Grace to Glory, Inc.

This morning, as I dropped off my sons at school, I pulled up behind a man who I have seen for years and know to be a follower of Christ,  but have had very little conversation.  We typically bump into each other at Starbucks, but he seldom stays very long like I do. On most days, he grabs his Pike Place and bagel and heads out.

Today, I happened to follow him all the way from the school to the coffee shop, and it caught my attention how he was talking with his hands as he drove.  When we got to Starbucks, I greeted him and said, “I was following you this morning, and it looked like you were either preaching or giving somebody ‘what for.’  It took him a minute, but after I mimicked his gestures he caught on to what I was referring to.

“Oh that.  I was ordering my life.  I do that all the time. People may think I’m crazy, but that’s okay!”

I asked him to give me an example of what he meant.  He explained that he commands God’s will over his life, that he will have good, healthy relationships, that he and everyone who he comes in contact with will prosper, healing over his body from the top of his head to tips of his toes…. He said, “if I ever start feeling like something is robbing me of my peace, I’ll speak the Lord’s peace over myself.  You know when anyone came to Jesus needing something, you never saw him asking his Father for it. He commanded it to be so.”

He’s right.

How did Jesus create the universe? He spoke it into existence.  When Jesus began expanding His kingdom (the realm where His will is done and experienced) through 72 of his disciples, what was the first thing he told them to do? “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’” (Luke 10:5)

Notice what he didn’t say.  He never told them to go pray for or ask for God to bless a house with peace.  He told them to say it.  He told them to give it…in His name as ambassadors acting in the authority of the one they were re-presenting.  He went on to tell them, “(You) Heal the sick.”  And they did, and were pretty amazed by what got accomplished that day in the Kingdom through them!  Look what was recorded 12 verses later when they got back from their assignment: “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

The thing that drives my life and ministry is the deep sense that we Christians (literally little Christs, and yes, starting with me) know very little of who we are and the Life we now share with the Trinity because of what Christ accomplished with his death, burial, and resurrection.  It’s like a frontier we’ll never get to the end of exploring and discovering.

I’ve been preaching and teaching about who we are in Christ and how to exercise his authority for years, but I was convicted this morning about how little I proclaim His kingdom, out loud…in the name of Jesus,  over my own life. So if you pull up behind me and see me doing something that looks like I’m talking with my hands, you’ll know that I’ve remembered what Jesus said, “…the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)

A few weeks ago now, I got a call from a church in town asking if I would be willing to be one of the adult leaders for their youth group’s trip to Panama City Beach for “BigStuf” camp.  Feeling kind of old I said, “How about I commit to being the go-to guy as a last resort if you can’t find anyone else?”

“You are the last resort.”

“Oh great, so I’m the last resort!”

Within a couple of days I was riding down with 90 students and 20 other adults to spend the week.  When we got there, yellow flags were flying on the beach that meant that the waters were a little rough, but not overly dangerous, so we had a great time body surfing the waves.  I have loved body surfing since I was a boy, and it remains one of my favorite things to do!

The next day, red flags were flying, meaning there was a strong rip-tide or undertow and that the water should be considered very dangerous.  We also heard that just two days prior, a father had drowned trying to rescue his son being pulled out by the current.  We respected the warnings and spent the day doing what you can with…sand.

Day three – more red flags.

Most of our group went into town to pursue other avenues of entertainment, but about 20 of us, including all the guys in my room stayed back to play on the beach.  The staff of the camp was doing a good job of keeping people out of the water, a little overkill I thought, thinking it was probably ok to go out a little bit.  I was about to acquire some wisdom the hard way.

Another chaperone and I had heard that there were places down the beach where people were able to swim.  We couldn’t see anything but red flags flying, but there did seem to be a lot of people enjoying the water just a short walk away. Five boys and a couple of the girls from the group walked down the beach with us to check things out.

