What are you waiting for?

Are you waiting for something? Anything? Maybe it could be your IRS Stimulus check... I just received mine a few days ago (360 Rock Band, here we come... hey, simply saving it doesn't help the economy! lol). If you're one of the unfortunate ones with an odd social security number, you could still be waiting. What about that dream job? It could be that you desire to be healthy or the day when you will choose to get in the gym consistently rather than watching that 4 hour finale of So You Think You Can Dance? Maybe you are waiting to meet "the one." Longing for a spouse to share life with... yea, that's a very common one among us singles. What about waiting for the Lord to give you peace in the midst of difficult relationships or circumstances? Are you waiting for the day when you will actually feel His presence and comfort when you spend your morning quiet time in His word? How about financial security? The Nuggets to win a title?

Whatever it may be, I imagine we are ALL waiting for something.. and likely of far more importance than wishing Jay Cutler would actually cut his hair. One of my favorite songs right now is called, "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller. Here are some of the lyrics:

I'm waiting I'm waiting on You,
Lord And I am hopeful
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead,
bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting I will serve You
While I'm waiting I will worship
While I'm waiting I will not faint
I'll be running the race Even while I wait
I'm waiting on You,
Lord Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting

Are we serving Him in the midst of our waiting? Are we moving ahead, focused on Him while we wait? Are we patient... obedient... faithful? Yes, it can be hard waiting on the Lord with things we desperately desire... things that we long for passionately, but it is far more important giving over our desires to Him than allowing our longings to gradually pull us away from having close fellowship with God. During this time of waiting, He wants to show us that He is the One who alone can satisfy. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt. 11:28). I believe we can learn to be content in every situation (Phil. 4:11), but it doesn't mean that we deny ourselves of all desires and pharisaically be entirely okay with our singlenss, or our social life or our job situation, etc; it means that we trust God, not allowing bitterness to creep in because we are not getting what we want. He gave us those desires, but more importantly, He wants to make us more like Christ, and as we develop more character and see this life as He sees it, when those longings in our hearts are fulfilled, we are then ready to receive them. As we focus on Him, He may also do something amazing... He may change those desires. Scary? YES!! I believe this is the mystery behind Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

So, let's wait with joy and longing grounded with a heart of obedience to God, our Saviour!! His plan is best and His timing is impeccable... even though we may not understand that (I know from personal experience!! :)). We are waiting for a purpose, we just may not see it yet. But hang in there! God wants to work in your life! Step out in faith, be vulnerable with God and others, and allow Him to form your heart as you wait.

~AF

BAR-BA-GANZA! 2008

My dear friends,

In the summer of 2007 there was a party like no other. A celebration of everything good and decent in America... Often spoken of in whispers and referred to in reverence… such was the importance of the original Bar-Ba-Ganza!

Now, that time of year has rolled around once again. As the sun warms our faces and spirits, even now you can faintly smell the scent of grilling hamburgers and potato salad. The echoes of laughter and the murmur of friends chatting and enjoying fellowship is distant… but it is unmistakably getting closer.

Just as no one can stop the change of seasons, Bar-Ba-Ganza! 2008 will not be resisted. Details are still be fuzzy, but know that it is coming… It… is... coming... (insert slow-building, epic music here). Specifically it is coming on Saturday the 28th of June at 5:30 p.m. at Alex and Jacob's house: 4256 Stoneridge Drive in South East Fort Collins.

If you foolishly missed last year’s event, you can see, in the historical photograph attached below, that the event was…

A) Fun,
B) Well Attended, and
C) Not Overly Diverse.

I can’t tell you much, but I can tell you already that there will once again be…
• food,
• maybe something to drink,
• a grassy backyard with a grill, and
• at least two people there with smiles on their faces.

Please don’t miss out on the chance to be a part of the continuing saga of Bar-Ba-Ganza! RSVP NOW to Jacob (jacobleis@gmail.com) or Alex (alex.florea@comcast.net).

~Alex and Jacob

A lonely night on the Sea of Galilee

Picture this scene...

