Some of you are afraid….

Your marriage will never be what you long for it to be.

You’ll never get married.

You’ll never have children.

You’ll just have one dead end job after another.

You’ll never get out of debt.

You’ll never really be able to trust God in powerful ways.

It’s true that… Fear establishes the limits of your life.

This morning I was reading Isaiah 43. I’ve got a personal situation right now that scares me to death and it was so applicable. I know the right thing to do, but I simply fear the ramifications of stepping out in faith and doing it. I’m somewhat paralyzed by my fear but this verse brought me so much comfort.

I’m hoping you’ll do more than just go through this passage. Let this passage go through you. Read it a few times and let this beautiful promise sink deep into your heart.

Isaiah 43
Israel’s Only Savior
1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

What’s one thing you fear these days?

“When Chris Beall, my new star worship leader, confessed to me that he’d been unfaithful to his wife Cindy—I could have vomited on the spot.

Overwhelming emotions flooded my heart. Shock. Disappointment. Anger. Sadness.

Questions pelted my mind like hail smashing against a sidewalk during a storm? How did this happen? Why didn’t I see it? What am I going to tell our church? What will Cindy do? Will their marriage survive this blow?

I’ll never forget seeing the deep and seemingly unrecoverable hurt in Cindy’s eyes when she discovered the devastating truth…” (Craig Groeschel)

This powerful opening from the foreword of my friend Cindy Beall’s book Healing Your Marriage When Trust Is Broken introduces the reader to Cindy’s incredible story.  Having survived the pain, devastation and heartbreak of betrayal in her own marriage, she’s now on mission to share the unbelievable miracle God has worked in her and her husband’s life. And it is nothing short of a beautiful miracle.

Beyond the shock.  Beyond the confusion.  Beyond the humiliation.  Beyond the darkest nights and the rivers of tears.

There is hope.  Restoration is possible.  God is with you and He wants to take your hand and see you through the brokenness to the other side of the pain.

“If you are feeling alone, know that I am here to journey with you, and so is God. He already desires to make you whole, even as the pieces of your known existence seem to be scattered to every corner of the universe. If the walls have tumbled and you cannot recognize truth from lies in the remains, know that God’s grace and power to transform your life is right there in the midst of the debris.”  -Cindy Beall

We’re going to give away 5 Copies of Cindy’s book today by random selection.  You don’t have to share anything you’re not comfortable sharing.  Everyone will be entered into the drawing unless you specifically say that you don’t need the book, you’re just joining the conversation.

“Dad can we play video games later?” “We’ll wait and see.”
“Dad is it going to snow?” “There’s a chance, we’ll have to wait and see.”
“Dad can we go sledding?” “Wait and see if it snows boys.”
“Dad where are we going to eat tonight?” “I don’t know, wait and see.”
“Dad can we go to Toys “R” Us Saturday?” “NO!”

Kids want to know right now. Are we doing this thing? I need to know.

And the reality is even as adults we don’t like the ambiguity. We don’t like the unknown. We want to know what’s going to happen and when it’s going to happen and what we need to do to make sure it happens faster.

Yesterday, at Cross Point, I talked about Abraham (Genesis 11-25) who spent over a decade waiting for some of his dreams to be fulfilled. Week after week, year after year, it was “wait and see.”

Ever been forced to leave what is familiar?  Ever been in a place in your life where you don’t know where you are going?

God, when is my marriage going to get easier?
God, when will I be able to go to bed at night and not worry about money?
God, when are we going to have a baby?
God, when am I going to meet someone who can hold me, love me, and share life with me?

Wait and see. We didn’t like it as kids and we don’t like it now as adults. Yet it’s in these moments that we learn so much about ourselves, and even more about our God, as we’re forced to let go of that which seems so precious to us and simply trust.

Are you stuck in the middle of a “wait and see” moment?

We all have a trust-meter. Every time you interact with another person your trust-meter goes up or down based on a set of factors that would include such things as the person’s truth-telling record, their commitment keeping pattern, their confidentiality, their consistency in character, etc. This is true of all of your relationships…

co-workers

parents

children

friends

spouse

pastor

All of this happens subconsciously. So when you have a person in your life that gossips about another one of your friends or doesn’t show when they say they’ll show or you catch them in a lie, your trust-meter goes down.

