MEXICO!

Off to Mexico!! Follow along at Mexic09.blogspot.com !

Move09

Keep us in your prayers. Check out what we are up to at Move09.blogspot.com!

I love campfires!

Have you ever had one of those family vacations that was anything but enjoyable? Arguing siblings in the backseat, a rainy camping trip, sightseeing that wasn't as spectacular as you had expected, etc. I sure know I have. However, as I was sitting around the fire with my family last night I was able to see that it is those moments that bring you together. As we sat and reminisced over our years of camping together we were able to have so many laughs about my mom being paranoid over each and every campsite, not being able to take showers for who knows how long, swimming in dirty creeks, getting lost in the badlands, being overtaken by racoons or cockroaches, scaring off the neighboring campers and many others scenarios that seemed quite rotten at the time. Growing up I can remember Mark Beeson using the phrase, "We're making memories" in several of his messages about situations such as these. It is all too true. Despite the ups and downs, the arguments and the sticky situations, I love my family. I love campfires. I love camping. I love memories. The end.

I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

I spent last week serving beside an awesome group of students and leaders in Chicago. At the end of the week we were each asked to go around and say one of our biggest take-aways from the trip. My mind automatically jumped to one of our small group sessions when we dove into Matthew 12, an idea that stuck with me all week. Here are my thoughts:

In Matthew 12 Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees for the work that his disciples are doing on the Sabbath. They are quick to accuse him of being unlawful, but Jesus easily puts them in their place. In his explanation to them there are five simple words that stick out in my head, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” God doesn’t call us to merely follow laws, he calls us to love. He doesn’t call us to give up a week of our time because we feel it is our duty to sacrifice. Instead, he desires that we would feel such compassion for the world around us that we would have a deep desire to do something. Jesus calls for our hearts, not simply for the sacrificial work of our hands.

As the week went on I felt a burden on my heart to evaluate why I was doing what I was doing. Was I handing out food to the homeless because I felt bad for them and was sympathetic, or because I was able to feel their pain and be empathetic? Was I praying for the city because that was what Sarah had set aside for that time or was I praying because I had a deep yearning for God’s presence in the city of Chicago? Was I leading small group time because that was my job, or was I guiding the students to Christ because I deeply cared about their spiritual growth?

This same concept applies to all areas of life. Are we going to church because it’s what we think the bible says to do or because we are aching to learn more about the Lord? Why are we reading our bibles? Why are we volunteering? God’s desire is not for us to give of ourselves because of some sense of obligation or guilt that we may have. He longs for the depths of our hearts to cry out with a desire to become more like him, and thus desire for the furthering of his kingdom. He calls for us to serve the world out of mercy for its people, not out of duty to our religion.

If we could implement this sense of mercy into our lives, I think we would find the importance of laws and standards quickly fading away. Later on in the chapter Jesus goes on to give the example of what would happen if one of their sheep were to fall into a pit on the Sabbath. He says to them, “Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!”Our God is one of love, not laws. If society says to us that it’s in our best interest to avoid those people begging for food on the side of the street, do we listen? Our God extends far beyond social norms and worldly expectations. What would it look like if we started thinking more like him?