- 1:22 am - Fri, Apr 27, 2012
Beneath the Shadow
I was recently at a funeral for a young woman. The mood was somber, but the scene was beautiful—-glowing taper candles, dozens of flowers, hundreds of loved ones packed into the church to celebrate her life and to mourn her death. But that day the most beautiful sight in the church was the Easter cross. Easter had passed a couple of days before, but the cross remained on the platform, and there it stood: still draped in the royal purple, surrounded by resurrection lilies. And so we mourned the loss of a daughter, sister, mother, friend, while literally beneath the shadow of an empty cross, the sign of the Living Savior.
We’ve labeled one day in the year “Easter” and on it we remember the resurrection of Christ from the darkness of the grave. On that day the Lord of Life tore through the blank, heavy curtain of death—-and in so doing, opened the way for those who trust in Him to follow. Jesus said to the mourning Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus is our resurrection and our life. Jesus is the One.
:: by Kessia Reyne Bennett
- 11:38 pm - Sat, Mar 17, 2012
Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character. Christ in His self-denial, Christ in His humiliation, Christ in His purity and holiness, Christ in His matchless love—this is the subject for the soul’s contemplation. It is by loving Him, copying Him, depending wholly upon Him, that you are to be transformed into His likeness.
Steps to Christ, 70.
- 4:55 pm - Sat, Feb 25, 2012
But remember, sinner, it is not that hold of Christ that saves thee – it is Christ;
it is not that joy in Christ that saves thee – it is Christ;
it is not even faith in Christ though that is the instrument – it is Christ’s blood and merits;
therefore, look not so much to they hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ;
look not to thy hope, but to Christ, the source of thy hope;
look not to thy faith, but to Christ the author, the finisher of thy faith;
and if thou dost that, ten thousand devils cannot throw thee down, but as long as thou lookest at thyself, the meanest of those evil spirits may tread thee beneath his feet….
it is not faith,
it is not our doings,
it is not our feelings upon which we must rest,
but upon Christ, and on Christ alone.
Charles Spurgeon, 1856
- 4:06 pm
tOp: Seattle // personal reflections
Alex Bryan reflects on the power of the conversation
Japhet De Oliveira reflects on how he knows the Seattle gathering was successful
Kimberly Paulien reflects on falling on the Stone and being broken
Michaela Lawrence Jeffery realizes she needs a gut-level experience with Jesus
Have you written or seen other reflections on the Seattle gathering?
- 3:09 am - Mon, Feb 6, 2012
my Denver moment
by Enoc Lopez
One year ago I attended the One project gathering in Atlanta. Powerful presentations on the supremacy of Christ were closely followed by intense small group discussions. Then the small groups gave feedback to the big group. While the pace of the gathering was comfortable, before I knew it – it was over.
One of the last questions we responded to had to do with how we would take the One project to our homes and implement “Jesus. All.” in our context. Not surprisingly, there was a flurry of ideas that came in an unbroken stream. Ideas mentioned included: developing One project “curriculum,” distributing and streaming recordings of future One project gatherings, Twitter campaigns, Facebook groups, replicating the One project weekends all over the world, One project wikis, books, One project worship events, …
Yes, yes, YES! A conference room full ministry gurus-– undoubtedly, we could have been there batting ideas around for days. And while I am all for taking the One project to every nation, tribe and tongue, I was moved by and toward something different. Before I describe that let me be clear: I am all for “Jesus. All.” The One project growing and changing the world sounds like a great idea— but there was something else. An issue that was spoken to in our small groups, during meals, in hotel rooms, on flights, car trips, the lot. I’m referring to aloneness. At my table every person reflected explicitly or implicitly about how compelling the concept of, “Jesus.All.”, and at the same time would describe how exhausted they were by how much they were trying to get done, often by themselves.
As I left the One Project I wondered how this group of guys put this together. And like everyone else, I had some ideas of how to bring “Jesus. All.” home. And then – all of a sudden – BAM! It hit me. Denver. DENVER! Before the Atlanta gathering, before Finland, before the One Project website, before @The1Project was on Twitter, there was a group of men that gathered in Denver and dreamed, prayed, praised, cried maybe, and longed for Jesus to reign supreme in the church they loved.