After coming to a spot where people were swimming, we waded out a bit to see how the water felt.  By the time I was up to my waist, I could feel how strong the rip current was moving parallel to the land.  My friend and I quickly came to the conclusion that it was too dangerous to mess with and announced to everyone that we needed to go back in.

What I saw immediately concerned me.  The boys had gone out just a little bit farther than us and were struggling to make any progress in moving back towards the beach.  One boy had fear in his eyes. “Help me!  Please, help me!”

My mind went back to my lifeguard training I had acquired 23 years earlier.  And it went to the man who had lost his life trying to rescue his son.  The thought, “This is how it happens. This is how people die, trying to save others,” scrolled across my mind.

I swam out to him and took his hand and tried to pull him in, but found myself tiring immediately with no progress in moving toward the shore.  My mind was racing and my heart was pounding.  In between gasps for breath and waves hitting me in the face, I asked if he knew how to float on his back. No.

By this time, it felt like we were a long way from the shore.  I saw my friend with his hands on his head looking up and down the beach for answers, and I felt my fear and sense of panic escalating.

“Help us, Jesus. Help us, Jesus.  Help us, Jesus!”

I had never felt more humbled and desperate in my life.  I yelled to my friend on the beach and waved to say, “WE NEED HELP!”

In moments, I saw what may be the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.  A young man on a wave-runner, pulling people on a big float that looked like a giant banana, swung over to us.  I told the boy with me to grab the line and pull himself in.  After he had safely climbed on and joined the driver, I saddled up behind him for a quick ride to the shore, thanking the driver who said, “That’s what we’re here for.”  As I got off, without concern for what it looked like to the people on the beach, I literally hugged the guy and planted a kiss on his shoulder.  He thanked me knowing that I was expressing that I believed he had saved our lives.

I held my emotions in tact until I got back to my room and was alone.  As I paced the room, I became overwhelmed with grief over what could have happened, knowing that I would have been responsible if anyone had lost their lives.  There was no where else to look for blame.  Although they had gone out further than I had intended, I had given them the blessing to step out into the dangerous waters.  For a while, I went back and forth, telling God I was sorry and thanking Him for His mercy and protection.

That night, we processed the experience, comparing the dangerous waters to sin.

We had walked away from our accountability.

It looked like people were enjoying it.

We had thought it would be okay to step out into it…just a little.

We were pulled out farther into it than we wanted to go.

We were kept in it longer than we wanted to stay.

We were powerless to get out of it on our own and had to humble ourselves, cry out to Jesus and ask for help.

And Jesus showed up, tattooed and riding on a wave-runner.

If we’ll listen to the Spirit living in us, our Father lovingly sends up red flags reminding us of the warnings He has given us in His word.  It pays to take them seriously, for He has the words of Life.  And how amazing is his grace that He is willing to rescue us, even after we have ignored and disobeyed Him.

“I cry to you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.”                Psalm 142:5-7

P.S.  By the way, red flags flew the next day, too. There is no telling how many lives were saved as I walked the beach like a mother hen, sharing my “testimony.”

In the opening scene of the film version of Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables,”  Jean Valjean, homeless and sleeping on a bench on the street late at night, is prodded to get up by an old woman who let him know that he was not allowed to stay there.  When he expressed he had searched everywhere, but had been turned away, she raised her cane and pointed to a home, confidently assuring him, “You haven’t gone there. Go knock on that door.”

When Jean Valjean knocks on the door, he is greeted by the town’s bishop and his wife. With anger and bitterness in his voice, Jean Valjean holds up his yellow passport,  and blurts out, “I can’t read it, but I know what it says: I’m a convict! I’m dangerous.”

“Come in.”

Shocked, Valjean stammers through the words, “What? You’re letting me in? Didn’t you hear what I said?  I’m a convict.”

The bishop looks into his eyes, peering deep into his soul,  and says, “I know who you are.”

And with those words, the redemption and restoration of the life known as Jean Valjean begins.

