To love the Lord your God with ALL your Heart, your Soul, your Mind and your Strength.   This is the basis of Primal and the basics of our faith.  The church has settled for mediocrity and Batterson makes us journey into the dungeon to find our spiritual roots and heritage.  While the church has become ‘good’ at ‘doing’ the Great Commandment, Primal sets the standard that we should pursue.   The standard is a passionate pursuit of being ‘great’ at the Great Commandment.

And to become GREAT at the Great Commandment we have to get better in the areas of compassion, wonder, curiosity and energy.  At the end of the day, it is easy to merely act like a Christian.  The litmus test is not to act, but react like Christians.   This more clearly defines what is on the inside of us.

Mark has a way of bringing us into his story through his detailed word pictures and statistics to what lies beyond the surface that will flat out leave you standing in awe of the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of the World and the real person who longs to live at the core of our being and just ‘hang’ with us.   In fact that is His name, Emmanuel, God With Us.

This is a must read for the beginning of a New Year!.   Put this one on your reading list and then make it your first read of 2010!   Truly a great book, but a man whose ministry has been marked by God!

Have you been following golf’s perfect trophy for the last decade.  The scandal has nearly everyone watching the story develop.  Tiger wins nearly everything, he has maintained a near perfect profile over the years….UNTIL NOW!   The cat is out of the bag.  Tiger is NOT perfect.  In fact he is human and all human beings are guilty of ‘transgressions.’  The Bible tells us that.  It’s a given….For ALL (including Tiger AND including YOU) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

This is the reason for Christmas.  Christ entered our world to save us as helpless sinners from our sins.   He gives us Mercy and Grace when we deserve Justice and Hell!

Interesting enough….Why is it that when it is someone else we want a HUGE slice of JUSTICE and when ‘we’ are found out we want everyone to understand and we want an equally HUGE slice of Grace and Mercy.

I am profoundly saddened by Tiger’s admission, but I am confident that he has just started the process of being freed from the guilt he has born alone for years.   I am glad to see him make the correct priority choice of taking some time off from golf to tend to what is more important, his wife and his children.

Forgiveness is possible.  Restoration is desired.

No need to crucify Tiger Woods.   Jesus was already hung up for our hang ups, so we can quit hanging ourselves up…and others.   He died for our “transgressions” so forgiveness would be possible.

Justice and mercy are served up together.   Tiger is no better or worse than any of us when we are truly honest with ourselves.    I want God and our community to respond to Tiger the same way I would want them to respond to me IF I were in his shoes.

A special NOTE TO TIGER WOODS:  You’re not guilty anymore!  Someone far greater paid the price of your transgressions.   Look to Him and trust Him to begin to put the pieces of your life and your family back together again.

I pray for Tiger….that He would feel the warm embrace of the True Meaning of Christmas.   Jesus, the SAVIOR of the World…the one and ONLY one that offers real Mercy and Grace!

Reading through McManus’ Wide Awake.   A great book.   He states, “Your dreams are the product of your longings, a portrait of your potential, and a promise of your future.”   I often get caught up in the realm of dreaming.  Sometimes I feel like I dream too BIG!  Is that possible?  Whenever God gives us a dream, I believe He is calling our ’small’ lives into the larger EPIC Story of a life far bigger than our own.

Great dreams are the fuel for great ambition and great accomplishments.   Stop dreaming – stop leading!   All of us must become dreamers!

McManus so vividly paints the picture of what our lives could be.  ”Your dreams are a foretaste of the life you can have and the person you can become.”

“Dreams are your palette but life is your canvas.”

Dream your dream!   What will you do outside of yourself to make your world a better place to live in 2010?   Will you invest your life in the eternal rather than the temporary?    I pray that you will dream BIG in the month of December!

“Not Guilty Anymore” The new album and title song by Aaron Keyes captures the heart of God and is my constant reminder that God’s blood has accomplished all that He desires.  That I have been freed from sin and the chains that Satan wants me to think I am shackled in, but the Cross set me free!  I love it!  Blessings for today, live in freedom, not guilt!  The price is paid!  Listen to the tune  http://virb.com/aaronkeyes

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, doesn’t matter what you’re coming from,  it doesn’t matter where you’ve been.  Hear me tell you, I forgive.

You’re not guilty anymore.  You’re not filthy anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.  You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.

Can you believe that this is true.  Grace abundant I am giving you.  It’s cleansing deeper than you know.  All was paid for long ago.

You’re not guilty anymore.  You’re not filthy anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.  You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.

There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Jesus.  You’re not guilty anymore.  You’re not filthy anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.  You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.

