I've been meditating a great deal lately on what I find to be extremely valuable in my life, and as I have done so, God has been pointing out some things, and reminding me of how He has answered some very memorable prayers in my life.
    Back in 2004, I remember crying out to God in the lat night hours of December 25th, at 11:53pm to be exact, I cried out while in the throes of my addictions, and begged God for a family. I confessed that I didn't want to live the way I was living, and that I didn't want to be alone.
    I cried out to Him to lift me out of the pit that I was in, and to forgive me for running from Him into a life of sin, which had led me down the darkest paths a person could ever imagine, and I was miserable with my life. I needed Jesus.
    Now I'll save the details of all that He has done to answer that prayer throughout some of my future posts, but for now, the one that I want to focus on, is how He heard my cry for Him to bring others into my life that would be a family to me.
    Obviously, He gave me the gift of my wife, Christy, and her family has become my own, but in recent times, that is in the last year, especially, He has been working in that area of my life to bring some amazing people along who have become my dearest friends, and mean so much to me.
    I hope they don't mind too much, and if they do, I'll come back and change the names, (Pretty sure there are very few readers anyway) but as I have been meditating on the topic of treasure, and asking God to search my heart and show me what is truly valuable in my life, He has reminded me again and again of Jeb & Kathy, who, along with their family of 5 children, have taken their place in my heart as family.
    Ironically enough, Jeb and I both played roles for several years in the ministry of a local church here in the community, Jeb in the children's ministry, and myself as the worship pastor, yet, due to the busyness of those roles, we never got to know each other, and I am so glad now that God has brought our lives together in such a way.
    Jeb and I ran into each other last year in downtown Wilmington while I was working the streets with the N.O.T.T.T. Foundation, and he even spent some time with me in that capacity, but little did I know that God was at work, bringing us closer together, even in those dark alleys and streets.
    Being that we live in the same community (Southport/Oak Island), we eventually began to hang out more, and eventually Jeb and Kathy began coming to our house for a small group gathering that got together to study and discuss the Bible.
    It's become apparent over time that Jeb and I are cut out of the same piece of cloth, and we have many, many things in common, and I find it beautiful that Jeb and I share so many similarities, yet he has character qualities that God uses to minister to me in ways that I have not been very good at affirming.
    You don't have to be around these two long to realize that they love Jesus with every fiber of their being, and that they are carriers of the Holy Spirit in ways that bring out the very best in people, including their children.
    There are way too many facets to these guys to share here, and just like beautifully cut gemstones, they shine and reflect light in the most beautiful ways, and they are EXTREMELY valuable in my life, and I pray that God will use us in some way to make them feel the love and joy that they bring to our lives.
    Hopefully you'll get to meet them sometime, and if you do, you'll see that I haven't exaggerated one bit, and I am sure that you'll find them to be one of God greatest treasures in more ways than they may ever know.
    So. In closing this post, I just want to say that I love you Jeb & Kathy, and you are greatly appreciated, valued, and we look forward to seeing how our stories will unfold in this beautiful work of God's perfect plan!

