I have the iPhone. You may have heard about it in the news. It does fancy stuff. But, it does not have picture or video messaging that is so desired by everyone. Then why is it so popular? Because Apple chose to focus their attention on other features that make the phone innovative and unbelievable.

Some companies have been trying to beat the iPhone but no one has succeeded. Why? Because they focus their attention on cramming in a bunch of features that water down the usability of their product.

What have I learn from this?

Sometimes, as the church, we try to include a program for everyone that make us bloated with “features.” We become average at a lot of little things instead of being excellent at a few great things.

Buckhead Church recently made an announcement that they have decided to discontinue 7|22. I thought this was a bold decision that took some guts. Although I personally enjoyed 7|22, I am excited to see a church that isn’t afraid to stop a certain ministry in order to do something even greater.

How many “features” does your church have?

Stephen

Discuss.

Stephen

I’ve been thinking lately, why do you pray for your food? Is it to thank God for his provision, to pray that all the salmonella will be destroyed from your tomatoes, or what? Do you pray before you eat?

I’m tired of praying without meaning it. Religious jargon often gets mingled in with a couple of words that are passed off as “prayers.” I’d rather save my breath for when there is conviction and passion behind what I say. That’s all.

Discuss.

Stephen

Last night I watched Deep Impact with Brent and Karla. I hadn’t heard of this movie since I was only 11 years old when it came out in theaters (1998). If you’ve never seen it, it’s about a huge comet that is on a course to destroy earth. In the movie they are able to project when it will hit and basically tell everyone they are going to die in 4 weeks. We started joking about what we would do if we were in that situation (eat tubs of ice cream, run with scissors, pee in the shower, etc.) but I started thinking, I don’t know if I would want to learn the date of my death. I mean, it’s just plain creepy.

If you could learn of your exact date of death and how it would happen, would you want to find out? Why or why not?

Stephen

Cause there’s a power in poverty
That breaks principalities
And brings the authorities down to their knees.
There’s a brewing frustration and ageless temptation
To fight for control by manipulation.

The God of the kingdoms and God of creation and God of the nations
Sent this revelation through the homeless and penniless Jesus the son,
“The poor will inherit the kingdom to come.”

And where will we turn when the world falls apart
And all of the treasures we stored in our barns
Can’t buy the kingdom of God?

And who will we praise when we’ve praised all our lives
Men who build kingdoms and men who build fame
But heaven does not know their names?

And what are we going to fear when all that remains
Is a God on the throne with a child in His arms
And love in His eyes?

-Jason Upton, “The World Is Wide Open”

umm…wow.
Stephen

So I just saw Prince Caspian and thought I would throw in my two cents.

First of all, it’s a pretty good movie. You should go see it.

Second, the reason I love the Narnia movies is because of the spiritual parallels. There are a lot of them and maybe some are obvious but they still inspire me. One of my favorites is when Aslan asks Lucy why she didn’t follow him when the others didn’t believe her because they didn’t see. She apologizes and then asks why he didn’t reveal himself and come roaring in to save them like last time. He replies that he often doesn’t do the same thing twice.

How many times do we have an awesome experience with God and then expect Him to do the exact same thing the next time? And when He doesn’t show up, we begin to doubt ourselves and wonder if He’s even still there. 

I want to follow Him in the amazingly awesome times and when it seems like He’s hiding himself. Sometimes we just need to pursue Him a little harder. We need to run after Him when no one else is.

Let the chase begin.

Stephen

I don’t know how long they have had this, but it’s a new discovery for me. Starbucks has made available free weekly music downloads. I love these and picked up the latest from Adele today. I found Adele a couple of months ago and have enjoyed all of her songs so far. You should check her music out.

Yesterday was a technical nightmare for our Sunday service. Even if everything wasn’t noticed by the audience, there were some major ones. One is too many for me and my mind is swirling with ideas on how we can fix these problems in the future. That’s ALL I will say about this matter.

Last night I had a crazy dream that I was involved in a hostage situation at Buckhead Church. There were a lot of gunmen and we eventually had an amazing escape plan that involved some guns of our own. It was pretty intense!

Those are my mixed thoughts for today. What’s the craziest dream you’ve had?

Stephen

Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended.
A.W. Tozer

How many times have I justified a purchase because it was “necessary?” Answer: Too many. God has given us gifts, but they were always meant to be external, never to slip inside the heart and take the place of Him.

God’s gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by this monstrous substitution.
A.W. Tozer

I must admit, that I have found the words, “my” and “mine,” coming from my mouth one too many times. I cling to my toys. Why? Do I fear for their safety?

Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.
A.W. Tozer

I want my pursuit of God to do something about this matter. I have no excuse; I have no defense. I’m in need of a Savior who can dethrone my selfish desires.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3

Being poor in spirit does not mean you have nothing. You can have everything, but possess nothing by no longer being a slave to the tyranny of things. This is the secret.

I want my heart to have room for one and only one.

What are you holding onto?

Stephen