Freedom of Who!

Blog Post by Wendy Kauffman

As a mother I have voices all day long asking me questions. Mommy, can I have a piece of candy, can I watch t.v., can I play video games, do I have to do ALL of this English today, When is dad coming home? There are many times all I can do is sigh. I was wondering today if that is how God feels when I come firing at him with all my questions. 

Two weeks ago yesterday our minivan's transmission went out. That was a huge blow! Yesterday I was driving our youngest daughter, Ruth, to swim and I broke down in one of the busiest intersections of North Miami in our big blue van. Our only working vehicle at the moment. I waited for a tow truck for an hour and then had to walk the mile back to where Ruth was swimming. I am not gonna lie, I had a lot of questions for God in that mile's walk. I wanted to know why he couldn't cause that to happen when I was at the pool? Why he left me in that intersection for an hour? Why did it have to be now, to our only working vehicle? Why now, in what is probably the busiest week with all that has to be done with Hannah and Rachael's spring performance this weekend? Why now when Ruth has to be at Sectionals for swim and the last one that I threw at him, You know we can't get to the park for the Saturday morning meeting with the homeless if we don't have a car. Isn't that why you sent us here God? Why NOW and What are You trying to tell me? I was coming at Him with my questions for sure.

So, for the last few weeks I have been doing the epic challenge that Jeff threw out to all of you yesterday. I had made a comment to a mentor that I was doing this challenge and he encouraged me to read a book while I was doing the challenge. The book is called,"Glorious Ruin." Honestly, I had not really started reading it til day before yesterday, the premise of the book, "How suffering set you free." Really?!? The authors, Tullian Tchividjian, goal of the book is to help us avoid the typical mistakes we make when we try to deal with the pain in our lives. He shows that we don't need answers and explanations as much as we need God's presence in and through our suffering.  

This morning, this is what I was reading, "Our hope is not Jesus plus an explanation of why suffering happens, or Jesus plus an explanation about why you have this, that spouse, those circumstances, or this pain. Our hope is that God is especially present in our suffering." Really? Right now, all I want is an explanation! He then goes on to say,"The gospel is not ultimately a defense from pain and suffering; rather, it is the message of God's rescue through our pain. It allows us to drop our defenses, to escape not from the pain, but from the prison of how and why to the freedom of Who."

So it really is not answers I need, It's just God's presence! When all of this is flying around me, it is really hard for me to rest in knowing that God is with me. That He can and will rescue me. So today, I am seeking freedom in Who, and not How and Why? Honestly it is not going to be easy! I hope today that no matter what pain and suffering you are going through that you can find peace in knowing that the how and why is not important, just the Who!

epic challenge

When it comes to coaching youth football, one phrase comes to mind when it's time for team instruction and direction. That time when the coach is talking and nobody else better be talking or it'll mean taking a tortuous lap or two around the field in fifteen pounds of protective gear. When coach says "take a knee" the whole team gathers around, drops to one knee and is quiet and attentive. This is when the team as a whole gets recentered on the way the coach wants the team to go. It's when they receive the directives that are implemented into the blood, sweat and tears. It's what helps make the team "the team".

One of the things we are doing at ReMerge is team building. And one of the teams we are working on right now is a result of what we have discovered since moving here. We have figured out that we are at ground zero, smack dab in the middle of a spiritual war. What does that mean? Well, it means we are building a team of people that pray. A team of people who are praying at least once everyday for ReMerge and the people in South Florida that we are reaching out to.

Now, you may not even believe in God or you personally may feel a little intimidated about praying or maybe you are afraid that you are not qualified. I'm here to tell you that "you can do it!" It does not take a specially qualified person to pray. God loves you and wants to hear from you. In fact, I believe that talking to God will change your life. If you don't think that's possible, then I want to throw down the gauntlet right here, right now and issue a challenge (if you can handle it).

I challenge EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU to the 60:60 experiment.

