The Fall of Sodom

When you think of Sodom and Gomorrah, what's the first thing that comes to mind? It's OK to say it. God destroyed them because of rampant sexual sin, right? I always thought that, until I read this:

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. Ezekiel 16:49

God's wrath wasn't because of their actions (which were sin), but because of the condition of their hearts. Their selfishness and lack of compassion ultimately led to their demise.

This has really been messing me up lately. What is the condition of my heart? Am I any better than the people of Sodom? Are you?

He's only 5?

What an inspiring story. I'm wondering, what do you want for your birthday?

More Than Enough

A couple of weeks ago, an apartment building caught fire in town and 15 families lost basically everything they own. The next morning, we saw something amazing.

This community came together like I've never seen before. People were buying groceries and taking clothes and furniture and dishes and small appliances and gift cards to the apartment complex. They converted the clubhouse into what looked like a huge flea market, but the stuff wasn't for sale - all donated by the community. Don't get me wrong, there was some not-so-nice stuff there. But for the most part, decent items were donated. Some even went and bought items, like 15 toasters. It was pretty amazing to watch love in action. People donated so generously that the apartment managers asked that people stop donating!

Kind of reminded me of this story. I love it when the Word of God comes to life.

Thirsty?

40 Days.

Drinking nothing but water.

Here's how it works:

Choose to make water your only beverage for 40 Days between March 1 & April 9 to help Blood:Water Mission provide clean water for people in Africa who don’t have a choice.

By giving up what you’d normally drink in exchange for the water from your tap you can save that money to help build clean water projects for African communities in need.

So ditch the morning coffee and o.j., leave out the lunchtime soda, and cancel the evening beverage. You won’t need an ark for this 40 Days of Water, but you will need a little self-discipline. But you can do it, because you know who you’re doing it for. Make the choice.

Beauty

What would happen if instead of looking for beauty in life we actually brought beauty to life? ~Erwin McManus

Twitter

Last fall, I started using Twitter again. I had used it previously, but didn't really get the hang of it, and wasn't really meeting people. Anyway, before the election I heard about an event that Carlos Whittaker was hosting on his blog. In reading about it, I discovered people were talking about it via Twitter. So I signed up again. Later that year, I saw a tweet (that's what you do when you twitter) saying to check out LifeChurch.tv's Internet Campus. I wasn't doing anything else, so I did. It was cool. Didn't think much of it at the time. I listen to the podcast from LifeChurch every week, so it was kind of interesting to see it live (although not really live at the time, but recorded live). Then I started seeing other people talk about it, so I went back.

I have to tell you - this has been an amazing journey. I've met people from all over the place through Twitter and the internet campus, joined an online LifeGroup, met new people on Facebook, and built relationships I never would have if it were not for a little tool called Twitter. Don't know what it is? Check this out:

A Different Kind of Love

I don't celebrate Valentine's Day. I've never really liked it. As a kid, I always hated having to fill out a valentine for every kid in my class, even if I didn't really like them. I hated that it seemed like every kid gave me a valentine because they had to, not because they wanted to. It felt forced. I might feel differently as an adult, if I were married or dating, but I don't think so.

As many holidays in America, Valentine's Day has become a spending frenzy, trying to get the perfect gift that has to be better than last year's. I realize not everyone approaches this day like that, but many do.

This day is supposed to be about love. The problem is, we think love is just a feeling. We throw the word around like it has no meaning. This week, I have experienced a different kind of love.

I saw people coming together to support a family with a missing relative. I saw a community pour out love on families who lost everything in a fire. This is the kind of love that lasts. This is how love is expressed in tangible ways. This is how we can truly be the hands and feet of Jesus.

The thing that's getting to me is... why don't we live like this every day? Why does the best in us only come out when people are hurting?

Matthew 25:34-46
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Out of my Routine

I've realized that I like boring. I like routine. I like doing the same things over and over again. OK. Maybe I didn't just realize that today. I think I've known it for a long time. The thing is...

I

don't

like

it

I don't like that I am OK with monotony. With routine. Jesus didn't ask His disciples to keep on doing what they were doing. He said "follow me".

I had jury duty today. No case so I didn't have to stay long. I worked from home for a bit in the morning then went to court and came home to work a bit more. I hated it. I didn't like not being around people (well, familiar people). I didn't like not being in my office. And the only reason I have is because it's... different.

At the heart of it, though, I want to be different. I want things in my life to be different. I don't like mundane. I don't like repeats. But I keep choosing it.

I want to be at the point where nothing is the same from one day to the next, and I want to embrace the new experience. I want to live a life with so much faith that before I even know the direction of my next step my foot is up and He is putting it in place.

God, I don't want to be comfortable in my routine. Let's shake it up!

My not so funny valentine

Laughter is Contagious

This video is so cute!