Remember....

Is it cold enough for you out there?  This morning I drove John to work so that he wouldn't have to make the 15-minute walk from his parking spot to his building. [Up here in Wisconsin it is so cold that apparently frostbite will set in with only 15 minutes of exposure!  Now THAT is cold!] As we turned out of our neighborhood, I was STRUCK (like semi-truck struck) by an overwhelming WAVE of gratitude. It happened so fast it nearly knocked me over.  For your own protection, I will take you through the experience a little slower...

Two years ago today we had just completed a WHIRLWIND move from our gorgeous, spacious, dream home in the country to a tiny, postage stamp lot, residence in the city. There was no doubt that God's fingerprints were ALL over that move. Mortal hands could NEVER have arranged the way it went down. It was just 11 days from viewing the house to living in the house. We moved a family of seven 40 miles away over the Christmas holidays!  Nothing short of a miracle!

So we were in the city... where we needed to be.... and things were better, but they were still TOUGH! We had 1 vehicle and 1 driver, but we still had 4 kids, 3 jobs and an elderly person to take care of.  I was responsible for EVERY bit of driving in this house, but I didn't give up ANY of my other responsibilities.  I still homeschooled the kids, cared for my aunt, worked from home, coached cheer, and cared for a sick hubby.  When I look back sometimes, I literally have NO idea how I survived. I was literally and truly carried through that season of life by my loving God and my amazing family. 

Every day I rose (like today) and drove 30 to 45 minutes to get John to work and get back home, before starting the INSANITY of my day: work-homeschool-clean up after kids-clean up after an old person. Then I would have to take a break in the insanity of my day to drive another 30 to 45 minutes to retrieve John from work and then coach-work-school some more-make dinner-clean up after AM some more. Every single solitary errand that needed to be run, I was responsible for:  library to return books, get groceries, Walmart, pickup prescriptions, oops ran out of milk, get to practice, BAH need emergency first aid supplies.  EVERYTHING was on my shoulders. 

Fast forward to this morning, as my husband was turning out of our neighborhood, and I was BY CHOICE to keep him safe but NOT out of necessity, riding along to get him to work, and I was OVERWHELMED with the realization of all that God has done for us in the past 24 months [*two drivers *two vehicles *hubby FINALLY on the mend] and AWE-STRUCK by the blessings I've already come to take for granted [*having an extra hour and a half each day of NOT driving him *having a second vehicle (thanks to my AMAZING parents) *sharing the errands with John] and AMAZED that He would do all of that for a wretched creature like me... which all led me to REMEMBER His great love for me.

Yesterday at Life Church we started a  new series titled Re-. Aaron Cole kicked it off with an AWESOME sermon titled Review. He encouraged us to regularly Review our lives.... to remember the goodness of God.... as we drove to church I heard Brian Houston from Hillsong on KLove encouraging us, He's "never failed and He won't start now."  Then during worship we sang the song those lyrics are from.... God really wants me to REMEMBER..... and I plan to do that.  This morning I am remembering how BLESSED I am and how FAR He's brought us.... it is proof positive that

  He's NEVER failed, and He won't start now.

What do you need to remember today?  Take a few minutes and replay it all in your mind. Remember the goodness of your God, and be blessed everyone!

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.
Psalm 77:11

Sunday's Sermon: This is My Story

Three weeks ago, Pastor Aaron introduced a new series called This is My Story. Because he was taking a 30-day sabbatical, four different staff members would be preaching and telling their "stories" which were according to him POWERFUL and would minister to us greatly. I was skeptical that I would actually enjoy four weeks without Pastor Aaron's preaching, but then he gave a teaser to one of the stories. The story of a young girl halfway around the world on a mission trip to India when her mother passed away unexpectedly.... The story reminded me of my dear Christina, and I knew that come heck or high water I would NOT miss that story!