    God has really been speaking to my heart about what to share at the beach for our Devotions by the Ocean Gathering that we've been doing for a few months now, and this morning as I sat with my journal at work, He showed me a beautiful passage that is often overlooked.
    Coming up at the beach we will be discussing what we find to be truly valuable to us, and in an effort to discover what we keep in the 'safe' of our hearts, we will step out into the world of redefining wealth.
    A few years ago, we began to see things in a different light around here at the Village Garage, and by that I mean God began to reveal Himself through His Word in response to a prayer that I lifted up to Him early one morning while sitting in the Garage.
    I had been listening to first this one, then that. I had read many books 'explaining God' and I was still coming away empty feeling. So I did what I felt was right, and what I thought would help me to get the scoop firsthand. I prayed.
    Not just any prayer as it turns out. I sat down with my Bible, and I prayed for God to teach me, by His Holy Spirit (the same One that wrote the Book) and to help me to understand so that I might follow Jesus more closely than man was teaching me in the various books I had been reading. It was then that I began to see what is truly valuable, and that brings us to this post.
    As God began to reveal Himself to me in His Word, I began to realize many things, which I will share along the way, but I want to stay focused on the topic here, which is redefining wealth.
    You see, I grew up in poverty, extreme poverty, so I never had much value for fancy things, which I feel has made it easier for me today to be content with what I have, and to see value in the things that many take for granted.
    As I began to dig deeper into God's Word, it began to bury itself deep within my heart, and I began to really count the cost of following Jesus, and when stacked up against what the world has to offer, and what I've already experienced, I can see plainly that I'd much rather follow His Way.
    For so many years I remained an angry guy. Angry at no one or nothing in particular, just angry, and that has caused more problems in my life than I'd like to admit, so long story short, I didn't value people or relationships.
    After experiencing Jesus in a very real way in 2005, and as He led me out of the chains of addiction to drugs, alcohol, and the anger that had held me captive for so long, I began to see that I really do need others, and that God had created us for community.
    The sad part about it all, is that what I was seeing in church, looked so much like the world, that I could barely tell the difference, but I knew that I am different, because the Spirit inside of me was telling me so.
    My intention here is not to point out all that I find unappealing about the church of today, but to continue to pursue the discovery of how to become the church that Jesus intended, and to do so, I must continually pursue that which is most important, and that can only be found in Jesus.
    This woman who came to Jesus and poured the expensive perfume over His head in Matthew 26 knew that the One she was doing this to was far more important than the perfume that she used.
    We're not sure of what her financial life was like, whether she was someone who struggled to make a living, and possibly 'treasured' this jar of perfume, or if it was surplus, but what we do know is that she was willing to offer it to Jesus, regardless of its meaning to her.
    In my next post, I will continue this writing, and I will try to take a look at the ideas that we will discuss at the beach during DBTO. It is my prayer that I will draw near to Jesus, and give to Him in all things, my everything.

    This week has been such a blessing, and as each day goes by, I am discovering that I have needed to slow down, and find rest in Jesus without worrying so much about all that I feel needs to be done.
    I've been reading a book recently by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and it's called 'No Greater Love'. In the book, she had something to say that has helped me perhaps more than anything has in a long time, and it has brought me to a place where I feel so much more relaxed, and I am finding my focus in the rest that I have been given with Jesus.
    'Momma T', as my friend Shane Claiborne likes to call her, says this in the book; "Do not be discouraged, for if you are discouraged, then it is a sign of pride.", and I have found there to be much truth in this, and God used these words to reach into my heart, and help me to realize that I need to relax, and to accept the fact that He has created a space to be alone with me, even if that space looks much like me doing the majority of the prep work for Devotions by the Oceans, such as raising the shade canopies.
    What God has spoken to my heart through the words of Mother Teresa, have helped me to slow down and spend time with Him in ways that I have not for so long now. Instead of running around like a crazy man, making copies, typing out handouts, etc. I have been spending the time reading, and being still, some days even napping in the afternoons after work, and I cannot describe the blessing in those things.
    Another thing that I am exploring, is the return to my art. By this I mean that I have not been using my creativity to draw, paint, sculpt, woodwork, write, or anything else for so long now, due in part to what I felt were necessary duties pertaining to DBTO.
    Christy, my awesome wife, encouraged me the other day to pick up a sketch journal, and that has been a HUGE blessing as well, as I have begun to get excited about drawing again. I'm also looking forward to doing some bigger pieces of art (murals) in our living room, which has recently been converted into a cloister of sorts, void of the television which has been there since we moved into this house almost 7 years ago.
    Christy and I have had an awesome few days, and have noticed that our attitudes have been better toward one another as we worked in the house to reclaim space in the center, the very heart of the house, for folks to gather and spend time together, talking, visiting, and without the distraction of the boob tube.
    We created a media room in our former master bedroom after moving our belongings into the smallest room in the house, and we are really enjoying the fresh changes that are moving us closer to ridding ourselves of usual distractions, and closer to allowing Jesus to be the very center of our home space.
    We've had new visitors to our home begin popping in, and one of those was this evening in the form of our friend 'Sailboat Johnny.' We call him this because he literally lives on a sailboat in the cove in our Village.
    Johnny had lost his little dog, 'Buddy', and was frantically searching for him, and after Johnny left, we decided that we should get dressed and ride around the Village for a while and see if we could spot Buddy, and we're glad that we did, because we found him hanging out with some of our neighbors down at the marina, and were able to bring him back to Johnny.
    I want to close with that story, and by saying that we are so blessed. God has chosen to allow us to live in an area that is extremely beautiful, visually speaking. And there are some beautiful people here amidst the sadness of a church community divided, the drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, and poverty of a great portion of those who live here.
    We used to jokingly call it the 'edge of the earth' and although it is, literally, we find that God has brought us here for a purpose, and His work for us here is not finished. We have truly found our Calcutta. (I'll explain that later)
    So, as I say goodnight, I encourage you to look for Jesus in the faces of those around you. Mother Teresa called these faces 'Jesus in His most distressing disguises' , and I can honestly say that there are many around us here in the area. Despite the gluttony of a few who are tangled in the web of monetary riches, there are the faces of Jesus in the shadows, and those are the ones which Jesus has placed us here to find, to love, and to serve.
    Pay attention, because you never know when your doorbell may ring, and you'll find the face of Jesus in the person looking for their lost dog. Show them love, and welcome them into your home. They need you to point them to Him.

