When Normal Is Not Enough

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 21)

admin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:55:00 +0000

Reason #21 – Because it’s thrilling to be able to say “I see God”!

Have you ever met someone who said “I’ve seen God”? Well, I have. These people speak with humble tones and never claim their encounter with God as a reflection of their spirituality. People who see God don’t see Him by some supernatural accident. They don’t see Jesus in Marmalade or obscured images on foggy glass. They see Him out of their deep need and passion for God to make them pure (see Matthew 5:8). They see God out of the painful awareness that their life is a train wreck apart from God intervening.

Are you broken, undone, at the end, without a clue which way to turn, sickened by your sin and ready to change? Then Thrill awaits you…because who God makes pure by His grace…is the one who gets to see God face to face!

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 20)

admin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:17:10 +0000

Reason #20 – Because mercy givers are mercy receivers.

Often the goal of faith is to “do” great things for God or we feel compelled to serve Him in a way that feels like we’re accomplishing something for Him. This rigorous approach to faith can leave us incredibly empty and actually missing the nuances of faith that really matter.

If we begin with our greatest need and work backwards, we’ll find something simple and liberating. We need mercy! If you feel you don’t need mercy your suffering from self-righteousness and spiritual blindness. The most spiritually fit people understand that we are often derailed (sinful) disciples who need the Savior…we need God’s mercy. But here’s the good news. With one hand reaching out in our need for mercy from God and the other hand extending mercy to others we will witness both fulfilled (see Matthew 5:7).

The most thrilling people in this world are fully aware of their desperate need for God and fully aware of their need to extend to others what God extends toward us.

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 19)

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:31:02 +0000

Reason #19 – Because Thrill seekers are Peacemakers

I’ve lived long enough to see something that appears to be noble but is not. Today many evangelicals try to “keep the peace” and the problem is that they’re succeeding. Why is this a problem? Because we’re not called to keep peace…we’re called to make peace (see Matthew 5:9).

Keeping peace is about pushing things under the rug, avoiding conflict, walking past offenses when it’s in your power to do better and ignoring blatant miscarriage of justice. Some people are identified as “reconcilers” but my experience has been that most reconciliation is anything but. Peace keeping is more in vogue than peace making for two main reasons. 1. Peace making requires the heavy lifting of difficult meetings and meting out truth for the purpose of building a foundation on Christ, who is the rock of truth. 2. Many peace keepers are more enamored with appearing to be a savior than honoring the Savior.

Peace makers are few but they “shall be called sons of God”. They make peace by seeking truth and calling lies, distortion, and slander what they are…wrong. They are not consumed with the fame of keeping things from boiling over…they’re consumed with the truth and glory of God, no matter how many friends they may have at the end of the day!

Cheers for the Peace Makers!!

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 18)

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:04:59 +0000

Reason #18 – Discovering the thrill in God…often involves God waiting for us to exhaust all other options.

Sometimes when it feels like God is hangin’ us out to dry…He’s not! We can often feel like Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. They couldn’t figure out why Jesus was so slow to respond to their sick brother. What in the world is God doing when He can most certainly act and yet He seems oblivious to our hearts cry? (see John 11)

He’s just waiting for us to exhaust all other options! When Jesus is our final lifeline, we begin to understand true worship. When we have nothing else to lean on, we can then find rest in Him. When we need a shoulder to cry on, we find the ultimate friend in God. This can only happen when all seems lost and only a miracle will do.

Thrill is discovered when we’ve exhausted all other options…

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 17)

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:19:59 +0000

Reason #17 – Living large in God’s Kingdom carries with it unparalleled opportunities and unparalleled challenges.

So you think you want to be part of something thrilling? Most would assume that when God opens doors of ministry it’s just going to be a ride to end all rides. That people will be impacted and lives will be transformed. When we think of spiritual opposition, in seasons of effective ministry, we think of something pesky but nothing hyper adversarial.

