Monday, May 19, 2008

3 Doors Down


3 Doors Down
The song "It's not my time" is a great song. I like the lyrics and the music.

The song is a story of the contemplation of what may be beyond death, but the songwriter declares that its not my time to go yet. i know that it's not my time because I am typing these words. But someday I'll face the end of my life. I know that there is more than us.

"There might be more than you and me, There might be more than you can see..." The lyrics reveal a search for living life now. In the video, the person has a premoniton of a terrible accident. So the man sprints to the aid of a woman and her child who will be broad-sided by a delivery semi-truck--So the protagonist crosses the city, over obstacles, across concrete chasms, his feet fly, fleeting, flying higher, somersaulting, and running at break-neck speed to stop the terribe accident from happening. He stops at nothing--runs through crowds, over guardrails, over hand rails, and eventually jumps in the way of the terrible accident.

Jesus said, "I have come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:19)."

A fully devoted follower of Jesus said this about God, "(God) is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (II Peter 2:9)."

"All this time I've just been to blind to understand What should matter to me My friend, this life we live Is not what we have, it's what we believe..."
The lyrics are seeking what to believe in. I believe in Jesus. He is the life that I live. I believe and all of life matters to me right now.

"It won't be too long and I'll be going under Can you save me from this It's
not my time,"



The song-writer can be saved. It's not just a one-time experience, but a lifelong journey. The Bible says, "continue to work out your salvation (Philippians 2:12)." Your journey of salvation is a series of events wove together within real life circumstances. Anyone can be saved--"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household (Acts 16:31)." The moment of salvation is the starting point of a road less traveled, a narrow road diverting from the highway into the wild of adventure, unknown highs and lows, all with the guarantee that in the end--you have chosen wisely the narrow path.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Trend Central - Grim to Green

Trend Central - Grim To Green
Young adults would do this. There is risk. Trespassing. Misdemeanor. Felony. But what about the strategic "planting" of the seeds of the Gospel toward a new church. One could do the same in the city targeting it for the Gospel. The exercise would be a rallying point for asking the God of Creation to bring to fruition His church from within the urban, concrete jungle. I wonder if someone would do it. I wonder if I would be a guerrilla gardener for the fruits of the Gospel.

Advancing missions today and beyond

IG has challenged my thinking again as I consider my role as Cross-cultural Missions pastor. From their May 12 email newsletter, I need to discover how to depict missions in a way that will stir viewers' souls, captivate vast human audiences, and eventually gives missions the spotlight it deserves. IG featured three things that I could see emerge in my area of ministry as my storyline for the future: produce or access mission-themed documentaries for church-wide and FGBC release, a missions network about people where the drama of people on-mission draws others to stay for the foundational biblical principles for our strategic, epic trips, harness strategic trips to the fields where we partner with missionaries so that a growing audience of church attendees can satisfy their curiosity of those far-off places and with the weak economy we can't afford to acutally make the trip. I need to muse about this some more, "wallow" in these thoughts.