When your trust-meter goes down the natural tendency for most of us is to begin to withdraw. And generally the further we withdraw the more suspicious we become of the other person. This almost always either stunts or at least redefines the relationship.

Now some of you need to realize your trust-meter is broken. It’s giving you false readings. Because of the baggage from your past your trust-meter is all jacked up.

So what do you do? The wise person when confronted with a relationship where the trust meter is headed south will engage instead of withdraw. God has really been growing me in this area of my life.  He’s been prompting me to engage in that relationship and sit down and talk about the issues. Tell them about the doubts creeping into my mind and heart.  The goal here is to find out if there is actually betrayal going on (that requires further conversations) or if I’m getting false readings.

So do you have problem trusting other people? Do you think your trust meter gives you false readings from time to time? Do you tend to engage or withdraw when your trust meter is headed south?

Meet Christina. She’s a graduate student who just took one HUGE step of faith.

Pete,

I wanted to write and not only thank you (and the entire staff at Crosspoint) but also encourage you by letting you know you are not alone in this stepping out in faith. (I’m sure you already know that by the hundreds, maybe thousands that are stepping up…)

Tonight was life-changing for me and I wanted to share it (and a bit of my story) with you.

I moved to Nashville from New Hampshire at the beginning of the summer to go to graduate school. Having grown up next door to my entire family and only attended college 2 hours away, this move was my “Jordan” moment. I graduated college in May, and moved halfway across the country 2 weeks later. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, yet the most rewarding. Looking back on it, I now see that I stepped into the river first, then God provided. It was a terrifying leap of faith- one that God rewarded through protection and provision. Since moving here, however, my life has become mediocre. Not in the sense of nothing exciting happening, but definitely in terms of my walk with the Lord. I am controlled by routine, stress, and worry. I work two jobs, attend school at night, and am barely making ends meet. I uprooted and moved over 1200 miles away and even on my best days question if this is really what God had for me. The series “Faith, Hope, and Love” has hit me right where I’m at. Several times I’ve considered throwing in the towel and moving home. Luckily, I have a best friend back home that won’t let that happen. He consistently reminds me that faith involves risk, and being “comfortable” will ultimately override my purpose. Being “comfortable” is not the goal- the goal is to be at the center of God’s will. Thankfully I have a church that is teaching me the same.

In all honesty, I figured God wouldn’t ask me to give… given my “circumstances” and all. I prayed “what role will you have me play?” with preconceived ideas that it would be to get involved or something along those lines. But money? I need that. Definitely definitely need that. There I go again, putting God in my “yeah, but…” box. I hate it when I do that.

So, tonight, I was really praying. Wanting to be a part of those miracles that used to happen in Biblical times… I always hear people say “well, yeah, but back then God moved more.” How sad! How quick we are to forget how much FAITH those people had to have to see Him move! So a number was on my heart… honestly, a “you’ve got to be kidding me” attitude swept over me… but I filled out the card nonetheless. You see, I have this small “just-in-case” savings account saved for the upcoming semesters, when I most likely will be working at an internship site for no pay… and not able to work the hours I need to pay the bills. Having a back-up plan is my thing- I am ALWAYS prepared (or at least I try really really hard to be). And I have my list- my “if I can’t make ends meet how long this money will last” list. Hence why I felt the “you’ve got to be kidding me” attitude when I filled out the commitment card.

Tonight, I committed to donating a one-time gift of $1,000… and when I sealed that envelope and tossed it into the offering basket, a wave of fear swept over me. Tears streamed down my face as I felt what those priests felt walking into the Jordan. “Okay God… this for real?” But now that I think about it, deep in my soul I know that I am about to be a part of something glorious… something heavenly… something eternal. This church has been my saving grace since moving here, and ultimately a God-given blessing. I know (and am SO thankful) that I am supposed to be a part of this church and all that it is wanting to accomplish. I have been reminded of what life really is all about- something I think I was slowly losing site of. In high school I used to walk on the edge daily, trusting Him with each and every step… my passion and love for the Lord never left, I just let life, stress, worry, and busyness drown it out. I want that back. I want to be so amped for what God is going to do- for what He has done and what He is waiting on us for. I want to be dependent on him- I want to save an extra $3.60 at Wal-mart and KNOW its one of God’s provisions for trusting Him. I want to follow Proverbs 3:5-6 and ACTUALLY understand what that means. I had a Jordan moment when I moved here- 5 months ago I leaned on His every promise to make it through just one more day… and I did. He provided for me then, and I know He will now. Am I scared? Terrified. My “what if He doesn’t come through” list could be miles long…but like you said tonight, I need to practice making a different kind of list… what would NOT happen if I didn’t.

