BLOG RESURRECTION II

So this “BLOG RESURRECTION II” was not my New Year’s resolution. So, maybe it will stick? We’ll see. But I do have a lot of things to keep you (whoever “you” may be) updated on. My life is about to be pretty different than it has been recently thus I feel the need for this second installment of the BLOG RESURRECTION.

So, right now it is 8:05am. I have been up for about an hour and have had one cup of coffee. Feeling really good about today already. Tonight is Rush Hour and FUEL at LifePoint Church and I can’t wait to see all the kids that show up. I pray that the Lord would draw a ton of them to Himself tonight. That would be cool. I believe it will happen.

SO YEA. I’ll be talking to you soon.

The Artist’s Life

“Are you a born writer? Were you put on the Earth to be painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action.

Do it or don’t do it.

It may help you to think of it this way. If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don’t do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.

You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter farther along its path back to God.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. Its a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.”

from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Text Message Devotional

As of about 3 weeks ago I started this fresh new way to do my quiet time that helps keep me and my closest bros accountable to getting in the Word. Here’s a few scenarios that show how it works.

I wake up in the morning. Grab my Bible (or hit up this place) and flip to the selected chapter of the day (today was Galatians 5. Yesterday was Galatians 4. Tomorrow is Galatians 6. You get it). I read the chapter and pick out certain verses that resonate with me and really speak to me. Then I grab my phone and start a new text message to my four close accountability dudes. In the text message (or 2 or 3) I will respond to the text with something like…

“I love Galations 5:1. We should be so thankful for the freedom that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. He has redeemed us out from under the law that we could experience true and abundant life by His Spirit. I also love Galatians 5:16. This verse should encourage us to seek the Spirit in order for us to be able to deny the desires of ourselves and accept the desires of our Father. Let’s make sure we do that today. Say YES to our Father and NO to ourselves.”

The format is to just pick out a few key verses and tell why they speak to you, and then have a short challenge at the end of the text message for each person to impliment into their life that day.

Another scenario… I wake up late for work. I have to hurry and shower and get ready and get out the door (notice the quiet time skippage). I get 4 texts on the way to work from the guys with their key verses and challenges for the day. I obviously cannot forget to do my quiet time because I have been confronted with the fact that my 4 accountability dudes have already done theirs and I am the only person that has not. BUT say I am stubborn or ridiculously busy and go on without spending time in the Word… I should get a text from one or more of the guys shortly after lunch or sometime in the afternoon asking me why I did not send my verses.

An accountability factor is huge sometimes when it comes to doing a quiet time. Sometimes its just easy to justify not spending time with a God you cannot see. I have found that taking necessary steps (i.e. text message devotional) is a tremendous push to get you into the Word and spending time with your Saviour. I sometimes ask myself when I just don’t feel like reading or praying.. “Scott, how many times do you get up in the morning and read the Word and pour your heart to your God and still wish you were laying in bed?”

The obvious answer is never.

Time with our Saviour is priceless.

Summer Update #1

I know I said I would try to update this thing a few times a week, but I have totally been forgetting/extremely busy. For all you older people with “real” jobs out there this is going to sound lame.. but working full time, like the real deal 8-5 5 day a week thing is hard! Geez, I feel like I work all the time, but I love it. For one it is keeping me busy and definitely plugging me further and further into our church. Also, I have been loving waking up at 7 o’clock and enjoying a nice long day instead of waking up at 12 or 1 and only seeing part of it. It’s like I am living twice as long! So its kind of late now and I am going to head to bed, but I am going to outline a few things that I want to write about this week. Hopefully me doing this will keep me accountable to do it.

They are: text message devotional, “I See The Poor”, the morning of 6-7-09, journaling, Camp Whatever 09, and A day in the life of Scott Mills (hopefully complete with a time warped video of my day).

xoxo

That Time of Year

Graduation is in the air! Which for me means absolutely nothing at all as far as academia goes, BUT means a great deal as far as my job at LifePoint goes. This Sunday is Senior Recognition Sunday where we recognize all the graduating seniors in front of our church family during our Sunday worship times. The exciting part for me is that I will be leading our Worship in the Auditorium in the 9 o’clock and 10:45 hours. If you are having deja vu right now it may be because of this post.

I loved it last year and I am sure I will love it even more this year! Can’t wait until Sunday!

Lurv.

