Fronier Labeling: Labeling...a New Frontier

Saturday I was working at E-City Java in Anderson, SC. E-City Java is located on Main Street, ad can be identified by the large yellow lightning-bolt-and-cup "label" outside of Sullivan's. As a coffee shop, E-City Java sells coffee drinks, as well as coffee beans (ground or whole bean) by the pound. While I had been working there, we have had several customers wanting to buy coffee beans. Unfortunately, we had run out of "stickers" for our brown paper coffee bags. These "custom stickers" are oval-oid shaped bits of marketing goodness, so I was sad that we had run out. As a solution I simply wrote the kind of coffee and the name "E-City Java" on the bag with black Sharpie in my architectural print. Afterwards, I decided to try and come up with my own "custom label" to create for the coffee shop. The current one has been described as too cartoonish. If anyone has some radical ideas for an awesome "labels" for E-City Java, be sure to let me know! I might try out these guys at Frontier Label when I get a good design...

You're My Friend... Until I've Had Enough

Something that frustrates me is when people don't hold on to the friendships God has given them.

We lose the passions that we once had with those people.

We had great plans that fell to pieces when we decided that we'd had enough of that person.

We've all done this. As human beings, we're pretty dysfunctional. Even if you try the excuse, "Well, I don't think I could get mad at that person..."

that's a lie.

We all get to the point in our friendships when we think, "I can't stand that person!"

And that is good. It means we're not holding back our frustrations...we're being truthful when we admit we hate someone's guts. But how do we resolve that?

Jesus said to "love your enemies" and "to love your neighbor as yourself".

Easier said than done, Jesus. But he probably knew that, too...

Usually we come to that point in a relationship where we're ready to

run away.

That point comes earlier than others in some cases. For others, it takes a while. But, we all have that threshold to cross. The question is:

Are we committed enough to that person to get through the door? To cross that threshold?

Or do we just run away from it? The truth is that more people than we would like are scared of confrontation. We're naturally scared of putting our hearts and emotions on the line. We're afraid of what the future might hold, too. Sometimes we run away because we have commitment issues (super-dysfunction). Sometimes, we

Simply

don't

care

anymore.

But if our hearts belong to Christ, we should care. If our hearts belong to Christ, whom then should we fear? Should we fear those moments when we open ourselves up to others? When we have the painful conversations? When we find each other in different places? When we find that we scared of committing to a friend (because let's face it, this person needs a lot of friendship and attention).

This is a moment for us to open up and let Christ shine through.

Occasionally, pride will get in the way. HUMBLE YOURSELF in those situations. Keep the friend that God has given to you, no matter how bad those MOMENTARY CIRCUMSTANCES are.

But most of all, GET TO KNOW THE OTHER PERSON. Make sure that you know what is going on in their lives. You must be TRUTHFUL!

COMMUNICATE!

Be open to what the other has to say, no matter how stupid that thing is.

LISTEN to what they have to say. Shut up for a moment, and focus on their needs.

Most importantly, you must be willing to treat each other with respect,

"do unto others as you would have done to yourself"

Listen to Jesus, seek his heart in the matter. He knows better than you do! And you can't do better than Him!

If things don't work out between you, it's not the end of the world. Seeking the heart of Christ and knowing what is best for each other will help you to save a friendship.

Have fun, obey God. (more on this later)

If God's plan is not for you to be with the other, then you pretty much have to suck it! Search your own souls to see what God has in store for you! Listen, listen, LISTEN! And pray for DISCERNMENT!

But know that God will calls all of us to Him, and that His plan for us was not to be divided in Him,

but to be one in Him.

After all, "no greater love is this, that a man lay down his life for his friends..."

Great is His Love

Hello!

One verse has kept recurring this weekend, at FCA and NewSpring: John 14:11-13

"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father."

This reminds me that God has done something incredible for those of us who believe.
He has given us power to do marvelous things in His name. He allows us to do holy things (things that are good and pure and perfect) in His name so that he may have the glory.

Jesus tells his disciples that ANYONE who has faith in Christ will do even greater things than walking on water, healing the sick, or calming storms. I mean, it almost seems as if Jesus wants us to be like...Him?

I know that it's pretty difficult to believe that ANYONE who has faith in Jesus could perform miracles and be like Him, but I honestly don't think that Jesus died on the cross for our sins just to go back to heaven and say,

"Ok...that's it. No more miracles. If you want to do something in my name, just pray really hard and maybe something will happen. Don't try and be exactly like me, because I'm Jesus... and you're not."

