Student Invitation

Our visit to Washington, DC for the Awake East Coast conference was nothing short of spectacular.  Being around like-hearted believers stirs us to see even greater than we’ve seen before.  Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Being around wild believers who are passionate about seeing their college campuses transformed is fuel to the fire – spurring us toward love and good deeds.  Some believe these verses are meant to encourage us to have better behavior and stop being so rowdy.  When I reflect on the friendships I’ve had with believers who live to experience all God has called them to do and receive all that He has done, our conversations were dominated with testimonies, our lives flooded with miracles, and our time spent together was ministering to the sick and downtrodden.  Our very nature became supernatural because we constantly spurred one another towards love and good deeds. Good deeds/God's power without love are like a train without tracks.

During our time in DC, students from multiple campuses were planning what they could do to effectively see their campuses transformed. We were once students and experienced a movement on our campus.  We've worn a lot of hats.  So we asked ourselves, what do we love to do and how can we be an instrument of creative inspiration, reinforcement, encouragement, and sustainability with college students hungry for revival?  After much prayer and discussion, we arrived at the Mountaintop Experience.

It’s our desire to host students from college campuses around the nation and give them the opportunity to receive coaching, training and equipping in the beautiful environment of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Boone, NC.  We want to give students the opportunity to practice what they've learned and give them the experience they need to see God's power released on their campus.  You can't beat the setting and the family atmosphere.  If you are a college student, know a college student, or are about to become a college student, learn more, spread the word, and register to join us for one of the many weekends available.

We’ll see you on the mountain!

-Jonathan & Keeli Fawcett

Watchdogs and Hate Blogs

February 2014 was a whirlwind of travel.  One stop was Gastonia, NC where Keeli and I spoke at the Grace Upon Grace conference.  I began by reading a quote from John Crowder.  This quote is one of the most detoxing, myth busting, religious attitude killers I’ve ever heard.  So often, believers observe and mimic the patterns and habits of leaders in the church.  But the wonderful thing about maturing as a believer is that we don’t have to stick with those bad habits.  There is grace to move on and come to a fuller understanding of Jesus Christ’s finished work and your inclusion in that work. In today’s world of social media, skewed facts, hasty conclusions, and brutal attacks are prevalent.  In fact, one would conclude that most believers feel more called to be a watchdog or whistle-blower than a minister of the Gospel.  It’s a tendency developed by self-righteous living.  True discernment is not publicly calling out the faults of others, nor is it a gift to be abused by self-exaltation.  Discernment is a gift, like every gift, that should be operated from a place of love.

With that said, don’t be quick to get on a bandwagon of divisiveness, hate, slander, or libel towards other brothers and sisters in Christ because their church has activity you may not be familiar with, teaching you don’t agree with (or completely understand), or trends that are foreign.  I implore you: do not jump to conclusions without understanding the context.  Any “watchdog” can create a blog and spout off hate, create division, and be an instrument of confusion to the church and the world.  Nasty blogs tend to bind rather than create an allowance to enjoy God’s grace and freedom.

After speaking, Keeli and I teamed up with our friends, BJ and Lisa Sullivan, and had an opportunity to pray with an array of people.  It was one of the best times of prophetic ministry we have ever had.  The message of grace tends to free people from the idea that something else must be done in addition to Jesus' finished work.  The requests weren’t weird, strange, or off the wall.  The requests for prayer were real and honest.  No super spiritual conspiracy theories or deliverance from the yabba-dabba-doo spirit of Beebop and Rocksteady (Ninja Turtle reference!).  The Holy Spirit did amazing things, called people back to a place where they were fulfilling their call, began restoring marriages, and speaking His language of love to them.

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.  The quote that I read from John Crowder’s video “A New Language”.  May the words bring a newfound freedom into your life.

