Yesterday we continued our series “People of the Second Chance” and Justin spoke about the elder brother in the story from Luke 15.  I knew this one was going to get me because I have a tendency to be more like the elder brother rather than the prodigal son.  Prepare to say “ouch” a few times.  This was a good one!

The Elder Brother by Justin Davis

Collision of radical grace and bureacratic religion.

Luke 15:1-2, 25-32

Elder brothers equate religious activity with spiritual transformation.

We wrestle with the tension of: Doing things for God vs. Knowing God personally

The Elder Brother Syndrome:

Elder brothers live with a sense of obligation.  “I have to.”

You are doing all these things and you feel no closer to God.  God doesn’t want your dutiful obedience, He wants you to follow Him out of a loving response to who He is.

Elder brothers have an attitude of entitlement.  “You owe me.”

When you serve out of obligation, you begin to assume the attitude that God owes you.

Entitlement says “why them and not me?”

When you live with a sense of entitlement you begin to crave a relationship with God for what He can do for you rather than for who He is.

Elder brothers feel superior by being judgmental.  “I’m better than you”

We tend to be the most judgmental of other people for the sins that we personally struggle with the most.

The goal of the judgmental heart isn’t to reflect the heart of the Father, it’s to look better than others.

Elder brothers harbor unresolved resentment.  “You’re unforgivable”

The Antidote for the Elder Brother Syndrome is brokenness.

Brokenness is relying on God’s grace and living in that feeling every day.

Prodigals realize their need for grace and receive it.

Elder brothers have forgotten their need for grace and second chances.

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Do you see yourself in the Elder brother?

Which do you struggle with more:

• A sense of obligation?
• An attitude of entitlement?
• Being judgmental?
• Unresolved resentment?

In ONE word…

How do you feel about the new healthcare bill.

I’m excited to announce the winners of my little giveaway this week!

Thanks to my friend Rachel over at INO Records, these five fabulous folks win a copy of Sara Groves’ new CD “Fireflies and Songs”:

GritandGlory

Jessi

Linnae

Kori

Amart62

Hope you guys enjoy!

**Please email your mailing address to me at jenni@crosspoint.tv.

It’s been a long time since we’ve given anything away around here… too long!

So today, for anyone who leaves a comment you’ll be entered to win 1 of 5 copies of:

Sara Groves‘ newest album “Fireflies & Songs”

I’ve been living with this album for a couple of weeks now and it just keeps getting better.  I love those kind of albums where the more time you spend with them, the more layers you uncover and the more deeply you appreciate them.  That’s what I love about Sara’s artistry.

So leave a comment, tell me what album you are currently living with and loving… and I’ll enter you into the drawing to win a copy of “Fireflies & Songs”.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Pursuing Financial Wisdom by Pete Wilson

People who don’t have wisdom usually don’t know they don’t have it.

Proverbs…

• Reminds us that sin is stupid.
• Gives us a vision of the good life.

3 Questions to Ponder About Your Money:

1) Do you see your money as a tool to bless others?

Proverbs 14:31

Proverbs 11:24-25

1 Chronicles 29:10-16

Are we honoring God with everything we’ve been blessed with?

Proverbs 3:9

2) Do you find your identity in your money?

Proverbs 10:7

We are playing dress up with our money.  We’re buying stuff we don’t need to get stuff we don’t have to impress people we don’t even like.

Proverbs 22:7

Proverbs 25:28

By not exercising control, you’re giving control to the enemy.  You are becoming a slave.

Being in debt affects your ability to give.

“You can’t give to people in need because you bought stuff you don’t need.”  Andy Stanley

3) Do you find your safety in your money?

Proverbs 18:10-11

We can be responsible with our money and still define our safety by our money rather than by God.

How much is enough?

“Enough will never be enough unless you determine how much is enough.”  Mark Batterson

Rather than your life being about how much money you can make, make it about how much money you can give?

Set giving goals rather than getting goals.

Proverbs 10:3

Our money issues always come back to trust issues.

These questions will reveal who or what you actually trust in your life.

Which question do you wrestle with the most?

I’ll go first… for me it’s #3.  I tend to find safety in having money.  I’m really taking Pete’s challenge to heart to determine how much is enough and to set giving goals rather than getting goals.

Ok, your turn!

C H I C A G O!

Something about that skyline just makes me smile.  I love big cities.  The energy, congestion, never-rest intensity and culture of big cities inspires me.