Here's how it works - starting at the time of day you determine, take 10 seconds to tell God how you feel at that moment AND ask him to help you feel the way he wants you to feel. Simple, right? Now, set your timer, clock, watch or whatever to go off every hour for 12 hours. When it goes off throughout your day, stop for 10 seconds and do it again. Now, here is the thing, try to do it for 60 days. If you do it for 60 days, I guarantee it will change your life!

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE??? Go ahead and prove me wrong, I dare you!

Don't have a watch or alarm? Well, there's an app for that. That's right, go to your smart phone app center and search for "60:60 Soul Revolution" and download the app.

If you want more information or have some questions OR if you would like to join the ReMerge prayer team, just shoot me an email to remerge@hotmail.com.

Injury report

As you may know, I had neck surgery last Tuesday the 19th. It was to fix a totally compressed disk in my neck which was a result of a car accident I was involved in back in August. The surgery was a success, as far as they can tell. I am feeling much better then I was pre-surgery and even the soreness of the operation is starting to subside. Thanks to God and thanks to your prayers I'll be back to normal in no time.

During the time of recovery, 6-12 weeks, I am not allowed to work at all. This is making me a little stir crazy. Of course, if I can't work, I can't support my family and this ministry. So, we've been asking for your support. So far we have reached 25% of what we need to cover our basic living expenses while I'm recovering from this surgery.

Things we still need help with-

Rent, utilities, food and two broken down vans. One van is fixed and ready to pick up, we just need the money to get it out of the shop. The other van (the work van) has been on it's last leg for a long time, running on 6 out of 8 cylinders and getting 6-8 mph, it is not safe to drive.

We are praying for a box truck for delivery and assembly jobs and even have a couple companies waiting for us to get one so they can contract our services. This will be good for us, the ministry and some of the homeless that work with me.

If you can help in any way, please do so today. You can click on the donate button to the right or email us at remerge@hotmail.com for other options.

out of food

We came close to running out of food again today. When all was said and done, we brought home two biscuits and about three cups of gravy. We went a little longer than normal, but, even that is becoming the new normal. It just seemed like nobody wanted to move on. They just kept hanging around. It's times like these that you hate to say goodbye. Knowing that at home I have a place to sit, stuff to eat and drink, a bathroom and even a real bed to take a nap in if I want to. The guys (and girls) we leave behind don't. Their minds are moving towards their next dollar, or, if it looks like rain, their next shelter.

One old guy in particular has me by the heart strings. Bernie. He has cancer and just knows he'll be checking out soon. He has a lot of regrets in life, but, don't we all. He has a good heart though and loves to talk about the Bible. He is a guy that I consider to be a monster when it comes to faith. He's got it, we don't. Oh we may think we've got it, but, Bernie has more faith than almost anyone I've ever seen.

Bernie has to have faith to survive. How many of us can say "if I'm dropped off in a strange place with no money, clothes or food, it'll be okay, because God will take care of me." Well, Bernie can say it, because he lives it every day and has for years.

Please pray for Bernie, that his last days (or years) will be comfortable, dry and have lots of food.Please pray that we can love him while we got him.

Agony of Defeat!

Have you ever watched The Olympics or other great sporting events where they will show athletes in the best and worst moments and declare, "The joy of victory and the agony of defeat." Well today those words ring in my ears.

As a family, we know we are right where we are supposed to be. We know God has sent us here. Since moving here a year and a half ago we have experienced both the joy of victory and the agony of defeat on so many different levels. There have been many times where we have been hours away from walking away and getting out of here. But we know that is not what God wants us to do. We know there is hope because if God is for us, then we have the power in Jesus name to fight whoever is against us.

So today we are asking for your help! First, will you pray for us and with us? Every day we send out an email with one small prayer request for the day. You can sign up by sending us an email at remerge@hotmail.com. It's easy, simple and can really help make a difference!

Second, we have some immediate needs that we are asking our supporters to pray about helping with.

