If it weren't for Jesus!

I can say with confidence that I love Jesus Christ more today than I ever have in my life! I love his heart.  I love his dreams.  I love his character.  I love his compassion.  I love his grace.  I love his mercy. I love his presence. I love his mission.

Many time in my life, I have heard people say Jesus saved them out of a life of destruction and sin. I can't really say that Jesus saved me OUT of that, but I can say that he saved me FROM it!

I have been trying to get to know me.  And the more I get to know me, the more I realize who I am and what I would be capable of if it were not for Jesus.

• If it weren't for Jesus, I would be materialistic and greedy owning every new thing I could get my hands on showing no self control in getting it.
• If it weren't for Jesus, I would be run over top of a lot of people to get ahead.
• If it weren't for Jesus, I would be deeply insensitive to the needs and feelings of others.
• If it weren't for Jesus, I would be sexually promiscuous with plenty of women, not the lover of one. 
• If it weren't for Jesus, I would have never scored the godly GEM of a bride that I did.
• If it weren't for Jesus, I would be addicted to alot more than just coffee, Apple products and reading. I would abuse tobacco, drugs and maybe alcohol. 
• If it weren't for Jesus, my aspirations would be centered on money, pride and position...all things that pass away. I would have wasted my life on a bunch of meaningless junk.
• If it weren't for Jesus, I would be leading a whole lot of people! But, as my Mom always told me, "Thank God that you are taking people to heaven with you.  If not, you sure would be taking a lot of people to hell with you!" I think if it weren't for Jesus, I would be leading and influencing alot of people down the wrond road!

But, because of Jesus....it is an entirley different story.  And today, I just have to tell you how thankful I am that he has saved me and how very much I love him!

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He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. -Psalm 40:2

Update from Swaziland

I have terrible internet, so while I've got a (weak) signal let me update you. I'll just give some short statement highlights.

Our final days in Mozambique were relationally and spiritually significant.

John's Dad was begging us to please leave this God at his house. He said he'd never seen a God like this. We prayed Luke 10:6 over him as we departed. As he received Christ's peace, it remained there.

We had a total of three run-ins with the corrupt Mozambican police. We almost lost our vehicle once to them. The final time just short of the border we had quite an incident where I stood up for what I believed was right. God rescued us. Period! Bottom line: they are highly corrupt and want to rob foreigners blind.

We received a warm welcome in Manzini, Swaziland. Swaziland only contains one million people. Over 30% of the country is HIV positive-- highest of anywhere on the planet. Though, the country is 99% Christian. Go figure that one out. I've got one hint for you: under-discipled perhaps?!

Today, we traveled to a very poor and rural area to encourage a fairly new church in the faith. This church was started last year as a result of Darrel Hostetter's Luke 10 journey. Darrel is a gracious and pastoral EMM staff member whose family spent 12 years ministering here in Swaziland. He's the reason we are here today. He asked me to visit while we were ministering in Southern Africa.

This morning, I taught and John and Ernest testified of God's saving power in their lives. These guys are waking in passion and anointing. They make me want that new believer passion again.

Tomorrow we are leading 2- three hour seminars/gatherings on simple church planting--Discipling values and Biblical church values. The rest of the guys will assist with some of the teaching. Excited about what lies ahead tomorrow.

We are 24 hours drive from Cape Town now. We plan to depart early Tuesday morning, sleep on the road Tuesday night and be back with our families Wednesday.

Please pray for me. I really, really miss Tricia and Davis!!! And pray for them too. I think they miss me as well.

Pray for the rest of our journey--ministry, conversations, safety. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads you.

Much love!!

Free Coaching

For many of us, it is hard to be confronted.  It is hard for someone to tell you where you messed up, missed the mark or dropped the ball. It does not feel good to realize you were wrong. But the truth is that we all have things worng with our character.  And sometimes, people care enough about us to risk telling us.  Then, when they do, you have some important choices to make.

How will you react to the correction?  How defensive will you become?  Will you really listen? Will you really change anything?

Often, we get defensive and reactive.  Well, today, a friend of mine (who wishes to get his credit in heaven and not on my blog), shared something with me that I thought was profound.  He said:

When someone points out a flaw in your character, you should look at it like free coaching.  People pay lots of money for coaches, consultants and counselors that tell them what is wrong with them and how to fix it.  How much more valuable is the FREE gift of coaching from people who actually know you!  What a great gift!  Maybe if we would view correction into our lives as a GIFT of free coaching, we would become less reactive and more thankful and humble.

Just a thought...