    Last Sunday at our gathering by the sea, which we call 'Devotions by the Ocean', we discussed the model of the early church found in Acts 2:42-47, and began to take a deeper look into what we can learn from the folks that made up that group.
    One thing that is obvious from the passage, is the sacrificial nature of the people who were striving to follow the Way of Jesus, and how that affected the community that they were becoming, and I must say, as I did Sunday, that without sacrifice, there will be no authentic community, for it requires a person to look first to the interests of others.
    So then, when I think over the events of the past few years here at the Village Garage, and all of the people who have come through our doors, I have come to realize that Jesus has chosen to use them to teach us to truly love, and that we value them above the convenience of having our home to ourselves.
    You see, a few years back, Christy and I (this is Tim speaking), began to evaluate our lives in such a way that we began to see what is truly important, and according to Jesus, that is to 'love God, and love others as ourselves', and we discovered that this world, these material possessions, will all pass away someday, and we will have no need for them, however, what we will always need, or should I say Whom, is God. He's what's important.
    Now I'm not saying that it's not important to have a roof over your head isn't important, but I must never forget that Jesus Himself was homeless, and He reminded us of this in Matthew 8:20 & Luke 9:58, and He did so to remind us of the cost of following Him.
    It never ceases to trouble me, that there is such a stark contrast between being a believer in Jesus Christ, and following Him, and as the days, weeks, months, and now years, go by, I have discovered that to truly follow His Way in today's world, can be very lonely. I guess that's just a part of the 'narrow road' that Jesus also spoke of, so I am learning to embrace that.
    For many years I walked apart from God, and very seldom gave a second thought as to what Jesus might think of my lifestyle, but I was following the ways of this world, and wasn't concerned about much else, so being alone didn't have much of an effect on me. In fact, I liked it that way.
    Loving, human contact was unimportant to me, and I spent many years creating a dark space where I could exist without letting anyone get too close (except my band mates) so community wasn't at the top of the list.
    But then, in 2005, I encountered the risen Christ. The Jesus who calls us to take up our cross, turn from our selfish ways, and follow Him, and I decided that I wanted that more than any other thing in my life. Not only that, I realized my need for Him.
    Getting involved in a local church, I began to use my gifts (music) in the ministry, and without taking too much time to share all of that story right now, let me just say that over the years (7 now) I have found that the Jesus of the Bible is hard to find in the machine of organized religion today, so I began to pray for God to lead me to where He is. Little did I know how much pain and anguish would be involved in this!
    So then. Fast forward to today, and I can honestly say that there is nothing more important than my relationship with Jesus, and fulfilling His command to 'love God, and to love others', and I have found that it is in those acts that my real treasure lies.
    As we gather at the beach today for DbtO, I hope to see an uprising of love. A pouring out of God's Spirit on His people, and may their mouths be opened by their hearts so that we might discuss what it means to know what your treasure is, so that we might place our bets, and go for broke. For Jesus