1: Our minivan broke down last week, our transmission went out and the repair cost is $1,600. We do not have the money to pay for this at this time. This is our only working vehicle and our family needs this transportation.
2. Jeff goes in for surgery on his neck tomorrow, this is an injury sustained in his accident last August. We have put it off as long as physically possible. Please pray for the surgery, the doctor performing the procedure and a quick recovery.
3. Jeff has been self-employed since we moved to Miami. He has been doing furniture moving, delivery and assembly. We have had the opportunity to take this business to another level. Jeff has had 2 furniture stores in the area contact him about contracting with them to do their furniture assembly and delivery. The opportunity is there for sure, we have to purchase another moving van to do this, plus a few other necessary start up costs. We figure that we need $1,750 to get going. Under normal circumstances this would not be an issue but with the surgery, Jeff will be off of work for a Few weeks and being self employed, he does not have vacation time or short term disability to fall back in. The great thing about what Jeff is doing is it provides work for some of the homeless men that we meet. Many of these men want to work but because of their history with drugs, many cant get hired. We are building relationships with these guys and lives are being changed! Please pray that God will provide the money needed for us to get this to the next level.
4. Please pray for the companies that Wendy works for. Pray that business will increase and that they will be blessed by God. Wendy has only worked 4 events since the first of the year. This is about 1/3 of the work we were told to expect. Please pray that it increases.
5. Please pray for our families living expenses while Jeff is out with surgery. Pray that God will provide all that we need!
6. Pray for the school that Hannah and Rachael go to. Pray God uses them to show his love to kids who don't know him and are hurting. Their school is very small and I am amazed by all the pain I see.  So many kids who don't know how much God loves them. Please pray that God provides so that we can continue to send our girls with extra lunches so that those without have something and can experience Gods love for them in tangible ways!
7. Please pray that God provides us with a new desktop and laptop. We need both to be operational and both of ours have gone down in the last few weeks!

We can't tell you how much your prayers and support mean to us!

old proverb

The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, 

but the rich have many friends.

It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor,

but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy. 

~ Proverbs 13: 20-21

God, please show us who our needy neighbors are

and how we can be kind to them.

Urgent prayer needed!

Urgent prayer needed! Our only working vehicle is having transmission trouble. We can't afford a new transmission and we can't afford to be without it!

On a side note our son Samuel said, "the devil is winning the war". Lets pray to show him God has already won.

UPDATE - Wendy just broke down in the van.

death by chicken

Chris grew up in a rough old cajun home. His father was an abusive alcoholic and his two older brothers used to beat the tar out of him for the fun of it. He loved his mother with all his heart and self admits to being a momma's boy.

When it came to dinner time, he had to fight off his older brothers to get any food at all. Being the smallest, he usually ended up with just the scraps. This left him in a perpetual state of hunger.

Money was always tight and food often scarce. So the days his dad would pull into Kentucky Fried Chicken to get a bucket of chicken for dinner was usually bitter sweet. He knew he was going to have to fight his brothers tooth and toenail just for a piece of chicken.

One day Chris and his brothers were running errands with their dad. While driving around town, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the KFC sign. He instantly started feeling hunger pains. As they got closer, the car slowed down and to his delight turned into the KFC drive-thru. Right then Chris determined he would have some chicken and wasn't going to settle for the bones like so many times before.

As soon as they left the drive-thru and were back on the road, Chris' dad mumbled about needing to stop for gas. He pulled into a service station and told the boys to start filling up the gas tank as he went into pay and get some beer.

This was Chris's big chance! As soon as his brothers jumped out of the truck to be the first to the gas pump, he rolled up the windows and locked both doors. The keys were in the ignition and Chris was all alone with a whole bucket of chicken. He knew what he was about to do was going to have dire consequences.

The fear of ultimate pain was no deterrent, Chris opened the bucket of chicken and devoured it like the starving kid he was. He remembers with a smile that while his brothers and dad were outside pounding on the windows screaming profanities and threats, he was inside smiling while he enjoyed eating the entire bucket of chicken.