• I am not pressing in anymore.  I’ve been pressed into.
• I’m not contending anymore.  I’ve been contended for.
• I’m not a God chaser anymore.  He moves way too fast.  He chased me down, roped and hog-tied me, bagged and dragged me.
• I’m not seeking God anymore.  He found me.
• I’m not even drawing close to God.  We’re not getting closer.  We are in union.  We are Siamese twins.
• You will never hear me say anything about overcoming the flesh.  The fleshly nature was circumcised away.
• You will never hear me say anything about killing the old man.  The old man has been co-crucified with Christ.
• Some people say, “You’re only human.” I’m not.  I’m a new creation.
• Some people say, “Well, nobody’s perfect.” I am.  Unless you think Christ was incompetent on the cross.
• Some people say, “Well, we’re all sinners.” What Bible verse is that?  As a matter of fact, John says if you continue in sin, you’re a child of the devil.
• I don’t talk about dry times.  I don’t talk about dark nights of the soul.  I’m done with dessert theology.
• I’m not asking Him to purify my heart.  He gave me a new one.
• I’m not asking Him to open the heavens.  The veil of His flesh was torn and all of heaven was open with it.
• I’m not asking Him to take me into the holy of holies.  That’s where I’m seated right now.
• I don’t pump people up into intercession.  I think He’s done an adequate job of it.
• I don’t pump people up into fasting.  He fasted so that I could feast.
• I don’t pump people up into godly sorrow.  He was a man of sorrow so we could be a people of joy.
• I don’t overemphasize confession.  It’s just admitting your sins to see that they’re already forgiven.
• I don’t overemphasize my faith.  It’s His faith that saved me.
• I don’t overemphasize repentance.  It’s a fruit of salvation, not the price tag to buy it.
• I don’t talk about insiders or outsiders.  I don’t talk about saved or unsaved.  I don’t talk about good or evil.  I don’t talk about yin and yang.  I don’t talk about good cop-bad cop.  I’m just talking about Jesus and His inclusion of all humanity on the cross.  And I don’t talk about forgiven or unforgiven.  The only distinction is believer or unbeliever.  The Gospel changes everything… The scandal of grace.

To watch the entire video, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e25DSxQcp7Q

Jonathan Fawcett

Brutally Honest Love

One of the greatest joys of being a husband is boasting about my wife.  My favorite preacher on the planet is my bride.  Keeli boldly goes where few dare.  This isn’t just when she ministers to hundreds at a time, but she also demonstrates valiant boldness when speaking to individuals.  Most of the time, I’m thinking, “I wouldn’t say that to someone.” She can be brutally honest and simultaneously loving.  She has made I Corinthians 13 a reality… Especially the passage that states, “Love rejoices in the truth.” In the moments Keeli speaks the truth of God’s love to people, I begin to see how selfless love is.  Knowing the truth and holding it from others is an instrument of control and manipulation.  Unfortunately, we see this in the church at an uncomfortable level.  Imagine being invited to speak at a church and being told, right before you begin, not to mention the Holy Spirit because some might see Him as controversial or divisive (even though He is the key to unity).

How selfish it is for someone to have experienced the healing power of God and not offer it to those in pain?  How selfish is it to know the benefits of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and not teach it?  How selfish is it to build a ministry based on a preacher’s closeness with God rather than helping bring others to the realization that Jesus has already closed in on us?  How selfish is it to know Jesus' limitless love and not shout it from the rooftops?  Each time Keeli teaches people how to hear the voice of God, leads them to Jesus or in the baptism of the Spirit, or releases the healing power of God into their bodies, I see how unselfish she is.  When I hear others say, “Why haven’t I heard about this before?” I realize just how fearless my wife is because of the boldness she has received from the Holy Spirit.

Since the moment I fell in love with Keeli, I felt it was my duty to make sure she was able to fulfill her call to preach the Gospel each time the door opened.  We were married and opportunities followed.  She was invited on multiple occasions to address crowds with the Gospel.  To my shock and awe, she declined.  I asked her why she didn’t go and this was her response:

“I married you so we could go together.”