Ephesians 3:20 says He is able to do exceedingly more than we could ask or imagine through the power that is at work WITHIN us. I think too often we over look those last two words. That power is in us, requiring us to step out, to trust that He will. THIS is when we see miracles. Faith is stepping out into the unknown… knowing sure well there is a possibility of failing, but trusting you won’t. I won’t. We won’t. Crosspoint won’t.

My “what if” list is now simply- He will.

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do with not only my sacrifice but of everyone’s at Crosspoint.

He has already begun to move,

Christina

Do you have a “what if” that needs to become a “He will” ?

How to ride a bike.

How to shave.

How to tie a tie.

How to dribble a ball.

How to love people you don’t like.

How to jump off really high stuff.

How to do a push-up.

How to understand women.

How to treat a woman.

But the most important thing I want to teach my boys…

How to trust a God they cannot see.

This past Sunday I watched hundreds of people make their commitment to Faith, Hope, & Love. Each commitment represented someone trusting God in a new and unique way. But the pledge that caught my attention was the one my 8 year old son filled out.

He pledged $50 (that he doesn’t have) to the vision of Cross Point Church. He later told me that God would provide a way for him to fulfill his commitment. This card represents a lot more than fifty bucks. It represents what is hopefully just the first of many adventures my son will have trusting a God he cannot see.

If you missed commitment Sunday at one of our Cross Point campuses and want to make a commitment to Faith, Hope & Love you can do so HERE.

What do you want to make sure you’re teaching your kids?

I’ve got a situation that is driving me absolutely crazy.

I want answers.

I want explanations.

I want guarantees.

I want control.

And yet what God wants is for me to simply trust Him.

Over the past two days I’ve felt God saying, “Pete, take your hands off of this. Stop trying to control and maintain what you cannot control and maintain.”

I bet there are a lot of you who are just like me. We have fallen victim to faithless lives because we’ve bought into the illusion of control.

And control IS the greatest of all illusions.

God has done some amazing things through this group of people over the past few years. I’m proud to call them colleagues, friends and most importantly family.

During our retreat we focused on vision, team building and the calendar for 2009. We’re finding that planning a yearly calendar that includes 3 campuses is extremely challenging. CLICK HERE for some pictures of the retreat on Jenni’s blog.

On Tuesday morning part of our team building included a high ropes course that the Deer Run Retreat staff led us through. Here’s a little video of our team building time…

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/2036383/]

I would love to hear what you think about effective teams.

What is the one characteristic or element you think a team needs to function in an effectice and healthy manner?

We’ve been in this series at Cross Point entitled Baggage. We’ve been talking about the emotional baggage we all carry from relationship to relationship. This baggage keeps us from loving in the way we’ve been called and created to love.

Yesterday we talked about the baggage of betrayal and abandonment.

We all have a trust-meter. Every time you interact with another person your trust-meter goes up or down based on a set of factors that would include such things as the person’s truth-telling record, their commitment keeping pattern, their confidentiality, their consistency in character, etc.

All of this happens subconsciously. So when you have a friend that gossips about another one of your friends or doesn’t show when they say they’ll show or you catch them in a lie, your trust-meter goes down.

When your trust-meter goes down the natural tendency is to begin to withdraw. And generally the further we withdraw the more suspicious we become. This almost always either stunts or at least redefines the relationship.

Now some of you need to realize your trust-meter is broken. It’s giving you false readings. Because of the baggage from your past your trust-meter is all jacked up.

So what do you do? The wise person when confronted with a relationship where the trust meter is headed south will engage instead of withdraw. You need to engage in that relationship and sit down and talk about the issues. Tell them about the doubts creeping into your mind and heart. Find out if there is actually betrayal going on or if you’re getting false readings.

So tell me. Do you have problem trusting other people? Do you think your trust meter gives you false readings from time to time? What are you doing about it?