Chris's experience with the chicken is similar to the struggle that all addicts have. They have a hunger that must be satisfied no matter the price. He knew there would be pain, yet was willing to accept it for the satisfaction of his hunger. This event molded a big portion of Chris's life as he struggles with alcoholism today.

The amazing thing is that Chris is becoming addicted to love. Not like the Huey Lewis song, but, like the unconditional love of Jesus. Time after time Jesus is there in one form or another loving Chris. At first he didn't realize it, but, now is becoming aware that Jesus is after him.

God loves Chris so much that he is in pursuit of him every minute of every day. He loves him so much he would send a family from mid Missouri just to show him he loves him.

Please pray for Chris and please pray that we can continue to show God's love to the homeless in Hollywood, FL.

Jesus was Homeless

 
"Bryan Stallings sat in the store he managed, lost in thought. It wasn’t the phone business that preoccupied his mind. He and Amy had only been married 4 years and had enough on their plate already—two careers, six kids from two divorces, negotiating a Brady Bunch lifestyle. How can we take on anything else, Lord? Bryan prayed silently.

Yet he and Amy agreed they had to do something. They had both tried to start ministry initiatives at the Missouri church they attended  t the feeling they got was that their lives had been too messy for ministry, and it was best left for the professionals. They could volunteer at the info counter or serve in other ways, but real ministry required degrees and expertise. Nobody specifically said those words, but they got the message.That’s when it started. They had volunteered a few years earlier to serve Thanksgiving dinner for Branson’s working poor. As Thanksgiving approached and they couldn’t find the ministry that organized the dinner, Bryan felt a prompting. You serve the dinner. It was that distinct Holy Spirit nudging he had begun to recognize since starting to follow Christ five years earlier.

Bryan and his family responded and catered a turkey dinner that fifty people attended, but they didn’t expect the ambush of their hearts as they personally encountered the plight of the working poor. The overwhelming gratitude people showed them, mixed with the painful stories of families scraping by to feed their kids, caught them by surprise. These people lived unnoticed by society, living in run-down motels and doing seasonal work in the Branson entertainment industry.
That day at the phone company, Bryan called Amy and both decided they had to do more. The family made sack lunches for those fifty families and delivered them that week to the motels. The next few weeks, over and over they’d hear, “Thank you so much! You know, the family in room 224 could sure use this right now too.” With that simple step of faith in obedience to God’s Spirit, Bryan, Amy, and their girls soon found themselves making 150 sack lunches a week as word spread.
Bryan’s family found it very gratifying not only to meet physical needs, but also as they befriended these forgotten people, they found God doing something in their own hearts—growing them spiritually. The word spread, and more meals were needed. Bryan and Amy began to recruit others to join them, and after a year, Jesus had multiplied that first sack lunch like the fish and loaves into 11,000 lunches assembled and delivered with love by the many volunteers they had recruited." John Burke from the Mud and the Mastetpiece

I know you are probably tired of hearing me tell you that you need to get this book but you do! This is
one of many stories John tells of the risks people take to Love the forgotten. Following Jesus' example and words! We had a chance to meet this amazing couple and some if their team last year at Vault in Las Vegas. It's amazing to hear some of their stories of how Gods love is changing lives and it all started with a feeling, a dream. Their ministry is called "Jesus was Homeless." Check them out sometime!

Their story is not much different than ours. It all started with, "We have to do something!" Will you partner with us? We need your help. There is so much that needs to be done and we can't do it alone! If you would like to get involved with ReMerge, email us at remerge@hotmail.com. We would love to hear from you!