This weekend.... ohhhhhh this weekend!  Friday night we had our Pampered Chef fundraiser and a few hours before while I was still in the HEAT of barking out orders to the kids to clean up, trying to make homemade salsa and guacamole, and had not yet taken a shower, I found Auntie Marge wandering down the hallway wearing nothing from the waist down but one sock. This was my final clue that she was indeed, as I had been suspecting for about a week, ill. The doctor wouldn't prescribe anything without seeing her, and I couldn't get her to the doctor that night so I planned to take her in the next morning. We were up late from the Pampered Chef party and didn't get to bed till nearly midnight. At about 2 a.m. Hannah woke me when she banged her puke bucket into my head, "I think I'm gonna throw up, Momma." I spent the next few hours listening to her bark this AWFUL cough that made her sound like a yippy dog before drifting off into a VERY light sleep next to her. At 7 a.m., I heard Auntie Marge calling me from the bathroom. She had an accident that required a shower and full cleaning of the toilet/bathroom. The weekend proceeded much like that.... went to the urgent care with BOTH Hannah and Auntie Marge. Hardly slept AT ALL Saturday night as well because of a headache and some insomnia over stress... Sunday morning dawned, and I did NOT feel like going to church. I was EXHAUSTED... But there was NO WAY Satan was keeping ME from THIS sermon!  John and I devised a plan that involved going to church in two shifts in order to keep our little Sickie Vickie from infecting other children. I threw down a cup of coffee and headed off to first service.

The worship was POWERFUL and amazing as always. This guy they have leading worship at our church lately is nothing short of FABULOUS!  He wrote the first song we sang.... It was the debut of the song in Sunday service, but had been sung in Youth Group already.... Jeremiah leaned over and said, "Mom, this is IT! My favorite song I was telling you about!"  I love when my children are excited about the things of God!

So then it was time.... I had my plan... pay attention closely for some good stuff to tell Christina... wisdom that she would TOTALLY be able to relate to.  She came out... This adorable young thing who wasn't even BORN when I graduated from high school!  I was sure she had something to share with Christina but me??? I'm an old foggie.... I've heard it all before..... WHATEVER!  She ROCKED MY WORLD!  I mean it ROCKED MY WORLD!

Her testimony of losing her mother made me BAWL.... that I expected. I am such an empathetic person that I felt her loss, as told through her story, VERY deeply. But then like a right hook out of nowhere, this girl started getting in MY kitchen. She talked about the choice when you suffer a loss... the choice to be bitter or to trust God.  She talked about the fact that EVEN Jesus wept... so WE can weep too in loss. But I think what gutted me the most was her bare-naked honesty.... I am SO glad this young lady had the courage to say what wouldn't make her look the best in some circles. She admitted that on the way home to the United States after her mother had passed away she questioned God... she thought, "Really God.... I'm here doing YOUR business and You couldn't just have her hang on a little longer so I could say goodbye?"  It GUTTED me!  See I have felt that!  I have thought that!  "Lord, I've given you my life!  I've served you UNWAVERINGLY since I was a little girl! You really couldn't just protect this one thing I held MOST dear???"

After the sermon, I went forward for prayer. That was a BIG step for me!  I have RESISTED God's prodding to do so many times before at this church... I don't know why... I think mostly because I don't like the unknown of how it is going to go down... But this time... I just walked up there... straight to the beautiful, young whippersnapper who had just WRECKED me with her sermon. And as she prayed for me I felt a WEIGHT I have been carrying for several years lifting off my shoulders.... a freedom that it is OKAY to hurt and feel and WEEP... and a release from some of the weight of my guilt at not being "godly enough" to weather my loss with a smile on my face and pep in my step.

See I have LONG believed that God isn't afraid of our honesty. I have LONG believed that I had permission to weep. But for some reason, on THIS day, from THIS girl, in THIS moment I had a WORD from God that GRIPPED my heart.... and I really BELIEVED that it was okay to weep because Jesus did it too!

Today my friends let me encourage you.... Whatever you are going through right now.... Whether it is a MAJOR loss or a minor setback, it is OKAY to weep, to feel, to be angry, to be HONEST... It is okay because that is the model Jesus set for us.... He was honest.... he even got angry.... he even questioned God in the Garden of Gethsemane.... he WEPT... so we can too.