It was a cool, calm evening only days after Jesus had been crucified. Although the disciples had seen the risen Savior, I imagine their hearts were still uneasy with fear and a sense of loneliness. The Man whom they had so intimately come to know... their Friend, their Provider, their Lord, was going to be with them no longer. As the sun went down over the Sea of Galilee, Simon Peter sat quietly, fighting off tears as his thoughts went back to the moment when he had denied his Savior. If only he had been stronger. If only he could relive those moments. But he knew that Jesus still loved him with a love so deep and profound that it made Peter long even more to see the face of Jesus one last time. A fisherman by trade, Peter decided to get his mind off things. We pick up the story in John chapter 23... "Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.' They said to him, 'We are going with you also.' They went out and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus." (John 21:3,4).

This was a scene similar to three years prior... Peter recalled it in his mind like it was just yesterday. It was an all-night, fishing marathon where their efforts would come up empty. They remembered returning to the shore in the morning where Jesus was waiting for them. He told them to go back out and cast their net on the other side of the boat. Slightly amused by this mysterious Jesus, the men went along with it only to find their nets soon full of fish! It was then, that Jesus of Nazareth called them to no longer be just fishermen, but fishers of men. It was an event that would forever impact their lives as they were called to be His disciples.

John continues the story in verse 5, "Then Jesus said to them, 'Children, have you any food?' They answered Him, 'No.' And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loves said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord... he plunged into the sea..." (John 21:5-7).

Jesus appeared to them one last time, and in the same way as He had done in the very beginning. All at once He stood there by the shore waiting for them... not in His glory surrounded by the angels He commanded, but by a charcoal fire that His nail pierced hands had made. He met them where they were at. He comforted them. He provided for them. He reminded them that He was the same Person who could miraculously meet their every need.

How often do we loose hope and find ourselves trapped in a sense of loneliness as if Jesus had left us? Do we find ourselves striving in our own efforts only to have our "nets," once again, come up empty? Do we sometimes see His strong hand of provision and strength one day, only to loose sight of Him the next? We can be reminded that our Savior, Jesus Christ, is ready to meet with us, comfort us, and provide for our every need. It is often after the quiet, loneliness of the night when Jesus reveals Himself to us in the morning... not unlike that evening nearly 2000 years ago on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

DODGEBALL: The true 29eleven story

Our evening of dodgeball turned out to be a great success! Thanks everyone for coming! It was a competitive (but friendly) event full of exciting action of pounding each other with soft, squishy brightly colored balls. After seeing the talent of of our 29elevener's, I really believe we should start our very own professional dodgeball team! Anyway, if you missed it, you missed out on a great night... here are a few pictures:

HAHA!! LOL!! The surprised Mark getting tagged by the "Redheaded Ninja"! Look at those crouching tiger, hidden dragon-like skills!


Courtney's dodgeball talent was every bit as impressive as her fashion statement. In this pic, we see a near miss as she leaps over the red ball as it flies underneath.


Watch out!!


A little jump ball action!


The object of the game is to throw the balls, not hoard them! haha!


The ladies lining up... kind of looks like they're getting ready before the firing squad! But they did actually hold their own with the men (well, almost!! :)).

Check out that form!!

Ready, set... go!! Getting a good jump off the line was key for success. Unfortunately for Kelli, Chris nailed her in her struggle with Craig (maybe there really is something going on with the cool, red headband).

Surrender

Do we, as believers, often measure our faith by how successful we are? Meaning, do we gauge our faith merely in overcoming temptation, getting in the Word, meeting with our accountability partners, attending the Concert of Prayer service, etc? (the list can go on an on!). But shouldn't the true test of faith not be how "successful" we are, but how surrendered we are? This is a challenging thought!! If we are to be Christians ("Christ-like"), we should be utterly, absolutely, and completely surrendered to God. Jesus was so surrendered to the Father that "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." As we seek to be more surrendered to the Lord in our lives, we must get past two questions that many have a hard time with: "Is God good?" and "Is God Lord?" If God is so good, than why all the evil and hardship in this life? If He is in control, then why doesn't He do something about it? Until we can come to some resolve with these questions, we will find ourselves at constant battle with the Lord. After all, it is impossible to surrender to a God to whom we're suspicious. In order to mature and be surrendered, we must come to the conclusion that God is good and even though we may not understand it all and why He allows it, He is Lord. Without believing these two truths, intimacy with Him is impossible. If you are struggling in these areas, please find a loving, godly friend who can come alongside and help guide you into the truth of His Word. If this is you, please drop us an email so we can know how to encourage and pray for you.

