We will be lead into the heart of the international, inter-generational, inter-racial, inter-gender, interloping Kingdom of God.

It is during our ownership of these fantastically-terrifying moments that we find that we are lead home- though it’s to no home we’ve ever experience before.

These moments will lead us to the home of a God we were meant to live in communion with, but we have been absent from (though, by no fault of His).

When we come to that place, where we can hardly take another step, we will be met by a God, a Father, who is running to meet us half way.

It is true that He is our God, but in those difficult moments, when we are at our lowest point- He is our Daddy (Abba), and we are home.

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On Discipleship:

“‘Discipleship’ is the cause, ‘The Church’ is the effect.”

A common church fallacy: “We need a long time spent in training before we should be allowed to act out the mission of God.”

On The Mission of God:

“Every Passage of Scripture is about either relationship with God, or our responsibility to his Kingdom.”

Church leaders aim for substance with their message. People desire relevance from the word of God. The church needs to learn to balance the two.

On the Bible:

The Bible is about Covenant (Relationship) and the Kingdom (Responsibility)

Our relationship will be with God and with others. We are to live in the power of the imprint of God on our lives.

Out of that imprint, we can be confident that we are called to be God’s royal representatives on Earth. Our going is at the heart of how God want’s to reveal the Kingdom to the world.

On God:

Truth 1:

God is my father.

It is through him that I receive my identity; I am his son (or daughter). Period.

It is through my identity in Christ that obey him. My obedience comes, not by coercion, rather through submission to his will and calling.

Truth 2:

My Father (Daddy) is King.

He completes what He starts. We have His authority to go into the world and share in the redemption of the world.

Knowing we are secure in our identity and have been given all authority, we are free to go and do, and do so confidently that we will receive power to complete the task we’ve been called to.

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Blessings and peace to all of you this evening!

-M

I love blues. And I realized something recently…blues and jazz have not been well represented on M3. So, I’m going to try to begin to remedy this major problem.

Here’s some Stevie Ray V. for you. If he doesn’t start your week off better, nothing will.

Enjoy!

(I know this live version is long, but it’s worth it. I promise. He goes nuts around the 7:30 min mark…)

Not a fan of live blues versions? (What’s wrong with you!…just kidding…kinda….) Here’s a more polished album version:

Photo Credit: Mo Riza (Creative Commons)

A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.
-Henry David Thoreau

Like really long songs? Like really long poetry? Well, you’re in luck. I present “Konstantine.” A 9:30 minute song with no repeating lyrics. Absolutely fantastic.

Note: In my attempts to be sensitive to the wide range in personal beliefs of my readers,  I do my best to keep my M3 songs clean. For the sake of full disclosure this week, I must warn you that there is an “F-bomb” dropped (though, only once) in this song.

Enjoy!

It’s funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools-friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty-and said, Do the best you can with these, they will have to do. And mostly, against all odds, they’re enough. — Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies, page 103

Photo Credit: Tom Grill

I’ve been thinking about my New Years Resolution…yes, thinking, not doing. Don’t judge me.

I have been thinking about all the times I made those resolutions, or promises, to myself. I promised this, or I promised that. I said I’d never do this, or I would absolutely do that. I would eat better, run farther (or just start running at all), read more, or surf the internet less. There was always one “thing” I needed to fix.

The problem with resolutions, and the problem with fixing a particular “thing” is that this act completely ignores the deeper issue of the heart. The reason I don’t eat well, and don’t run [at all], is that I am an undisciplined person. Yikes. It hurts to say that. So, what do I do about this ugly truth?

When the first of the year comes around and I think about the person I am not, I want to instantly and easily fix the areas (and there are hundreds of them) that make me cringe. And so, in the euphoria of the moment, I figure I can change 26 years of bad habits in a single strong-willed moment. I know how that books ends: my promises never work out.

Usually around the end of the first week I find myself neck-deep in self-loathing and guilt. I can never believe how weak-willed I am.

So, this year, no resolutions for me. Instead, I have an incremental goal in mind. I want to do “life” better. I don’t expect to do it perfectly, but I want to do it better than I did it last year.

I want to spend more intentional time with my family. I want to begin to find a way to exercise more. I want to continue the good habits of writing and reading (two wonderful journeys I began in Korea), and want to eat a bit better (maybe less soda and McDonalds…my teeth and heart could sure use a break…)

I won’t kick myself if, by March or May I am not perfect. My only objective is to move in the right direction. My life is not about instant success, rather it’s about steady improvement over the course of a lifetime.

Anyone else want to join me?

What things do you want to improve in this year?

We in our faith work..stumble along toward where we think we’re supposed to go, bumbling along, and here is what’s so amazing–we end up getting exactly where we’re supposed to be.” -Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies, pg 84

Harolding from Los Angles, the Silversun Pickups have been around for a couple years, thought only recently have they had much main-stream success. “Panic Switch” received quite a bit of radio play, and was also a featured song on the trailer for the movie, “Sucker Punch.”

I hope you all enjoy!