What if....

This Christmas I received an iPod. It has been one of my favorite gifts I have ever gotten! One of my favorite things to do is subscribe to various podcasts and listen to them through out the week while I am cleaning or driving or whatever. There is one guy, Francis Chan (I have mentioned before) that just stands out above the rest right now. I love to hear what God is doing in their church and I love to hear his genuine heart for the Lord.
There is a continual phrase that he says in almost all his messages. He will teach on a certain passage or truth and then say "What if our church actually did what the word says...What if we actually do this?!" He will then tell the church about how they are actually going to implement this truth starting that day from...meeting for prayer during the week to stooping a particular activity or whatever. I know that may sound almost shallow or obvious but the question of "what if" always lingers on after I finish listening to his messages.
"What if..." The funny thing is that I don't think I ask that question enough! It sounds so obvious... "what if we actually did what the Word says?" ...like I should debate God's Word or something?...How many times, however, do we hear or read the Word of God and get up and go about our lives the same way? ...it is far to often for me! This question calls you to a state of action now! I love it!
Mark and I have been going through a weird time with our relationship with God. We have had more questions than answers but I really think we have felt closer to Him all together...kind of the footprints in the sand thing. But God has been challenging us to the "What if!". What if we really did trust God with our finances? What if we actually did love people that live in the same neighborhood as us? What if we did just follow God and obey Him regardless if it fits the mold or not? What if... I think we have finally stopped wrestling God and we are just going to do those "what if things". I will tell you, even though some of the things don't quite make sense, we are pretty excited!

For more about Francis Chan, he is the teaching pastor at Cornerstone Church in Semi Valley, CA http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/ you can get his podcast by putting his name in the iTunes search bar.