Waves of Impact

"I love waves. There’s something mysteriously beautiful and majestic about a wave. I grew up surfing and experienced the awe-inspiring power of this invisible energy rolling through the ocean, creating a playground of adrenaline for us teenagers. It’s easy to underestimate the power of a wave. When my dream finally came true and I landed a trip to Hawaii, I was determined to surf the famous breaks I had only read about in Surfer magazine. I’ll never forget paddling out about 300 yards to the reef that first day. The closer I got, the more I realized how much I had underestimated the size and power of these waves. When I finally reached the break, all I could think about was how to get back in alive! My sudden reverence and awe for the power of waves was not unfounded. A cleanup set came in (surfer talk for a series of huge waves) that cracked my board in half and pinned me to the reef. I found myself praying to a God I didn’t yet believe in!
Waves can have enormous power! But what makes a wave powerful? Even a monstrous North Shore wave is actually made up of many small circular movements of tiny little water molecules all working together. Huge waves grow from little ripples caused by a steady, consistent breeze that keeps building and building. Each little molecule of water doesn’t move very far, but as a wave moves through water, the wave’s energy gets transferred from one water molecule to the next, moving together in a circular motion under the surface, allowing the power and impact of the wave to grow. The longer the wind can move across more and more molecules of water, and the longer the molecules of water work together in a growing circular motion, the greater the impact of the wave.
What does this have to do with us? It has everything to do with us. I believe God desires to make a huge wave of impact in this world through you. Jesus once described the way the Spirit of God works like the wind: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). God’s Spirit is like the wind blowing across the hearts of those who willingly follow Jesus. If we follow the Spirit’s direction, little ripples of simple life on life investments, serving, growing, working together can build into a huge wave of impact. God can start a ripple effect that goes out from you and a small group of friends to change the lives of thousands."John Burke, Mud and the Masterpiece.

Another excerpt from a great book written by John Burke. I have been posting excerpts from his new book the "Mud and the Masterpiece" all week. I promise that after tomrrow I will be done.

This excerpt comes from the second portion of the book which begins to break down the how of what Jesus has called us to do. John does an amazing job communicating how ordinary people can do extraordinary things and impact the world with God's love. You don't need a degree or seminary training, just a willingness to see yourself and others how God sees you. Tomorrow I will share a story of an amazing couple in Branson, Missouri who did just that. Stay Tuned.

Cross the Divide

Many Christians today think their job is “telling” rather than “asking.” We want to tell people “the truth”; we want to tell people “the gospel”; we want to tell people even if they don’t want to hear. Jesus didn’t do this. Jesus provoked curiosity and willingness to hear by asking questions first. In John chapter four, it says Jesus and his disciples were going through Samaria but stopped at a well at noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) John 4:7–9

Jesus knew more than we do at this point. He knew all about her sketchy marital and sexual past—she had been divorced five times and currently lived with a man. Yet Jesus dignified her by asking her for a drink of water and engaging her in dialogue. She felt valued: “He’s talking to me, a Samaritan woman? He’s treating me with dignity rather than contempt?”

We should ask ourselves, do we cross society’s divides to dignify people? Do we cross racial, socioeconomic, and gender divides to engage in dialogue? How about crossing lifestyle and behavioral boundaries? We can be like Jesus by asking questions, listening, and dialoguing rather than telling, fixing, and changing. Trust

God’s Spirit of freedom to guide you. See, when we try to change people by making them conform outwardly, it doesn’t solve the real problem
we all have—a deep spiritual thirst that, apart from God, drives us all to drink muddy water. Jesus knows that unless we have spiritually satisfying water that comes from God’s Spirit, trying harder on our own just spiritually dehydrates us. Paul told us to simply stay willing to walk with the Spirit, knowing that changes us: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. . . . So I say, live by
the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature“. . . If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. . . . But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Galatians 5:1, 16, 18, 22–23
 People change when they willingly follow God’s Spirit in a moment-by-moment way. God doesn’t run over your free will; his Spirit works with your willingness. If this is how people change, not by trying to shape up and follow the law, but by following God’s Spirit, then we need to be people who help others willingly trust and follow the Spirit of God. That’s our only job, not fixing or changing people, but encouraging them to see why God is good and they can trust his Spirit to produce great things in them. Do you trust God’s Spirit to do his part of producing fruit in others, if you do your part—crossing divides to dignify, asking and
listening, encouraging others to freely love and willingly trust a God who is good? John Burke from the Mud and the Masterpiece.