The opportunities didn’t end there.  We still get invited to speak but we never fly solo.  We believe there is something that has been missing from the message being preached.  Crowds of hundreds or thousands of people cannot compare to the best ministry life has to offer: family.  In the words of Keeli, “We always go together.” As my wife forfeited opportunities to travel abroad to do what she loves to do, she remained with her family, waiting for the opportunities to do the very thing we love to do more than anything – together as a family.

-Jonathan Fawcett

Image

Image: a physical likeness or representation of a person. A little girl twirls, dances, dresses up and takes care of her baby dolls.  She runs to the mirror as soon as she puts her tutu and hat on to see how beautiful she is.  In that moment the reflection she sees is not simply her but Jesus in her.  Childlike faith allows the little girl to see the beauty in her eyes and how she was so perfectly made.  As time goes on we so easily forget those reflections we once saw and we begin the search for imperfections in our own life.  The mirror once brought joy but as time goes by we so often allow the mirror to pinpoint the frizz in our hair or the blemish on our chin.

This way of life is contradictory to the heart of Jesus.  The more time we spend with someone the more we replicate them.  Watch a teenage girl find a new group of friends in middle school and in no time you will notice her buying the same brands and wearing the same makeup as her “best” friends.  It is a natural development that we take on the look and personality of those around us.

There is no question that Anneli is mine and Jonathan’s little girl.  Not only does she look like us but she acts like us.  Her dad plays the guitar so she plays the guitar.  Her dad loves chocolate so she loves chocolate.  Her dad hangs his sunglasses on the collar of his shirt so she hangs her sunglasses on her shirt.  The examples go on and on.  She spends time with us therefore she is like us.

Being made in God’s image not only means that we look like Him but we also act like Him.  There is no denying that we are Anneli’s parents and there should be no denying that we are God’s children.

I believe when the enemy looks at us he sees Jesus because we were made in His image.  We may not have the same skin color or hair color as Jesus but we are a representation of Him on earth.

Anneli has been saturated in the practice of God’s presence.  When we pray, she folds her hands.  If we ask her if she wants to pray, she never says, “No.” If she needs prayer, she will grab one of our hands and put it on her head.  When we worship, she worships.  When music plays, she lifts her hands and dances.  When someone sings, she sings.  When someone plays an instrument, she wants her little uke to play with them.  When someone needs healing, she will pray for them and they get well.  Your ministry is your family.  Your mission field is your address.  What happens behind the walls of your home will change the lives of countless people outside of your home through your children.  Your love is not a face you put on for your church gatherings.  It is a genuine manifestation that thrives and overflows from family.  Before you show the image of God to the nations, be like Jesus in your living room.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” --Genesis 1:26-28, NIV

-Keeli & Jonathan Fawcett

Lessons From Santa

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… The Christmas season is always the most exciting, joyous time of the year to me.  I love everything from the cheesy Christmas movies to baking Christmas cookies.  I grew up with parents who thrive during Christmas.  Their house always looked like Macy’s with all the elaborate decorations.  Anneli’s favorite decoration has been the bigger than life size snowman on Papaw and Gammy’s porch.  As soon as we turn into their driveway, she screams, “MAN!” (Snowman). However, one of the most controversial parts of Christmas is Santa… but I know that he is real!

A few weeks ago, Jonathan, Anneli, and I went with my parents to see the play Twas the night before Christmas.  It was during that play that I realized just how good Santa is.  When things seemed impossible, he came through.  Why is it that we can spend part of the year teaching our children about a man named Santa who brings them good gifts and anticipate his arrival yet much of the church teaches every week that there is a man named Jesus who died whom we must suffer as a sacrifice for to bring Him glory?  The church has been teaching that if Jesus wills He will bring healing, deliverance, blessing (which, to many, is a 50/50 chance dependent on your good behavior rather than His grace and finished work).  According to many church teachings, Santa sounds way better than Jesus.

