Take Me to Church Series: 2 of 6 – How to Create Insanely Great Stuff

As a new blogger, mother and human this week’s message, How to Create Insanely Great Stuff, really meant a lot to me. If we don’t intentionally take time to slow down and think we can miss out on this whole life experience thing. Right? I mean the daily “to-dos” can easily take over (I know they can for me) and then you don’t have brain space or time to think about anything else.

That’s why this series has been so important to me. It’s easy to forget what our whole purpose is and that God created us each on purpose.

The reason I was hesitant about this whole series is because I never want to come across too “churchy” if that makes sense to you. I know that can be off putting and so many people have had negative experiences with churches (including me). Instead my hopes and prayers are to simply share with you what I’m trying to do in my life and hopefully it’ll help you.

Isn’t that what life is all about anyway?! Sharing our human experiences.

So, here we go…below I have outlines the main points of the message(including bulleted points from the message that really stood out to me). So, you have options. You can just read over the key points or listen to the message by David Foster and get more of the good stuff. Now that I’ve rambled on long enough, let’s get this party started…

Free Your Mind:

From the tyranny of the trivial.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his
life ? . . . . seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.’” (Luke 12:22-31 NIV)

• God wants to allow you to think big thoughts because your life will never be bigger than the biggest thought you are able to think.
• As children we want to be imaginative, creative and curious. (So true! We can learn so much from our kids.)
• So much of what we occupy our minds with is trivial.

From the merry-go-round of more.

“Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’ And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’” (Luke 12:15-21 NIV)

• If all you can think about is how you’re going to house your stuff God is not that inspired to give you much stuff!
• The trivial things, worry, anxiety, fear that take over our mind (yes!! I have to fight this constantly!)
• What can we do with what we have been given (when I really think about it I’m able to realized how very much I’ve been given and I don’t deserve any of it!)?

From your irrational fear of God.

“If you rebuke a mocker, you will only get a smart retort; yes, he will snarl at you. So don’t bother with him; he will only hate you for trying to help him. But a wise man, when rebuked, will love you all the more. Teach a wise man, and he will be the wiser; teach a good man, and he will learn more. For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom. Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding.” (Prov 9:7-10 TLB)

• God created you. You are not an accident! He created your brain! He created you a thinking, acting, feeling person! (Amen!! Another thing I always try to remind myself. Our inner dialogue is so important and it’s scary how easily it can go to a negative place if we don’t watch out.)
• We bear the mark of our father, we are creative. He want’s a personal, daily relationship with us.
• The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
• Setting our core and center into God results in inspiration, creativity and bigger ideas.

The 3 Lies:

If you conform, you will be rewarded.

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, . . . .” (Romans 8:29 NIV)

• There are churches that believe you can’t go to heaven if you don’t attend their church…lie from the pit of hell.
• The only conformity that the Bible calls for is to conform to the image of his Son.
• If I could ever reflect the nature and sacrifice of Jesus, I’m all in for that

If you perform, you will be loved.

“Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: ‘If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds
it? . . . . In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!’” (Luke 15:1-7 NLT)

• God values you
• You matter to God!
• God says you can go astray and blow up your life and He will still come after you!
• Don’t conform, love Jesus, follow Jesus and be FREE!

If you confess, you will be crushed.

• We are carrying around hidden truths, lies that we aren’t telling anyone!
• God created the church to create an environment of men and women who knew how to love each other and be safe in each other’s presence.
• Who are the safe people in your life that you can come clean with?
• Hide your hurts and you cut yourself off from healing!
• You can’t think your thoughts, life your life until you get your brain out of jail!

Say This Over and Over…

(I don’t know about you, but I’m writing these on my bathroom mirror!)

• I have a standing.
  “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1 NIV)
• I have a calling.
• I have a ministry.
  “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Cor 5:18-19 NIV)