You are spotless.  You are holy.  You are faultless.  You are whole.  You are righteous.  You are blameless.  You are pardoned.  You are MINE!  You’re not guilty anymore.  You’re not filthy anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.  You’re not broken anymore.  You’re not captive any more.  I love you, mercy is yours.”

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Vernon M. Whaley has nailed it!   What a fantastic theology for those who love worship.   Vernon covers how worship applies to the believe and the one who has not yet believed.

He walks us through the pages of Scripture from cover to cover unveiling this God who longs to have relationship with His creation.  It is a manual on how to be a better worshipper.   It is a resource to help us see how others have worshipped.   All of us are here to worship!

The impact of this book has the potential to move the church from being self-centered, to being Christ-centered.  To be effective worshippers corporately, we must engage in personal worship on a daily basis.

It is always a pleasant journey to walk through the pages of Scripture, but to do so while focussing on the sole purpose of life, to ascribe to Him worth, was simply amazing.

You will be a more informed and deeper worshipper when you read this theology of WORSHIP!   A must read for all who want to be Worshippers!

Marcus does what he does best!  He sticks to his strength.  You would expect that from an expert “strength strategist.”  He is able to move our focus to identify our strengths and devise the right strategies to put those strengths to work.   He is a master at looking at the individual.  ”Each person is born different.  You must do everything in your power to capitalize on this difference.”

His section on SIGNs of a Strong Life is a great guide.  Successful, Instinctively looking forward to tomorrow; Growing and learning and Needs fulfilled.  A great grid to put ideas, decisions and direction through!

The books ability to interact with helpful resources found online will help improve your serve as you pursue excellence in leadership and understand where your strengths lie.  Play in your strength and everyone wins!

A great book for self leadership.   Especially geared for women or understanding how women process.

I love Donald Miller.  He makes me think.  He makes me laugh.  He makes me wonder.   This book made me realize that ’story’ is a part of our lives.   We are the story.  We are “a” character in the story that is part of a much bigger story!   He says, “A character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it is the basic structure of a good story.”  He later explains, “It’s not a book; it’s a movie.  We have to show it.   A character is what he does.”

That was far to revealing.  My character is more than my desire and my thoughts.  It is my belief’s, desires and thoughts put to action.    It is true that we are whole!  But people’s perceptions of us are based on what they hear us say and what they see us do.   They know nothing of what we think or feel.   A great story should include all of these areas.

All of us are writers.  Every writer knows what to do.  ”You put something on the page.  Your life is a blank page.  You write on it.”  Doing what we feel and desire is difficult.   The most often repeated commandment in the Bible is “Do not fear.”    We have to overcome our fears and do the things that God has placed on our hearts.

Miller has done an outstanding job of helping us understand that our lives tell a story and our story plays a significant part in a grander story.  We choose to put the story into ‘play.’

This is a great read.   Hang in there for the first 4 chapters as he sets the stage.  It will be worth your while and you will have a story to live and tell!

How arrogant and narrow really is the Statement:  ”I AM the way, the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father except through ME.”

One has to put this statement through the reality of the GOD-MAN!   The one who said that about himself sent that message, not from a lofty throne as a powerful king who was exercising his arrogant authority.

He had left the splendor of heaven.  He stooped down.  He came to our place of residency, planet earth and He is knocking at our hearts door, asking to come in.

This message instead came from a lowly manger, from a humble servant, exercising sacrifical humility.   He risked and ended up losing his life over that statement.

The TRUTH:  Your eternal destiny hangs on the thread of what you do with that statement.  Eternity hangs in the balance.  The choice is yours.  You choose life – heaven by believing in that statement or You choose death – hell by not believing in that statement.  The choice is yours!

Perhaps the most amazing theologically mind boggling truth is that the ONE person (GOD) who could make me do right…or chooose right…doesn’t!

I hope you will choose this day to follow Jesus!  He really is the only way, the truth and He so wants to give you life….in fact…LIFE ETERNAL – HEAVEN!

Great leaders who are dependent on God bring great words.  We are all life long learners.

I am learning a lot today at ‘the Nines’ conference.

X and Y by Elizabeth Pace is certainly a targeted book for those who are interested in ‘marketing.’   That said, the book is a must read for any leader of any organization that desire to better understand and attract both males and females to their organization.

It is also a fantastic book for couples to understand how we operate as male and female.   Little nuggets of truth are all over this book; “He prioritizes while she maximizes”; “He sees like a laser, she sees like a lighthouse”; He’s more sensible, she’s more sensitive.”

As a male I am not sure I love the remark as much as I resemble it.  ”A woman’s guess is much more accurate than a man’s certainty.”

Much research has been undertaken to write this insightful book.   I think it is a worthwhile read for those of you who are still trying to figure out the opposite sex!