The truth is, God is a good God.  If our children can understand that the heart of giving and Santa is not based on what we do or not do we can truly receive every good and perfect gift the Lord has set before us.  Jesus made the perfect sacrifice once and for all on the cross.   His will is always for you to be healed and blessed.  He is the king of kings who is alive and well today.  As a believer, He is our Daddy and we have a magnificent inheritance that is for us to receive right now.  When the disciples asked how to pray, Jesus’ response was, “on earth as it is in heaven.”  Will we see lack, depression and sickness in heaven?  No.  So let it be known that unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

I pray this Christmas season, you realize you no longer have to run after God but He has already chased you down.  He has more gifts than you could ever imagine receiving.  He loves you because He loves you.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Keeli Fawcett

It's Been a Long Time... Then Texas

It has been a few weeks since the last blog post and I apologize for the delay.  Among other things, I was sent to Austin, TX for ten days in response to the floods that affected the community.  I was sent to train volunteers on a new computer system that the organization I work for launched and, before that, I was beta testing, training, and creating training materials for those involved.  But here we are. While in Texas, I was up before 6:30am and down after 11pm.  I shared a room with a fellow employee in a Sunday school room at the Baptist church that opened its doors to us.  During a disaster response deployment, one meets the most selfless people on the planet.  They take vacation time and travel (on their own dime) to volunteer in the country’s most devastated areas.  Floods, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes… They prepare the way for these compassionate volunteers who are there for one main reason: to show people the love of Jesus Christ by cleaning up their home.  There is something to be learned by them.  Having worked for the organization for three years, this was my first deployment to a disaster.  Although I never enjoy leaving Anneli and Keeli behind, I gained perspective I otherwise would not have.

A camera lens cannot capture the smell, the feel, and the enveloping sensation of being at ground zero like being there can.  Each homeowner helped receives a Bible signed by the volunteers.  I was given the honor of presenting the Bible to the Austin family.  They were on their honeymoon when the floods happened and returned to see the first floor of their home destroyed.  They had been married for ten days when I first met them.  I was also given the opportunity to lead devotions for the volunteers.  The day before I left, one of the church members let me pray for his shoulder.  After we prayed, I asked him how his shoulder felt.  He said it felt great and that he couldn’t hold his arms out like he now could before we prayed.

In my absence from North Carolina, Keeli gathered with believers from UNC-Wilmington and Appalachian State University.  Our desire is to know the hungry, the passionate, the laid down lovers of Jesus.  The following Tuesday, we met at a house near campus where these students worshipped, prayed, and ministered to one another.  Keeli led the students in a prayer to receive the baptism of fire.  I love testimonies of the Lord’s power but I am anticipating greater than we have ever seen.

We often wondered why we didn’t feel the unction to reinstate Something More School of Ministry this year.  Now, we know why.  If we had, we wouldn’t have encountered these students who gather weekly the same night the school would have met.  Pray for these students.  They realize the campus, the community, and their classrooms are mission fields ripe for receiving the love of Jesus.

Jonathan Fawcett 

The Ox and Chihuahua

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”--2 Corinthians 6:14, NKJV

Jonathan and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary!  He surprised me at work with lunch (I thought he was the UPS man so I ignored him initially), he tidied up the home, bought me roses, took me to dinner and the list goes on.  I am very blessed and thankful for the man I get to spend everyday with.  How did I end up with such a good guy?  I trusted God and I did not waiver on what I wanted to do in life.  I did not melt at the first guy who told me I was the “one” or that I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  Honestly, words can be cheap.  All it takes is one chick flick for a guy to know what to say.  Jonathan tells me I am beautiful several times a day and it still makes my heart flutter but he does not stop there.  He calls me for who God calls me.  He does not just see me on the surface but he recognizes the purpose I was created for and the dreams I long to become a reality.  He encourages my passions and works to provide and take care of our home.  Above honoring me, he honors God.  I fell in love with the man I could dream with.  When I talk about seeing entire nations come to know Jesus or providing clean water for everyone in the world he dreams with me to see those things become possible.  We plan to be millionaires by the time we are 30 and we know we will be. Our Daddy is the King.  Therefore, our inheritance is the world!