Could it be before campaigning “Jesus. All.” at home we ought to take a few days and retreat with those people who will be by our sides? What if prior to sitting and planning the next evangelistic campaign we committed to not doing it alone? Maybe the One project would make a bigger difference in your home community if you committed to making sure 5 other people got it before you tried to convince 500. What if the One Project is supposed to result in many more Denver moments with few? I’m excited for the upcoming Seattle gathering -– don’t get me wrong -– but I’m hungry for my Denver moment.
- 2:58 am
The link above will tell you more about Rustin & Stacy Sweeney, but the gist of it is this:
God called them to take the good news of Jesus
and make it real
in a poor Atlanta neighborhood.
So they moved from their upscale community to a high-risk one across town. And Jesus has been doing amazing things there. In fact, their apartment ministry has been such a blessing to their neighbors that their apartment manager has asked Rustin and Stacy if they know anyone who would be willing to do what they’re doing at another apartment complex—-she would even provide the apartment for free!
So far, no missionary team has taken up the offer. In the words of Jesus: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.“
If you’re interested in answer Jesus’ call to bring His good news to this needy neighborhood, or in otherwise supporting this incarnational mission project, email me at kessiareyne@the1project.org
- 11:14 pm - Fri, Oct 21, 2011
The commission of Revelation 14 to us is just this: It is a relentless lifting up of Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It is a single-minded proclamation of Jesus as a Savior from sin, not in sin.
- 12:46 pm - Wed, Oct 19, 2011
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling,
fix your thoughts on Jesus,
the apostle and high priest whom we confess.
[hebrews3.1]
- 9:39 pm - Mon, Oct 10, 2011
- 4 notes
Jesus Tore Down Walls
:: by Terry Swenson
Why did they kill Jesus?
Have you ever really stopped to think about it? Wait a minute, don’t just jump to the theology. Think about the actuality of the event.
In the time and moment of the carrying out of Jesus’s capital punishment, why did they kill Him? Did the Romans crucify Him because of His claim to be the Messiah? I don’t think so. There were scores of individuals running around claiming that title to legitimize their quest for power. What struck fear in the controlling, calculating heart of Rome? What was it about Jesus that caused the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees (the Democrats and Tea Party Republicans of the day) to join forces in a united front to destroy an itinerant, penniless ex-carpenter? Add to this mixed up alliance of Gentiles and God’s people the half-breed, all-hated Herodians and you come up with an unheard of combination! What united them? Their hatred and fear of Jesus. Or rather, the teaching of Jesus that they realized would destroy them.
You see, it was perfectly clear to them that Jesus was tearing down the walls! And when you tear down walls you tear down division. When you tear down division you take away the power of the dividers and their weapon of choice—exclusion. The Romans built walls based on military and economic might. The Jews built walls of religiosity. The Herodians built walls of power positioning. And Jesus? Jesus kept going around and tearing down all of the walls! He tore down the walls between the religious “Do Rights” and the sinful “Done Wrongs.” He blew apart the walls between the money laden “Got It All’s” and poverty stricken “Got Nothin’ At All’s.” But then Jesus really went nuclear when he tore down the wall that dwarfed the Great Wall of China: Jesus demolished the ethnic-cultural-gender wall. Paul got the message loud and clear in Galatians 3:28 and 29:
In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises. (The Message Bible)
If Jesus’s Kingdom came into power with it’s no-walls policy it would spell the destruction of all other kingdoms and powers! EXACTLY the point! Take a “wall check” around you. Is the Christ Community that you are a part of building walls or tearing them down? In your relationships with others, are you throwing up walls? Are you expanding circles of inclusion like Jesus did? Or are you drawing “lines in the sand” of exclusion?
What did they have against Jesus? He tore down the walls. He set people free to be loved and Spirit-filled and empowered to be wall demolition experts that would tolerate nothing standing between others and Jesus! Isn’t it time to put down your bricks and mortar and let Jesus be the only power that fills and defines and guides your life?
