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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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?

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!

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"

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

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

Merry Christmas from the Fusion!

British soldiers were spending Christmas Eve 1914 on a French battlefield during World War I. After four months of fighting, over a million men had perished in the bloody conflict. The bodies of dead soldiers were scattered between the trenches of the opposing armies.

It was in the middle of a freezing battlefield in France, that a miracle occurred! British troops watched in amazement as candle-lit trees appeared above the German trenches.

“From the German parapet, a rich baritone voice had begun to sing a song I remember my German nurse singing to me ... the grave and tender voice rose out of the frozen mist. It was all so strange ... like being in another world,” a young British soldier wrote in his diary.

“Silent Night, Holy Night. All is calm. All is bright.”

When the German soldiers finished singing, the British decided to retaliate. Rather than retaliate with the roar of a cannon, the army chaps from England sang,

“The first noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay ...”

When the boys from jolly old England finished, “Born is the King of Israel!”, the enemy began clapping and struck up a rousing rendition of “Oh Tannebaum!”

When the British troops began singing, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful!”, it was at that moment that the Germans immediately joined in. They were singing with the enemy.

This was a most extraordinary event taking place in the middle of a blood-drenched battlefield! Two opposing nations were singing the same Christmas Carol in the middle of a fierce war. It is recorded that enemy soldiers greeted each other in the no man’s land that just minutes before had been a killing zone. Soldiers wished one another a Merry Christmas and agreed not to fire their rifles on Christmas Day.

Thousands of soldiers celebrated the birth of the Prince of Peace among the bodies of their dead.

A solitary voice began to sing “Silent Night” in French ... he was joined by another voice singing in German ... and finally the words were in English.

Who do you need to make peace with this season? Have you been engaged in a fierce battle that has extracted the very life from your soul? Christmas is a moment in history when peace is abundantly possible because of the Baby who came to bring peace for all of the ages.

Excerpt taken from YouVersion.com's Christmas Bible reading plan Joy! To Your World

Need a Bible? Go to YouVersion.com and take your pick for FREE!

JOY: a lifestyle

It's Christmas time--the time when we celebrate Jesus' birth. There's an overall confusion about Jesus these days. Some think He was a Jew with a Mexican name. Some think He was a lot like Mr. Rogers (I ask you, who would crucify Mr.Rogers?!). Some think He gave us a bunch of ridiculous rules and unreasonable standards to load us full of guilt and shame.

The truth is, Jesus invaded our world to bring joy! Not a momentary feeling but a whole lifestyle of joy. And how was He going to do that? By bringing us the news of grace, the best news ever which is simply: quit trying! You don't have to DO anything but simply believe! 

Here's some quick theology to explain why: Jesus' death on the cross ended the old covenant and began a new one. The old covenant teaches all the things that you have to DO to be acceptable to God, like the 10 commandments. The NEW covenant teaches that Jesus already did it all! The old covenant requires us to examine our lives over and over to see where we've failed, but the new covenant turns our eyes away from ourselves and we instead focus on Jesus!  (Theology lesson over...throw yourself a party: you survived!)

Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are no longer demanded to perform since it's not about what we can do or what we should do--it's about what Jesus has already done. It's not about trying harder--it's about simply believing that Jesus is who He said He is: the perfect sacrifice once and for all who fulfilled every requirement of the law on our behalf.  If we have to act a certain way for God to accept us, that would mean that Jesus' death on the cross wasn't enough, which isn't true. So we get to QUIT TRYING! We simply believe to become a Jesus-follower, and we simply believe to live the life of a Jesus-follower. We don't have to DO--just believe!  Your own efforts to live a "good" life just plain SUCK compared to depending on Jesus and Jesus alone for victory! This is the crazy-good news (gospel) that Jesus came to Earth to GIVE to us. The gospel of grace is what the apostle Paul calls the ONLY gospel! And truly understanding God's grace leads to relief & thankfulness which leads to a LIFESTYLE OF JOY!

So quit trying, let go of all the guilt and condemnation, stop working and wondering if you measure up! Jesus did it ALL for you! All you need to do is BELIEVE! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here's some scripture to start you off...there's way more...do your own research Galatians is a great place to start :)

Romans 11:6

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

Galatians 2:21 

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

Hebrews 10:11-12 

The priests do their work each day, and they keep on offering sacrifices that can never take away sins.  But Christ offered himself as a sacrifice that is good forever. Now he is sitting at God's right side,

Colossians 2:14 

God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross.

