Welcome to the Fusion blog!

The Basics so far…

Hope, Dependence, Joy, Generosity and Wonder. If I discovered people marked with those characteristics, I’d want to ask how they did it. How they developed those qualities in their life. I can say that without help it’s impossible. Inside myself I don’t have what it takes to always hope the best; I’m easily discouraged. Inside myself, I want independence; not dependence! Inside myself, I find plenty of things to steal my joy and keep me from talking about what truly matters.

Since the tools necessary to cultivate the 5 Basics are not in me, it begs the question: “Where to go?” I presuppose God’s Word to be enough to point me to God, who is all I need. So I’ll start there. God and His Word are the perfect outside influence to push me in the direction of hope, joy, etc. And I want joy!

If I let other influences push me I’ll end up with huge misconceptions. Joy for example. Joy is a hot topic this time of year. Christmas decorations are out at Walmart and the internet is filling with Holiday ads. “Joy to the World!” “Celebrate the Holidays” Buy more and be happy. Joy exists at the end of a credit card receipt! – REALLY? What a misconception!

I find most of my joy in people not things. I’m not alone in this thought. Jesus disciples placed their joy in Jesus and were sufficiently bummed when Jesus told them he was leaving (John 16:17-18). Their joy was going to be smashed like an October 31st pumpkin heading towards a fateful end as a Thanksgiving pie. They weren’t sure they’d make it to the next holiday. Jesus was predicting his death and they were sure to be devoid of joy.

Throughout John 16:17-33, Jesus gives his followers reasons they’ll be joyful after Jesus is killed on a cross. Sure, I can look back on the disciples, having read the whole story, and think, “Don’t sweat it guys, Jesus will rise from the dead… You’ll see Him again.” But for Peter, James, John… life was about to come unraveled.

Jesus’ promise of joy for his followers after his resurrection helps me. I’m a follower of Jesus on this side of the cross. I can and should have joy. After all, the Greatest Person to ever bring me joy is still alive!

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. I this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” - Jesus, in John 16:33.

What keeps you from experiencing joy?

Marketing talks all about independence! “Have it your way!” “Need a moment” “You deserve Product X” We personalize, customize and trail blaze. We’ve been taught success comes to those willing to go out on their own and forge a new path. Our mood depends on how free we feel and where we’ve been able to take ourselves by our own strength.

Maybe we’ve been able to reject message of independence, and instead choose to be a person who plays well with others. So we collaborate with our friends, delve deep into the hypersocialization of Facebook, Texting, and Twitter. We aren’t independent, we’re co-dependent. Our mood depends on who’s talking to us or not talking to us at any moment of the day. We’ve avoided radical independence and allowed the pendulum to swing to radical co-dependence.

• Yes, God’s way may sound like independence. He calls us to owe no debt but the debt of love (Romans 13:8).
• Yes, God’s way may sound like co-dependence. He calls us to live in peace with one another. (Romans 12:18)
• How about dependence? Realizing without the powerful grace of God and His merciful work in our lives, we can do nothing of substance.

The Basics is about discovering 5 ways God wants us to live. Often the basics of Christianity have been: read your Bible, pray, go to church, give your money, serve in the church. But these externals miss the internal attitude God wants us to cultivate that will cause us to pursue Him. The attitude that helps me cultivate prayer the most is dependence. God desires people dependent on Him.

John 14:14 says, “You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it!”

I love that kind of opportunity! Prayer with anything attached. How do I see God do anything I ask? Answer, ask things in line with God’s will and character. Ask things “in my name.” How will I know what’s in line with God’s will and character? The answer is in John 15. Short version: Stay Dependent on God.

How do you stay dependent on God?

People without hope die. I know that is a harsh way to start, but haven’t you seen it? Think of the last story you read or heard of a person that lost hope and took his or her own life. Hope is essential for life.

Without hope despair settles in like a fog. And the fog causes us to trip and fall. The stuff of life we’d normally navigate with ease now becomes insurmountable. A bad grade – usually I’d step right over that. My girl dumped me – usually I’d skirt around that issue. Why? Because hope believes there will be another test and a better grade. Because hope believes there are more girls to date.

But when despair sets in and hope is lost it’s easy to trip and fall.  We start to believe there is no better grade coming and there are no more girls to date. Or that dad will never change or that mom will never love me. Or that my friends and my job are as good as it gets. We stop dreaming of a better day.

The Basics is a chance to learn 5 life essentials. 5 things we can’t live without. Or at least don’t want to live without. Hope, dependence, joy, generosity and wonder. Life without these essentials is dangerously impossible.

John Piper in a recent twitter post said: “In Christ, the best is always yet to come. Always. No exceptions. Forever.” Really? How can he believe that? We’re skeptical of his short 83 character thought. Obviously, he doesn’t know my life!