   For the last few Sunday evenings we've been discussing the teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount as we've gathered at the beach, and this past Sunday, we took a look at one of Scriptures most colorful people. John the Baptist.
   When you study scripture, you'll find that there's not really much written about John, but what can be found is a radically different fellow who was willing to die for what he believed and preached, which speaks loudly of his character.
   I can identify with John on many levels, and often times in the community that I live in, I'm known as the local 'Jesus Freak' which is a monicker that I gladly embrace, especially considering that there are so many other labels that have been attached over the years.
   This dude, John, must have been a sight to see, and I can only imagine what went through the minds of some that came into contact with him, especially clothed in camel hair, with his long hair and beard, eating wild honey and bugs (locusts to be exact), and shouting all the time.
   Not just shouting in general, but shouting the very message that Jesus preached shortly after John baptized Him in the Jordan River. 'Repent, and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.'
   Several things came up during our discussion, but one that stands out to me is the story of Mary greeting Elizabeth during her visit while both were still pregnant with Jesus and John, respectively.
   The story goes that when Elizabeth heard Mary's voice, the baby (John) jumped in her womb, and this causes me to think of the excitement that John knew in the presence of Jesus!
   In a society where anything goes, we, as followers, often get so caught up in the machinery of theology, without ever living out theology, and it has greatly muted our excitement as the Body of Christ.
   Services are planned, and votes are held to install this officer and that, but somewhere in the midst of all of this, we grow callous to the real needs of others, in exchange for the things that we sometimes selfishly want to see come to pass in our buildings made of bricks and wood, shadowed by the steeples that top our massive organizations, hiding behind stained glass masquerades of sometimes impersonal worship.
   The fact of the matter is, the church has sadly become an organization, and ceased to be an organism. Living, moving, growing. And what we need today are a few more 'Jesus Freaks' like John, who are willing to risk being ridiculed, persecuted, and martyred for the Gospel.
   John lived. LOUD! And what I see is a man who lived out what it truly means to follow Jesus, by simply being consumed by the presence of Jesus. Where are you? Are you in His presence? Do you know Him? Does He know you?
   Let us be focused in our daily lives with the mission of Jesus, and let us never forget that He taught us that love is most important, and that love is best displayed as a verb. Let us live out the Gospel with our lives, and if necessary, use words.

   As we move along in the teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:13-16, one of the first things that stands out to me from the passage is what Jesus says about being salt and light.
   You'll notice that He doesn't say that we will become these things, rather, as His followers, we already are salt and light, so with that being said, let's take a look at a few things about these two things.
SALT
1. Salt adds flavor.
2. Salt is a preservative.
3. Salt has healing properties.

   So then, what would you think Jesus is talking about when He says that we are salt and light? Do you think that He meant we should be able to perfectly season a steak, or glow in the dark perhaps? I think not.
   What Jesus is referring to are the qualities of these things, and how we, as His followers, are to have these same influences on the world around us, which makes perfect sense, because we are to influence the world, and not be influenced by the world. Right?
   He asks the question; 'If salt loses its flavor, then what good is it? (paraphrase), then He goes on to include that if salt has lost its flavor, it has become useless, and is thrown out to be trampled by man.
   I've never been one to just lay down and be walked on, and I'm not defending that as the right way to be, but where the Gospel is concerned, we must refuse to lay down. We must work hard to influence the world around us by adding flavor to society. But not just any flavor. We are to add the flavor of Jesus, as His followers, and refuse to be corrupted by the ideals and morals of this world. (which btw allows sin/impurities to enter)
   What makes salt useless? Impurities. So then, that would lead me to believe that Jesus is speaking of allowing sin to slip in, and to cause us to lose our flavor as Christians, thereby rendering us useless as a means of bringing out the best in those around us, teaching them of eternal life (preserve), or leading the way to the ultimate Healer, Jesus. Now let's look at light.

LIGHT
1. Light challenges evil in society.
2. Shines into darkness exposing what is there.
3. Guides us. (see Psalm 119:105)

   As we move ahead this coming week at the beach, we will be discussing some of the ways that we lose our flavor and hide our light, so I will end this entry for now so that I might continue it with my thoughts from Devotions by the Ocean - Flavor Savers.
  