Galatians 3:1-5

You stupid Galatians! I told you exactly how Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross. Has someone now put an evil spell on you? I want to know only one thing. How were you given God's Spirit? Was it by obeying the Law of Moses or by hearing about Christ and having faith in him? How can you be so stupid? Do you think that by yourself you can complete what God's Spirit started in you? Have you gone through all of this for nothing? Is it all really for nothing? God gives you his Spirit and works miracles in you. But does he do this because you obey the Law of Moses or because you have heard about Christ and have faith in him?

Galatians 1:6-9 

I am shocked that you have so quickly turned from God, who chose you with his gift of undeserved grace. You have believed another message, when there is really only one true message. But some people are causing you trouble and want to make you turn away from the good news about Christ. I pray that God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from our message to you! It doesn't matter if that person is one of us or an angel from heaven. I have said it before, and I will say it again. I hope God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from what you have already believed.

When You've Messed Up So Bad

Have you ever thought you've messed up so bad that you're not sure how you'll ever fix it? You watched your future go down the drain and your hope shrivels up and you experience a pain in your chest that is SO BIG that it just feels...numb. 

You're not sure how you got there, but it's not good. You know you've gotta get out of there, but how?

So you begin to try, but every attempt just puts you back down in that black hole. Faith becomes as elusive as luck, hope is reduced to wishing. The worst keeps happening over and over, the bottom dropping out again and again...so you begin to expect it. It's safe to expect the worst. then you're not disappointed.

But expecting the worst doesn't safeguard us from disappointment--it's the vehicle of disappointment! When we're cynical, everywhere we go we'll just see more to be skeptical about. Cynicism breeds cynicism! And here's the worst thing: it closes our eyes to all the good that's already around us! It deafens our hearts to the encouragement God is speaking to us on a daily basis. When we're not thankful until the BIG THING happens, then we're missing the WHOLE THING because it's the little details, the small everyday kind of miracles that make our lives so rich, not some destination, some moment when we've magically arrived! 

Live life to the fullest! Sometimes life is pain, but pain isn't always bad. Sometimes it's the pain of change as God is bringing something new to your life, rather than the pain of injury. Experience it all! Don't reason away the good God wants to give you--don't doubt it away--but believe for the impossible! Dream! Risk! Hope! Try it again! Look for the best from God and you'll be sure to find it! The Creator of the Universe promised you some good things in your lifetime--you can trust God when He makes a promise!

Joshua 23:14 AMP

...Know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one thing of them has failed. 

I HATE religion!

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my FREEDOM! Thanks to everyone who's served in our armed forces, we can all be thankful for that! Americans love freedom! Freedom of the press, freedom to bear arms, freedom from religion...

It's actually freedom OF religion, but I'll go along with it. I hate religion, too!

People are amazed when I, a pastor, say that, but it's true! Religion sucks!

Religion doesn't care about people: it cares about rules. Religion doesn't care about your circumstances and your tough breaks: it cares that you broke the rules. Religion says "No" and then makes you feel like a jerk for asking. Religion finds out about your flaws and broadcasts them in front of the world. Religion is sure your innocent mistake is some deeper flaw that's infected your humanity and made you UNACCEPTABLE as a person, as a whole. And then Religion makes sure you forever know you messed up, you are a mess up, and maybe you're "forgiven"...but, really, Religion never forgets.

It's terrible that Jesus is mistaken to be Religion! Jesus doesn't operate in guilt and condemnation! He doesn't hold things over our heads! He's not into physically or mentally tormenting people or ruining our day for the fun of it! He's not al-Qaeda--just another example of American freedom: freedom of speech! 

In fact, when we mess up, all we have to do is tell God we're sorry. Period. We don't have to feel guilty to pay for our mess-ups--Jesus already paid the whole debt. With His blood. His blood is a big deal!

This is so cool: do you know why Jesus' blood is symbolized by wine? Because wine (not grape juice, water, or pop if you had a youth pastor like me) symbolizes intoxication in the Holy Spirit! In 355 AD, there was a huge church council that decided it would be bad to use anything BUT wine in communion because of the parallels between wine and Jesus' blood:

• drinking natural wine makes us feel happy=Jesus' divine mercy makes people feel amazingly free & happy
• drinking natural wine lifts our sadness=our past is lifted, forgiven, and we become brand-new when we say YES to Jesus

So Jesus' blood  gives us life, removes our sin, makes us complete, helps us overcome obstacles, makes our connection with God closer than our breath, gives us eternal life, cleans out our guilt, allows one-on-one with The God Of The Universe, redeems us, brings those who were far away from God near to Him, and it brings us peace and reconciliation to God! 

