2 am

Lots of things going on over here...
We have some guests right now that are really open to the gospel. It's as if "talk to me, I'm searching for more" is written accross their foreheads. A few of these people happen to be guys or men and I have a rule for myself that I don't minister to the opposite sex. Sometimes I wonder if my man made rules such as this one get in the way of God moving. Although, now that I just wrote that I'm thinking...nothing can get in the way of God. So never mind.

People have been asking me really tough questions lately. As I'm answering these questions I wonder if what I'm saying is really going to make a difference.

Here's something that I've been thinking a lot about lately...as evangelicals do we focus too much on the great commission? What I mean is this- the greatest commandment we have is to love God and the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. But, are we more focused on spreading the good news than on loving people? Shouldn't evangelism just flow out of our lives? Shouldn't it just be a byproduct of spending time with God? So why focus on it so much? Why not focus more on who God is and how we can love our neighbors more?

Here's another thing that really struck me about a week ago...when you share the gospel with people do you leave out the resurrection? If so, why? So many times when we have the opportunity to share the gospel we talk about how Jesus died for our sins. Without the resurrection there is still no hope. The resurrection is what our faith is built on so how has it lost its place in our gospel message? Well, I think it's satan.

And lastly, what are churches thinking these days? I don't know if I'm a total church snob or if churches are becoming really watered down in their attempt to attract a wider audience. When are we going to try to stop pleasing the world and start pleasing God? I wonder what Jesus thinks about seeker friendly churches. And did you ever stop to think that those that seek will find? So, why water church down? The holy spirit is what gives spiritual discernment.

I am tempted to start ranting about "The Message" and a few other translations I've come across recently, but I'll stop here. You're welcome.

One of our cleaners quit today. The gospel is offensive.

So many people to pray for. I pray that Jesus will come soon. I pray that we will focus on God above all things and that we will really love each other with our actions and our hearts.