Truth is…Paul says something quite to the contrary. Mixing it up with God in “effective ministry” brings with it “many adversities” (see I Cor. 16:8-9). Now why is that a reason to pursue Thrill? Isn’t that a reason to resist Thrill? Well, the kingdom of God and thrill in Him IS ALL ABOUT watching God bust through the nasty obstacles of adversity as we witness Him transforming others…and even us in the process!

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 16)

karl — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:36:06 +0000

Reason #16 - Living on the edge causes us to claim only God’s grace.

Why THRILL? Because “normal” Christianity can lull us into thinking we’re something special in our own power. We aren’t, and what’s worse, we know it. See, the scary thing about a self-led life is that we constantly have to deal with the voices in our head that say “you’re nothing”! The only solution for self-led people in dealing with those voices is to prove them wrong through more effort, performance or activity that masks the truth.

Acknowledging “we are what we are by the grace of God” (see I Cor. 15:10) allows two powerful things to happen…

1. We can only claim God’s grace as a credit to us!
2. We are free to run with liberty in the grace He has given us!

So what will it be? THRILL says…”It’s all about God…I’m riding hard with Him and what a ride it is…!”

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 15)

karl — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:35:26 +0000

Reason #15 - Some people will be hungry for real life when our global economy crushes our current standard of living.

It’s coming…The end of our ride as we know it is near the end. No, I don’t know exactly when but all indications are that the coming financial troubles will make those of the last two years look like a blip on the radar of disruption. (Yes, I have several friends who are highly respected economic experts. They see something coming that no one wants to talk much about.)

These are not times of despair. These are days for hope, courage and preparation. THRILL is the desperate and courageous clinging to God that results in fearless proclamation of hope in times of crisis (see I Peter 4). The option is huddling in fear as those who don’t know the power and riches of God.

Pain will not avoid us but God will allow us to experience great joy even though we may plant seeds in others lives with tears in our eyes (see Psalm 126:5).

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 14)

karl — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 13:57:02 +0000

Reason #14 - It’s easy to mistake discipline for punishment.

When we engage in the life of spiritual THRILL there are several things we must know to be true:

God is for us…not against us (see Romans 8:31).
Life in Christ is not a cake walk (see Roman 5:1-5).
If we love God…the future is bright no matter how gloomy it may look today (Romans 8:28).

But here’s another important one:

Sometimes God needs to discipline us (Hebrews 12:7-12).
Not because he doesn’t love us…but because He does love us. Without a clear picture of God’s love and passion for our spiritual success, we can miss the greater lesson in tough times. I know what it is to go through long periods of pain. I know what it is to cry out to God and ask Him WHY! But this one thing is true…only Satan wants us to believe that we are being punished. God’s loves compels Him to discipline us so we might be more fully aligned with His will and ultimately walk in His way!

Sometimes we need to embrace the correction and discipline of God
as part and parcel of the THRILL He promises those who love Him!

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 13)

karl — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 15:09:04 +0000

Reason #13 - Some of us may be surprised and super encouraged to know that our weakness could provide an open door!

The way of God is strangely different from what we would expect and what we would pray for on a daily basis. The affirmation for the Church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:8 is insightful and powerful!

I know your works. Behold, I have set before youan open door,
which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power,
and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Do you feel weak but desire an open door of opportunity? God loves the faithful…keep His word, hold His name high and hang on for the ride. God kicks open doors that no one can shut!

“The great among us are those who serve. God’s power is perfected in our weakness. The last will be first.”
–Jesus Christ

21 Reasons for THRILL (Reason 12)

karl — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:08:11 +0000

Reason #12 - Without pressing IN to Christ…we’re destined to carry burdens and heap them on others!

The real tragedy about not living in close proximity to God is that we’re reduced to living in our own power. At some time, this afflicts any and all who dare to surrender to Christ. We live is a constant battle of self-will vs. God’s will. But self-will leads to rules that burden us down, were never intended to be carried and then we heap onto others in our self righteousness (see Acts 15:9-11).

THRILL can only be sustained as we press IN to Christ. When we try to press ON in Christ without pressing IN, we ultimately find ourselves on the treadmill of self effort and self-effort leads to burdens that no disciple was intended to carry.