A Refreshing Moment

Recently, I heard a podcast by Ravi Zacharias on how to build a moral society. It was like the refreshing moment when the sweaty, dusty pollen of a long spring hike is washed away by a deep dive into the cool waters of a beautiful river swimming hole. It was like the tipping point moment when enough of the puzzle pieces strewn out on the table have come together to reveal a clear picture, making the remaining pieces easy to place. It was like the enlightening moment when the canvas of midnight black is lifted off, little by little, as the morning sun reveals the color and clarity of our beautiful world.

Oh, the wonderful integration Jesus’ gospel truth can bring to the thoughts, feelings, pressures, and temptations caused by the ever-present voices of the world around us, as well as the world within us. David the Psalmist echoes this sentiment in Psalm 19 when he writes “The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together.”

I could say more about it, but I want to save you the time so you will listen to the message for yourself. I recommend you get a pen and paper to take some notes. 

David

Click here to hear the podcast.

What To Do With All This Information

Here are some quotes about the Information Age we are either thriving in or barely surviving in:

BUCKMINSTER FULLER:

“Until the 1900’s, humanity’s cumulative knowledge doubled every century. In the 1940’s humanity’s cumulative knowledge doubled every 25 years. Currently, humanity’s cumulative knowledge doubles every 13 months. And by 2020 humanity’s cumulative knowledge will double every 12 hours.” 

ALDOUS HUXLEY:

“We are living now, not in the delicious intoxication induced by the early successes of science, but in a rather grisly morning-after, when it has become apparent that what triumphant science has done hitherto is to improve the means for achieving unimproved or actually deteriorated ends.” 

(Basically, science has given us a lot more information, but we have all the same problems.)

MALCOLM MUGGERIDGE:

“Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over—a weary, battered old brontosaurus—and became extinct.”  

(Basically, we have spent all this time advancing our brains and no time advancing our character or morals. Our heads are getting so large and heavy they are going to crush our shallow, empty hearts.)

DANIEL 12:4 & 12:3

“But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge…Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. ”

So, how do we keep from being warped or washed away by today’s onslaught of information?

Remember that it is all about your filter. No matter how much good or bad, true or false information you put into a helpful filter, only what is helpful will come out. When it comes to your soul, the most helpful filter you can have is the Holy Spirit. When you and I take opportunities to pray and read the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit uses those opportunities to sift through the noise and needs, sort through the pressures and pains, and stop all of the wrong motives and foolish impulses. 

I pray that you will remember that Jesus has better plans for your life than you do. He cares more about your life and the lives of your loved ones than you do. And He is both willing and able to make us holy and radiant, without stain, wrinkle or blemish in His sight.

See you Sunday,

David

Is Living Streams an Affirming Church?

This is a question I was asked recently, and it is a question I love to answer. I am not sure those asking it love my answer, but I do love the question. 

When asked this question, I assume the person asking either feels sexual attraction to people of the same sex, or they care about someone who does. I have been asked this question by different types of people. 

• Sometimes I am asked by a person who wants to let out some anger that has built up from wrestling with a society and church that has often treated poorly people with homosexual desires. 

• Sometimes, I am asked by a person who is not angry and wounded. They are resolved that their Jesus is okay with their sexual activities and their definition of marriage, and they want to be part of a church where others think and believe like they do. 

• Other times, I am asked by someone who is trying to honestly wrestle out the conflict between their feelings toward Jesus, their knowledge of the Christian Scriptures, and their sexual desires for the same sex. 

Whatever the case may be, I can imagine the difficulty of growing up in a culture—whether sacred or secular—where something so intense, personal and formative as your sexual desires are different from the vast majority of the world around you. The isolation, insecurity, and identity-questioning that must come from feeling different from all the people in your family, your school, and the movies you watch, must be very difficult. Add to the pain a society and church that has responded to the LGBT community with the worthless, hurtful tactics of making fun, shaming, and saying, “Just stop it.” 

This next statement may sound abrupt, but please hear me out on this (and email me if you need more clarification): 

I do not think it is wrong or sinful to feel sexual desires for people of the same sex.

Wherever you stand today—whether you feel sexual desires for the same sex, opposite sex or both sexes—the desire is not inherently right or wrong. In James 1:15, Christian Scriptures teach that desire turns to sin when it becomes action. So, what we do with those desires matters greatly.

Jesus gave us more specifics on this when He taught that the act of turning a sexual desire into sin can happen in our thought life or in physical life. He said it this way, “You know the next commandment pretty well, too: ‘Don’t go to bed with another’s spouse.’ But don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.” —Message Translation 

Now, to the question: Is Living Streams an affirming church? 
Here is my answer:

Do we affirm that a person who is a member of the LGBT community can be welcomed into God’s family? 

Yes. Absolutely. We believe God so loved all the people of the world, that He sent His son, Jesus, to die on the cross for everyone who would follow in His footsteps—including every person with LGBT sexual desires. And we believe, in time, that Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, will lead them out of all of their lifestyles that are not congruent with a follower of Jesus, just like He does for everyone who decides to follow Him. 

Do we affirm that all sexual activity outside the Biblical concept of marriage—whether in thought or deed—is not God’s best plan for humanity? 

