The 10,000 Reasons Challenge

I wanted to share this with you,

This Lenten challenge that is rocking my world.

You can read about it here and here.

If you'd like to participate, here are the basic guidelines: 

"[H]ere's my Lenten goal,

Not really a fast, but a refocusing:

• To count a minimum of 10 reasons - 10 God-centric reasons - each and every day during this season to worship God, including (but not necessarily limited to) aspects of His character and displays of His power.
• To find one Scripture reference for each reason so that I know I'm not just making this up, making sure that the Scripture supports the reason when taken in context.
• To let this exercise bring me closer to God, that I might know Him better and know Him for who He is, that I might worship the God of the Bible, not some idol I've formed in my mind through the things I've heard and my own misconceptions."

 

Coming Alive

I chose as the original title of this blog, "Coming Alive".

I don't know if that will always be the title.

After all, I'm not in charge of the Bible study that started this.

I just volunteered to help set up the blog.

I don't even know why I thought that should be the title, exactly.

I just know that it seemed appropriate.

We are a people coming alive,

Being brought to life by Him.

I heard a sermon on this recently.

Just a couple of weeks ago, actually.

I was fortunate enough to attend Passion 2012 in Atlanta, GA.

The experience was amazing, beyond description -

Just worshiping God every moment of every day!

(Sorry.  I got a little sidetracked.  Back to the sermon.)

So, while I was there,

The first night, actually,

Louie Giglio preached on a particular passage of Scripture.

I put the reference for that passage underneath the title of the blog: 

Coming Alive
Luke 7:11-15

Here it is:

Luke 7:11-15

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

 ¹¹ Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. ¹² A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. ¹⁴ Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” ¹⁵ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

What's so cool about this passage

(And what most of Louie Giglio's sermon was about)

Is how He brings us to life.

A mother's only son had died.

The funeral procession had started.

Jesus saw the mother crying,

"[H]is heart overflowed with compassion",

He walked up to the body,

The people carrying it stopped in their tracks,

He stood right next to the boy's remains,

(The unclean body that everyone else wanted to stay away from)

He stretched out His hand . . .

And the boy came to life!!!!!

The incredible thing is

Not only did Jesus stop that young boy's funeral procession,

He stops ours.

That amazes me -

That He would do that for someone like me,

Someone as messed-up as I am.

Somehow,

Even for me,

He stretches out His hand

And brings me to life.