Yet we want to believe “the best is yet to come”, don’t we? Something in us is hardwired to hope. We don’t want to walk around in despair. We want to be around hopeful people.

People around us exist without hope. They are still alive but not really living. Am I a person of hope that can draw others out of despair? Are you?

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” – Jesus in John 14:1

Transforming a Region Starts in Me:

No matter where you live, there are things about the area I’m sure you wish were different. Different places to eat, different things to do, different people to talk to, different jobs to work at, a different place to live – just better. When I stop to think about the changes I’d like to see they always come back to people.

• People who are better customers at the restaurant.
• Owners who give better deals on the food they serve.
• Business people who act more fairly when they fix my car or sell me groceries.
• People who are better friends, neighbors and coworkers.

However, I rarely stop to think about my role in seeing my surroundings change. I underestimate my ability to affect the change I’d like to see in my community. So life continues on at it’s normal pace and things around stay the same or get worse.

Ezra wished things were different around him. He lived 800 miles from home. It must have caused him pain to think that back home, his people’s place of worship was destroyed. I know it caused him great pain to know that his people had decided to reject God’s way. They were cheating, stealing, and killing – all because they had forgotten to know and do God’s Word. But Ezra, rather than wishing for things to change, started changing himself. He dedicated himself to know and do God’s Word. Through Ezra, God transformed Jerusalem and the region around.

So the next time I’m complaining about the slow service in the checkout line or the mess up order at the drive through, I hope to remember that transforming a region starts with God transforming me. And that happens as I am dedicated to know and do God’s Word.

How have you let God’s Word change you today?

Courage is not the absence of fear but relying on the presence of God in the middle of fear.

Fear is a tough thing. Most men try to live fearless; say they don't have any fear or never admit fear. Ladies are more tough then they've ever been; able to "just do it!" Fear is not something we like to stop and think about. We may even just call a fear something we're worried about and not really deal with the fact that we're scared to death.

But I've been afraid. And not just when I was a little kid. Even as recently as this summer I was fearful. We were at a softball game waiting for our game. My kids were all happily (for the most part!) playing on the playground. All the sudden I look up and Kara, my youngest, is no where to be seen. My 2 year old was wandering around a crowded softball complex. I started running around looking, all the time fear flooding my mind. What if we didn't find her? What if someone took her? What if... What if... What if...

Fear can paralyze. It robs joy. It causes panic. Life lived in fear is miserable. God didn't send Jesus to earth so we could continue to live life in fear. He came to give us a new way. A life lived knowing God as Father. And not an earthly father like me - one that looses his kids - but a Daddy that is all-powerful and all-knowing and never looses His children. Romans 8:15 says "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Daddy, Father' "

When I think about the privilege of knowing God as Father/Daddy, I can relax knowing He has everything under control. And even when my abilities as a daddy are not enough and I loose my child in a crowd, I can be confident He will never loose me in a crowd. My heavenly Father gives me courage to keep trying to be a better earthly father.

I know God is able because of the way He a person I didn't even know to gently pick up a crying 2 year old and carry her around until they found her daddy. Kara was restored to us. Through people God chose to use. My heavenly Father is ready to be your Daddy who can and does use all types of characters to bring us the courage we need for life.

Gideon was a Character God Welcomed into His plan to bring His children Israel back home. Come check out more about Gideon on Tuesday Night at Fusion. Or read his story in the Bible in Judges 6 and 7.

What is it your fear most?

How does God bring you courage to face your fears?

What people have been instrumental in bringing you godly courage?

Characters Welcome is a trademark of USA Network, so yes, I’m borrowing. The USA channel’s characters are often engaging and quirky. All the things we like in an entertaining show. Now they’re not all good and this is a not a blanket endorsement of the network, but I’d like to introduce you to one of USA’s characters, Adrian Monk. As part of the show, Monk, Adrian helps the San Francisco Police Department solve some of their toughest cases. His obsessive compulsive behavior, rather than being a disorder, is an aid in cracking the toughest of cases. And it makes for enjoyable humor.

Peruse through their site and you’ll come across “American Characters” and “The Character Project.” Both are attempts to identify and celebrate the true characters of our nation. Real people living real lives. American Characters was a photo shoot across the nation using some of the best photographers in the country. The images are stunning. Now available as a book for purchase, the money raised will help “USA’s pro-social initiative dedicated to combating intolerance and promoting acceptance and understanding.” Not a bad idea. People are valuable – every single character. Now I may not agree with USA’s understanding of how apply this concept, but I applaud the principle.

God has made some characters! I’m one of them. Quirky, tall, skinny, nearsighted, geeky computer guy that loves riding a mountain bike more than watching NFL. And God made me to be unique. Read Psalms 139:13-15 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.”

