heaven!

Life has many transitions and not all of them are pleasant.  But it's not all for nothing. It's not an embarrassing loss. It's not always going to be this way. Your future isn't going to look like your past. All those choices you made that brought you to where you are: they were the best choice at that time, with what you knew to be true at that moment. We do our best and sometimes it looks like a complete disaster, but keep going. Keep traveling that road and see where it goes. It may not make sense or be the popular choice. But if you travel the course that God has put before you, no matter how difficult and uncomfortable, you may end up being the dark horse to those who thought they knew you. The dark horse that was forged into a world changer!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

What's Finished?

Here's an idea to ponder: when Jesus said "it is finished", what was He talking about? Did He painfully labor to speak these words as He was dying on the cross to tell us the obvious: that His life was finished? Or was He talking about His requirement to pay taxes or that His job was finished...those joyful declarations might have been worth the excruciating pain. Heck, maybe He was talking about His laundry--that's never done till your dead-because He couldn't have meant that the work to get close to God was finished since we're still doing it!!!

We still have to work to get close to God, right? Isn't that why we try to act a certain way: to make sure our actions will show God we've earned the right to be loved? Isn't that why we have to say the right things: so our language won't send God away covering His delicate ears? Isn't that why we tell the truth and obey traffic lights and avoid arguments and read our Bible and pray...to prove fresh everyday that we are temporarily pure enough to hang out with Him (as long as we're doing something wholesome) until we screw it up by our own humanity. Are our efforts necessary?

Tell me this one thing: did you receive God's Spirit by doing what the law requires or by simply hearing the gospel and believing it? How can you be so foolish? You began by God's Spirit; do you now want to finish by your own power? Galatians 3:2-3

Call me crazy, but I think Paul's saying that when we believe we have to do something to earn our right to be close to God, we're relying on our own power--not what Jesus did on the cross! 

I don't turn my back on God's gift of undeserved grace. If we can be acceptable to God by obeying the law, then it was useless for Christ to die. Galatians 2:21

This is so cool: “It is finished” translates in the Greek to an accounting term that means “paid in full.” When Jesus uttered those words, He was declaring the sin-debt owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever. Jesus paid our debt! There's nothing left to pay!

We aren't required to do one single thing to be in relationship with God! Most of us understand that we become acceptable to God because of Jesus' sacrifice, but that's also how we continue in this relationship with the God Of The Universe: because of Jesus' sacrifice! Not because of anything we do!

So, dear friends, this is what we learned today: Don't do ANYTHING to "earn" your right standing with God! Give religion the finger by only doing what you GET TO do! Because God LOVES LOVES LOVES you no matter what you do (or don't do)!!!

Jesus said,"It is finished". Let's live like we believe Him :-D

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Drunk on wine and loving life!

“Jesus turned water into wine—now that’s a God!” --Percy Jackson, Sea of Monsters

John 2 tells the story about Jesus’ first miracle: turning water into wine. I love this Bible passage for so many reasons! Jesus, the leader of our religious group, made about 180 gallons of wine to keep the party going because His mother, the holiest of women, told Him to. You just can’t go wrong with this story! I mean, this is the best spiritual story ever—I’m not making this stuff up! God isn't a prude—he loves to party! He’s not a moderate—He’s an extremist! This very important first miracle performed by Jesus should redefine holyf or those of us with a church background. Maybe holy doesn't mean to God what we think it means!

Jesus made water into wine and the church has been trying to change it back ever since.

Jesus’ holy broke many religious rules to give us a better look at God the Father. The water pots Jesus used were already filled with ceremonial water used to wash the body for religious purposes.  Jesus had the servants top off each water pot with more water so there was no room in the jars for any other liquid, and Jesus turned all that water into wine. The symbolism alone could get you drunk: what was meant for washing externally would instead be used to wash internally; rather than falling off the body, it would be consumed by the body; instead of an outward change, it would change a person from the inside out.  And all this changing and purification would be done not in some staunchy ceremony but at a loud, lavish party that had been raging on for days! Jesus’ holy makes us feel light and free with the intoxication of His love. His holy gives us glad hearts that no longer carry the heaviness of the injustices that can pile up in this life. He wants us to drink in His love until we are carried away in the BLISS of His extreme affection for us! The problem with wine is that it does something to us:  we lose control. The wine of Jesus’ love wrecks us and we’re never the same, He makes us holy.  Jesus started His ministry with wine and ended it with Passover wine—then he became the drink offering at the cross, spilling Himself out for us. Holiness isn't rigid and stoic and cold, it's the most passionate, loving ecstasy anyone's ever experienced! Beautiful!

“Drink your fill, O lovers!” Song of Solomon 5:1

Jesus goes to extremes for you! He can’t get enough of you! He loves everything about you—even your flaws are beautiful to Him! We are often instructed to love God, to worship Him, and that’s important; but today, take some time to pause and let GOD tell you how much He loves you just the way you are!