Yes. We all have to resist something. We all have desires and thoughts that are not leading us into God’s best for us. To that I say, “Welcome to the resistance!” We have so much unity in our humanity. Those with LGBT desires have to resist those desires in order to find God’s best for them. Those with heterosexual desires have to resist all sexual desires and thoughts toward those they are not married to, in order to find God’s best for them. Whether they may be in a pre-marriage, marriage, or post-marriage season of life, resistance is prescribed by the Christian Scriptures. 

Now, I wouldn’t blame anyone at this point if they said, “Yeah, easy for you. You may say we are all together in the resistance, but you get to partake in sex because you just so happen to have sexual desires in line with God’s best plan for humanity, and you are married in accordance with the Biblical concept of marriage. So, good for you, you get to be happy and tell everyone not like you that they are doomed to be unhappy.” 

I get what you are saying, but I would positively and publicly state and assert something else:

Do we affirm that our society has convinced itself that happiness cannot be experienced or maintained without sexual activity? 

Yes. we affirm that our society believes this, and we affirm that it is a lie. Sex is a grand production, but we have made it too big of a deal. Jesus is said to have been anointed with oil of gladness above everyone else, yet He was celibate for His entire life. 

You may say, “Yeah, but He was holy Jesus!” Well, we are also told that Jesus was tempted in every way that is common to man. 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. —Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV

Track with me here. Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are.” And so, those who are tempted with anything that is not God’s best for them have an ally in Jesus. Those who have homosexual desires can find an ally in Jesus. Those with bi-sexual desires can find an ally in Jesus. Those with transgender and gender identity issues can find an ally in Jesus. He knows what you feel and think. He resisted every temptation and showed us God’s best for humanity. 

In addition to that, His life was full and content and filled with gladness. And if you will follow in His footsteps you will find your life being filled with His joy like a fountain inside your soul. That is not my promise to you, that is Jesus’ promise to you.

Peace to you as you wrestle to find truth in this wild world,

David

Some Reports and Thoughts About Recent "Goings On" at Living Streams

Good Friday Service Was Like a Rich Buffet.

Seven pastors gave three-minute teachings on the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross. I am very proud of the pastoral team Jesus has brought together at Living Streams. They all shone brightly and gave us some good food for our souls. If you missed it, maybe you can take a moment today and chew on the seven  sayings yourself. Here is a link: lastwordsofChrist

Easter Sunday Was Like a Walk in the Park. 

At first I felt a little unsure about why this year’s Easter Services seemed so easy and simple. I thought maybe I was not treating the Easter services with the respect they deserved. Or, I thought maybe we were going to do a bad job of hosting and leading this special celebration. What I discovered was that our staff at Living Streams is so awesome and in sync right now that they take on everything like a well-oiled machine. Blake and her children ministry team, John and his facility and administrative team, Ryan, Jay and Nick and their creative arts teams, and again, the super-rad pastoral team all put their strength and expertise into our Easter services. When you combine that, God’s consistent grace, and the joy of the Living Streams people—Voilá!— it was like a walk in the park. To top it all off, a number of people filled out cards to tell us they want to begin a relationship with Jesus and receive a gift that will help them take steps in that direction. Woo hoo!

I am Uber Excited About Spending the Next Few Months in the Bible Book Called Acts.

The book of Acts is like a journey into a golden era in the Church of Jesus. It was an unprecedented time when Jesus’ prayer for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven was taking place. It was a time when Jerusalem, Judea, and the uttermost parts of the earth were experiencing how thin the space between heaven and earth really are. The Church was operating as a simple, fresh, and courageous community. And we are going to camp out there in order to see the same thing happen in our time.

Explore Class Was Like a Great Movie that Finished With a “To Be Continued” Message.

It was exciting and interesting, and it left me looking forward to the next one. Almost forty people joined us last night in the courtyard under the twinkle lights, desiring to get closer to God and closer to other people at Living Streams. In just one night we got a clearer picture of who the God of the Bible is and how we have come to know who He is. (Check out Exodus 33:12-34:8) We enjoyed some worship music, peaceful prayers, and yummy snacks. I also met a guy who is getting his doctorate in forensic psychology, and I also met his wife, who creates healthy and beneficial activities for people with psychological issues.  

The Masters Golf Tournament is Like Watching a Masterful Artist Paint a Picture. 

Now, before you start thinking I am a golf fan, hold up. I don’t watch much golf and could probably only name about eight professional golfers correctly. But when I do watch golf, I am intrigued about how God has made humanity with an incredible capacity for mastery in so many different ways. One insignificant but amazing way this truth is on display is how those golfers can use a piece of shaped metal to make that ball go wherever they want it to, with such precision. Go Charlie Hoffman.

All the best to you and yours,

David

For the Joy Set Before Him

In the 12th chapter of the Bible book called Hebrews, we are told that Jesus endured the cross “for the joy set before Him.” In preparing to teach on this topic, and learning what the joy before Jesus was, I was inspired to write this poem: 
 
Why do you rage and segregate, O humanity?
Why do you suppress truth and turn from beauty?
What have we gained from all our atrocity?
 