Without exception, every human being born on this planet, has been handed a “passport,”  an identity that we assume is true and that we embrace as our own.  The passport we carry colors what we expect to happen in every challenge we face, every room we enter, and in every relationship we share.  We hold it up again and again, waiting for it to be confirmed, watching for what has happened before to happen again.  And, far too often, we become victims of our own self-fulfilling prophecy.

Victor Hugo paints a scene of what happens when one man experiences the unexpected.  Treated with grace and dignity, Jean Valjean is given a hot meal enjoyed with silver rather than a wooden spoon, and is welcomed to sleep in a warm bed, stuffed with down feathers.  Sarcastically, he makes an attempt at expressing gratitude, saying, “For your kindness, I give you thanks.  A hot meal and a warm bed and tomorrow I’ll be a new man.”

But the nightmare of his life disturbs his sleep, and with no foundation of trust to build on, he rises to take matters into his own hands again , stealing the bishop’s silver and assaulting his host before fleeing into the darkness of the night.

In the morning, however, a captured Jean Valjean is brought back to stand before those he betrayed.  Holding the bag of silver, the officer of the law reports Jean Valjean’s claim that the bishop had given him the silver.

“Yes,”  the bishop replied matter of factly.”  ”And you left the candlesticks.  They’re worth 1000 pounds.  Did you forget to take them?”

Bewildered and embarrassed the officers release Jean Valjean and are escorted away by the bishop’s wife who tends to their thirst.

Removing the man’s hood, the bishop spoke deeply into his heart: “Remember, Jean Valjean.  You promised to be a new man.”  With an inability to process what he was experiencing, Jean Valjean says, “A new man? Wh…Why are you doing this?”

“Jean Valjean, my brother.  I have set you free from fear and hatred.  With this silver I have ransomed your soul and given you back to God.”

The grace of God, when experienced in the deep places of our hearts, always comes unexpectedly.   Whether we are looking into the eyes of Jesus as he hangs on a cross in our place, or recognizing an undeserved gift like a healthy child or an unexplainable success, the question rises: “Why are you doing this?”  The answer is always the same:  “Because I love you more than you could ever grasp.  I know who you are, who I created you to be.  And you’re worth it.”

Unless you have walked with Christ for many years on the great journey of discovery and restoration, I believe it is safe to say that you are not who you think you are. No, you are much, much more.  The heart of God, however, is for you to discover who He knows you are, the child He conceived long before the foundations of the earth were laid, and long before your heart was entrusted to fallen human beings.

I love that I have the privilege of embodying Christ to people, through Discipleship Counseling and taking people through “The Ultimate Journey.  Experiencing Christ as your new life and new identity is the solution to every problem you are facing…and His “yoke is easy,” and his “burden is light.”  May we all continue growing in our ability to think consistently with who we are in Him.

“Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:1-3

I’m consistently blown away by God’s faithfulness when, in Christ’s strength, I “stand.”

Several years and about 15 pounds or so ago, I had earned the opportunity to test for a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.  A great deal of training and conditioning went into the preparation for the test.  Everyday for the last six weeks of the training, I worked on my “forms,”  what I might describe as choreographed fighting sequences that put all the blocks, punches, and kicks into action.  I ran. I built up to be able to go nine three-minute rounds on the heavy bag.  I even peaked out doing three 800-meter runs in under three minutes each with just a minute’s rest in between.  No doubt I was in the best shape of my life…a distant memory.

But there is something I’ll never forget about the test.  Without giving any details (since I was sworn to secrecy!), there were parts of the test where complete exhaustion was inevitable and “passing” was just standing up.  At that point, it wasn’t a test of skills, or even endurance.  It was a test of the will.  It was a test of the fighting spirit.  The test was designed to help me discover that I had one.

