Dan Lamos

One of the things I love about the Bible is that the writers use powerful word pictures and images to express ideas and highlight realities God wants us to experience.

Many of us are becoming aware of something on the wind today.

One of Jesus best friends, John wrote: “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” I John 2:6

Living the “brand” of life that Jesus lived is very costly and you pay in deep personal surrender to the greatest force in the universe… LOVE.

Part of what makes it so costly is that every one of us must allow it’s intensity to burn away everything that makes us hold back and keep things for ourself. Though we deeply value our churches and the support of friends and family, we can only enter the life Jesus wants us to live through a personal journey with him.

Do you feel the momentum growing in our world? There is a cry stirring in hearts everywhere; “Can anyone show us the way”?

If we are praying people in our times, may we swear allegiance to loving with His love and ask Him to “brand” us to display it in our ordinary everyday lives.

Am I alone in the nagging tension and restlessness I feel with the instability of our world against the backdrop of the hope we are called to offer to the nations?

The past week I have been really into Matt Redman’s new release called “10,000 Reasons”. One of the tracks is called “We Could Change The World”.   

When Jesus was launched into his three years in the public eye, his message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  

Here are the lyrics for the chorus of “We Could Change The World”:

I remember when I was a kid and making all kinds of new friends. I grew up in a multi-racial urban neighborhood with kids everywhere. I loved to hang out at my friends’ houses. One of the first things my friend would always ask me was “Hey,wanna see my room?”
 
Your room in your parents house is a place of wonder, safety, rest and peace. But, best of all it says that you belong… its your “place”. In John 14:2 Jesus promised his followers that they would have a room in Dad’s house. That promise is for all of us who will receive it. There is a place made just for you in His house.

But, today my heart is catching fire by meditating on Psalm 84. Take a few minutes to read it  from “The Message”.  Let your heart dance to the worship rhythm of these phrases from that Psalm ” What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies! I’ve always longed to live in a place like this, Always dreamed of a room in your house, where I could sing for joy to God-alive! Birds find nooks and crannies in your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. They lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we worship. God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!How blessed they are to live and sing there!

There is a dream in everyone of our hearts to have a room in God’s house!! Can’t wait to say to you one day, “Hey, wanna see my room?”

Me: “Jesus, I believe you have created me with a unique design and to make an impact on my world for your glory. Show me what that is!”  Jesus: “If you want to be blessed, do what I have done.”

Your vehicle to rise to your destiny is always the same… do it like Jesus!


How did Jesus do this life?

By “washing feet” Jesus rose to new depths of service.

Maybe you can get what I mean by imagining yourself in the beautifully designed Trump Tower in Manhattan.  You have been sightseeing all morning and you are in desperate need of a rest room. You enter those famous rotating doors and you head for the escalator descending to where you know you will find relief! When you find your destination and find the service you need open and available to you, it strikes you that you are more grateful in that moment for the plumber than the architect who designed this multi-million dollar building.

Maybe the best way to experience the longevity of a meaningful life is to remember that the way to rise to new heights of purpose is to go deeper in service.