Oh and one final thing.... I realized at the end of the message that I didn't even know what to tell Christina.... I had gone to church "for her" so I could share things that would minister to her, but two minutes in I completely forgot about her because I was in the midst of my own moment with God.... Don't worry... I sent her a link to the live feed of the second service so she wouldn't miss out completely... And I'm pretty sure she'll read this blog too...

Jesus wept.
John 11:35

Favor ain't fair...

This is one of my FAVORITE Pastor Aaron sayings.

"Favor ain't fair." 

Recently I've been contemplating how, "Struggles ain't fair either...." So often it seems as if struggles just aren't fairly distributed. My great-grandmother buried 4 of her children before she died.... That just isn't fair.

I had a brief e-mail conversation with Pastor Aaron about this, and his reply was food for thought. He said that since the fall of man, NOTHING on this earth has been fair.

This applies to all concerned. Yesterday I wrote about Tim Tebow.... his recent success and fame could easily be attributed to hard work, dedication, a love for God, but you know what? Favor ain't fair! Ultimately God CHOOSES whom he uses. God decides a man's fate. How silly we are to think we control our own destiny! Yes Tim Tebow worked hard... he also loves God... but that isn't the SOURCE of his success... God is!  This also applies to those suffering.... "Struggles ain't fair either!" Pick up your Bible and read about Job. He worked hard, was dedicated, loved God, yet you know what??? His was a lot of suffering. In fact, his suffering is what he went down in history for.

I guess all I'm trying to say is that life in general is not FAIR. In fact fair is kinda a stupid word... It isn't FAIR that I was born in America where I am free to worship Jesus Christ and blab all about Him and my faith here on the internet while a pastor in Iran is on death row for preaching about Jesus. It isn't FAIR that my babies were all born in a sterile hospital, healthy and hearty while millions of babies in Africa are born in filthy, slop, hungry and frail from the moment they leave the womb. It isn't FAIR that I have my husband alive even though he is suffering, while many others have buried theirs and laid them to rest.

Life is NOT FAIR! Before you go refuting my assertion with your: "I deserve what I have!" or "I earned everything I have by my good choices." Let me just give you one final thought, torn from the words of Scripture:

..... all our righteous acts are like filthy rags....
Isaiah 64:6

The only thing every single one of us DESERVES is death and destruction for:

....all have sinned and FALL SHORT of the glory of God...
Romans 3:23

Therefore, I suggest we all PRAISE GOD today that "Favor ain't fair."

More on forgiveness and forgetting....

I didn't have much time to blog the other day when I posted the link to Pastor's Aaron's sermon. I don't really have more time today, but when something BURNS on my heart, I gotta write it out.

forgive - to give up resentment of or claim to compensation for

forget - to lose the remembrance of: be unable to think of or recall

First of all, just to be clear, does everyone know that the Bible doesn't tell us to forgive and forget? The Bible's directives regarding forgiveness include:

*forgive seventy times seven
*forgive as your Father in Heaven forgives

But the Bible does NOT tell us to forgive and forget.

Here's the deal folks: forgiveness is NOT forgetting. Forgiveness is letting go of our hurt and anger over the injustice caused. Forgiveness is letting go of the slight, betrayal, offense. Forgiveness says you don't have to pay me back for this sin any more. You don't have to make this up to me. Forgiveness is NOT forgetting the slight, betrayal, offense happened. Forgiveness is not removing it from your memory (which is impossible).

God forgives our sins. God tosses them as far as the east is from the west. But God doesn't allow us to forget them because we need to remember. Just the same, we should forgive those who have sinned against us, but that doesn't include forgetting!

1. We need to REMEMBER so we REMEMBER how much we have been forgiven of. REMEMBERING the mercy God (and others) has shown us makes us grateful and increases our love toward them.

