I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore! (Movie anyone?) Ok, now that I have your attention... let me 'splain. No, there is too much, let me sum up. (Another movie). For the most part we live our lives. Day to day we go about our business. We all have disappointments, struggles, failures, sadnesses, etc. Some of us deal with them gracefully, some self-medicate, some deny, some push it to some dark place deep inside and just simply get through it. But we ALL deal with junk. And we just chalk it up to being part of life and move on. Let me suggest that it is NOT just part of life, that there is more to the "abundant" life that followers of Christ are assured. Now I'm not preaching a life without pain or struggle or difficulty. The apostle Paul can attest to that. (If you question his belief, see Acts chapter 9 and if you question his difficult life, see 2 Corinthians chapter 11. ) What I am preaching is a God that is good, a God that doesn't set things in motion and sit back to see how they turn out, hoping that we can muddle through somehow, a God that loves us and hurts with us and sympathizes with us and wants so much more for us and from us. I am MAD that I can't let my children go play outside alone. I am MAD that the divorce rate within the body of Christ is the same as those without Him. I am MAD that I can't find clothes for my 9 year old that helps preserve her innocence. I am MAD that what used to be an "old person's disease" now seems to consume younger and younger victims. I am MAD that we believe the lies that destroy our relationships, and effectiveness, and joy, and anything else that is good and light in our lives. I am MAD that we accept the status quo, that this is as good as it gets. And we find ourselves standing somewhere between hope and contentment, not grasping either one fully and completely frozen and helpless. I am MAD. And I challenge you to get MAD. Because until we get passionate about something, until it hits us where we hurt, we are complacent. And the evil one doesn't have to worry about looking for whom he will devour because we are throwing OURSELVES under the bus.

I challenge what you truly believe about God. Do you believe that He is good? Do you believe that His way is really best and that He wants the best for you? I mean, REALLY believe it. I don't, not always. Do you believe that you are really dead to sin? That it REALLY has no power over you? One of my favorite new friends here in Baton Rouge said on Sunday that we mistakenly think that our sin nature and our life in Christ exists simultaneously. But it doesn't. If we are true followers of Christ, we are not those people anymore. Those people are DEAD. But we still walk around in our burial clothes. Why? Because it's easier, because we can only see with these veiled eyes, because it's all we know and it's comfortable. Lots of reasons. I challenge you to take off your clothes (not literally of course - thought we needed a light moment ;-) Enough with accepting what life throws at us. We were created for so much more. I love you all!