Where is Your Treasure, Your Heart?

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

What does love your neighbor as yourself mean? One church in California thinks it means that you spend the same amount of money on your neighbors as you spend on yourself. Even to the point of not building a new building, but meeting outside in a park and using the money to be Jesus to their neighbors.



What do you think?

John Butler Trio

A friend showed me this over the weekend. Enjoy. Ignore the freakishly long finger nails-if you can!

which brings up a point, those fingernails are really weird. I'm serious, they are gross. I do not like them at all. If he was a friend of mine i would probably tease him about them.

But without them, he couldn't play the guitar the way he does. Without them, he couldn't create and share such beautiful music.

This is a further reminder to me that we all are different... and we can sometimes quickly point out the differences with a negative eye, dismiss them, judge them, and never understand them, enjoy them or celebrate because of them.

Just a thought...

Bugs the Bunny -revisited

Remember the bunny marked for death living with the python?

Well, guess who has a new classroom pet...









Now, what do you name it?
Daniel-saved from the Lion's den?
Peter-cottontail?
Mr. Bunny Foo Foo?

What are your ideas?

New Series at HPF

The series we're doing for the next quarter is going to focus on how Jesus used the psalms. How he quotes them over and over.

Hence the title of the Series: What's on Jesus' ipod?

We are using modern songs with title's that convey the message, as an example-Next week is "Who'll stop the Rain?" and we will be discussing how Jesus stopped the storm.

so check out whatsonjesusipod.org.

We look forward to exploring how Jesus used songs, hymns and spiritual songs, and how we can too.

Lessons from Bugs -the grey bunny

I gained some insights from a grey bunny, not an animated version, but a really cute fluffy bunny that looks similar to this:

You might ask how could such a tiny fluffy thing could grab my brain and not let go.

The answer is CONTEXT.

I walked into my friends garage (on the way into the house to watch my superbowl dreams get flushed away--11 years without a playoff win, arrrrrrrrgh-i still love you Romo and Jessica) and see the most adorable rabbit in a terrarium. My heart melted a little... but something wasn't right.

Because he wasn't alone, and this was, in fact, NOT his home-the context changes because even though Bugs is living there right now, its really a burmese python's home.

I told my friend, "That's a poor bunny, living so close to death..."

He replied, "Yeah, he's been in there for 48 hours, but he's starting to seem at home."

That's when it hit me-I'm a poor bunny.

Why do we allow ourselves to get comfortable with the very things that can kill and destroy us?

Do we realize how close we are to the end? Do we realize the danger we're in?

For some it could be drugs/alcohol, sex, pornography, food, credit cards, debt... For others it could even be positive things that we put out of order, or first in our lives: family, church, work, ourselves.

God, teach me to love you even deeper, I don't want to settle. Keep me from the real death, separation from you. You are first, you are last, you are everything.

Have you ever felt like i do-have you felt similar to this bunny? I also know that one could draw many different lessons from this experience-what comes to your mind?

Forget the Mullet... Fear the Flat Top

If you spend time around Paul Lee this week you might hear, "Marc thought of this."

I'm okay with this, i do have plenty of ideas-good and bad alike, and i don't mind being mocked.

But only by someone who can rock the flat top.



Anyone who can ride a style from 50 years ago into a new millennium deserves some sort of reward or recognition. No matter what, he has earned the right to say and do whatever he wants. Much like Chuck Norris, Paul Lee does as he pleases.

Sadly, Paul has changed his hair style, i will deeply miss the HPF drill sergeant, not only was it stylish, it was functional. But even though its gone, its not forgotten.

Fear the Flat Top.

Live on $2/day?

Some thoughts have been running through my mind today, and its all Francis Chan's fault! (check out the link on the right labeled "Strong, Relevant Messenger")

We, Americans, are rich. We don't realize sometimes that we are, but the majority of the people on this earth (53%) earn less than $2.00 a day. We, however, make 100 times that, but still fool ourselves into thinking that we are not rich. We are... period. And we get a lot of security from it-food, shelter, transportation.

Give us today our daily bread.

I was pretty content with my understanding of Matthew 6:11- on a shallow level:

Sure thing, give me what i need. whatever it is, just give it to me, green lights, good radio stations, boss to be in a good mood, you know...the things that i need.

Its so much bigger than that. Do i need God more than i need anything else? Money? House? Spouse? Acceptance? Food?

What do i really depend on?

Do i depend on God for my very life, for the things that actually sustain me?

How great it would be if i was more than "lukewarm." That i could be like Zacchaeus in Luke 19, and actually get "it."

Do i give to a point where it's a necessity to depend on God for the food i eat each day? Why don't I? Do i not believe that he will care for me?

How hard it is for an american (rich man) to enter the Kingdom of God.

How easy would it be to hear the same words spoken to the church in Laodicea spoken to the church in America:

"You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."

i would rather hear what Jesus says to Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to this house."

God, bring your fire into me. I believe you. I need you more than anything, i will find no comfort, no security, compared to what you offer. Take the lukewarm away, change my priorities, increase what's important to you in my life, take away everything else, your will be done, give me what i need for today.

what do you think this looks like in our culture and our community today? what are your thoughts?