But big cities also overwhelm me… the sheer number of searching souls, the people you pass by on the street corners, the eccentric individual on the subway, the single mom juggling two jobs and three children, the student waiting tables and scraping by to get through college, the young professional trying to have it all, the business man driving in at the crack of dawn and arriving home after the kids are in bed… the rat race and the hustle & bustle quickly becomes overwhelming.

Lost, searching souls desperate for HOPE…

That’s why I’m so excited about Soul City Church.

My friends Jarrett & Jeanne Stevens are taking a massive leap of faith to launch Soul City Church in Chicago Spring 2010.  I’m a huge fan of the theory that “new churches reach new people” and I really believe that Jarrett & Jeanne are responding to God’s calling on their life to create a community that will reach this city in a powerful way.

So here’s the deal…

We can help!  A step of faith of this magnitude requires a lot.  A lot of time, a lot of leadership, a lot of resources, a lot of prayer.  Jarrett & Jeanne are amazing leaders and I know that they are investing all of these “a lots” in a big way.

But I would like to ask you guys to consider how you can help.

The Soul City team have launched the campaign “Year End Is Our Start” and they are raising the resources to help launch Soul City.  We’ve been asked to specifically help contribute to the Creative Workspace for their team.

The need for that project is $6,000.

Will you consider being a part of this?

I rarely ask and I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t completely believe in this vision.

Pop on over to YEARENDSTART.COM to be a part!

You can also hear more from Jarrett & Jeanne here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Follow the Soul City Story at:

SoulCityChurch.com

SoulCityBlog.com

I have a recurring dream…

I dream that I am crossing the English Channel on a crazy stunt-filled, adrenaline jolting, Ninja warrior-type obstacle course.  Yeah, I’m flying through the air with the greatest of ease.

It’s always pretty funny when I wake up, but in the dream it’s the most intense, nerve-racking thing I’ve experienced.

Why I’m not crossing by boat?  I have no idea.  Why the English channel?  Not sure except that I love England so that has to have something to do with it.  This dream is incredibly vivid and the obstacle course is always exactly the same.

In fact, when I was a kid my recurring dream was me crossing the Wisconsin River on a gigantic set of monkey bars.  Apparently my choice in bodies of water has improved and I’ve become a little more adventurous in my stunting.

Oh, and by the way… I always make it across

So, for some random fun, what’s your craziest recurring dream?

My friend Kat wrote this great article the other day and it was worth repeating.  Kat is the author of a publication called “The Daily Verse” that delivers a scripture with Kat’s commentary to your inbox each day.  You can subscribe HERE.

Full Circle

Everything is coming around full circle. That seems to be the theme bouncing around in my head as of late. Relationships resembling tendencies from far back in the past, professional situations that are new, yet have the scent of something I’ve been through one, if not many, times before, financial situations that seem to be just short of exact carbon copies of past experiences and the list goes on and on.

So why does it happen? Why do things seem to come “full circle?”

Let’s start with something we can all relate to – relationships. We all have relationships…whether that’s with a spouse, significant other, family member, colleague, friend, enemy and so on. It seems that each and every new relationship that comes our way, is an opportunity for us to display the maturity, character, wisdom and authenticity that has spouted thanks to relationships past. Even long-term relationships seem cyclical – you go through highs and lows…and yet as time unfolds itself, we tend to say “gosh – I feel like I’ve been here before.”

Jobs are similar – even if you jockey around the same company for years, or if you job-hop every 18 months or find yourself insatiably climbing the corporate ladder to never quite “reach the top” you tend to repeat the same patters over and over. Hopefully with each new job, new position or new endeavor, you’re better than you were the last time around, and you have some dollar figures and bullet points on your resume to show for it.

In the biblical story of Jericho, God called his people to march around the city once a day for six days, then on the seventh day, to march around the city seven times, and at the exact moment he commanded, to blow their horns, making the walls crumble. Why didn’t God send a hurricane through the area, or straight-line winds, a tornado, earthquake, or any other “act of God” to make that wall fall? For some reason, he had his people do the same thing – over and over and over, until the wall finally crumbled. Have you ever thought about why God did that? No one can know 100% for sure why God did that, but I’d like to suggest that perhaps…things were going on inside and outside of those city walls that needed to see themselves to completion before God did a mighty work. Patience was instilled in the people marching around the city – humility was undoubtedly being forced onto the inhabitants of the city, knowing that doom was about to befall them. Hearts were changing. God was working – and all the while, march…march…march – over and over and over – round and round and round.