On the Lord’s day we will stand 
Every blemished daughter and imperfect man
We’ll stand all as one, diversity in perfect unity
 
Every tribe, every tongue
Discovering their colors all came from the One
Who is, at same time, both Father and Son
 
There will be no more sea dividing you and me 
No distance or depravity crippling our family
Just an overflowing bliss as we’re grafted into Trinity
 
Humanity's injured flesh and worn, divided hearts 
Will awaken to the splendor of the sum of its parts
As the One who is fully God and Man,
Who lived, and died, and lives again,
Who knows both Trinity and Depravity,
Gives us an unlimited glimpse into His limitless heart
And, after a thousand years, we’ll feel we’re still at the start
 
Why did He make us? I cannot say
When will He reconcile us? It could be today
How will He do it? There is only One way
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, the name above every name
 
Please join us with a hundred of your friends this Sunday at 8, 9:15, or 11 AM. Also, we have a one-hour Good Friday Service at noon tomorrow.
 
All God’s best to you and yours,
 
David

For Some Reason...

CHALLENGE #1

We arrived at the Tucson Airport at 4:05 am. Yeah, that means we left Phoenix at 2:05 am. We were five, sleep-deprived men with bags and a giant pallet full of Martial Arts floor mats. We were on our way to do a lot of different things, including putting on a Ju Jitsu tournament in Honduras. When we walked into the airport we were getting lots of interested stares and one evil glare. The lady checking people in wanted nothing to do with us. She threatened us with massive charges and told us we were ridiculous and would not make the flight. 

By the time we finished with her, we had 15 minutes 'til takeoff. We rushed through security, ran full sprint to the gate, and saw the door closing. One of our guys reached first and was trying to explain our situation while I jammed my foot in the door to keep it from closing. The last man came running full speed around the corner, and we all made it on, panting and adrenaline pumping.

All during this chaos and stress, there was something else happening. The man who was in charge of loading the bags on the plane met us while we waited in line. As he watched the obstinate lady get upset with us, he told us he would take care of the mats for us. He was full of grace and seemed to understand that we were trying to do good by bringing these mats. I have done lots of flying, but I have never spoken with the guy in charge of loading the plane. For some reason, this time was different. Without him, the mats would not have made it, and us too, for that matter. 

I am so grateful God knew we needed a special grace and He sent it our way. So, not only did we make it on, but so did our giant stack of mats.

CHALLENGE #2 

We arrived in Belize with our giant stack of mats, and all of our stuff. We somehow got through customs for free and now had to try and figure out how to get the giant stack of mats from Belize City to Roatan, Honduras, where we would fly in three days. We knew the mats couldn’t all fit on the tiny plane from Belize City to Roatan, so they would have to go over in pieces and be stored until we could get there. We spoke with a guy and he said he would call someone to see if he could work things out. I said, “Okay,” and then talked with with my Belizean friend Pastor Kenny about how much he thought this would cost us. We both laughed a bit and felt like we were being led into an expensive scam, but we didn't have any other options. 

The man came back and said it would be $1500 US to get them to Roatan. When we asked him what would happen to them when they got there, he said he didn’t know. We told him that was too much and that we are a missionary team taking these mats to help put on a Ju Jitsu tournament for some village kids in Honduras. He said, “Hold on,” and went in the back again. When he came out again, he told us it would be $500 US to get the mats over to Roatan, and $100 US for them to be stored there. We said, “That sounds much better,” and thanked him. He told us we got the super deal because, for some reason, he felt like he wanted to help us.

CHALLENGE #3

We arrived in Roatan and had one night there before going to Balfate, where the Ju Jitsu tournament would be held. At the customs desk we were asked where we would be staying. I showed them our reservation at G’s Place from Hotels.com. The lady checking my passport said she had never heard of it. She asked the other passport checkers around and no one had heard of it. 

When we got outside the airport and found a taxi driver, he had never heard of G’s place. He asked the other taxi drivers and they had never heard of it, either. This left us feeling a bit uneasy. Also, before we came to Roatan, my brother had told us we were staying in a really rough area. His final message to me was, “Don’t get knifed.”

When we finally tracked G’s place down, it was about 9:00 pm. It looked like an extremely shady operation and we had no idea what was happening. There was a loud speaker blasting music, there were prostitutes nearby, and the guy in charge had his two-year-old daughter in one hand, a beer in the other. We began to have feelings of frustration, confusion, and uncertainty blowing on us just like the strong Roatan breeze.

Just when I thought we may have to go find another spot, the guy in charge came up to me and said he would work things out because, for some reason, he felt like God was telling him to. What? That came out of nowhere. Here in this place where a lot of shady stuff was going on, God was able to turn things in our favor.

THIS TRULY IS OUR FATHER’S WORLD.

For some reason, we have found a way, despite our insufficiency. For some reason, no challenge has been able to stop us. For some reason, people who know Jesus, and people who don’t, have all been drawn to helping us move forward. The reason is God’s grace.

The grace of God is so real and actively shaping our world. His grace is available to all those who will acknowledge God in all their ways. His grace is for you. You can “Attempt great things for God, and expect great things from God.”  —William Carey

Peace,

David 

Make It Rain

So, a short while ago, El Jeffe Talkington, European Luke, Jujitsu Mike, Principal Aaron, and Pastor D all decided to join forces for something that has now taken on the name, “Operation Make It Rain.” Basically, all that means is five guys who live in Phoenix, Arizona and attend Living Streams Church, decided to go on a mission trip to be and to bring the blessings that God provides. 

As the trip took shape, the costs began to pile up. The cost of leaving the family for 9 days, the cost of getting time off work for 9 days—especially right around spring break—and the financial cost of making the trip happen added up to “daunting.” Every time a new idea or opportunity presented itself, it seemed the price tag would jump up. In Honduras, Missionary P, and in Belize, Pastor BZ, kept dreaming bigger and asking if this or that was possible. I kept responding that we will see what the Lord provides. For me, that was a soft way of saying, “Not gonna happen.”  