Sunday afternoon, I and a team of men I walk and serve with, wrapped up a retreat for men we call Band of Brothers Weekend.  A key focus of the retreat is helping men to see that they were born with a fighting spirit, a warrior’s heart.  It is theirs because they are created in the image of God who is a warrior and who fights for His children’s freedom.  It is powerfully important, because if we as men don’t get back that warrior’s heart, we will be taken out by the enemy who’s mission is to kill, steal and destroy….us, our families, and our friends!…as ones who are created to reflect the glory of the God he hates.

Inevitably there are spiritual attacks and challenges as I prepare for the weekends that tempt me to just lay down, to give up, to say, “I’m tired of fighting…I’m done.”  But then the voice of truth comes through. I know it’s true because I’ve seen God come through again and again.  “If I…just…stand…up…God will come through and show Himself faithful to express Himself through my offering, a living sacrifice.  The enemy really hates it when we stand up in our weakness.  He knows what’s coming…MORE GLORY FOR GOD!

Where are you tempted to lay down and give up?  Where are you worn out beyond the point of exhaustion?  In what relationship?  In what ministry?  And what will the ramifications be if you do lay down?  Or, if you choose to stand?  Who’s going to get the glory?!

Read again the familiar passage from Ephesians 6:10-13:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

As I read the testimonies from this past weekend, I thank God again for the way He always, always, always  shows Himself faithful to do do what He does.  He loves, redeems,  and restores.

Don’t give up, brothers and sisters.  Submit to the Lord.  Stand up and give HIm a chance to come through.  You’ll never be sorry and much is at stake.

I really love spring, but there’s one unpleasant thing that happens around our house only a couple of times a year, and spring is one of them.  My wife wishes I was talking about spring cleaning, but it’s worse than that.  I’m not talking about in our house, I really mean around our house.

We’re blessed to live in a rural area of North Georgia, and our home sits on a two-acre, wooded lot.  However, we’re surrounded by pastureland on three sides.  It’s quite pleasant most of the time, and actually serene. 

What I’ve never quite gotten used to is the smell that comes rolling in, literally, twice a year. Late Monday afternoon, Jonathan and I were outside and enjoying throwing the baseball, when we heard the sound of big trucks rolling down our quiet road.  “Oh no, start praying for rain.”  The trucks that rolled in were carrying chicken manure that we knew would soon be spread over the pastures that surround our house, and the smell of it all would be with us until it rained.

What I forgot yesterday was another reality that comes with the spreading of this potent fertilizer.  Flies come in from neighboring counties to celebrate the big day. It wasn’t until after our small group meeting last night that I realized the twenty children coming in and out of our house all evening had invited the fly-party to come inside.

After an hour of swatting away before going to bed, I thought I had things under control, but woke up to find there was still great work to be done.  Desperate times called for… a stroke of genius.  Shop Vac.  Besides the one sitting on my laptop screen and a couple of his buddies, I think I’ve sucked up most of the annoying little pests.  Things are quieting down now and the distractions have slowly been eliminated over the course of the day.

Our world is full of things that distract us from the one experience that gives us what we long for: being in the presence of God.  Our to-do lists dive bomb our heads with the same effect of those flies buzzing around my face and ears, from the time we wake up til the time we’re exhausted. And the TV and computer take up the majority of our “down” time.

There’s a “whirr” of activity going on in my mind all the time it seems, with Band of Brothers Weekend coming up, trying to get the word out about “The Ultimate Journey,” spending time with people I’m discipling through counseling,  and a growing number of life-coaching conversations. Not to mention the needs of my family, financial concerns, coaching baseball…the list goes on and on.

Recently, a friend blessed me with a copy of Madame Guyon’s book, “Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ,” (written in the late 1600′s and formerly entitled “SHORT AND VERY EASY METHOD OF PRAYER; Which All Can Practice With The Greatest Facility, and Arrive in a Short Time, by its Means, at a High Degree of Perfection”).  Sounds good to me.