2. We need to REMEMBER so we learn a lesson. Our past failures... The past failures of others.... These things forgiven teach us VALUABLE lessons. As I stated on Monday, REMEMBERING that a hot stove burns, helps us LEARN not to touch it again. Also, REMEMBERING that I have no self-control when it comes to chocolate helps me LEARN not to keep chocolate in the house. REMEMBERING that a situation led to sin helps us LEARN to avoid it in the future. REMEMBERING that a friend blabbed a secret we begged them not to share, helps us REMEMBER not to reveal so much next time.

3. We need to REMEMBER so we can be used. The best comfort in pain and agony comes from someone who has walked the road we are on before us. The best comfort to someone struggling with the pain from a broken marriage, comes from another who has been there. The best comfort to someone walking down the dark path of the loss of a child, comes from another who has been there. The best comfort to someone battling an addiction, comes from another who has been there.

So here's the deal...

Do you need to forgive others?  YES! How often? INFINITY times INFINITY.

Do you need to forget what they did? NO! Absolutely not. You can't.

I look at it like this... most of the time when you forgive a slight it couldn't have been "made right" anyways. Sorry doesn't make it better. If I punch you in the face as hard as I can, sorry doesn't take away the pain, the redness or the swelling. Sorry doesn't make it better. If I say sorry, it doesn't magically erase the fact that it ever happened. If I say sorry I'm saying, "I wish I could go back and NOT do that the second time." And when you forgive me you are saying, "I let go of it. I won't make you pay it back." (The funny thing about it is OFTEN there is NO way that it could be paid back anyways.) There is also NO way it can be forgotten. The next time I lift my hand up in a fist aimed at your face you're going to flinch!  You should! It's called self-preservation. AND the next time a friend gets punched in the face you are going to be able to say, "I remember how that felt. I hated that!"

Forgiving is GOOD for you and the person who slighted you. Bitterness, resentment, anger held onto... these things are a cancer eating away at the bones.

Forgetting is IMPOSSIBLE so stop trying. Instead embrace it. Remember the lessons your pain has taught you. Remember the pain and use that to help others. Finally, REMEMBER how much you too have been forgiven of!

Romans 14....

I have read Romans 14 twice in the past two days... It keeps sticking in my craw and calling me back to my earlier musings about honesty.

Read these excerpts....

v1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

v4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

v13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

v15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.

v17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

v19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

v22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.

It got me thinking about how we as Christians (heck! we as human beings!) get so caught up on arguing about who's right: should we baptize babies or adults, is it okay for Christians to consume alcohol, speaking in tongues, clapping during worship, KJV, NIV, yada yada yada!

Guess what? Here's my assertion: NONE of that matters! None of it! Every single one of those things falls under PERSONAL! Between each individual and his/her God. The only thing we as Christians should be asserting... The only thing we should be debating is the supremacy of the gospel. But we preach Christ crucified.... (I Cor 1:23) That is ALL that matters! That is what is important! Making sure everyone we love, everyone we know, everyone we come into contact with knows this one thing: they are a sinner without hope except for this CHRIST DIED FOR THEIR SINS. That is all that matters. That is what is important.

In a sermon, I heard Aaron Cole say that it is his responsibility to tell us how to get saved, and it is the Holy Spirit's responsibility to tell us how to change our lives. What a much better place this world would be if we ALL took on that attitude! "It is my job to tell people how to get saved. I will leave the life changing up to the Holy Spirit."

This was one of the hardest lessons I had to learn as a new bride. (In fact, truth be told, I am still learning it now... as an old bride.) I am NOT John's Holy Spirit. It is NOT my job to tell him what God wants for his life. "But Jami!" you say. "Of course God wants my husband to go to church every Sunday!" Yes, He likely does, but do you really and truly think that God needs YOU to impress that point upon your husband??? "But Jami!" you say. "My sister lets my niece's boyfriend sleepover and she is just fifteen! That is SO dangerous!" Probably. But AGAIN are you SURE that YOU are the voice God wants to use to convey that message. "BUT JAMI!" you say. "Doesn't the Bible tell us, Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way swill save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins (James 5:20)?" Yes but AGAIN I caution you.... are you SURE that God is telling YOU to turn that sinner from the error of his way or do you just WANT to turn that sinner from the error of his way?