My deduction from this example and the modern-day ones I suggested above is that God is doing an individual work in each one of us, while all the while doing a work in the body of Christ, corporately. He’s instilling each of the unending necessities within each heart and soul as time passes. Some of us are inside of the wall, having to be driven to humility over and over and over. Some of us are doing “everything right” and living in the way we should and having to realize that even by our works and our good character, ethic and hard work – patience is a virtue that God insists us continue to learn. The interesting thing is that those inside the city, and those outside the city are both learning patience and humility. We’re ultimately learning that as much as we’d often like to be, we’re not in control. God is – we are not. It seems to be all to clear, even as I write, that there is a reason that things come full circle.

You’re not going to be the same kind of spouse today as you were this time last year. You’re not going to make the same business decisions as you would have, posed with the same problem, a year ago. You’re not going to take for granted what you took for granted a year ago. Time passes, and as the sun comes up, and the sun goes down, it doesn’t do so in vain – it allows for each moment and each day to pass, all the while molding us into who and what we’ve been designed to be.

For some of us, we have to go through the same things over and over and over – all of our lives, and never really allow that process to grow us. Some of us grow by leaps and bounds, soaking up ever experience along the way shaping us into smarter, more mature individuals with an ever-improving character and display of authenticity. So look at your life today – what things have come full circle? What things are you facing that it seems you’ve been facing your entire life that never seem to go away? What could God be showing you? Do you need to “do” something different? Do you need to have a different attitude toward the same old problem?

For me, I write this as I sit alone, out on my deck in the nice wants-to-be-fall weather. I typically write when I’m alone. I’ve gotten feedback that the things that I write when I’m alone have great impact. This happens to me over and over and over. I want to have impact – it’s something I feel called to. However, I hardly EVER spend time alone. After writing this, even if it only impacts me, I should know that me needing to carve out alone time is crucial to fulfilling one of the many things God has me here for. Yet…do I do it? Have I arranged my routine and my schedule in such a way that I do it regularly? Still not yet. I have to be forced into it. The people closest to me are all doing what they need to do right now – and I’m not a part of any of those things. No pity party on me – it’s just that tonight, I’m forced to be alone – therefore I write. How come, still, after years of learning that I write well when I spend time alone, do I not discipline my mind and my body regularly in order to do this, to my (and maybe even to others’) benefit?

I can’t answer that – even for myself – so I sure can’t answer for you why things seem to come full circle – but I know that they do. What I can do is encourage myself and encourage you, to look at your life. Ask yourself what is coming full circle and why. Then, my challenge to both myself and to you – is to entertain the idea of doing something different. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m going to start spending one night a week alone -but maybe it starts with one night at a time. Maybe for you that doesn’t mean the crash course diet to lose that same 15 pounds, but rather it means making one decision at a time toward exercising more or eating more healthy. Perhaps you need to learn to say “no” more – and the next time you feel obligated to say “yes” you practice saying “maybe” or even “no.” Maybe you need to look at the same old thing that feels like the thorn in your side with a new perspective. Perhaps you need to exercise looking at that thing through new eyes – from a different perspective.

Whatever it is – I encourage you to do it. Things come full circle for a reason. Sometimes, it’s so that God can remind us that He’s God and He wants to bless us with repeated blessings – over and over and over. Sometimes it’s so that we can learn, grow and mature into being the kind of person who learns to more easily set our worries at the foot of the cross. Imagine what you’d be capable of if you set every worry at the foot of the cross, and surrendered to God being in full control of your life and everything that affects it. Let us lean toward that in our actions, in our decisions, in our preconceived notions, our assumptions and our attitudes. That would be an awesome occurrence worth being repeated over and over and over!

It’s house cleaning day today and I think I’ve decided that dirt and dust are two of my biggest frustrations with The Curse/The Fall.

Seriously, there are only two adults in this house… well, and one dog who does contribute his share of mess but he’s not that nasty as far as dogs go.  We are not dirty people but if you were here cleaning with me today I think you would challenge me otherwise!!  HOW DOES THIS STUFF ACCUMULATE LIKE THIS?!  [I guess it could be because the domestic bug attacks me inconsistently... truly not one of my strengths!]

So, anyway, just needed to rant a little bit that for today I think dirt and dust are my biggest frustrations with The Curse, excluding of course the obvious one – separation from God – but I’m just focused on the petty things today.

What effect of The Curse (Genesis 3) is the most frustrating for you?

I couldn’t decide what to post tonight.  Everything felt too serious so I thought I would lighten it up…

What’s the ONE THING you want to know about me?

Ask away… I’m not promising I’ll answer them all, but we’ll see!