I’ve been very blessed by how practical the book is, especially around the area of quieting distracting thoughts.   It’s been wonderful to be reminded to read scripture very slowly and gently, as if savoring the taste of each morsel, until the Lord has spoken what He wants to with each word.  Madame Guyon even suggested having certain times when you are not reading scripture for content, but simply for the purpose of quieting your mind so you can become aware of the Lord’s presence.  And, I needed to be reminded that it is simply in the stillness, by faith, that we embrace the fact that the Lord is always with us. 

So here are some “coaching” questions for you that may bring about some desired changes in your experience with God:

• Where can you go to meet with God on a regular basis that minimizes the normal distractions that come through your senses (sight, sound, comfort, etc.)?
• What are the normal pressures that you put on your time with God (for example: getting through a certain amount of scripture, hearing answers immediately to your questions, amount of time spent), that if you removed them would allow you to experience what God wants for you?
• What will you do to get ready for your “dates” with the Lord that communicates your desire to be with Him and your faith that He really wants to be with you?

One last encouragement that I received through Madame Guyon: If we come into the presence of God looking for something in particular, we will likely miss what it is He actually wants us to experience: simply loving Him.

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” – Jesus, Matthew 22:37-38

What has helped you “shoo away” distractions and come into the Lord’s presence?

One of the things I love about being a “discipleship counselor” is the benefit I receive personally from helping someone embrace what is true about them now that they have put their faith in Christ.  The more I share about Christ’s righteousness being our righteousness,  the more it changes how I see myself.  The more I talk about how Christ is able to do what we are not able to do on our own, the more I find myself remembering I don’t have to rely on my own strength for anything!

The same goes for life-coaching.  More often than not, I benefit greatly from the discoveries and action steps to which my coaching clients arrive.  Take this morning for instance.  The brother I was coaching (let’s call him…Stan) wanted to talk about a loss of discipline in his life.

Stan expressed how much he enjoyed having some order in his day, getting enough sleep, spending time with God, being active, etc.  However, he was finding himself vegging on the coach in front of the TV, staying up too late, and waking up tired, rushed and stressed.

We started out talking about what Stan’s ideal morning looked like and the things that needed to be done before he left the house for work:  Up by 6:00 to have relaxed, un-rushed time with God in His word; the kitchen cleaned up, trash out, lunches made and his clothes picked out and ironed.   He also wanted to avoid having to turn on the computer to check his schedule for the day.

It became clear very quickly to Stan that ordering the night before each work day was “gold,” that if he used his time wisely in the evenings, it paved the way for relaxing mornings and getting off to a good start for the day. After figuring up an estimated time to complete each of the things he wanted to accomplish in the evenings, I asked him to put them in an order so that he would have a plan.

Stan ended up putting the household stuff (taking the trash out, etc.) and getting his clothes ready for the next day to be done before dinner.  A walk with the family was slotted for after the meal, and putting his daughter down to bed was placed before returning to the kitchen for clean-up and making lunches.  Stan even arrived at how putting on some worship music while he did his kitchen work would help him practice God’s presence while he wrapped up this last bit of work before some reading and a healthy bedtime.

When I asked Stan what he would do to maximize his chances for this intentional evening schedule becoming a habit, he committed to putting up a reminder on his bathroom mirror and in his phone calendar.

I got off the phone and thought about how much it would change my life if I applied the same discoveries and discipline to my life.  I imagine you’re thinking of the benefits it would have in yours as well.  I hope so.  With more of us experiencing un-rushed time with God in the morning, we’ll change the world!

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”  Psalm 90:14

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8

It’s taken me a few days to get things together to share with you about a dream that came true last week.  Back in 2003, I walked through a discipleship process called “The Ultimate Journey.”  When I went through it, it was called “The Christ-Life Solution,” so named because embracing Christ as our life is the solution to every need we have and every challenge we face. The journey is based on the Exodus journey of the Israelites.  If you would like to read a complete overview of the Ultimate Journey, you can find that here.