Again, I refer back to Romans 14:

v22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.

God does NOT need you to be the Holy Spirit, and I believe that 9 times out of 10, God does not use direct confrontation to save a sinner from the error of his ways... instead more often then not, I see God coming in as a gentle wind.... convicting a sinner by his/her observations or by a verse from the Word or a lyric from a song. It has been my experience that typically, little to no progress is gained from a trying to turn a sinner from the error of his ways with direct confrontation. Typically, from my observation, what happens is that "sinner" only gets defensive, stubbornly digging in his heels and refusing to budge. Therefore, I try so hard to put into practice this instruction (not just with regards to my interactions with my husband but with ALL)... so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, I Peter 3:1 (emphasis mine).

Now please do not mistake me. I am not saying that there is NEVER a time for confrontation or for debating. But here is what I am saying.... I think people are way too quick to judge, confront, debate trivial things, and I think that Satan LOVES that about us. He gets us distracted debating doctrine. He gets us tied up in arguing whose beliefs are correct. He gets us bogged down by petty issues. So that we have NO time for doing the ONLY thing we are called to do: share the gospel.

Mkay... I guess I'm done with today's musings... I need to get back to work (and back to nursing my ailing hubby)... In closing, I would like to point out that I am by NO WAY an expert on this issue. I struggle EVERY day to keep my mouth shut about things that are not my business. This whole blog was a bit of a reminder to ME about what I should be doing.

In some of my favorite words from one of my favorite guys:

"I'm just one beggar showing another beggar where there's food." Shane Houle.

Put on love...

Did you know that a state trooper without much to do on a Sunday morning can pull you over because your front license plate is only attached by one of the two bolts? We know that now.

Serious as a heart attack, this morning lead-foot hubby is driving WELL within the speed limit because now that he is driving on an occupational license from too many points for speeding he knows hasn't-had-a-ticket-in-6-years wifey may KILL him for exceeding the speed limit by even one mile. We drive past about four cops pulling people over (boy that crowd headed to church on Sunday morning must be more dangerous than the bar crowd letting out at 2 am). Speed demon hubby (again INCHING along at the posted limit) is exiting freeway while wifey says, "Boy are they out in force this morning!" Sure enough... flashing lights in the rearview mirror.

I am actually starting to believe my husband's paranoid assertion that the man with the badge is out to get him. We got a warning for violating a traffic regulation. There was no fine associated with the warning. It comes with no points. I asked the police officer, and we don't even have to take the citation in and prove we fixed the problem. Pretty much that whole pull over was just to make sure that we nearly missed church. We deposited the children at their respective Sunday school areas and scooted into service just in time to catch the very last song of the worship set. (Which was lucky cuz at our church, you cannot reenter the sanctuary during the preaching of the word.)

Pastor Aaron was ON FIRE again today, and coincidentally enough (although I, just like Leroy Jethro Gibbs, do not believe in coincidences) his sermon included EXACTLY what I had planned to blog about today. The second thing that God has been teaching me through this incredibly stressful, testing time: And over all these virtues put on love, (Colossians 3:14a)

See through all the things I spewed about yesterday: caring for two elderly (and not always very agreeable) relatives, having no wash machine, crabby husband plagued by tight neck muscles, still not quite able to pay the bills, and a SERIOUS desire to assault a law enforcement officer this morning.... besides praying without ceasing, God has been telling me to put on love. When I am at the end of my patience.... when I have nothing left to give.... when I have cleaned up one too many poop accidents... when I am frustrated with lead foot hubby... when I want to deck a cop who had nothing better to do with his time then make us late for church because of a stupid license plate.... put on love....

You can NEVER go wrong with this strategy. You are NOT going to EVER stand before God and hear: Gosh you just loved too often. I really wish you had been cranky more. or You were too kindhearted. You shoulda been a bit more selfish.