Growing up, when I would hear the Scripture about not being unequally yoked, I instantly thought of eggs.  It was several years before I began to understand the context.  I was not sure what chickens or breakfast had to do with a relationship.  However a good tip for the ladies: Always have the ingredients for chocolate chip pancakes on hand.  Those provide awesome wife-points when made!

Thankfully, at this point in life, I now understand what this scripture is referring to.   Just in case you are still unsure let me help.

Yoke – A device for joining together a pair of draft animals, especially oxen, usually consisting of a crosspiece with two bow-shaped pieces, each enclosing the head of an animal.

(It has nothing to do with eggs.)

Basically you need to be able to run together and walk together.  Now when I hear the scripture about not being unequally yoked I imagine two strong oxen joined together, walking side by side, doing their job efficiently.  Now imagine if you joined a Chihuahua to an ox…the ox would either stand still (highly unlikely) or the little dog would be pummeled and ran into the ground.  The little dog would never be able to keep up.  You should never consider dating someone you couldn’t agree with and walk out life together.

A relationship should be exciting and fun to dream about the things you can do as one, as well as dream about all the places you can go together.  I can assure you, it is worth waiting for.  Jonathan and I keep a Dr. Seuss notebook of “Oh The Places You’ll Go.”   We record the things we dream of doing in life and we love when we have accomplished something in our dream book.

We were created to enjoy life in abundance.  So ladies: Do not marry a little boy but get yourself a man who you dream with.  Gentlemen: get yourself a woman who already knows she is beautiful by which you can affirm that in her.

Enjoy life,

Keeli

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

--John 10:10, NKJV

Anniversary

July 31, 2010 was the day Keeli and I were married.  It was a good day.  It was a great day.  But not the best day.  Everything ran smoothly, the ceremony was powerful, the music was perfect, and the bride was beautiful.  Yes, it will be a day that we celebrate.  But a wedding doesn't make a marriage.  The best is not behind us.  The best is today.  And it will be surpassed by tomorrow.  The sacrament of marriage is a necessary glory to step into in order to step up to the next glory.  One of our favorite pastimes is remembering how Jesus rescued us by closing certain doors, promoting us by opening new ones, and directing our steps to see our family equipped to prosper.  When our family advances, the kingdom advances.  Our wedding was one day we will always cherish.  But it will never measure to the lifetime we will spend together, continually falling in love with one another. A celebration of matrimony is like heaven: all the people you love is in one room together, sharing in the joyous occasion.  But we have made many great friends since our wedding day.  We wish there was a way they could have been there to celebrate our union with us.  So I created this... Enjoy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_v8QIaUlgM&w=640&h=360]

Jonathan Fawcett

Miracle of Marriage

One of the greatest joys, honors, and blessings in my life is family.  Keeli and I were married on July 31, 2010.  I can’t give you a formula for falling in love, but I can give you some insight from my own experience.  First, I didn’t just fall in love and stay down.  I fall in love every day I wake up.  Marriage is a miracle – a cycle of bliss that gets better and better. How many weddings have you been to where you heard, “In sickness and in health,” or, “For better or for worse,” and maybe even, “For richer or poorer,” in the vows?  You may have even said these in your own wedding vows.  But are these Biblical to speak over your marriage?  If the power of life and death are in the tongue, why would you speak sickness, poverty, or worse over your future?  Why would you declare an expectation of those things over the future of the person you love the most?