Ever since I experienced it, I have been about providing that experience for others, but could only do that through the 13-week format.  This past week I had the privilege of walking with two men, Phil and George, through Phase One over the course of three solid days, what we call a ”turbo.” Until the last couple of months, you had to go to the headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa to experience the the three-day intensive version.  I’m thrilled to bring the opportunity to the Southeast!

Within the first five minutes, all three of us knew that God had perfectly orchestrated our coming together.  Both men were accomplished musicians and shared a love for the guitar.  All three of us had been involved in leading worship.  On the third day, we all brought our guitars and celebrated what God had done.  How it must have blessed our Father!

This morning, I stopped by to say hello to Phil.  He was barely awake, but still lit up and gave me one of the best hugs I’ve ever gotten.  It hit me a little later, after I had enjoyed a beautiful conversation with Phil, that I was enjoying a moment of being acutely aware of my communion with Jesus.  Jesus must have experienced this kind of encounter everywhere he went.

Everyone who had been touched by Jesus and recognized Him as the Son of God were aware he knew everything about them, and yet he still loved them.  Jesus let me know that the love I felt for and from Phil this morning was a taste of what He experienced for and from the people he walked with during His days on earth.

“Thank you, Jesus, for the awesome privilege of embodying your love to Phil and George last week, and for the joy of receiving love from them in your Name.”

So, let me introduce to you two beautiful image bearers of God who just discovered for the first time the person that God created them to be, my new brothers Phil and George. Listen to their testimonies, and enjoy some of the music that I was blessed to hear during our celebration.

“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.”
-Jesus, Matthew 13:8-9

My teenage sons came home from a youth meeting the other night and were sharing about the evening.  They had been powerfully impacted by a young man’s testimony of being ensnared by a sinful lifestyle and Christ restoring him to a life of freedom and joy.  As they talked about their testimony, our conversation quickly moved to one of our favorite Tim Hawkins quotes.

Tim is a Christian comedian with a lot to say and a very funny way of saying it. Here’s a taste:

After having a good laugh, and moving forward in our conversation , I began to make a suggestion. I didn’t get very far with it before they gave me the ‘Whatever Dad…yeah, that’d be great.’ But what I wanted to suggest was, “What if your testimony went something like this:

“I was born into a family with parents who were constantly growing in their understanding of how much God loved them. They weren’t perfect, but because of what God was doing in their lives, they consistently tried to help me see myself as God sees me. It was a very natural thing for me to embrace Christ as my saviour at a very young age.

Even when I would sin and do something that made my parents angry or frustrated with my actions, they worked hard to separate my behavior from my identity. They would say, ‘This is what you did, but that is not who you are.’ Then they would remind me of the truth. In effect, they taught me how to love myself and tell myself what is true, since the reality is my brain only listens to me!

They also helped me to tune into my true heart and what I wanted most. Sure I had some envy of what my friends were experiencing. It looked pretty good from my vantage point, but I had believed my parents when they told me such choices came with a cost and would never bring me the life that I wanted.

My heart’s desire is to bring God glory and that desire, for the most part, has overwhelmed the desires of my flesh. The power of my testimony is this: I have avoided some of the pitfalls of a sinful lifestyle because of the good seed that was planted in my heart. And If you have done things that you are ashamed of doing, you need to know that there’s nothing wrong with you, and there’s nothing more special about me. You and I are just living naturally out of the seeds that were planted in us.

If all of us grew up in the Garden of Eden before sin came into the world, we would have had perfect parents who gave us everything Father wanted us to have. We would have lived the way people live who are loved perfectly!

The good news is that Jesus Christ offers us perfect love and forgiveness, and He promises to give us a new, pure heart and a new, holy spirit and identity. He is committed to restoring us, from the inside out, to be the people we were created to be and to live the life we were created to live…for the glory of God.”

