Jesus.

Be the reason the world wants to know Him.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Be a living invitation to experience what cannot be explained.
Live love. Err on the side of grace.
Live Jesus.

Nothing else matters.
    which is why everything matters.
-Mo

To whom does Marriage belong?

http://triathletewithacollar.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/a-response-to-marriage-isnt-for-you/

My response to the above linked blog...

I probably do qualify as the target Christian demographic for this response. I believe in Jesus as the one Messiah and Savior of sinful man, and I subscribe wholly to the Bible as God's True Word. BUT, I am driven crazy by those who claim "marriage" is somehow a Christian word being hijacked by a secular community. I do believe that my life and that the existence of all creation is for the purpose of glorifying God. But, marriage in itself is not about God. Marriage is about choosing to love with and live with another. Because of my personal convictions, my marriage (if one should occur) will be about loving God and loving my family. But, I find it ridiculous to expect that any other relationship has the same goals as mine. Marriage is word. An English word. Not a Christian word. A Christian marriage may look different from an atheist marriage. A heterosexual marriage may look different from a homosexual marriage. But none is any less a marriage.


Please leave your reply here. I appreciate this conversation.
-Mo

Buckhead Singles Series

Amazing night of worship.

In Christ Alone I Stand

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

‘Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life’s first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

‘til He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Choose Life

Tomorrow is my last day as a youth minister at Avondale Estates First Baptist Church. As I prayed tonight about what should be my final words to my students, I turned on my phone's recorder and just started talking. The words the Holy Spirit shared with me are worth sharing with you.
-mo
P.S. The Old Testament quote is from Deuteronomy 30.

Behold, the lamb!

Picture a lamb. Weak, stumbling up a hill, following his shepherd toward the altar on which the lamb will die. He knows today is different from all the others. Usually one in a large flock on a grassy hillside, today he is alone with the shepherd struggling toward the top of a rocky cliff. He follows the shepherd until his wobbly knees can support him no longer; the shepherd carries him on. At the top of the hill, the lamb lays himself on the altar, where he is pierced and left lifeless. Behold, the lamb.

Picture a woman. Kneeling outside an open tomb. Her tears glisten with the rising sun. She came just to see him one more time, to anoint his lifeless body, but he is gone. She weaps. Her tears fall soft into the blood-stained wool of a lamb. He nuzzles close and dries her tears. She stands, smiles, and turns to go, leaving the lamb alone and alive at the empty tomb. Behold, the lamb!

Picture a man. Kneeling before a king, in whose hand is a sealed scroll. Finding the seals to be unbreakable, the man cries with despair. His tears fall to the throne room floor and flow to the feet of a lamb. Wounded but strong, the lamb takes his place on the throne and, one by one, breaks the unbreakable seals, forever loosing the bonds of evil, forever victorious. Behold, the lamb!

May we truly behold the Lamb this Resurrection Sunday.
Joy!
-mo

Where would Jesus shop?

I believe homosexual relationships are Biblically defined as sin.

Why, then, will I, a Bible-believing Christian, not stop shopping at The Home Depot, JCPenney, Belk, Target, or any other company that supports homosexual couples?

The answer is quite simple, really: I believe it's what Jesus would do. Jesus spent his entire life living among sinners. He didn't sin with them, and he didn't celebrate their sin, but he didn't avoid them.  Jesus never expected sinners to act like saints. He walked into the midst of sin, and he loved sinners.

Moreover, if I stopped shopping at every store that gave to sinners' charities or that depicted sinners in its ads, I would have to become quite adept at hunting and gathering in order to survive.

Sure, I understand that while homosexuality is no different from any other sin on God's scale, it is surrounded by a unique cultural context. No festivals are held for liars' pride. And clothing catalogues do not depict models with the caption "yes, we're cleptomaniacs." Homosexuality is among a very few sins that are loudly celebrated and openly supported by whole sectors of society.

BUT...

I wonder how much of the blatant celebration of homosexuality in our society is encouraged by - if not caused by - the Church's insistence on marginalizing those for whom Satan's sin-of-choice is homosexuality. When it comes to homosexuality, we have done exactly the opposite of what Jesus demonstrated.

Jesus came to bridge the gap between sinners and a holy God. He calls us, his followers, to do the same.

How, then, can I justify avoiding sinners to make some sort of statement about my faith? What statement am I really making when I refuse to shop at a store owned or managed by sinners? I think this statement is one that pushes sinners away and widens the gap between the world and the Church.

My choice, based on my view of my purpose as a Christ-follower, is to continue to consume as usual when Christian businesspeople stand for their beliefs AND when pre-Christian businesspeople do what pre-Christians do: sin.

I choose to follow Christ in bridging the gap between sinners and a holy God.

As always, I welcome your comments.
-mo

for Mary so loved

I've been thinking a lot in the last couple of days about the sacrifice Mary made at Easter. We talk often of the miracle of God's giving His son for us. We usually fail to mention, though, that Mary also gave her son. He was not her only begotten, but He was her begotten.

She was with him from his earthly beginning in Bethlehem. She worried and ran back for him when he was left in the temple. She believed in his ability to fix things and prodded him to perform his first public miracle at that wedding in Cana. She was one of his closest followers, all the way to the cross.