And over all these virtues put on love.... It has been seeping slowing into the recesses of my mind. I am not getting the application of it very well, because with the heat turned up pretty high on me, I am having a hard time donning the coat of love.... I'd prefer to blow up when the kids are whining about doing their lessons. I'd prefer to be snarky when Gma is fighting me about watching her sugar intake. I'd prefer to offer some CHOICE words to sore, stiff-necked hubby. And I REALLY would have preferred to punch that State Trooper in the face.

Instead, I am trying very hard to remind myself that love is NEVER a bad option. It should be my "go-to" strategy ESPECIALLY when things get hot. So today (THANKFULLY because it kept us out of jail) instead of punching that officer, I pleasantly said, "Have a nice day." As John slowly pulled away.

Here's to putting on love! It is a wonderful strategy.

He is!

This place called Lifechurch is really just watering my dry and weary soul. It has been a long hard road for me this past year, and I am so grateful God has placed us in this church to get a little restoration. This week Eva was back leading worship! Gosh I LOVE that girl! Her love for Jesus OOZES out of every pore. She beckons me to come worship Him. THAT is what I want from a worship leader. I guess I want someone who can hit a few right notes, and it doesn't hurt that she dresses pretty cute too, but show me how to WORSHIP! LEAD me to WORSHIP! That's what I need!

And Pastor Aaron.... Oh Pastor Aaron... I do NOT know how he does it EVERY week, but I've yet to hear him preach a sermon that's a flop. I'm really enjoying his series, Prisoner's Blog. Today's entry: He is... I thought I'd just ramble a bit and give excerpts from this sermon with my thoughts on it. How it hit me. How God impressed it upon my heart. How He spoke to me through it.

"Whatever issue you are facing today, He IS." It doesn't matter what you're going through. It doesn't matter what is in front of you, He IS. He IS big enough to conquer it. He IS powerful enough to defeat it. He IS rich enough to pay it. He IS loving enough to heal it. He IS. "He IS whatever you need." If you need healing today, He IS. If you need provision today, He IS. If your marriage is in trouble, He IS. If your bills are overdue, He IS. If your children are walking in rebellion, He IS. If your alcoholism is out of control, He IS. If your heart is breaking, your world is crumbling, and you are ready to throw in the towel, He IS.

"God wants to be first or nothing at all." How many times do we give God sloppy-seconds? How often do we put Him on the back burner? How often do we push our Bible aside and pick up the newspaper instead? He wants to be FIRST place. He wants to be what we rush too. You know when you wake up in the morning, and you have that morning dry mouth feeling? You are PARCHED! All you can think about is getting a drink of water to rehydrate your sleep dried mouth. You rush for that glass and fill it up quick! Then relief, as that water rushes down your throat, refreshing you. That's how God wants us to feel about Him. He wants us to have an urgency to meet with Him. He wants us to rush to His Word like that first morning glass of water. He wants us to let His promises, His instruction, His encouragement, rush down our soul and refresh us. When we are in trouble, He wants us to run to Him FIRST. When we are excited, He wants us to run to Him FIRST. When we need guidance, He wants us to run to Him FIRST.

"It rains on the righteous and the evil." "God is the Sustainer." When your life is falling apart, when your marriage is falling apart, when there is chaos all around you, He will sustain you. I thought back to last fall. I remember how terrified we were to walk through the trial of brain surgery. I remember the fear of losing my husband. I remember the fear of not being able to feed my family. But when I look back on that time, what stands out the most is NOT negative feelings. I praise God continually for that time. We had SO much family time. We LOVED having John home. That extended period of Forced Family Fun saved this family from the rocks of destruction. I also remember how AWE-inspiring and FAITH-affirming it was to see God provide for our physical and financial needs over and over and over again. From sources unknown and through people we had NO idea were even following our saga. It was one of the most incredible things we have EVER been through. He truly was our Sustainer in the midst of those troubled times.