But hey, that’s just my suggestion.

All of us who are parents do the best we can with what we have in us to offer.  None of us set out to withhold from our children what they need. Praise God, as long as we’re alive, it’s never too late to receive what we need and begin to bear the fruit that comes from good seed. And as long as we have a relationship with our children, it’s never too late to tell them what they’ve always needed and longed to hear.

“Lord, let this be the testimony of my children.  By your grace, cover my imperfect love as a parent. Keep revealing your love to me and help me to receive it, and may your love overflow to all who walk close with me.”

(If you are hungry to learn more about how to receive the love of God and need some support in planting good seed in your heart and the hearts of others, click here.)

Here’s a question for you: Do you believe that God loves the world like it says in John 3:16? Most of you reading this I would suspect would answer, “Yes” to that question, so here’s another.  Do you know that God loves you?  I’m not talking about knowing a “for the Bible tells me so” kind of intellectual fact that God loves you.  I’m talking experientially in a heart-exploding, life-transforming kind of way.

Let’s try this one: Are your sins forgiven because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross?  Again, I would say most of you would answer yes.  But how many of you would also answer this question with a “Yes:” Is there something that happened a year ago, five years ago, twenty-five years ago, or even 50 years ago for which you still carry shame?

As I write, I’m sitting at a friend’s kitchen table, far from home, in Des Moines, Iowa, very thankful for central heating and insulated walls. We had a high of 7 degrees this past weekend.  It might make you wonder what would bring me to the frosty Midwest this time of year.  It was the opportunity to see a dream come true.

In Des Moines, you’ll find my friends Jim and Kathie Hobson and the headquarters for Christ-Life Ministries.  I think it was in 2003 that I first had the opportunity to experience what God is doing through these beautiful people and their ministry.

As a pastor of a new church I had helped start, working hard to be relevant and to reach people who had never been in church or had been hurt by their church experiences, I got invited to walk through the Christ-Life discipleship process, now called “The Ultimate Journey.”

The journey was so life-changing for me, my wife and our closest friends, that we began leading other people in our church through it. I actually went through the three-phased journey twice, once in the 13-week per phase format, and once through what are called Turbos,  three-day applications for each phase.

Each experience brought more healing from my pain and shame, more freedom from my “old man” ways of thinking and living, and more understanding of my new identity in Christ.  More than anything else, the journey has helped me learn to love myself as God loves me, which allows me the capacity to love others.

Until now, the only place you could experience the Turbo application of the Ultimate Journey was to come to Des Moines.  Although I had led numerous groups through the 13-week format, I dreamed of the day I could sit with people for three straight days and watch their lives be changed forever.

So that’s why I’m in Des Moines….

Last week I co-facilitated a group with Kathie, the national training director for Christ-Life Ministries (it was miraculous!),  and tomorrow I will have a new group that I will lead with Kathie as my co-facilitator.  I’m so excited, I couldn’t write about anything else today.  Front row seats to watch Jesus change lives. It doesn’t get any better!

God doesn’t just want you to “believe” he loves you, He wants you to KNOW it, experientially. Jesus didn’t just die for you so you could know you are forgiven, He went to the cross to free us from the power of Sin and Shame forever!

I can’t wait to get back to North Georgia and begin offering “The Ultimate Journey” to people in the Southeast. Pray for me this week as I embody Christ, and read more about what’s coming back east with me by clicking on The Ultimate Journey button to the left.

On another note, starting a new ministry is like starting a new business, only without a nice loan to lean on as things get rolling.  We have something better to lean on than a bank loan that’s much more life-giving: the provision of a faithful Father who provides through many ways including our brothers and sisters in Christ.  If you are interested in hearing about the needs we are experiencing right now click here, and thank you for caring enough to do that.

May you walk the ultimate journey into the abundant life found in Christ, and if we can help you do that, please let us know!

For Life and the One who gives it,

Tim