If you are married and guilty of speaking vows like this, it doesn’t necessarily mean your marriage is doomed.  Repentance is simply changing your mind.  We have the mind of Christ and His mind is not on sickness or poverty for His bride.  Many are offended at the Gospel (aka the “too good to be true news”).  Health and wealth are in heaven.  Jesus wanted to bring heaven to earth.  But those things are obtained when we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Vows often reflect what a bride and groom expect for their future.  Sickness is not in the kingdom of God.  Poverty is not in the kingdom of God.  Worse is not in the kingdom of God.  Jesus would never speak an expectation of sickness over His bride.  Money fights end most marriages.  Sickness steals joy from marriages.  We wanted our marriage to be one where we are seeking the kingdom of God in agreement together.

Keeli and I wrote our own vows.  We stood at the altar and continue to stand on the promise that Jesus is taking us from glory to glory.  Renewed minds begin to think in these terms: Health and healthier, wealth and wealthier, better and better-er.  Not because of our works but because of His finished work on the cross.  He is the Solution who brings solutions.  He is the Creator who brings creative ideas.  He is the answer, the source, and the grace to accomplish anything.

Since we said “I do”, many may believe that we dropped off the face of the earth and don’t pay much attention to the outside world.  I, personally, thrive in an atmosphere of people, conversation, and diversity.  But at the end of the day, I can’t get home fast enough.  I just can’t wait to see the most beautiful face I ever laid eyes on.  It’s hard to leave her in the mornings but it’s a joy when I get home.  Even the most mundane and painstaking tasks are enjoyable because of the company of my best friend.

One of my favorite things to do with Keeli is dream with her.  It keeps the best in front of us.  We keep a book of dreams, visions, and plans for the future.  We have already checked a few items from that list.  We take the steps to see those dreams become reality.  How many realists do you know who see miracles, healing, signs, and wonders on a regular basis?  I am not in denial that bad things happen.  We are believers in Love Himself.  True Love will take you from glory to glory.

Jonathan Fawcett

Bathroom Breakthrough: Puppets Can't Subdue Tyranny... You Can

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKyU17b4DbQ&w=640&h=360] There is a term that is used loosely and innocently by many in the church.  The intentions of this phrase is good but it slightly misrepresents the truth of who God is, who we are, and the state of the world.  In fact, most believers, at some point in their life are guilty of saying it at some point or another.  It is a phrase used to bring comfort and assists in the justification of why bad things happen.  However, one must understand that God's will is not everything that happens and everything that happens is not God's will.  The phrase I am referring to is: God is in control.

When God made Adam and Eve, He did not create puppets.  God is not a puppet on a string.  Therefore, He could not truly create anyone in His image if they were under control.  Instead, He gave dominion to mankind (Genesis 1:26-28).  Psalms 115:16 states that the heavens belong to the Lord but the earth He has given to man.  But we do not have control over the earth.  We simply have what Jesus gave: authority.

There is a major difference between authority and control.  If God is in control, why is there racism?  Why is there war or terror?  Why is there murder and rape?  Why is there human trafficking?  Why are there natural disasters wiping out entire cities?  Why is anybody sick?  God is either in control and mad, or we are co-heirs and seated in heavenly realms with Him operating in His authority, and He is madly in love with the entire world.

I Timothy 2:4 and II Peter 3:9 tell us that it is God's will that all be saved and come to the knowledge of salvation.  The entire world was chosen, elected, and predestined to be in Christ.  However, we know that many reject His love and the knowledge of His salvation.  It still does not remove their inclusion in the finished work of the cross or mean that they were chosen by God not to be saved.  It just means they simply choose to reject.

When we walk in the authority of Christ, sickness becomes extinct, solutions come easy, divine inspiration and creativity change nations for good, poverty becomes a thing of the past, the hungry are fed, the lonely are loved, and the orphans and widows are taken good care of.  Heaven on earth is a utopia.  We can know God's will when we look at Jesus.  We can see what isn't God's will when we look at the absence of His authority.  But now, there is no absence of authority for the believer whose goal is God's kingdom on earth.