Jesus turned water into wine and the church has been trying to change it back, eversense! Just sayin'

I know Jesus has this image as a pale, frail, plastic-y kind of do-gooder who's hard to relate to. But that's just the 2000 year old urban legend-garbage that's only a shadow of the truth that was painted by men who never saw Him (remember: there were no photographers back then...now we know). The real Jesus can relate to us! Jesus knows how it feels to see the bigger picture when nobody around Him had a clue. Jesus had to work in the family business for a time even though He had different dreams. Jesus' friends never really got Him. Jesus knows how it feels to be a laughingstock and beat down by His enemies. Jesus knows how it feels to be publically declared a criminal. Jesus knows how it feels to be innocent yet charged with all kinds of wrongs. He rode a donkey at the height of His fame. His friends deserted Him when He needed them most. He often disappeared to go pray--maybe because the disciples were driving Him crazy... Jesus can relate to the insanity of living on this earth! You are not alone! Jesus gets you! More than you know...

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people — free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need,letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ --Ephesians 1:7-10

Giving Up

A few summers ago, we rented a cabin in Southern Minnesota for a family vacation.  We're Minnesotans and that's what Minnesotans do: vacation in Minnesota! Do we do that because we love lakes and trees that much...or because of the time and expense it takes to get to a real vacation spot since we're so far away from anywhere remotely tropical or glamorous? Who knows. Let's just keep it at "we're Minnesotans". 

Anyway, as we drove we were surrounded by (you guessed it) lush groves of trees and sparkling lakes and ponds.  Beautiful scenery! However, as we got closer to what GPS was leading us to, the landscape turned into dead, abandoned farmland complete with decrepit houses and an eerie absence of life: no people driving cars, no animals scurrying away and no trees or plants! This void of everything was screaming DEAD! GO BACK! SAVE YOURSELVES!

We had never been there before, but it didn't look right! We checked and rechecked GPS thinking we'd made a mistake, but our dot of a minivan was still obediently following the happy little blue trail. The Google Maps Lady wasn't yelling at us, either (she can be SO BOSSY!). We were right on track...to the Bates Motel, apparently. We're talking desolation and despair!

Just about the time the pack of timberwolves would have been cued to break into our minivan and systematically hunt us down in the frozen tundra had this been a movie (sorry, couldn't resist) we turned a corner and saw that we were overlooking a valley in which was nestled our long-awaited vacation spot! Just moments before we were sure Google Maps was on crack, but now we were mouth agape staring at our destination! Just moments before we were ready to give up and turn around, back to civilization, but now we saw our campground! Which was not just any campground but a resort including a golf course, hiking trails, basketball court, swimming pool, and a trout stream running right through it, and our cabin that turned out to be a spacious lodge, all surrounded by limestone which, dear friends, KEEPS MOSQUITOES AWAY!  Even at dusk! Even in the bushes! (If you happen to be in the bushes at dusk...for some reason...?) Kinda crazy, right?! One minute we think we're completely lost and the next minute we're overlooking a gorgeous resort that was even better than we'd imagined. It's incredible what the turn of a corner can bring! 

When you've never been there before, it's hard to tell if you're getting close to your destination. When you're trying to fix a relationship, you usually have to weather some fights before there's unity. When you're trying to get your finances on track, it's usually because your bank account is dying a slow, painful death. When you're chasing a promising career, your friends and family may feel neglected before you realize you need to realign your life's balance. When you've been publicly humiliated by your child's behavior, you have to be a little more consistent with discipline at home before the world, too, can see the greatness in that kid. But if you've never been there before, it's hard to tell if you're on track to EVER get there!  If you've never observed the difficulties that are required to reach a breakthrough, you may not realize just how close you really are to that breakthrough! 

Your scenery may look like desolation and despair, but maybe it's because you're about to turn a corner!

It may take some strength, more than you thought you had, but don't give up! You may feel like you just can't take it, but don't quit! You don't know what's just ahead! You don't know what God's up to behind the scenes! You don't know everything that's being orchestrated to arrive right on time even better than you'd planned! Maybe it's taken more blood, sweat and tears than you had anticipated, but the end results will have you staring mouth agape at the amazing success your story has turned into!  

"Most people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure" is a great reminder from Napoleon Hill.  Maybe everything around you looks dead and abandoned. Maybe you're thinking of heading back to civilization. Maybe your friends and family have labeled you crazy to even keep trying, but sometimes you just have to figure that if you've gone this far, what's another hour, day, month or year... This is when you benefit from your vice: stubbornness! Dig in! Expect the best! Refuse to listen to reason: refuse to know the meaning of the word "quit". Think of your future self--the one who's overcame this obstacle--what advice would your future you give the present you? Do that and live without regrets!

Do you see what this means — all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running — and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed — that exhilarating finish in and with God — he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! 

Hebrews 12:1-3 The Message

As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. 11 We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul — not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, 12 thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. Colossians 1:10-12 The Message

By Heidi Elznic :)
The Fusion