Alive

When in your life have you felt most alive? For me times like these come to mind: finding out how fast my jet ski could go in beautiful Ozark lake country, learning to lope for the first time during my childhood horseback riding lessons, skiing above the tree-line along a snowy ridge in Colorado, and floating in huge ocean swells in Mexico.

These experiences have some common denominators—a bit of risk, an element of being outside of myself, and the requirement that I give up some control and surrender to something bigger—the lake, the horse, the mountain, the waves. I guide the horse and move my body to direct my skis, sure, but there are about 57 things that could go wrong in each of these scenarios, and if I think I’m the one holding it all together, I’m deluded.

In a similar fashion spiritual “aliveness”—what Easter is all about—comes from surrender. I do nothing to achieve my own spiritual vitality—it’s all God. I can’t control anything about the process with bad or good works, and the result is vivacity, freedom, and elation that puts even the best earthly thrill-seeking to shame.

“But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5

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Delighted to Share

I’m doing another Five Minute Friday free write today, and our prompt is the word share. Here we go!

Growing up in church I got the idea that “ministry” was a specific category of activities such as verbally sharing the Gospel or leading a Bible study. In college I began to volunteer with a parachurch youth ministry whose guiding Scripture was 1 Thessalonians 2:8, which says, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”

I was entrusted with a group of several middle school girls with which to do Bible study, but I was also encouraged to “do life” with them. Over the course of several years God gave me a deep love for these sweet and energetic girls as I taught them the Word and prayed for them but also participated in sleepovers and picnics, tennis matches and choir concerts.

Meanwhile the parents of these girls either consciously or subconsciously adopted this same philosophy of relational ministry with me. They told me about what God had done in their lives—not through any kind of formal discipleship program but rather on walks, over coffee, and on their porch swings. I will be forever changed by the powerful ministry that occurred through my relationships with both the girls and their parents.

Imagine my sheepish surprise when I realized that this “new” way of doing ministry is exactly what Jesus did on earth! He preached and performed miracles, of course, but He also gathered a small group of friends around Him—the disciples—and He lived life with them. They ate, fished, and traveled together. Judging by the way the disciples later radically devoted their entire lives to spreading the Gospel even while experiencing persecution, I’d say His ministry method was successful, and I believe this type of relational ministry packs a similar punch today.

Want to do “ministry?” Share the Gospel, and share your life.

Has anyone "shared the Gospel" with you by sharing their life with you? I'd love to hear about it!

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Morning

Today I'm participating in Five Minute Friday, a free write link-up hosted by Kate Motaung. Here are my brief thoughts on the topic of morning:

No one who’s ever lived with me would describe me as a morning person. Those who have worked with me might—but that’s because by the time they interacted with me, I was sufficiently caffeinated.

My sweet husband brings my coffee in bed. This started as a “deal” we made—I’d make his lunch and get the dinner prep dishes done before he got home from work, meaning we'd have more time to spend together in the evenings; in turn he’d bring me coffee the next morning. I still do those things for him most days, but he still brings me coffee every day...no matter how pleasant or unpleasant I was to him the previous day.

The consistency of this little blessing—which is actually a big deal if you understand my need for caffeine—reminds me that God’s mercies are new every morning too (Lamentations 3:22-23). No matter what happened in the world the day before, and no matter how cranky I was, ironically complaining about my life of rich blessing, God offers me new mercy each and every day! Mercy to start over, mercy to choose a new attitude, mercy to walk with Him. And like my coffee wakes me up and energizes my mind to tackle the day, His mercy infuses me with hope and excitement to see what He has in store for me.

What does morning mean to you?

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