But, now that our trip is about to happen, I am laughing at myself because of what the Lord has done. We not only raised enough money to make the trip possible, but we raised enough to truly “make it rain” with the blessings and favor of our God. 

The process has been enlightening and encouraging for my faith, and for the faith of all the guys that have been working hard alongside me. We have gone from being anxious and unsure about trying what God was prompting us to do, to being excited and “gung-ho” about doing what God has called us to do. And all this is before we have even begun the trip. Woohoo!

I pray that, if you have joined a missions team and are working to discover what God wants and how God will provide, you will be able to enjoy the process. And I pray that if you have not, you would go online to livingstreams.org/kinetic. 

And, if this whole Christianity thing is a bit new, or you are new to Living Streams, I pray that you will sign up for our Explore Group. In this group, we will have some fun learning about who God is and who God has made you to be. Yeah, I know it is hard to believe we could have fun doing that, but I said it because it’s true. (The delicious snacks help too.) Click here for Explore info and registration

David

We Need More Billy Grahams

So, what are you doing for the next 50 years of your life? 

In 1944, at the age of 26, Billy Graham was hired as an official, full-time evangelist for a new ministry called Youth for Christ. Then, in 1992, at age 74, after a powerful public life and a consistently pure personal life, he retired from being an official, full-time evangelist. Billy Graham’s life stands as a beautiful outlier, demanding and deserving respect for a number of reasons. 

First of all, Mr. Graham was in the same business for almost 50 years. To do that one must really learn the secret of being content—not complacent—but content. 

Second of all, he was an extremely public figure for almost his entire life and yet involved in no scandals. Alleluia. To do this, one must really learn the secret of being content—not legalistic—but content. 

Third of all, he was a full-time evangelist. When is the last time you have heard about that job? It is so interesting to me that Billy Graham’s job title was full-time evangelist. Maybe there is something to that? Maybe the secret to being content has something to do with being an evangelist?

To be an evangelist one must often speak about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I think this could lead to contentment in multiple ways, but one that stands out to me relates the reality of sin. When the first man, Adam, made something more important than God in the garden of Eden, sin entered our world. Since that moment, humanity has been strangled by sin's dark, deathly shadow. All the impossible pain brought about by school shootings, sexual abuses, and the impotence of our leaders to solve problems, comes from sin. The damage sin has wrought in humanity is catastrophic and leaves us with intense feelings very different from contentment. 

Yet, when someone is constantly speaking about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are being reminded that Jesus has conquered sin. In sharing the good news about Jesus, they are reminded that Jesus conquered sin by never giving into it, unlike the first Adam; that Jesus conquered sin by going to the cross where He willingly paid the price for all of humanity’s sin, including yours and mine. Best of all, Jesus rose from the dead to demonstrate that sin no longer has the final word. If we say “yes” to Jesus He immediately begins to undo the damage of sin in our lives. Adding to that, Jesus’ conquering of sin also makes it possible for us to believe that one day we will see Jesus face to face in a new heaven and new earth, where the stink and stain of sin will be no more. One of my favorite writers puts it this way…

                               “Upon the sea of glass we’ll meet
                                At last completed and complete
                                The tide of tear and pain will subside
                                And laughter will drink them dry.”

It doesn’t matter what generation, or what nation you are in, there are always heart-wrenching challenges to face. Challenges like what’s happening with all the school shootings in America. Challenges like what’s happening in our society that’s filling up our foster care system. Challenges like the immigration and refugee situation in our world that has some people at each other’s throats, and others breaking the law trying to give their kids what they think is a better future.

We really need more Billy Grahams—people who are living lives of contentment instead of carnality. Men and woman who are so frequently speaking about the life, death, and resurrection that they are not surrendering to the anger, lust, and greed that is so prevalent in our world. We need men and women like Billy Graham, who devote their lives to doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. This is what can help our children, refugees, and leaders learn the secret of contentment and living lives of contentment. 

Thank you very much Billy Graham. I acknowledge your example and I vow to try and live like you did.

David

Where Problems Are Solved

Today I sat on the bus next to a guy who was really thankful for all that Trump has been doing as president. He said he liked having someone in the White House that shared some of his values and ideals. Then, just after that I saw multiple stories online of people extremely frustrated with Trump and every political official because of their inability to solve or improve the difficult challenges of our day. I was left feeling divided, indecisive, frustrated, and tied up in mental knots. 

Though I don’t have the answers that make me feel like I should run for president, I do know where real problems are really solved. God’s presence is where problems are solved. I have been in so many situations in my life that were complicated, confusing, and seemingly impossible. When I have remembered to prioritize being in God’s presence, I have found resolve, or at least the first step toward resolve. 

Remember, it was God’s presence incarnated and nailed to a cross that forever solved the complicated, entrenching problems of sin and death. It was singing in God’s presence that set Paul and Silas free from the locks and stocks of prison. And it was God‘s presence manifested as a water-parting flame that made a way for the Israelites who were trapped between Pharaoh’s army and a seemingly impassable Red Sea.