Throughout his life, Mary must have encountered so much she didn't understand, but her attitude seemed always the same as it had been at the beginning of their journey together: "Let it be."

On that first Good Friday, Mary watched from the front of the crowd as her son was mocked, beaten, spat upon, and led to his death. In that darkest of moments, when even his Father forsook him, Jesus' mother stood near. She looked on with grief of motherly proportion.

I wonder if his life replayed in her mind. I wonder if she remembered the manger, the shepherds, the kings. As she looked up at the nails in his hands and feet, I wonder if she remembered when Joseph taught their son just the right stroke to drive the nails that would hold together his first hand-crafted table or chair. When he cried out in lonely anguish, did she remember the crowds who were there for his baptism, his miracles, his hillside teachings?

Whatever her thoughts at the foot of the cross that day, Mary must have known there was something special about the man dying before her. Though in her grief he was just her son, in her heart she knew he was the Savior. And Mary gave her son.
-mo

Pinch me.

The older I have gotten, the more I have wondered if I will ever be done with school and free to start "real life." I am soooooo tired of being a student and just about to the point that I don't want to learn anything else. ever.

But, Sunday, as I sat in church thinking back over my Sunday school lesson, I realized I am living my dream! We had talked about Paul's exclamation in Philippians 1 that "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." I can pretty honestly say I am at a place in life where this is true for me. Even when the specifics of life are annoying or boring, the whole of life is an exciting pursuit of Christ in me, the hope of glory!

As a child, I looked up to adults who somehow managed to maintain a genuine faith and zeal for the Christ-life. There weren't many of them, but I dreamt of becoming one of the few. Now, I am an adult. Although I'm still in school, still not living "real life," still don't have a "real job," I am living my dream. I am living for Jesus, and He is living for me. I couldn't dream of anything more.

-mo

smell like Jesus

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 ESV

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing

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Jesus vs. religion

heard about this video on NPR today on my way home from school. I like it. I think saying Jesus hates religion might be a little far, but I hear the point, and overall, I agree. what do you think? drop a comment.

-mo

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reflecting God's radiance

Exodus 34.33-35 - "When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. [...]"


Acts 4.13 - "The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men and not well educated. The officials were certain that these men had been with Jesus."


I pray that my appearance, speech, emotions, and actions will be a reflection of God's radiant power and love, that although I am "only ordinary," others will be certain that I have been with Jesus.
-mo

rescue

Dream 1:
I have seen this lady before. She is blind, and she only exists in my dreams. She stands downtown in the triangle at Edgewood, Decatur, and Peachtree. And she cries out for help. In dreams past, I have not exactly ignored her; I have acknowledged her, but I have walked past without offering the help for which she pleads. Last night, though, her cry was different.

"Melissa, help me!"

She said my name! This time, I have no choice. I stop. I listen to her story. She had been in a house fire, where her corneas had been scorched, leaving her blind and helpless. She desperately wants to see again, and somehow, she thinks I might lead her to health. I do. I take her to a doctor, and as my dream ends, I add to my student debt to pay for her surgical healing.

****wake up****
****fall back asleep****

Dream 2:
My family and I are swimming in the ocean. My parents' dogs Ruthie and Smokey (in reality, Smokey is now deceased) play on the beach until Smokey decides he must be nearer his momma, and he jumps in. He swims okay, but he panics and turns back toward the shore. The undertow is strong; he paddles with all his little Boston Terrier might, but he makes no headway. He begins to cry. I swim to him, tuck him under my right arm, and deliver him safely back to Ruthie's side.

****wake up****

I have thought about these dreams all day today. Especially in dream 1, the blind woman's cry for my help is sobering. In my dreams, I have passed her so many times thinking I could not offer what she needed. She knew better. These two dreams remind me of two types of people in my world - two particular friends, in fact: 1) those who are blind, cannot see a cure, and cry out daily for help and 2) those who can see glimpses of their safe haven between the waves but who are drowning trying to reach shore. For both of these individuals, I hold the answer. I know the Healer; I know the One who controls the waves with the sound of His voice. I know Jesus. I know salvation. My blind and paddling friends are calling out to me for help. What will be my response?

big job

No one in my Sunday school class today could tell me what Easter is about. "Passover" was the closest answer I got.

On days like this, my job both astounds and overwhelms me. Every week, God trusts me to represent Him to teenagers who have only a slight clue who He is, much less what He is about. That's astounding. There is so much rich goodness to be taught from God's Word, and we can only tackle it one story, one topic, one Sunday at a time. That's overwhelming.

Love this job.

Eternally (literally) grateful for parents who taught me the stories of the Bible.

Eternally (literally) grateful for a loving God who is patient with my youth and me as we seek Him.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

It was pointed out to us last Wednesday by one individual that our children make too much noise during their regular Wednesday night activities. (This is my nice description of a ridiculously abrasive confrontation.)

My thoughts: Bologna! Noisy games are an avenue for sharing Jesus with children who do not hear about him elsewhere.

Jesus' thoughts:  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Mat19.14)

I believe

in the all-transcendent LOVE of Jesus.