LUKE

I am jazzed. I'm talking jazz hands level of jazzed-ness. Mark Driscoll, Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, is starting a three year series (yes, count them...1, 2, 3 years!) on the book of Luke. David and I are committed to following the study by watching the Mars Hill podcast every week. I have not been this excited about the Bible in a while.

I feel like this is a huge opportunity to learn in depth about Jesus and all of the goodness that is recorded throughout the book of Luke. I've felt stuck lately when reading the scriptures, like I'm not uncovering or understanding anything new. I've just been reading....which leads to not reading because it's not meaningful. (I know you just gasped right then. A leader on a church plant team, and she said the Bible wasn't meaningful!) Am I an awful Christian or what? I'll go with "or what." Thank God for grace.

Anyway, back to Luke. This past Sunday was just covering Luke 1:1-4.

"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."

You may be asking, "What in the world did that guy preach on out of this verse (for over an hour!)?" Trust me. In the words of my good friend Ruby--bomb.com. I learned more in that hour than I feel like I've learned in a really long time. (Disclaimer--this excludes Sundays at Remnant where I do learn a lot but am often very distracted with volunteer duties throughout the worship experience.)

My challenge to you: If your Bible study time has slid into being just Bible reading time which will slide into your Bible not reading time, join us for the 3 year study through Luke. Let me know if you decide to do it. I think I'll be posting about what I'm learning quite a bit.

Did I mention that I'm jazzed?

Identity

So, David and I have been talking a lot about identity lately. Since moving to CA, I feel like we have both really been struggling with trying to figure out our identities. This is mostly because in the past we linked our identities more with what we did than who we are. Now that we don't do the things we used to do, especially in the church, we are feeling a little aimless and more than a little insignificant.

I blogged about finding my sweet spot a while ago. This is connected to that issue. I am trying to understand that even if I am doing small tasks right now for the kingdom that don't look (in my eyes) like they are meaningful and that don't feel like my sweet spot, that I as a person am still significant. I am trying to understand that my worth to the church is not based just on what I can give but also who I am. AND, I am trying to understand that if God has entrusted me with a role, no matter how small, it is what He has for me and that is enough. Where satan really wants to go with the negative thoughts here is that if I am not doing much than it would mean that I am no one. That is a lie, and I recognize it when I say it outright like this.

This all seems easier to write than to believe though. How do I disconnect who I am (my identity) from what I do (my contributions/tasks)?