I want people to accept me as I am. I want to accept others as they are. But who are the people God accepts? Who are the characters God worked through in history? I want to discover what was so special about them that God would say: Character you are welcome in my Kingdom!

So here’s the plan, for the next six weeks at Fusion (Sept. 22 – Oct. 27) we’ll look at some interesting characters from the Bible: Esther, Hezekiah, Gideon, Ezra, Josiah and Ruth. We’ll see what burned inside of them that cause them to be welcome in God’s eyes. And who knows maybe it will inspire you to be the character you are AND welcome before God!

Who are some characters you know?

Our new season for Fusion starts tomorrow night, Tuesday, August 25th at 6:00 p.m. at Southeastern Community College Room 433. It's time to start it up!

Burning Spirit is all about the fire inside us. I believe everyone has a fire burning inside them. Many are extremely passionate about sports, or music, or art, or friends. We burn brightly from the inside out when we talk about our girlfriend or boyfriend. The flame is strong when our team makes it the final. And then there are those that burn for a cause. They are torn up inside about the injustices occurring in Darfur. They have a burning desire to eradicate child warfare in southern Sudan. They'll all fired up to see poverty wiped of the face of the earth. We all have a passion - a powerful fire inside us.

I think God made us to burn. We are all created to have a burning spirit. But the flame is strongest and lasts longest when it lines up with God's flame - the things the Creator is passionate about. For God, His strongest passion is His glory. Read the book of Exodus and look how many times God does things so that people will know "I AM THE LORD"! God is first on God's mind. Sounds egotistical, but when He is most perfect, what else would God put before Himself? (for more on this topic explained carefully from Scripture read just about anything by John Piper)

It makes sense then if God's highest passion is Himself, that we line ourselves up with that passion. Our highest passion must be God. It is then that the flame inside us will burn best.

Burning Spirit is about stoking that fire inside. Discovering the flame, igniting it, fueling it, and the power of united flames. May God set you on fire and keep you burning brightly.

What burns in you? What are you passionate about? How does it line up with God's passions? Post your comments!

A guy that I read frequently - Ed Stetzer - has written a great post about Last Letters. An old military tradition, the last letter was something soldiers wrote and left behind on the dock before heading off to war. It was a chance to pass on what was important in life. A chance to explain why they were willing to sacrifice so much to fight for others freedom.

You should read his post here and the letter a missionary lady wrote before giving her life for Jesus in Iraq: http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2009/08/my-last-letter.html

After thinking about it for a long time, I wrote a letter for my family. Anna has read this and one day my kids will also. But as a leader of a spiritual family, you get to listen in:

My Last Letter - Monday, August 10, 2009

Dear Anna, Mabry, Ty and Kara,

If you are reading this, it is because I am with Jesus. Because of His death on the cross in my place and His resurrection from the grave I am no living as I’d once only hoped. I’m living with Jesus. I know that you’d rather have me living with you now. And I know that you’re sad I won’t be there to see you grow to be the young woman and man God wants you to be.

Just remember, The Who is more important than that What. Jesus matters more than any thing you could ever buy or any award you could ever receive or any goal you could ever achieve. People are more important the that plans on your calendar. The relationships you have always matter more than the job you work. I hope you will experience as I have that “…everything [is] a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” (Philippians 3:8).

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage, so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:20-21). My purpose for life has been to lift up the name of Jesus. On August 30, 1994, Jesus redeemed me for His glory. Though I have often faltered, God called me to preach His name in the spring of 1997. May you also pursue His glory above your own comfort.

Anna, know that God is at work in, through and around you. As you raise Mabry, Ty and Kara, as you bless people with your compassionate heart and as you use the skills God has given you to pursue the dreams He gives you. May your love for Jesus “abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (Philippians 1:9).

Mabry, may your passion and energy be the thing that sustains you as you seek to know Jesus. I believe God will change the world through you. I trust God will allow Philippians 3:10 to be true in your life – you are so tough and strong! Use those gifts to serve Jesus as you love others.

Ty, may you always know that you “can do everything through Him who gives you strength” (Philippians 4:13). You are my strong little man and I have prayed since you were young that you would be strong in Jesus. I believe God will make you a catalyst to start amazing things for His glory.

Kara, may you be true to your name and always bring the joy of the Lord with you. Philippians 4:4 & 5 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” I believe you will bring hope and comfort to many in Jesus name.

Live for Jesus – full of joy and hope. He will wipe every tear away and one day soon I will see you again in the presence of Jesus.

Love,

Your husband and daddy,

Caleb.

COMMENT:

What would you write?

Better yet:Are you living a life that will inspire others should you die young?