Jonathan Fawcett

Bathroom Breakthrough: I Like Big Buts

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY3ZGckmtt8]That's right!  Big buts!  When millions stop short with I Corinthians 2:9, Paul was bold enough in verse 10 to say, "But God".  That is a very big but and utterly destroys every excuse for not understanding the mysteries of God.  Jesus has revealed the mysteries of the universe by His Holy Spirit.  The beauty in hearing God's voice is that it requires us to be teachable.  It took time for me to arrive to the realization that Christ already accomplished what I was trying to in my own efforts.  To quote two statuses from this past week's Facebook activity:

"Who is guilty of using the phrase "standing in the gap"? I'm raising my hand. NEWSFLASH: There is no gap! Jesus is closer to you than you are to you. Gap: closed. Old Covenant vernacular: over. When we remain teachable, the Good News continues to get better and better because we can look back on the silly things we once believed and be glad that Jesus didn't keep a secret. Only people can take the upfront truth of God's grace and twist it to require more of our effort. With that said, if we continue to believe in our striving, the only gap remaining is the one between our ears and the one where our teeth get knocked out by the self-inflicted beating that accompanies religion."

And...

"Repent of your constant repentance! Even though the platform of some ministries is to get people to repent, the question is- of what?! The word "repent" means to change your mind. When you received the mind of Christ, your days of crying out in repentance were over!"

In other words, because of your union with Christ, you now have the mind of Christ.  His thoughts have become your thoughts and His ways have become your ways.  The mind of Christ does not need to be changed.  We are continually being made in the image of God.  We already are!  Your moments of denial are just the nature of the old, dead, zombie - the person you once were who was co-crucified, co-buried, and c0-raised.  You deserved hell and death.  But God... He made you a new creature - one that can never be separated from Him.  That old, sick, crippled zombie stayed buried.  The new you was raised in perfect union with Christ.

Don't let repentance and ritualistic religion (no matter how charismatic it might seem) keep you from experiencing the freedom of the rest that accompanies His grace.

Jonathan Fawcett

Jesus the Matchmaker

Springtime means one thing for many couples… It's time to plan a wedding.  What happens if all the details don't fall into place?  What if the pieces don't fall into place where you want them to?  Maybe Plan B was God's original intention.  I want to share with you how God works all things together for good. One of my best friends (also named Jonathan) was getting married to his fiancée, Nikki. Jonathan was a roommate in college.  I wish I kept a book of quotes because every word out of his mouth has the power to drive away boredom and the blues.  I've never laughed so hard as I did with Jonathan.  We continually discover that Nikki is a great catch for Jonathan.  She is well rounded, very talented, and can do almost anything.  It's wonderful when you can celebrate the spouse your friend marries.

Jonathan had asked me to be a groomsman in his wedding.  I was honored but, unfortunately, I had to decline.  Our friends had been planning a conference for many months that we had committed to.  It was scheduled right in the middle of the wedding.  I was conflicted and didn't want to hurt my friend.

Months passed and the conference was cancelled.  Thankfully, we were able to attend the wedding but I was not going to be a groomsman.  Jonathan had found a replacement but I was happy to be able to celebrate with them as they were wed.

Over a year after Jonathan and Nikki had been married, we met up with them.  They were telling us about their two friends who were getting married.  One was a bridesmaid in their wedding.  The other was a groomsman…The same groomsman who filled my space!  They met at the wedding, fell in love, and tied the knot a few months later!

Had I been a groomsman, they may have never met.  For months, I had felt bad for declining the invitation to be in the wedding party.  That is, until I found how Jesus turned it around for the benefit of a man who met his wife.  Sometimes, Plan B was actually Plan A all along.

If you're planning a wedding, my encouragement to you: Don't sweat the details. Don't lose sleep. Press in and pray.  God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). That means you!

Jonathan Fawcett

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