Think about that until you melt into your chair. Go on, get loaded!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

What If

What if we quit looking at our flaws as flaws?  What if, instead, we saw ourselves as designed and crafted to do a specific function in this world? What if we quit thinking that everyone else is the expert and our opinion is inferior? What if we quit discounting our own unique knowledge, skills, opinions and perspectives that have been accumulated by our own unique life? What if we lived out the empowering "I was made for such a time as this" in Esther chapter 4? What if we quit discrediting the work of God in our own life and truly looked for our personal opportunity to impact the world around us? What if we "let no one despise or disregard or think little of you" like Titus chapter 2 says? What if we dismissed criticism as someone's harsh opinion of us that they formed due to their bad day? What if we dismissed our criticisms as a harsh opinion of others that we formed due to our bad day? What if we embraced all the freedoms, all the joy, all the BLISS that God has for us, that Jesus died to give us? 

My friends, what if THIS is a revolution?

Thursday, January 30, 2014

It's Not Your Fault

It's not my fault! Isn't that the cry of the human heart?! Nobody had to teach my kids to say that when something goes wrong. Isn't that what us adults still say? But we say it in a more intelligent way as we logically point out the deviant who's clogging up the system, all to say (with a sigh of relief) "Look, it's NOT me!".  Adam & Eve infamously stated "it wasn't me, it was that woman you gave me," or "it was the snake's fault," as their most convincing argument of their innocence for God Almighty in the Garden.

"It wasn't me, it was the one-armed man!"

Maybe we'll all be relieved to know that we've been telling the truth all along: it's NOT your fault!!! This statement that irritates anyone who's ever been on the receiving end is actually the truth! Maybe there's a reason this statement is so deeply embedded into us. Maybe it's for a GOOD reason--not some lame cop out.

So here it is: GOD LOVES YOU AND IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT! You didn't have to DO anything for God to love you! You don't have to earn His love. You don't have to act a certain way, be a certain way, do a certain thing, think a certain thought or feel certain feelings! You don't have to focus to say the right thing or work to become better or make yourself more compliant or strong or appealing or acceptable...God loves you and it's NOT YOUR FAULT! 

Now, some of you are thinking, "Don't you have to believe in God for Him to love you?" But scripture says God loved us BEFORE we were Jesus followers (Romans 5:8). He WANTS to be with us no matter where we go (Psalm 139:8)! He will NEVER abandon us (Colossians 1:21)! We don't have to become good enough for God to accept us (Colossians 1:22)! He's a good Daddy who WANTS to give us stuff (Romans 8:32)! He's done all the work for us while we just bask in His unconditional love (Ephesians 2:8-9)!

God made it so easy: you don't have to try to remember all the Bible verses or sermons or flowery inspirational thoughts so you can make God happy--I don't know about you, but those things don't just jump into my brain when I actually need them. And when I rely on myself to get me out of a jam, I'm just setting myself up for failure. Why? Because I could have done it better! Always! The more I know, the more I have to remember, the more I'm accountable for, the more I have to do to feel like I did it right! If only I were more _______! If only I had said _______! If only I'd done _______! I've NEVER MEASURED UP! I've never felt like I've done anything PERFECT! Not once! Not even on my best days!

So, throw all that away and exchange it for the intoxicating thought that the God of the universe lives inside of you! He loves you! He has everything you'll ever need and more! And He loves you just the way you are and it's not your fault! God accepts you the way you are and it's not your fault! God wants to be with you and it's not your fault! 
 
You didn't do anything to earn it, you can't do anything to lose it...GOD IS CRAZY ABOUT YOU AND IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

A Reminder: You're AWESOME!!!

Today, I DARE YOU to read this and not feel AWESOME!  

These are reminders of the promises God has for you taken straight out of the Bible. Scripture references follow--check it out!

So, if no one's told you lately--let me remind you of 
HOW AWESOME YOU ARE!!!

I'm under God's Grace (Unmerited Favor).
He calls me Beloved.
I make God happy.
God chose me.
God selected me.
My life is worthwhile, meaningful, gratifying and will leave a legacy.
Before He laid down the Earth's foundations, God had me in mind.
I am holy and blameless before God.
I've been adopted by God Himself.
God has kind intentions for me.
I have an inheritance.
God works EVERYTHING that happens to me for my good.
I am accepted.
God gave me the right to become His own child.
Whether or not my parents were aware of it, God planned my birth!
I have the Spirit of God in my heart.
I have a close relationship with Jesus, the Son of the Creator of the universe!
If I'm tired and worn out, Jesus will give me rest.
God DOES NOT disapprove of me or reject me.
I've been rescued.
I've been transferred from darkness to the Kingdom of Heaven.
I've been forgiven.
I've been made NEW.
My wrongs have been overlooked.
My faults have been removed.
I'm a new creature.
My old self no longer exists, there's a BRAND NEW version of ME.