Today, as much as any other time, God’s presence is available to us and necessary for us. At any time and in any place, we can access God‘s presence to find grace in time of need. So if you’re stuck, confused, and unsure of how to move because of all the fear, shame, anger, frustration, and pain, take some time to seek God‘s presence. Then, soak in His presence. I have no doubt that you will gain some fresh ideas to bring the resolve you need, and gain the resolve you need to see those fresh ideas accomplished.

David

Who Do You Support?

Are you serious? Another season of American Idol? Aren’t fifteen seasons enough? Isn’t the Voice, The Four, and the old X Factor plenty? And what about the technologically advanced singing show called “Rising Star,” straight outta Tel Aviv? Oy ve! This relentless search for the American Idol makes me wonder…what it is about our culture that so badly wants to be impressed or entertained? 

I remember when I lived in Ireland, the first question some people asked me was, “Who do you support?” I didn’t know how to answer at first; but then I realized my answer was supposed to be a sports team. Literally, one of the first things people wanted to know about me is which football club (professional soccer team) I was a fan of. In their minds, the team I was a fan of said something about my identity and my respectability (or lack thereof). Who I was a fan of would determine whether they would want to further the conversation or end it right there. 

In America, we are not quite so forward with this, but it is still woven into the fabric of our society. Are you a Eagles fan, or do you root for the Evil Empire of New England? (Ha ha). Are you on Team Lebron or Team Curry? What kind of music do you listen to: Tupac or Biggie? Paisley or Shelton? Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin? Coldplay or U2? The answer to these questions can say a lot about who you are, especially if you know who Paisley or Shelton are.

When you put all this together, you can see that we love to be fans. And what society calls being a fan, the Bible calls being a worshipper. This is very important to take note of because, what you behold—you become. Yep. There is it. Beholding is Becoming.

A very thoughtful, helpful, and thorough writer named N.T. Wright says it this way: ”One of the primary laws of human life is that you become like what you worship; what’s more, you reflect what you worship not only to the object itself but also outward to the world around.” For N.T. Wright “worship” is when you gaze in awe, admiration, and wonder at something or someone.

Our society loves to gaze at celebrity-touting magazines, admire entertainment stars, and wonder at extraordinary sports or musical displays. So, the big question is, at what point does it become wrong or unhealthy? At what point does our awe, admiration, and wonder become idolatry? At what point are we worshipping little “g” gods, as opposed to the One true God.

The Bible does not answer this question in a simple phrase or a succinct sentence. Instead, the Bible follows a group of people called the Israelites through all their faithful times and idolatrous times. God was constantly trying to teach His people that truth, holiness, reality, and health all demand that God be the most important, central, and cherished thing in our lives. That God is the Sun that keeps every part of our lives in orbit. If you put anything else in the Sun’s place, you would throw everything off and find chaos, disorder, and damage.

The Bible also teaches us that God loves to be the most important, central, and cherished thing in our lives. In fact, the whole reason He created us finds its answer in this concept: that we would know and enjoy Him forever, even as He knows and enjoys us forever. “Happily ever after” is not a Walt Disney idea—it is God’s.

This Sunday we will be teaching again in the series Beholding and Becoming. The Bible, from start to finish, deals with the weed of idolatry. My hope is that we will discover what idolatry looks like in our day, so that we can avoid its chaos, disorder, and damage.

David 

Worship

Today I was in a nice, heated pool, doing some not-so-nice therapy on my torn-but-mending calf muscle, when it started to rain. It was awesome. Rain in the desert is one of my favorite things. I love it and it always feels so special to me. When I lived in Oregon and it rained from October to March, the rain did not feel very special. It felt more like a cold, wet blanket. However, most days in that winter stretch had an hour or two when the sun would finally burn through the thick, grey clouds and lay a gentle warmth on my face and body. Those moments were special as well.

In this email, I want to tell you about something I think will be very special.

The Dwell Worship Conference is putting on two worship nights on Thursday and Friday this week at 6:30 pm at Living Streams Church (February 15 & 16). These nights are for everyone, not just worship leaders, or even people who like worship music. These nights are for anyone who likes movies, concerts, church, parties, and Jesus. These two nights will be a wonderful mixture of it all. 

So, I beseech you, ladies and gentlemen, to clear your schedules, make time for your souls, and come be refreshed.

I implore you, millennial hipsters, to not spend more money on coffee or hang out at a new vibey food joint, but come to practice the most ancient and relevant human activity there is.

And I entreat you, dads, to let your guards down and bring your wife and kids, and show them your love for Jesus, and for them.

Remember: 
The program in heaven is worship; so If you want more heaven in your program, worship!

No doubt about it, the program at Dwell is worship—Jesus worship.
 
David

You can register for Dwell at https://www.dwellconference.org and use promo code WORSHIP to get a discount on night passes.

And, as always, if funds are an issue for you right now, please reply to this email and let me know. We will figure it out.

Beholding

Thank you for taking a moment and allowing some words into the prefrontal cortex of your limbic system. I hope these words renew and transform your mind in a Romans 12:2 type of way. (Making you readily able to recognize what God wants from you.)

I also hope you have had some good, quality, beholding time this week. Beholding the image of God portrayed through song and Scripture is the best way to make sense of life and be motivated for life. This reality is summed up well in the words of Frank Outlaw. 

“Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”    

The best way to watch or form your thoughts is to behold the character of the Creator and hear the timbre of His voice. The "you become what you behold" concept can be a promise or a curse. We take on the image or images that we behold. When we behold the image of God, we will find ourselves portraying the image of God. When we behold the image or images of other gods or things, we will find ourselves portraying them. The world, our loved ones, and our own souls do not need more shallow, impotent, and fleeting images portrayed. What is needed is more interactions with more accurate portrayals of God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. This reality is summed up in these words…

•  Life won’t make sense without God. Life will be off-kilter, out of whack, and on tilt.

•  He is the Gravity that holds everything in orbit. 

•  He is the Sun that illuminates all things. 

•  He is the Moon that keeps the tide from overflowing. 

•  He is the Atomic Glue that holds every atom together. 

•  Without Him, everything falls apart, literally and metaphorically, physically and spiritually.  

This Sunday we will be spending some more time beholding the image of God. We will be reordering our service a bit to make for a prolonged time of music led worship after the message. Please join in as we practice the ancient yet ever so relevant art of worship.

David

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Here is something from a pastor that you don’t hear every day. Eat, drink, and be merry. Make memories, go on adventures, romance and make love to your spouse. Goof off, have fun, stay up late, sleep in, and binge watch your favorite show. Enjoy the Super Bowl with good food, a nice wine or a stout mug of ale. And know that in all of this you will be glorying God. 

What? 

Yes, what you just read is absolutely true, biblical, and comes from the heart of God. 

A man far wiser than this same thing, three times in his book of the Bible called Ecclesiastes…

“A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” 

This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat; to drink during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
 

Okay, but how does eating and drinking and enjoying glorify God? 

Please read this next part carefully and take the time to comprehend it. It is deep and it has the potential to bring a powerful freedom to your life. 

You see the Bible teaches us that the glory of God is His goodness. So, we glorify God the most when we enjoy His goodness. And since His goodness is expressed and made manifest to us in His creation, when we enjoy the fruit of the vine, the food that we eat, and the romance, entertainment, and art in our world, God is glorified. Selah. Chew on that for a moment. Maybe reread it or draw it out as an equation or something.

Just in case this is still hard to swallow, another man far wiser than I says it this way in his book of the Bible called 1 Timothy…

Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out. God’s Word and our prayers make every item in creation holy.

 This is amazing. Everything God created is good. Wow! It is like a dad who builds an awesome fort for his kids. He will receive immense joy watching his kids enjoy it. God feels the same way. 

Now for the caveat. In all of your enjoying, don’t let anything in creation or any enjoyment of creation become more important to you than Jesus. When that happens, you are no longer glorifying God. At that moment, you are putting the creation or the enjoyment of creation in the place of God. This will throw everything in your life out of whack, off kilter, and on tilt.

So, this weekend, eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy friends while rooting for the Eagles. ☺ And join us Sunday morning as we learn more about how we can increase our enjoyment in life while glorifying God.

David

Roadblocks and Practices

There are many obstacles that stand in our way of experiencing the flourishing, free, and fully alive life that Jesus came, died, and rose from the dead to make possible. Though we feel them and face them all the time, the life of Jesus and the Scriptures He gave teach us about these obstacles. Lucky for us, the life of Jesus and the Scriptures also teach us the practices we need to become strong enough, focused enough, and patient enough to break on through to the other side. We long to see the beautiful and powerful people of Living Streams church be even more beautiful and powerful as they break through the roadblocks in their lives.
 
This Sunday we will talk about the Roadblocks that keep our potential energy in the realm of the potential and the Practices that cause our potential energy to become kinetic.
 
We will speak about the Roadblocks that keep us from doing what God requires and the Practices that help us do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
 
We will also share about the Roadblocks that cause us to be conformed to the patterns of this world and the Practices that transform us and renew our minds, making us able to know and prove what God’s will is.
 
I hope you have a great rest of the week and then join us in our services on Sunday. It will be a very full morning. We will wrap up our season of 21 days of fasting and prayer. We will have our last teaching in our Kinetic Moments series. We will have all our 2018 mission trip team leaders in the courtyard for information and questions. And we will have an announcement about an Alpha class starting up. (https://alphausa.org/about/)
 
I’ll leave you with a poem/prayer I wrote when I was thinking about the roadblocks in our lives.
 
With the confident cadence of a steady march
And the consistent beat of a steadfast heart
Venturing onward having only one facet
Face set like flint and eyes fixed like granite
 
Entropy and Inertia stir up utmost friction 
Defying all hope; Denying all permission
Like giants and boulders standing in the way
Resisting all progress; Demanding final say
 
Tonight, when their instance collides with my resolve
And I am left with whatever does not dissolve 
Please keep fear and shame under my feet
And let not mine enemy triumph over me
 
Jesus, I know You have gone before me
You fought these same foes stripped of Your glory
So, help me follow You, having only one facet
With face set like flint and eyes fixed like granite

David

We Haven't Reached Our Pinnacle

Entropy is a consistent, physical, demonstrable, law of physics that defines the tendency of things to diminish, degrade, and move from order to disorder. Yeah, tell me about it. I feel it all the time. It is frustrating.

Inertia is also a consistent, physical, demonstrable law of physics that defines the tendency of things to do nothing or remain unchanged. Yep, you said it! Change is hard. Doing nothing and staying the same is much easier.

Though these are physical laws of physics they are equally true in the spiritual realm. And though you may doubt it or deny it, the Bible teaches us very clearly that we are more than just physical beings. 