Today I Am…

-wondering when I will get my driver’s lisence back.

-reading A Little Exercise for Young Theologians.

-singing.

-eating at Toots (duh, it’s Wednesday!)

-writing thank you notes.

-leading students in worship here.

-playing Halo 3 on XBOX live with Canaan.

-sleeping.

Blog Resurrection

Exciting times are coming! I am about to start my summer adventure of working full time at LifePoint Church! Many of you reading this know about this because of the support letter that I sent out to you. For those of you who don’t know what’s up I will give you a quick run down.

-I have been given an opportunity to work full time with the LifePoint Students Ministry team this summer.

-I will still continue to lead worship for our student services throughout the summer, but instead of working part time in the offices I will work full time.

-I am already bent of working my butt off this summer and believing on God for him to do some BIG DADDY things in my life. I want to be a sponge this summer as I soak up everything I can from my pastor and the rest of the all stars here at LifePoint.

So as far as the title of this post goes… I will be resurrecting this blog so that you all can keep up with me on this journey. I am going to post a schedule very soon that will outline different things I will write about each day. Please check back regularly so you can know what is going on in my life and how to pray for me. I can promise you this: you will not be dissapointed!

Love.

This I Believe: The Scott Mills’ Creed

I wrote a paper for my Judaism, Christianity, and Islam class recently and here it is.

This I Believe: The Scott Mills’ Creed

My heart beats for one central belief. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:2 (Message) “I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.” My heart echoes with Paul’s. Jesus is enough for me, and my total and complete faith in him defines my life and my beliefs, my morality and my ethics. “Jesus and who he is” is the God Man walking and talking and ministering on this Earth. I believe if Jesus is reduced to anything less than this than he is a liar, not a good teacher. Jesus claimed to be God of the universe, and if he is not that he is a lunatic, not someone we can learn from. “Jesus and what he did” is his salvific atonement for the inherent separation of people from God. His death buried my sin and my shame forever and his life added to me his righteousness in the sight of the Father, El Shaddai, God Almighty. Martin Luther referred to Jesus’ crucifixion as “The Great Exchange.” Jesus took my death and I received His life. This is why He cried out and asked God why He had forsaken him. In that moment, in that exchange, he carried the weight of the sin of the world and for the first time felt the separation from His Father. I received Jesus’ life when He rose and ascended to Heaven free from sin and having conquered evil’s greatest power, death itself. Sin and death now has no power of me and I am clothed in the freedom of Jesus’ cross.
My thoughts and beliefs about Jesus completely effect how my life is defined. Jesus said for me to love the Lord God with all that I have. That shows me how to relate to God. Jesus said for me to love my neighbor as myself. That shows me how to relate to people. Taking both of these commandments to heart and putting them into action results in a life that is pleasing to God. I believe many of the commandments in the Old Testament Jewish law are “old hat” and in no way culturally relevant to a post modern Church. However, I do not forsake the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses. I believe these 10 commandments are in my DNA as a Christ follower. These commands flow out of my life as I love God and love people. If I am loving my neighbor, more clearly defined as every person I come in to contract with, as myself then I cannot murder them or steal from them. If I am loving God with everything that is within me then I cannot place an idol before Him.
My culture calls what I believe Christianity. I look around and feel ashamed to call it that sometimes knowing that what I believe is so different than what many Christians believe. I define myself as a follower of Jesus Christ. I live by his ways and am found in Him.

Mega God

Tonight at LifePoint Church I am leading worship in three services. The title of this blog says it all. Here are the set lists.

Direct Connect (MS) / CRAVE (HS)

Marvelous Light – Charlie Hall

Glorified – Jared Anderson

Beautiful One – Tim Hughes

–Baptism Celebration–

Rescue – Desperation Band

Our God Saves – Paul Baloche

COLLEGE SERVICE

Salvation Is Here – Hillsong United

God Has Come – New Life Worship

O Praise Him – David Crowder

Beautiful the Blood – FEE

Yahweh – New Life Worship

Tonight is gonna be MEGA GOD!

Crazy Love: A Revelation

I have been reading Francis Chan’s Crazy Love for the last week-ish, and today I came across this quote from A.W. Tozer at the beginning of of Chan’s Ch.6 “When You’re In Love”…

“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”

When I find myself loving everything else except Jesus, I want this to be my prayer. It says everything I have ever wanted to say.