This portion of the book really resonated with me simply because we will live in a city where there are so many social divides. It is really freeing knowing that all we have to do is take the risk and cross those divides. God will do the rest!

What about you? What risk can you take to help someone know God's Love and trust in His goodnes?

If you want to read more about what John is sharing here, get his book "Mud and the Masterpiece," buy it between now and the the 8th and get some really cool free stuff by going to www.mudandthemasterpiece.com.

Mud or Masterpiece?

"This is just not right!” Tracy thought. “How am I supposed to worship God with that right in front of me?” Tracy sat completely distracted by the woman with short, spiky blue hair occupying the seat in front of her. She quickly processed the information—no makeup, short hair, blue-jean jacket, pierced, and tattooed—and delivered the verdict. Tracy nudged her husband, pointed to the woman, and slid him a note, “She’s gay, let’s move.”

Tracy and her husband came to Gateway at the request of her daughter. Tracy had been in church her whole life, even worked on the staff of a church for decades. She knew right from wrong, and this was wrong! “My husband seemed a little less interested in analyzing her than I did,” Tracy recalls, looking back. “I think I stared back and forth at her during the entire church service. I was angry. Yes, I was! I felt as though she had no right to even be in church, much less sit in front of me. I was there to worship Jesus, and she was a total distraction. I peered inconspicuously at her ‘friends,’ wondering what perverted things they probably did. I was totally disgusted, absolutely disgusted! As I tried to pay attention to the message, my eyes were drawn back to her over and over again—still sizing her up, watching her gestures, analyzing, judging. I felt creepy sitting behind her, in church of all places. I wondered, Why, oh why, couldn’t I have just sat where we normally sit? As the service was concluding I thought, Good! I can leave.”

But as they stood to sing the closing song, something grabbed Tracy’s attention and threw her over backwards. The tough looking woman was wearing a skirt! A very feminine, white-lace skirt. For some reason, it confounded Tracy so much that she couldn’t stop watching, even following this young woman all the way across the courtyard. People she knew to be strong Christians greeted and even hugged this woman. Then it happened! Tracy watched in shock as this woman turned and gave a big hug . . . to her daughter. That night, her daughter came over, and they had a long conversation about “that woman.” Tracy found out the rest of the story about Lisa. Lisa grew up with a mom addicted to hard drugs. Her father left them only to be replaced quickly with a stepdad who sexually abused Lisa before she was old enough to know the word sex. After enduring years of abuse, wanting to protect her younger sister from getting abused, Lisa went to court to testify against her stepdad. She was too young to be believed, and her whole family turned against her. She was forced to move in with her biological father at age twelve, not only having the close friendship of her sister ripped away, but her biological father quickly began to sexually molest her as well.  Lisa turned to drugs in middle school to calm the hurricane of anger and disgust she felt toward men. She didn’t trust men, or her dangerous femininity. The only guy she felt safe to date in high school was very feminine himself. But when he got her pregnant, he too turned into a violent monster. He beat her so badly, she miscarried her baby at age sixteen. Feeling horribly alone by age twenty-two, Lisa tried to reconcile with her mom, who then introduced her to crystal meth. “I couldn’t stop the waterfall of tears,” Tracy remembers, “as my daughter shared the amazing, healing work Jesus had been doing in Lisa’s life since she got baptized one year earlier. I found out Lisa had overcome a drug addiction, worked the twelve steps, and even forgiven her family. She was in a small group, and an older couple now mentored her like loving parents. And the skirt?—well, Lisa felt like Jesus had made it safe enough to start to love her feminine identity again.
“I was brokenhearted as I saw myself more clearly than ever before. I was a Pharisee! I was just like the religious rulers in Jesus’ day who demanded perfection of everyone and looked down on others.  I felt sad, ashamed, and prideful. One year later, I see that day as a divinely orchestrated appointment. Jesus used Lisa to help me see my own sin, and I too am overcoming by his power. I have forgiven myself and am enjoying this new and fresh perspective on life.”