And then I think, well what can we do to show ourselves to be like Jesus? What is one thing that Jesus should be known for? What is the essence of Jesus' ministry?

I think the answer is "unfailing love."

But obviously, we can't do that by ourselves.

In Proverbs 20:6, it says, "Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?"

But in the New Testament, Paul writes to the Ephesians, telling them:

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and

live a life of love,

just as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

We can try to live this life of unfailing love. We can say that we love someone or something or a group of people. We can say we love our friends and our family.

But you and I both know that sometimes we say "I love you." and it turns out that we end up not loving one another as we should.

Love, when we don't handle it right, tends to fail. Part of the problem is that we use the word "love" to encompass how we feel about so many things. I love a certain pair of shoes, and I also know I love my grandma. Do I feel the same about my shoes as I do my grandma? Of course not! We confuse true love with so many other things that aren't don't we?

But God knew this would happen.

So he wrote us on how love should be. In the letters to the church of Corinth, Paul writes that love is:

patient, kind, not envious, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, not keeping record of wrongs, not rejoicing in evil but rejoicing in the truth, always protecting, always trusting, always hoping, always enduring through every circumstance...

This Love never fails.

It is the love we should be able to show to EVERYONE around us as followers of Jesus Christ.

In Psalm 32 it reads, "Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him."

So, let's go out there and do something crazy, like we are out of our minds. Let us be and encourage one another to be disciples of Christ who do great things in His name by continuing to share and exhibit his unfailing, unconditional, uncompromising love.

By trusting in Him, by allowing Him to use our lives to let His will be done. To let heaven come to earth.

May he make us part of his plan

to make all things new

to see and perform mighty works of His passionate love.

We're Gonna Party!

Last weekend at Ignite, John Flowers spoke on what holds us back when it comes to speaking with others about Jesus. We have to start a "revolution from the inside out"; we have to "get out of the salt shaker".

Remember in high school or middle school when there was that one party that was going to be the coolest one EVER? Everyone was going to be there, all your friends, the people that you loved to be with...and there was one guy, the host, who was just the life of the party-- remember that guy?

In the Bible, we are invited to a party. And there is that cool guy who claims he is "the Life" of that party.

Now, if you received an invitation to that party, but people were talking about how they're not sure if they want to go, either because

they didn't get an invitation,

or because they hear that the guy holding the party isn't that great,

or because they're too busy,

or too self-centered and afraid of what other people would think,

what would you do?

As followers of Jesus, it's our job to help get people to this party. If it's the going to be the best party EVER, wouldn't you want you friends to join you? Your family? Your coworkers? your roommates? Even crazy guy on the side of the road?

Of course you would.

Jesus wants everyone to be with him, enjoying this party. In fact, in the Gospels, as Jesus is with his disciples, people approached him asking, "Why is it that the disciples of John the Baptist and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting but yours are not?"

Jesus answers, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?"

In other words, Jesus is saying that when he is with his people, there's a party going on...it's time to celebrate! In fact, he uses a wedding analogy-- a metaphor that represents an event of union and love and celebration.

He is the life of the party.

In another Scripture, Jesus is teaching the people "Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" For when Jesus became flesh and blood and came to us, his purpose wasn't to leave heaven behind. If you study the words of Jesus, it becomes more clear

that the purpose is to bring heaven to earth,

to bring the party to the people.


Whenever we meet somebody at a bus stop, on an elevator, at the gym, or a restaurant, we are called as followers of Jesus to show them the party they're missing out on. We have to extend Jesus' invitation to the party.

We have to show people through our words and actions who Jesus is.

We get to bring heaven to earth.

Well, what if I'm somebody who has no idea who this Jesus guy is? I know he's throwing this huge party (I don't know where), I might have heard of him, but I have never met him. How can I be convinced that this is the right party to go to? Is there shady business involved? Will there be some sort of ritual that I have to do to become "part of the club"?

As Christians, we should be able to allay those types of fears and answer questions about what it is like to be with "the bridegroom." We do this with reassurance in the fact that we KNOW Christ, that our personal relationship with him will give us the answers;

the words,

and the actions.

We must constantly have the invitation "on our lips and in our minds" so that we can extend it to others. In our pursuit to know the heart of God, our relationship with Him is vital for convincing others that Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" of the party, and that there is

nothing

else

like it.