Finally, I just HAVE to close with a few funny things Pastor Aaron says that I just LOVE! I absolutely love it when he says, "I'm in someone's kitchen now!" when he is starting to preach something that's hitting close to home. I also loved his Granny's saying from a few weeks ago, "If if's and but's were candy & nuts, my what a Merry Christmas we'd have." I love it when he says, "Tell the truth and shame the devil." This week he said, "Opinion's are like armpits. You've got a couple and some of the time they stink." But this was my ALL TIME FAVORITE so far! "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than going to Taco Bell makes you a Grande Buritto." Marinate on that for a moment!

It was a GREAT Sunday to be in the House of the Lord! This girl got her worship on, was blessed by the preaching of the Word and even ran into a few old friends. Hope your Sunday was good too.

Pastor Aaron for President????

Wowzer! Aaron Cole you KNOCKED my socks off yesterday! I seriously do not think I have heard Pastor Aaron preach ONE sermon that has not socked me right in the gut. But yesterday was REALLY good. I loved it! It challenged me. It affirmed me. It was AMAZING!

His new series is Prisoner's Blog. It is a series on Colossians. Before I get into the spiritual ramifications of this sermon, let me just address the aesthetics. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the current"ness" of Lifechurch. They continually use media, lighting, and atmosphere to create a contemporary environment that just SPEAKS to me! I love the creativity of this series title. I love the use of audio visual presentations to introduce it. But strip that all away... were it just Aaron Cole standing in his grubbies in the middle of an empty warehouse with wooden crates for seats, yesterday's sermon STILL would have rocked my world!

Lord Jesus Christ - I always find it funny that I have been a Christian since I was 10 years old and have been ACTIVELY pursuing a relationship with God at least all of my adult life, and yet STILL portions of scripture or Biblical concepts can rock my world like I've never heard them. It happened last week when I was working on AWANA lessons with the kids. We read the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, and I thought, "I SERIOUSLY do not EVER remember hearing this story!" I mean I have read through the entire Bible cover-to-cover at least once and the New Testament SEVERAL times and this story JUMPED at me like I had never heard it before. When Pastor Aaron explained the significance of the usage of the name Lord Jesus Christ all together, it did the same thing. He said that when Paul used all three terms together it wasn't random. It wasn't just what he felt like calling Jesus at that moment. When Paul refers to Jesus as the "Lord Jesus Christ," he is doing so deliberately to call attention to Jesus being Lord (the only way), Jesus (humanity), and Christ (divinity). Wow! Paul was preaching a sermon in just three little words! Amazing!

Power in the name of Jesus - There is POWER in His name. I learned that VERY intimately this summer. I battled some pretty tough attacks from Satan, and the ONLY way I got any victory was through over and over and over again calling the name of Jesus. His name is the only one that saves. His name is the only one that defeats Satan. His name is the ONLY one. When we pray "in Jesus' name," we are praying something powerful. When we use the name of Jesus in ANY way, there is POWER!

LOVE will change the world - LOVE! Not judgment. LOVE! Not lectures. LOVE! Not picketing. This part of the sermon really, really, really ministered to me. I loved how Pastor Aaron went on about how loving someone is NOT condoning their actions. There is NO WAY we are EVER going to shame someone into the kingdom. Oh and one more thing... the Bible doesn't say God is shame... it says God is LOVE.

That's between you and the Lord - It's our job as Christians to lead people to the Lord. It is the Holy Spirit's job to bring conviction about sin in their lives. I guess I just don't get why so often we (Christians) think it is our job to tell other people how they should live their lives. I wrote it down and underlined it twice when Pastor Aaron said, "That's between you and the Lord." We have two things to worry about: 1. spreading the gospel and 2. getting the plank out of our eye. We don't have to worry about the speck in someone else's eye.

Again I've yet to find a sermon Pastor Aaron has preached that wasn't earth shattering for me. I cry almost EVERY time I hear him preach. I would be hard pressed to order his sermons from best to least best because they are all SO good, but this one is at the top of the list right now simply because it is freshest in my mind. And maybe Pastor Aaron for President is taking it a little far, but I will tell you this... That man was PREACHING yesterday!