Survey Says…We just conducted a national survey of American Christians based on a study I did comparing the attitudes and actions of Jesus with those of the religious Pharisees. Survey says? 86% of all Christians are more like the Pharisees in either attitude, action, or both. Before you say, “Not me,” let me give you a few of the discoveries I explore in Mud and the Masterpiece. Because I’m convinced there are many shades of gray between being Christ-like and subtly Pharisaical.

What caused so many people who seemed far from God to flock to Jesus? Why did he have such a magnetic pull on people in the world? I observed and analyzed his words, his attitude, what was recorded about his body language, and how people must have experienced him. I realized that people far from God could see something in the eyes of Jesus that conveyed an attitude we must adopt. Somehow Jesus could see the Masterpiece of God’s image shining through the cracks in the mud of sin and stain covering the most broken person. He saw sin for what it was—foreign matter that needed to be removed in order to restore His artwork to its original value. Do we see what Jesus sees—in us and others? Something of such value, it was worth dying for? Do we convey the same to those around us? What you hold in your heart toward a person, the mental framework in which you picture them, is what people react to interpersonally. Understanding this can transform you into a more life-giving person. I looked at the actions of Jesus and what he had his followers do to walk in his footsteps. I looked at his kind words, his hard words, and the timing of all of them. I studied the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings in chronological order, and I discovered revealing insights into the timing of Jesus’ words and actions.
When you look around you, do you see many people wanting to know about your God because they see a glimpse of a greater love, more abundant life, and new kind of freedom in you and your friends? Is God restoring what’s lost and damaged in this world through you? If not, we ought to ask ourselves a very provocative question: “Why aren’t we more like the One we follow?” Because that’s exactly what Jesus did, and calls his followers to do as well. Maybe it’s not just what we’re doing wrong, but what we’re failing to do right that hinders a Jesus-like impact.
This led to an important realization that can help all of us if we’re willing: Falling into the trap of the Pharisees is not something anyone ever does intentionally. It happens slowly, gradually, in little incremental ways that rob us year by year of becoming the kind of people Jesus intended—people who actually follow Jesus in attitude and action, bringing life, love, and a truth that sets people free. We all must fight pharisaical creep. For us to become the kinds of people God intended, we have to let God restore us into more of the Masterpiece he intended us to be. We must see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus, so we can cooperate with him in restoring others." John Burke-Mud and the Masterpiece


In 2007, I was given a book at a conference called "No Perfect People Allowed" by John Burke. I read the entire book on the way home from Chicago. When I got home I read it again. Within a few months, we were going through it with our small group. That book changed my life! It helped me to see myself and others as God does and how to reach people who are very far from God.

For the last few weeks I have been reading another book that has had an even greater effect on me. I can't tell you how excited I am because today you can read this book too! Like I have said in previous posts this week, I really believe this book is bringing a message for the church today. A message we desperately need to not just hear, but also to be living out! What I love about this book is it gives us steps to follow and thought provoking questions to answer and ideas on how to live out what we are learning. John has done such an amazing job communicating God's heart for us and others through a candid look at the Life of Jesus in The Gospels. It is a must read for Christians today!

The other great thing is if you buy this book today, February 1st, you can get a free copy of the audio version as well. Buy the book Feb 1st through February 8th and get a lot of great resources for free as well. Buy your copy and head http://www.johnburkeonline.com/mybooks/mudandthemasterpiece/to get your free stuff!

All proceeds from the book go to the "Life giving Life" campaign. Check this out at http://www.lifegivinglife.com/