It’s About the People

13 Oct ’11 By 4 Comments

People last forever.

Their eternal value, and location, were and still are of upmost importance to Jesus. Thus His irrefutable actions to ensure their redemption, if they so desire it.

With each passing year, this emphasis on the pricelessly incomparable worth of people promotes itself in my understanding.

It’s never about the places we travel, but the people we travel to.

It’s never about the weather we’re in, but the people in the weather.

Nor is it about the economies, languages, styles, or foods. While all noteworthy in their own way, such novelties are mere shadows of the more important form.

People.

The weight and sadness I feel of saying goodbye to people I’ve known less then 72 hours is, at times, overwhelming. And beautiful. I understand more of Jesus’ groaning, Paul’s longing, and John’s heartache.

As I snapped this picture of Alexis, one of my exuberant little YWAM students, sending a letter on to Jenny via my backpack, I was reminded again of the reason I left my family for a few days this week.

Where Alexis spends eternity matters, as do those she’s being equipped to serve with the rest if her life.

Because people are the only thing you can bring with you.

Thank you YWAM Charlotte. I love you all. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, speaking, travel Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Jesus with Skin On

9 Oct ’11 By 6 Comments

It’s Sunday. One way to feel close to Jesus, is to hug someone that has Him living inside. ch:

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Filed Under: The Hopper Kids, worship Tagged With: , , , , ,

5 Things I’ve Learned About God Since Becoming a Dad

27 Feb ’10 By 12 Comments

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In the months and years since the birth of my kids, I have been inspired by a few truths about fatherhood that all have one thing in common – they are all attributes of MY father in HEAVEN. I’m sure there are many more than these, but for now, I’d like to list just 5 things that I have learned about God since becoming a dad.5

  1. 1. God Really, Really Loves Us!

The only words I can use to compare my life before and after the birth of my first child are these: “Drastically different!” From the moment my little girl was born, everything changed. I’m not talking about the physical changes or the late nights or the non-stop supply of spit rags & dirty clothes…I’m talking about inside me. Everything within me had changed. I was a different person. I was given a new identity. I was a father and I knew only one thing: I LOVE MY DAUGHTER! If I, a broken, damaged, forgetful and insensitive guy could love something as much as I love my little girl, HOW MUCH MORE would God, our own Father in Heaven, love us?!

  1. 2. God Really, Really Loves Us!

I’m sorry, did I just repeat myself? Looks like I did. Don’t skip over this! You think this is not important? I’ll say it another way. If you get this point wrong, you will misinterpret everything else that God does in your life! What’s worse, if we don’t understand how great our heavenly father’s love for us is, not only will we will misinterpret Him, but we will misrepresent him to everyone we meet!

  1. 3. God Loves To See Us Smile

When I said that I changed when I became a dad, I wasn’t kidding. I started acting weird. I started making strange noises. I started spending my hard-earned cash on the craziest things. Why? Because I found an addiction. I was addicted to the happiness of my kids! I would do anything (and I mean ANYTHING!) to make them smile and my wife was no better. We would buy them gifts for no reason, clothes they wouldn’t fit into for another 6 months, flowers that would create an endless trail of petals around the house and more for no other reason than to see that smile! I discovered the source of God’s need for extravagance.

  1. 4. God Wants To Include Us In His Lifestyle

Something my wife and I agreed on when she became pregnant was that we did not want our lifestyle to finish. Adapt and change, yes. End, no! So we modified our hobbies to include our kids. We were, and still are, avid hikers, so we donned our child-carrying backpacks and chose some easier trails but all so we could include them in our passions. Ever joined someone on something they are passionate about? Pretty soon, you become passionate about it. It’s the same with our kids and it’s the same with God. When we join God in His passions, his heart becomes our heart and what is important to him, becomes important to us

  1. 5. God Protects His Kids!

If my first thought when I saw my daughter on as she was born was, “I’m in love!” my second thought was this: “Touch her, and you’re dead!”

I once heard a story from some old friends of mine (now married) of the first time ‘the girl’ brought ‘the boy’ home to meet ‘the parents’. The boyfriend was met at the door by her dad. As he looked at him, my friend saw that he was holding bullet in his hand and was slowly tossing it up in the air and catching it again. This went on for an eternity before finally the father tossed it over to the boy and said these words: “If you mess with my daughter and the next one is coming a whole lot quicker!”

If I am sure of nothing else in my life right now, I know this…I will defend my kids to the death. I will hurt, crush, kill and destroy anything that comes against them and I won’t feel bad doing it. I think when God said, “Vengeance is mine…” he had just that in mind.

I know we can easily look around you and find ways to convince ourselves that some of these points aren’t true. Usually, that starts when we haven’t gotten the first two points down deep. If that’s the case, I’d like to encourage you to start a conversation with your Father in heaven, wipe the slate clean if you need to, and start from the beginning. Jesus said of Himself, “My Father and I are one.” Notice that He didn’t say, “I only represent my Father’s ‘good’ side.” How often do we view the Father as a vengeful judge just waiting to unleash fury all the while we have poor Jesus is standing in front of us pleading him His Father to stop? That’s simply not what Jesus said.

So find the points that affect you the most and ask Him what He thinks about them. Then, ask Him what he thinks about you. Trust me, if you’re listening to the Father (and not something else), it’ll line up.

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About the Author

Brad Crabtree is an executive pastor at DaySpring Church, Sydney, Australia. He is married to Amber and is father of 3 awesome kids. The best way to his heart is through an excellent cup of coffee or a solid trek through a jungle somewhere…preferably, both at the same time!

twitter.com/bcrab)

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Altar

9 Feb ’10 By 6 Comments

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Actually that title is a bit misleading.  I don’t know actually how it happened, but at some point (or possibly over the process of reaching many points) I learned that the scripture is as true for me as it has been throughout history…

Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

It shouldn’t surprise me that He’s right.  The more I lay down my life and submit it to God’s authority, the more I can truly live.  There’s an amazing freedom to be found in submission to the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.

If I were to be totally honest with myself, I’d have to admit what others could see from a distance…that I have a natural tendency to want to defend myself, and my position.  This tendency has gotten me into more hot water over the years than I care to recall.  Needless to say, I sometimes find it difficult to follow Jesus’ example and keep silent in the face of accusation.  But sometimes that is exactly the remedy for me.  Maybe it doesn’t cause my own kind of justice to be served…but it definitely causes my flesh to die and welcomes the Holy Spirit to reign in me.  Which is what I asked for in the first place, come to think of it.

Don’t get me wrong – there is a time to speak up and speak out, but we often get mixed up about which times are appropriate for such a voice.  Instead of defending ourselves, and our own positions, we should be contending for the gospel.  Instead of screaming, “I’m right, and you know it!” we need to be seeking out, uncovering and promulgating Truth.  Instead of holding up right and wrong as proof of our own justification, we ought to be using Love as a canvas and grace as our medium, that the world might see the beauty of Jesus.

One day I just stopped fretting about how much it hurts to be cut open with all my faults laid bare before God without the comfort of anesthetic.  I began to welcome the process, because what was taken out was ugly and weighty, and what He replaced it with was beautiful and easy to bear.

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Tami Hoban is a singer, songwriter, worship leader and far-too-occasional blogger.  She and her husband planted Church in the Word in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where they reside with their three (and one-on-the-way) spudlings.  She’s also the creator and co-author of WorshipChicks.com.  Find her on Twitter: twitter.com/tamipants, and at WorshipChicks.com

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