Once upon a time there was a man named Faith who owned a very very very dirty pig. Pig just loved to roll around in the mud. When Faith woke up and fed Pig breakfast, Pig was in the mud. When Faith went to give Pig lunch, Pig was in the mud. When Faith gave Pig dinner, Pig was in the mud. All day long Pig played and slept in the mud. Pig just loved the mud and therefore was always very very very dirty.

One day Faith said, “I’m tired of having such a very dirty pig.” So, Faith decided to clean Pig up. Faith took Pig out of the mud and washed him off under the water. However, Pig didn’t like getting a bath and longed to jump right back into the mud. Faith kept Pig in the water even as Pig struggled to get back into the mud. Finally, Pig wasn’t dirty anymore. This made Faith very happy, but as soon as Faith turned his back, Pig ran right back to the mud and got himself even dirtier than before. Faith merely laughed, took Pig out of the mud, and put Pig right back under the water to be washed clean again.

1 Chronicles 16:29 (NKJV)

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

1 Corinthians 5:6-7 (NKJV)

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Sin is a disease that slowly spreads through your whole heart until it corrupts every bit of the image God created you in… his beautiful, wonderful, holy, and righteous image. Sin works just like yeast as it spreads through bread and ferments. Any amount of sin you allow into your life will corrupt your holiness and pose a hindrance to your ability to worship God.

This is because true worship can only take place in a heart filled with holiness. Since we were made in the image of our holy God, we must return to that image of holiness if we wish to enter into deeper relationship with God through worship. True worship commands the heart of a worshipper to repent of any and all sin it bears. Thus, removing any possibility of your holiness being corrupted.

1 Chronicles 16:29 says worship the Lord “in the splendor of holiness.” This last phrase could also be mean “in holy attire.” Imagine holiness as a clean white shirt you put on and wear around. In order to enter into God’s deeper presence you must be wearing this shirt. Or better yet, returning to the story of Faith and Pig, imagine yourself as Pig and let Jesus Christ wash you clean and make you holy through your faith in Jesus Christ! Don’t be like Pig returning to the mud. Instead be like Faith, fed up with the mud (sin) and joyfully pursuing cleanliness (holiness)! Let’s go into Encounter 2015 with this mindset, ready to engage in true worship of Jesus and cleansing through the Word of God!

“Just tell me what I’m supposed to do!!!!”

My senior year of highschool, my mom decided that I needed to learn to cook. Unfortunately, I was stubborn and did not want to learn. Additionally, it was frustrating for me. Our conversations would go like this:

“Put some oil in the pan.”
“How much?”
“Just a little bit.”
“Like, a cup?”
“Figure it out! Now once you have oil, chop up the onions and saute them.”
“How small do I cut the onions?
How hot does the pan have to be?
WHAT DOES SAUTE MEAN?”

What I wanted was a cookbook for dummies—something that would explain exactly how to do what I was supposed to do. Something I could follow, and then know that I’d end up with a good (or at least edible) result.

Life is confusing, frustrating, and overwhelming at times. We have so many different people telling us what’s important and how to live. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a “Life Cookbook”? Something that you were confident in—that if you followed it’s instructions, you’d for sure end up with something good, or even wonderful?

Here’s the amazing news: God, the Creator of the universe and the Inventor of life, has written a book. And in that book, he’s given the recipe to the good life—life as it’s meant to be lived.

David, an ancient King of the nation of Israel had discovered this. That’s why he writes, “My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times” (Ps 119:20). It seems weird that anyone would long for laws, right? But once we understand God’s laws not as rules to keep us from fun things, but instead as a recipe for really achieving the good life, then we start to understand what David meant when he talks about his desire for God’s laws.

At FreeRunners retreat this October, we’ll be exploring God’s book, the Bible, and discovering it’s ways (or recipes). Hopefully, we’ll get a taste (pun TOTALLY intended) of what David knew—just how sweet God’s Word is.

Sign up today! Hope to see you at retreat!!!
kenny

“We’re outsiders, you and I… on the periphery. Watching everybody else, pretending we’re just like them, but knowing we’re not. The best we can hope for is to find a place where we don’t have to pretend.” -Unknown

I don’t know about you, but I am most comfortable when I’m home. As far as I understand home, it is much more of a concept rather than a location. I often ask others, “What elements are essential for you to feel that you are at home?” Looking at the elements of Home instead of associating a location with home can help you be Home wherever you are!

For me, Home is where:
I am loved
I am cared for
I am not judged
I can be exactly who I am
I fit in
I am accepted
I am welcomed
I flourish
I grow
I do for others what I would want done unto me
I am challenged to reach my potential
-There is a place for me!

It is so important for me to live within Home. Many times, more than not, I have felt like an outsider. I have struggled to fit in. I feel so lost and confused, struggling to find acceptance. It is almost as if this was meant to be. I was meant to feel like an outcast and unaccepted until I somehow happened upon what is now my Home.

My Home is within the body of Jesus Christ – The Church. I am home; there is a seat for me. The mediation which takes place inside this body is all consuming. I say, “I’m here and it’s beautiful.” I love my home and my people. We are one, having all things in common, we share burdens and do not judge one another. It is so refreshing. Many times in my home, the Holy Spirit ministers to us all… He encourages us, speaks to us, leads us. It’s like He is hugging us and encouraging us to be who he created us to be. He often times tells us to just Be and to stop Doing. We come to Him as humble servants and take refuge under His wings. I feel so refreshed at Home.

In Home my soul is quiet:

My heart is not proud, O Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forever
-Psalms 131

You- who are you? where is home?

The Home that I have found invites you. There is a seat for you and we are waiting. No rush, but please come home because you complete us. Our Joy depends on you!

@Freerunners 2015 – We invite you to come home, join the community, it gives LIFE – There is a place for you and it is beautiful!

Journey on,

Rob