As single adults, it is easy for us to adopt the false notion that we are in control of our lives. We make our own decisions. We decide how we spend our time. We generally don't have the many responsibilities of being a parent or a loving spouse, etc. To put it simply, we love running our own lives! This certainly gets in the way of how we interact with a God who not only wants our time, but our hearts. Thomas a Kempis said, "the love of thyself doth hurt thee more than anything in the world." Translated in modern English, it basically means, "if you think you are the center of the world, you're setting yourself up for some serious heartbreak!" (my loose translation) Surrender is hard because it means we must be willing to part with anything... and on a regular basis. Anything? Yup! Even the good things that come from God. It is often in the good things that we cling onto so tightly... it can become a trap and a snare that can sometimes take the place of God. For this reason (and it can be a VERY hard lesson!), He sometimes takes away that which He has given. He does not take it away to deprive us forever, but to give it back without the impurity of our sense of ownership. When we become captivated by the gift itself, it is easy to loose sight of the Giver.

In this process of learning how to surrender to the Lord, we will find ourselves being thankful in every situation rather than complaining when things don't go the way we want. Are we truly surrendered if we thank God only for the good times? William Law said, "For to thank God only for such things as you like is no more a proper act of piety than to believe only what you see is an act of faith." True "Christ-likeness" comes when we are thankful no matter the circumstance.

But how do we do this? How do we surrender the things we love the most? How can we be thankful when times are hard? The answer is to allow God to define good and evil in our lives and allow Him to shape us according to His will. At first, this may simply be an act of the will. In time, however, God will change our hearts to where we will want to obey. We must die to our own desires so God can give us new ones. It's not easy, but it is simple! A life of surrender brings a deep, lasting, supernatural peace. Christ says to us, "My peace I give to you, not as the world gives... (John 14:27)." His peace is lasting. His peace is deeper and more satisfying than whatever we are clinging to in this life! "A thousand years from now, I'll have a pretty good understanding of why my life has gone the way it has; for now, I'm content to trust that God knows what He is doing (Gary Thomas)." Let's remember that surrender is the very essence-- and the greatest blessing-- of the Christian life.

~AF

Is Genesis Relevant today?

Does the book of Genesis really matter when it comes to our beliefs? In this video, Ken Ham helps put things into perspective. If you missed it, we will be watching another video next Thursday evening at Alex's house... you don't want to miss it!

Is Genesis Relevant Today?

Striving for Holiness

At Mountain View, we talk a lot about personal holiness... of becoming men and women who love the Lord and strive to be more like Christ. This is great, but one of the dangers we need to be careful about is that some of the more zealous among us (like me!) tend to overdo it. Here's what I mean-- the desire at times to grow abnormally quick. Wanting to progress to maturity in record timing. This desire is not necessarily bad, we just need to realize that holiness most often is a gentle and consistent progress.

It's easy to get fired-up to holiness when we hear a great sermon from Pastor Jason or Pastor Kevin... just like when we see the dramatic heart-wrenching stories on T.V. that accompany the annual coverage of the renown Ironman Triathlon. It almost makes us want to get out there and compete in our own triathlon (almost). In regards to the Christian life, we must realize that holiness is not something obtained just between Tuesday and Wednesday, but rather it is the fruit of a live lived consistently and thoughtfully over the course of time. Don't get me wrong, it is always good to strive for great things, but at the same time we are far better off in keeping constant and steady vigilance in the small things... rather than trying to prove heroic in the big things. The encouraging fact is that we don't have to accomplish amazing feats in order to be different and set-apart for Christ, we just have to be faithful in the small areas. I know in my own life, I must remember to not "over do it" by striving for instant change. This just leads to ongoing discouragement by my failure to change overnight.

The "heroic plan" of holiness motivates us to try to battle the big foes of the enemy, but can sometimes overlook the more subtle temptations. In his book, Introduction to a Devout Life, de Sales says,

"... Wherefore I say, that being ever ready to fight courageously against great temptations, we must in the meantime diligently defend ourselves against those that seem small and inconsiderable."

We should remember that we have an enemy who is willing to surrender the yards lost during great measures in order to gain miles won when we return to soft living (Gary Thomas). Basically, one day of fasting and prayer cannot overcome six days of Christless living. These truths shouldn't discourage us from trying to pursue Christ and live lives of holiness, it should motivate us to stay consistent in the small areas of our lives. Improving even in just little areas will not only protect us from falling into greater sin, it will give us opportunities for God to use us in amazing ways!

~AF