NEXT ON MY AGENDA: WORLD TAKEOVER DUE TO AWESOMENESS!!!

And here's Bible-proof of why you're so dang awesome:
To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved."
Ephesians 1:6
"Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him."
2 Corinthians 5:9
"You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you."
John 15:16
"Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him, In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will."
Ephesians 1:5
"Also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will."
Ephesians 1:11
"Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God."
Romans 15:7
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh not of the will of man, but of God."
John 1:12
"Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge."
2 Corinthians 1:21
God is faithful, through whom  I was called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ my Lord."
1 Corinthians 1:9
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "
Matthew 11:28
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8:1
"And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."
Colossians 2:10
"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Colossians 1:14
"There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8:1
"He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:10, 12
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away"

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Mean People Suck!

Christians can be really...mean! Sometimes we're the most fake, gossipy, judgmental people on the planet. Heck, I don't even like to refer to myself as a Christian just because of the negative connotation it has in our generation--and I'm a pastor! I mean, have you ever been flipped off by a driver with a Christian fish on their car? I think we can all relate.

As the ambassadors of Christ, Christians inform the world around us of who Jesus is. Mahatma Gandhi said it best "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Jesus taught us about patience. Jesus taught us about kindness. Jesus taught us that God is merciful. So, when do we need mercy and kindness and patience shown to us? When life is full of rainbows and kitties? NO! When it sucks that we just made some mistake that we're embarrassed of! That's when we need mercy! And that's when God gives us unmerited favor--when we need it--when we messed up! 

This seems just the opposite of what most of us have been taught: when we're "good" God is patient and kind to us but when we're "bad" God leaves us until we straighten up and act right...then eventually God is once again available in our life. But that's just a horribly mean way to treat people! Jesus already paid our debt! We don't have to earn our right to be accepted by God--that's already been taken care of by Jesus! We are never rejected, God's with us all the time!

Maybe we Christians forget this freeing revelation...maybe we were taught to jump through hoops and so we think everybody else needs to. Regardless, let's forgive those who've hurt us and begin a NEW generation of believers who are so in love with Jesus that we act like Him and promote His teachings of GRACE, KINDNESS, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE and LOVE! 

That's the kind of Christian who WILL CHANGE THE WORLD!

Hebrews 4:16 Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.

--Heidi Elznic

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Criminal Finds Success

This past week I was reminded of the first time I stole something. I started my criminal record as a hardened 3 years old, and I stole a Siamese kitten from my grandparent's cat's recent litter. I wanted that kitten, but my parents said no. So as we got ready to leave my grandparent's house, I quickly tucked the little ball of fluff under my coat while my parents were busy saying their goodbyes. 

Now, I don't know how I thought I was going to keep this cat a secret but I guess somehow I thought it would work out, so I was terrified when a few miles down the road a faint "mew" escaped from inside of my coat! My Dad slammed on the breaks and began to scold me, but with my Mom's coaxing he saw how much I wanted the kitten and that's how I got to keep my Siamese cat named Tiger...and how I saw the benefits of theft. (Check out next week's blog "Stealing is BAD") Growing up, Tiger and I were inseparable: he seemed to know he was my cat, he slept on my bed every night and just days after I went to college, my Mom found that old cat had died on my bed, curled up in his sleep. The memory of stealing Tiger brought up all the emotions of fear turning to joy that I had experienced as a 3 year old boy.

Remembering the good that's happened in our lives awakens powerful emotions. 

Unfortunately, the same happens when we're reminded of the negative events in our lives: we instantly become discouraged and frustrated.

Negative memories actually take up more space in our brains than positive memories since we usually process the negative over and over. It's like a movie playing in our minds as we watch the negative event unfold and soon we're thinking about how we could have done it better, what we should have said, and the frustration of our failures. But we don't have to watch this movie! We CAN change the channel.

We can't move on to the good things Jesus has in store for us if we stay on the bad.

Bad breaks happen to us all so we have to train our minds to remember the good. God never told us to remember our defeats. Just imagine what would happen if we'd spend our time going over our successes instead of our defeats! 

In the past, God instructed His people to throw week-long parties several times a year just to celebrate their victories! We can celebrate our victories everyday if we just take a moment to dwell on how we met our spouse, when we kicked an addiction, how Jesus set us free, or the memory of the day our kids were born--God gave us amazing victories before, He can do it again! 

Go over all the successes in life: remember how God protected you when you couldn't protect yourself, advanced you beyond what you were qualified to do, helped you make the right decision...or gave you a childhood friend when what you really deserved was a spanking! Remember the WIN--not all the mistakes made in the process!

Don't stay busy remembering what you should be forgetting. Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions--change the channel when it's negative. We all have bad breaks sometimes, but it's worth the effort to remember all the GOOD God has done for us!

Our Lord, I will remember the things You have done, Your miracles of long ago. I will think about each one of Your mighty deeds. Everything You do is right, and no other god compares with You. Psalm 77:11-13