It was a story that only God could write. Ken and Anne have been able to rise from what looked like the ashes into His glorious light.

If Jesus were to personally ask you the question, "Who do you say I am?", what would your response be? Jesus took his disciples on a 25-30 mile field trip north to a specific place called Caesarea Philippi, pretty much just to ask them that question. In a world that has all kinds of different responses to the question "who do people say Jesus is?", the real question is "who do you say Jesus is?" Have you and I fallen victim to the modern mind-set that all roads, all paths lead to God? Do we feast at the table of modern-day pantheism, religious pluralism, picking and choosing from the various entrees and side-dishes offered on the buffet line of religion? Is Jesus one of many options to choose from? OR is Jesus and Jesus alone the way, the truth and the life? Is Jesus and Jesus alone our source? Is Jesus the only water that will truly satisfy? These are some deep questions that we all need to wrestle with. At the end of the day, at the end of days, it won't matter what people say, it will only matter what you say about Jesus. So what do you say? Who do you say Jesus is?

Long before the Great Commission, Jesus sent his disciples out on what I call a pre-Great Commission commissioning, or "short-term mission trip", in order to test the waters of ministry and prepare them for what lie ahead. Jesus knew that the lecture phase of their education in the safety of the classroom wouldn't be enough to prepare them for the difficult task which lie ahead, so he sent them out into the field for some much needed practical hands-on experience & training in ministry. Before they would be ready to take the message of Jesus to the world, he started them off where they were at, sending them out into "their" world. Jesus has a mission he is preparing us for as well. Jesus is our coach, our teacher, our rabbi, our guide. He accepts us where we are at, but beckons us into a deeper and more vibrant relationship with himself. He wants to use us to build his kingdom by preaching the gospel and healing the sick. He is sending us out into a hurting and dying world to shine his light. As we prepare for a weekend of doing just that with "From Hunger to Hope", let's be mindful of the mission God is sending us out on. Where is he calling us to go? Who is he calling us to love? Will we follow Jesus and leave the crowd or will we follow the crowd and leave Jesus? Our prayer is that RISING would be a church that is willing to follow and obey his call on our lives!

This past Sunday we began our Jesus Year 3 series as Jesus begins focusing more and more of his time and energy on his few remaining disciples. Time is limited and Jesus needs his true disciples to begin thinking differently. He needs them to change their minds, and to change the way they view non-Jews. He needs them to stop being so "dull". So what does Jesus do? He says "follow me" and he leads them down the Roman-build road from Galilee to Tyre & Sidon. He takes them out of their comfort zones and leads them someplace none of them, including himself, have probably ever been. And while in the region of Tyre & Sidon, Jesus attempts to teach them an important lesson about how he, the Messiah, is here to save all people, regardless of color, ethnicity, background, language, socioeconomic status, etc. The reality is Jesus accepts us where we are at, but he loves us too much to leave us there. He is always calling us deeper. He is always calling us into foreign, unknown territory. He is always leading us beyond the borders of safe, known, comfortable, as he calls us into a deeper and more vibrant relationship with himself. It took a long time, but the disciples eventually understood Jesus' heart for the lost, for all lost sheep, not just the lost sheep of Israel. What about us? Will we leave the crowd and follow Jesus into the unknown or will we leave Jesus, follow the crowd, and stay where we are?

If we're going to have the kind of marriages that God as our Heavenly Father intends for us to have, we have got to renew the way we view marriage and our spouses. God intended for us to be "one", to see each other as "one", to see the other as an extension of ourselves He created marriage to be a blessing and a gift, and it can only be that if we follow his instructions and guidelines. We need to be selfless and put the other's needs and interests ahead of our own. We need to be sacrificial. We need to lay down our lives. We need to train ourselves to have godly marriages. As husband and wife, we both need to actively pursue putting the other first. When we follow God's template, our marriages will get richer and richer, deeper and deeper, better and better, fuller and fuller. This is what God intended for you to mean when you said "I do!" So do you?

What are God's plans and intentions for our marriages when it comes to physical intimacy between husband and wife? As the Creator of sex, God designed sex to be far more than just physical. God designed sex to be physical intimacy. It is about husband and wife becoming one physically as an expression of their one-ness mentally, emotionally, socially, relationally, etc. Unfortunately, the Thief has stolen this gift God has given us, and has used it to cause a lot of pain, harm and destruction. Sex is a lot like fire. In the right context it is beautiful, warming and beneficial. In the wrong context it can quickly become dangerous, all-consuming, and deadly. The question is who are we listening to? Who do we trust? Are we trusting the Thief who comes only to steal, kill & destroy, or are we trusting our Heavenly Father who wants to give us life, and life to the full? If you missed this message, I would encourage you to watch it or listen to it online. As parents, we need to have a proper understanding of God's plans for sex so that we can help our kids. If we are married, we may need to rethink how we view the subject so that we can move towards health in this area of our lives. If we aren't married, why should we wait to open this special gift until we are married?

If you are married, what exactly did you say "I do" to, from God's perspective, when you got married? If you aren't married, but would like to be one day, what exactly does God want you to be saying "I do" to when you get married? If you aren't married and have no desire to be married, what does God desire for your family, friends & loved ones to mean when they say "I do"? As the Creator of marriage, what were God's original designs, plans & intentions for marriage? The reality is God gave marriage to us as a gift and blessing. Marriage was meant to benefit us, not hurt us. Unfortunately when we don't follow God's original plans, something which was created to be beautiful can often very quickly become ugly, painful, hurtful. We have to remember that God always wants the best for us. God's desire is to give us life, and life to the full. That means full life, abundant life, excessive life, more life, greater life in all aspects of life, including in our marriage. Unfortunately we also have an Enemy, the Thief who comes only to steal, kill and destroy. When you think about it this way, will we have marriages that overcome evil with good, or will our marriages be overcome by evil? If our marriages are going to overcome, we need to be "&" marriages where we see husband and wife as one. One body. One flesh. One substance. One. No longer two, but one. Not in competition with one another. Not adversaries and opponents each trying to get their way and prevail over the other. Not business partners or some other contractual relationship. Truly one, on the same team, fighting together as team-mates and soul-mates against the Enemy. This week, we were challenged to consider 3 hard questions: 1. Am I a blessing or a curse to my spouse? 2. Am I my spouse's team-mate or my spouse's opponent? 3. Do I have an "&" in my name. Take some time to evaluate yourself, not your spouse. How are you doing? What can you do to move in the direction of God's original plans, desires and intentions for your marriage?

We're asking 3 very good questions when it comes to discipleship.