The best way I have found to describe humanity’s triune nature is by categorizing our being into three realities. We are body, soul, and spirit. The body is the part of you that is easiest to describe. It is your physical body, your hands, feet, skin, eyes, and hair.

The soul is also pretty easy to describe, though it cannot be seen, tasted, heard, or smelled. This is your mind and emotions. Your thoughts cannot be seen, but they are there. Your emotions cannot be seen, but they can be so powerful they can actually alter the physical body. 

The spirit is not as easy to describe, but if you will hear me out, I think you will be able to detect it. There are those times in life where physically, mentally, and emotionally everything is “hunky dory” and yet, for some reason, you have a deep and brooding sadness, or heaviness, or emptiness. That, is your spirit within you. Or maybe you have visited someone in the hospital who is physically, mentally, and emotionally wrung out and messed up, yet there is a life and fire in their eyes. They are unafraid, though the prognosis is bad. They are full of love and peace, though there is pain or bad news all around. That is the spirit within them. It is the truest part of each person.

To personalize this example, I went to visit an extremely good man named Tim Smith in the hospital recently. He passed away peacefully last week with his beloved family and friends nearby.

I had known Tim for the last ten years and thoroughly enjoyed all of our times together. He was a kind, lively, and loving man in his 60’s and he really loved Jesus. As I would meet people who were friends or family of Tim, they would tell me stories of him “back in the day.” They would tell me of his legendary football career in high school. Many would account his incredible “feats of strength” as a fire fighter. And some of the pictures I was shown made it clear that he was a mighty physical force. But recently, in the hospital, with his skin off-color, his body fighting sickness, his heart barely beating, many tubes and wires connected to him, he showed one of the greatest examples of strength I have ever seen.

When I first showed up at the hospital he was in an induced coma. When I spoke to him and prayed with him his eyes began to twitch. Then, over the next few minutes we watched and cheered as he fought out of the induced coma. First, with great effort he opened his eyes. Next, he fought hard to get his eyes to roll to front and center and focus. Then, he looked right at us. Betsy, his wife, asked him if he wanted to keep fighting. He nodded his head and then, shocking us all, he fought with the arm restraints on his wrists and lifted his arms up like he was lifting a car off of a trapped child. It was incredible. 

In this, Tim gave me another clear example of the spirit aspect of our humanity, just the like the Bible teaches. The spirit is the most important part of you. It is the part that governs your soul and body. It is the part of you that will live on forever according to Jesus and the Bible. And it is the part that we are focusing on strengthening during our fasting and prayer season at Living Streams Church.

We don’t want to see inertia and entropy win the day or the year called 2018. We don’t want status quo or same old/same old—even if the status quo and same old are pretty good. You and I have not reached our pinnacle. God’s plan for you is to move you from experiencing one degree of His glory to a greater degree of His glory, always and forever.

My prayer as you fast, pray, Sabbath, and listen, is the same as that of Paul long ago. When writing to some people he dearly loved in the Lord he said, “… we pray that God will fill your good ideas and acts of faith with His own energy so that it all amounts to something beautiful in God’s and your eyes. 

David

Fasting

With some excitement, some fear and trembling, and a strong dose of kindled confidence, I would like to announce to you that this Sunday begins our church family’s 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer. We will be starting on January 7 and concluding on January 28. We will have a 21-day fasting and prayer guide given out this Sunday at both services. We will again ask everyone to fast on the three Wednesdays and gather for a 6 pm prayer service at Living Streams (Childcare through 2nd grade and some soup for after the prayer time will be provided). We will be teaching each Sunday on fasting, prayer, and what it means to have God activate, mobilize, awaken, and move us from people full of potential energy to people experiencing the kinetic energy of God’s Spirit inside us.

If you would like to get your mind started on the topic of fasting; here is a little something to help…
 
According to the Bible, fasting can serve a variety of purposes for the believer brave enough to practice this spiritual discipline. Fasting can…
Add strength to our prayers (Ezra 8:23; Joel 2:13; Acts 13:3
Bring God’s guidance (Judges 20:26; Acts 14:23)
Help with the grieving process (1 Samuel 31:13; 2 Samuel 1:11–12)
Bring supernatural deliverance or protection (2 Chronicles 20:3–4; Ezra 8:21–23)
Express repentance and returning to God (1 Samuel 7:6; Jonah 3:5–8)
Humble oneself before God (1 Kings 21:27–29; Psalm 35:13)
Increase our concern for the work of God (Nehemiah 1:3–4; Daniel 9:3)
Minister to the needs of others (Isaiah 58:3–7)
Help us overcome temptation (Matthew 4:1–11)
Express love and worship to God (Luke 2:37)

Remember, according to Jesus, fasting can be done wrong. 
I would hate to have anyone go through the challenge of fasting and receive no godly gain. But Jesus taught us that fasting can be done wrong. Instead of making me more focused on God and His kingdom, fasting often can make me more focused on…me. The desperate sucking sounds my stomach makes, and the festering fatigue that fills every part of my body relentlessly vies for my attention. In these moments, my fasting can easily become all about my need.

This is not the kind of fast God desires. God desires a fast that draws our attention away from ourselves and places it on the needs of those around us. To take this one step further, the denying of ourselves should not only subtract our selfish attention; it should also supply for the needs of others. Instead of only denying myself food or pleasure, I should go one step further and feed or bless someone else with what I would have fed or blessed myself with. For some deep and ancient reading on this, Isaiah 58 is a beautiful passage about the kind of fasting God does not like, as well as the kind of fasting God loves.
 