   In chapter 5 of Matthews Gospel account, we read the story of Jesus teaching by the Sea of Galilee in what is known as 'The Sermon on the Mount'.
   If you'll remember back to chapter 4 of the same book, Jesus had been led by the Spirit into the desert for 40 days and nights to be tempted by the devil, after which He began His earthly ministry, and He began to preach repentance, and I wonder why today we do not carry this same message to the people. (More on that in a bit)

Click HERE to read Matthew 5:3-11 NLT

   This entry is based on our time together at the beach for our first gathering of Devotions by the Ocean, and I'm going to attempt to consolidate all that was discussed in just a few sentences to make this post easier to follow, but I encourage anyone who reads this to take out your Bible, and open to this passage, asking God to speak to you through His Word, and by His Holy Spirit.
   Here we see eight, actually nine promised blessings by Jesus, and I want to touch on those quickly to help us understand the crux of Jesus' teachings in this passage.
   Jesus taught that 'God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.' (vs. 3) What He is talking about is spiritual poverty. Those who are unsaved. Those who have never realized that they need God, and chosen eternal life.
 In verse 4 Jesus speaks of those who mourn being comforted, and the mourning that He speaks of is the lament we should have over sin in our lives.
   Jesus goes on in verses 5-7 to speak of humility, a passion for what is right in the eyes of God, and mercy, and even though I'd love to go into details about what was discussed at the beach, I want you to spend time in the Word, and also to visit with us sometime, so for the sake of keeping this post simple, I'll move ahead to the rest of His promises.
 'God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God' is found in verse 8, and it raises the question; 'What must I do to have a pure heart?'
   Peace is a concept that is so often overlooked, or forsaken, especially in today's world of wanting to have things our own way, regardless of who I have to step on, ignore, criticize, or worse, to get it, but Jesus says that those who work for peace will be called the 'children of God', which makes me consider the fact that when others, (unbelievers) see so much strife and conflict in the church, and in the lives of people who claim to follow Jesus, they see nothing of worth, and choose an alternate route, which, unfortunately, leads them to hell and eternal separation from God.
   And then, finally, in verses 10-11 we get down to the topic that so many Christians experience, but never come to terms with. Suffering. But as you read the promise from verse 10, you'll notice that it is the same promise that Jesus gave in verse 3. The Kingdom of Heaven!

   OK then. Now that I have skimmed through the text, let's face a few realities that we must not skim over, and we'll begin with the fact that Jesus' first priority in teaching, was to begin His earthly ministry by preaching repentance for the Kingdom of God is near, and consider how much things have changed since then, but ask ourselves; 'Why have we stopped preaching repentance?'
   No one really likes to be uncomfortable, at least not many do, and if we look at Jesus' life and teachings, we'll quickly realize that He recognized that, but it is a fact that if we are going to follow Him, and do what He said to do, which is 'go and make disciples, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded' then we'll certainly be uncomfortable at times, but there is the promise of blessings for those who endure this discomfort.
  Now I'm not saying that we should follow Jesus so that we will be more comfortable, but that we should do so because we love Him, and want to serve Him, not to fulfill our own agendas, or to have an 'easy' life.
   The cross is uncomfortable, it is cumbersome, and it is offensive. Yet, it is the means by which God brought salvation to the world, by offering His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins, and knowing that through Jesus death, burial, and resurrection, we are offered salvation and victory over death, we should gladly embrace the cross that is ours to bear, that Jesus says we are to 'take up' then we should be more than willing to lay down our lives for the sake of the Kingdom.
   So then. In a nutshell, the Gospel message teaches us that God loves us, and He loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to doe for our sins on a cross. It also teaches that we are to go out and tell the world about the provision that God has made for our sins, and that there is hope for the hopeless, rest for the weary, and love for the broken heart. But how will they know if we never tell? How will they know if what they see in our lives, as Christians, is no different than what the world has to offer?
   As Jesus continues to teach in the Sermon on the Mount, He begins to speak of His followers as being 'salt & light', which is what was read during our second gathering at the beach, and will be continued in the next post.