A couple days ago I went to a funeral. A friend of mine’s grandmother passed away at the age of 88. Usually at funerals you can adequately gauge what the deceased person was like by the mood in the room. I’ve been to funerals where the person being remembered has been murdered and the anger in the room has been palpable. I’ve also been to funerals where the person being remembered was simply a terrible person and you could feel an odd sense of relief in the room. This funeral was neither, because the woman being remembered was a legend in her community.
She was well known for her generosity and devotion to the children in her neighborhood. She had been a mother to generations of children in her community. Her joyous spirit and sustained faith in God left an indelible impression on so many lives. One man even pleaded for more women like her to step up in these difficult times because the community is desperate for them. As I sat there and heard all the heartfelt words and saw all the tears I couldn’t help but wonder…
What will they say about me?
When my life comes to an end and my heart and flesh depart this place…
What will they say?
Will they speak of my love and commitment to those around me?
Will they throw out words like integrity, compassion, strength, and wisdom?
I’m not exactly sure what people will say but I know that I am often guilty of taking my time here on this earth for granted. I’m guilty of thinking that even though tomorrow is not promised to me, I’ll always have another chance to do better. We easily forget that time is the one resource that we can never replace, we take it for granted. Once it’s gone… it’s gone. I don’t know what tomorrow will hold; in fact I don’t even know that I will see tomorrow. What I do know is that I have today, and today I can decide to do and be everything that God has called me to be. Today I can give each moment the value it deserves and love, encourage, give, and inspire with urgency and abandon.
So what will they say? I’m not quite sure. What I do know, is that if I treat every moment like the gift that it truly is, and recklessly show the unconditional love that God has shown me, to others in my life, it will have to be something epic.
Love, Life, Christ
Riis,
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
9 Months//New Birth
As many of you may know, in 2 days I'm leaving to spend 9 months in England to study the Bible in an intense program. I'll end up reading the Bible cover to cover, reading each book 5 times, and studying each book in depth.
As soon as I knew for sure I was leaving I began making jokes about it being just enough time for me to have a child, and nobody know about it. Trust me... I was only joking! I love Jesus way too much to knock up a really hot European girl and then flee for the States once the baby is due to arrive. I love having great stories to tell, but I don't think that's a story anyone would appreciate, including Jesus... and I like it when He laughs at my stories.
Like I said, I was only joking, so I wasn't expecting what came next. I was having some time alone with God, and He began to speak to me about this next 9 months of my life. He said that 9 is the number of birth, and that He was going to use this next 9 months to birth something inside of me. He would birth within me a love for Him and His Word. The Holy Spirit would impregnate me with a vision and dream for how youth in the city of Boston will be won for Christ. He would birth within me a hunger for revival, and a way to speak His revelation to my generation.
I may have thought I was joking about having a child, but now I'm serious. This 9 months will be a season of new birth for me. Just like 9 months is just enough time to drastically change someone's life physically. It seems like it's just enough time to change someone's life spiritually as well.
I don't know the exact details or exactly how God will change me, but I know the next 9 months will be a drastic and intentional time of growth; of new birth. My question to you is what will God do in your life in the next 9 months? What are you believing God for in this next 9 months? Am I the only one who God is impregnating with a vision for the city of Boston? Am I the only one that God will birth something through in this next 9 months? I don't think so...
My challenge for you is that you make this next 9 months as intentional as possible. Become pregnant with something as well, and give birth to something that will radically change your surroundings. And follow me on my journey as I discover what all this will mean.
As soon as I knew for sure I was leaving I began making jokes about it being just enough time for me to have a child, and nobody know about it. Trust me... I was only joking! I love Jesus way too much to knock up a really hot European girl and then flee for the States once the baby is due to arrive. I love having great stories to tell, but I don't think that's a story anyone would appreciate, including Jesus... and I like it when He laughs at my stories.
Like I said, I was only joking, so I wasn't expecting what came next. I was having some time alone with God, and He began to speak to me about this next 9 months of my life. He said that 9 is the number of birth, and that He was going to use this next 9 months to birth something inside of me. He would birth within me a love for Him and His Word. The Holy Spirit would impregnate me with a vision and dream for how youth in the city of Boston will be won for Christ. He would birth within me a hunger for revival, and a way to speak His revelation to my generation.
I may have thought I was joking about having a child, but now I'm serious. This 9 months will be a season of new birth for me. Just like 9 months is just enough time to drastically change someone's life physically. It seems like it's just enough time to change someone's life spiritually as well.
I don't know the exact details or exactly how God will change me, but I know the next 9 months will be a drastic and intentional time of growth; of new birth. My question to you is what will God do in your life in the next 9 months? What are you believing God for in this next 9 months? Am I the only one who God is impregnating with a vision for the city of Boston? Am I the only one that God will birth something through in this next 9 months? I don't think so...
My challenge for you is that you make this next 9 months as intentional as possible. Become pregnant with something as well, and give birth to something that will radically change your surroundings. And follow me on my journey as I discover what all this will mean.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Three Dolllars Worth of God
In light of our sermons at the RUINED conference we thought this piece would be great to use this week. Most Christians are simply content, comfortable, poncho-wearing, and stuck.
Three dollars worth of God is all most Christians want... here's the piece that inspires us to want more.
I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please.
I would like to buy just a little of the Lord. Not enough to explode my soul and disturb my sleep. Not enough to take control of my life. I want just enough to equal a cup of warm milk. Just enough to ease some of the pain from my guilt.
I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please. I would like to find a love that is pocket-sized. I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. Not enough to change my heart. I can only stand just enough to take to church when I have time. Just enough to equal a snooze in the sunshine. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, but not a new birth.
I would like to purchase a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. If it doesn’t work, I would like to get my money back.
I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please. I would like to hide some for a rainy day. Not enough for people to see a change in me. Not enough to impose any responsibility. Just enough to make folks think I am ok.
Could I just get three dollars worth of God, please?
Three dollars worth of God is all most Christians want... here's the piece that inspires us to want more.
I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please.
I would like to buy just a little of the Lord. Not enough to explode my soul and disturb my sleep. Not enough to take control of my life. I want just enough to equal a cup of warm milk. Just enough to ease some of the pain from my guilt.
I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please. I would like to find a love that is pocket-sized. I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. Not enough to change my heart. I can only stand just enough to take to church when I have time. Just enough to equal a snooze in the sunshine. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, but not a new birth.
I would like to purchase a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. If it doesn’t work, I would like to get my money back.
I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please. I would like to hide some for a rainy day. Not enough for people to see a change in me. Not enough to impose any responsibility. Just enough to make folks think I am ok.
Could I just get three dollars worth of God, please?
Wilbur Rees
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