And one more concept from a more modern writer named C.S. Lewis… “Fasting… helps strengthen the heart against temptation, clarify the imagination, and make ready the soul to understand better the love of God in an abstract and metaphysical way.
 
Welcome to this part of our journey. Welcome to this ancient, power-laden discipline. Welcome to a practice of Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and the blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Welcome to 2018’s first Kinetic Moment.

David

Good News

Record breaking. Uncharted territory. Answer to prayer. Exceeding all expectations. This is the report from our Christmas Eve services last weekend. Thanks to everyone who put in the hard work to prepare the beautiful services and to the 1600+ people that made Living Streams a part of their Christmas celebration.

Family is a big deal around here, and it felt so good to have everyone all together for Christmas. Also—some people let us know they made first time decisions at our services to begin a relationship with Jesus. Thank You Lord, and let Your family continue to grow here at Living Streams.

This Sunday we will look at some Scriptures regarding Jesus' second coming. It should be a lot of fun and, if we do a good job, it will be very uplifting. 

Please join us and bring someone who may need to hear some good news, hope filled news.

David

It's Almost Here

I hope you are feeling merry as we head into this Christmas weekend. 

I am very much looking forward to this Sunday because of our Christmas Eve services. We will have three identical services filled with moments of hushed transcendence, joyful singing, and honest thinking at 10am, 4pm, and 5:30pm. 

There will be some great photo booth opportunities for everyone who gets gussied up, or for those who wear their Christmas morning pajamas. We will hear a message about how God communicated with the ones who shared in the wonder of Jesus' incarnation. And we will conclude with a beautiful display of unity, hope, and joy as everyone holds a lit candle, singing about the humility and holiness of that first Christmas night. Yep, I can hardly wait. 

Please invite a hundred or so people. And remember we will have childcare for ages 0-5 for anyone who needs it.

Like the angel said to Mary, I say to you, “Rejoice, highly favored ones, the Lord is with you; blessed are you amongall people!”
 
David

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Today, I asked someone to share with me how God’s comfort showed up in their life after the death of their son. They told me that, in addition to the people of God and the promises found in the Word of God, the Holy Spirit would speak words of comfort and affirmation in their inner being. What God would say was, “I will be here through the trial. I will give you what you need. I will get you through.”

Earlier this year I found myself in a dark and brooding situation. I was with a family in their hospital room, hoping and praying for someone we loved to get free from the jaws of death. We were there all day, waiting and wondering what might happen. We were all doing our best to comfort ourselves and the others around us, but comfort was hard to come by. Death was on our minds like a cold blanket.

When I came back the next day I did a major “Stockton” family move. I brought tons of snacks. I did bring a few healthy snacks, but mostly I brought good-unhealthy-substantial snacks. I don’t know how much comfort those snacks brought to everyone else, but it sure helped me out. I am happy to be able to say this dearly loved individual made a full recovery and we are still rejoicing. I am also happy to say my family’s deep connection between snacks and comfort is alive and well in me. For when a Stockton goes down, the snacks come out.

What brings you comfort?

There are many things in this life that can bring us comfort. Some chicken noodle soup, a warm blanket, and the kind embrace of mother can bring much comfort. But the heartache and pain of life can be so overwhelming sometimes those simple comforts just can’t cut it. Some great news is that the Scriptures teach us that God loves to give His children comfort.

Many times people don’t see God as one who brings comfort. He seems to be better known for His judgment or disapproval. An Old Testament prophet named Isaiah spoke to the people of his day about what God was feeling toward them. They were being threatened by neighboring nations. They had many immoral and unreliable kings and leaders. Yet, in the midst of all that, God told Isaiah to comfort His people. He said, “Comfort, comfort my people, speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for…” But in another passage of the book of Isaiah there is a description of Jesus that I love, “A smoldering wick He will not put out, and a bruised reed He will not break.” God is gentle. God is considerate. God is kind. God is comforting. 

So, if this Christmas season has you feeling more like a cold Frosty out in the snow, than a warm Chestnut cozy by the fire, please know that Jesus would love to bring you comfort. Jesus would say to your innermost being, ““I will be here through the trial, I will give you what you need, I will get you through.” 

I hope that brings you comfort this day.

David

A Great Anticipation

I hope this poem, written by our Creative Arts Director, Ryan Romeo, will help you enter more fully into this season of anticipation. I also hope it will remind you that each Sunday between now and Christmas day will push us further and further into the wonder of what the God of all creation did by sending His Son into our world.
 
Electricity is in the air.
Thousands of years of prophecy laid bare.
Nothing in history could compare
To that one silent night,
One star burning bright,
One child making all things right.
And we wait…

Comfort, my people, comfort is here.
Turn every eye and incline every ear.
Come see the public shaming of fear.
For the God of redemption is near.

We can hear the tension resonate.
In great anticipation we wait.
All darkness will illuminate.
At the sound of one name.

From this one, single, birth
The thrill of hope is unearthed.
Every child released from bondage and hurt.
And we wait…

O Come, let us adore him.
Come, let your cup fill to the brim
For the waiting is over, the time is at hand.
In the victory of one holy night, we will stand.
 
Please invite a friend and join us this Sunday. Pray to be infused with the thrill of hope.