Curt Seaburg.com

Good Friday

Well, today is the day.  Even though I know how it'll turnout on Sunday, I always think about the price Jesus paid for my sins ... TODAY.  So does our culture.  Have you seen the shows, specials, ads?  People WANT to have the spiritual conversation.  It was around 9AM that they nailed Him to the cross and about 3PM is when He died.  I am so grateful to Jesus for paying my price for forgiveness.  If He stopped there, forgiveness would have been mine but I would still be spiritually dead.  Ah, then comes the resurrection.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, I am NOW spiritually ALIVE.  I love Steve Fee and his song:  All Because of Jesus:

It's all because of Jesus I'm alive

It's all because the blood of Jesus Christ

It covers me and raised this dead man's life

It's all because of Jesus I'm alive!!!

Thank You Jesus!

God Was Speaking Today ... and I Heard Him Loud & Clear

I have been battling the flu all week long.  I mean, this sucker flattened me one out of three days.  My study days were winding down.  Whether I like it or not, every week I have an oral report and a research paper that's due.  For a preacher, Sunday is ALWAYS COMIN!  Today was Saturday and I finally felt like rising to the world but our youth group was in Fine Arts this weekend.  I had SO MUCH I needed to catch up on, so much to do.  Admittedly, I "drug" myself to the competition that I knew would go all day.  It's amazing how God shows up in unusual faces.

As we settled in at 9AM, 100's of kids and youth pastors all were finding out where they needed to be at what time.  Our three girls (Lissy, Kiersten & Courtney) plus Hannah Jones represented 8 different categories in the competition.  I was so proud of the kids when all four advanced to states in all 8 categories.  I watched them blossom as Kiersten was asked to share her short sermon to a room of 100's of teens at the closing rally.  Her title was, "God is speaking everywhere, but are we listening?"  I sat with tears as I watched our oldest sing her heart out to Mandisa's song called "God speaking."  Okay God, I get the picture.  So I started to look around.

I looked at our four kids that are red-hot in love with Jesus.  I watched as Chris Wallace, (saved years ago in our youth ministry) now serves our church as our youth pastor gobbled up the day.  Pam & I served as full-time youth pastors for 11 years in this state before moving to Florida.  Several former youth pastors, some now senior pastors;  several who were once in our youth ministry or sat under our leadership now serve as youth pastors or youth ministry volunteers, took time to say Hi.  Many pulled me aside to say, "THANKS FOR POURING INTO MY LIFE."  One guy said, "I do ministry because you inspired me."  Another one said, "Thanks for how you always loved us."  Another said, "I've got this innovative idea, but I wanted to run it by you first ..."  Even another said, "PC, it was January 25, 1998, you were at retreat with me -- I gave my all to Jesus that night and I have never looked back."  Honestly, I walked away with a HUGE LUMP in my throat.  It was a little embarrassing, so I tried to walk around with my head down as not to be so noticed.  (Did I mention I'm 6' 2"?  Hiding didn't come easy.)

Yea, I heard God ... you know what, I saw him too.  I saw him in the eyes our our four children.  I saw the hunger in our new youth pastor and his wife, I saw the passion in our adult leader, Tamar, that went along.  I saw Him in the tearful eyes of a proud mama, I saw the admiration our 12 year old boy had for his older sisters who walk with God.  Yea, I saw god today.  I saw Him in the faces of 100's of youth, offering their talents and gifts to an all-good God.

Yea I heard Him speaking, "Flowers in bloom"  ...  "Flowers in bloom" ... "Plant more flowers, flowers in bloom."

I'M SO GLAD I WENT TODAY!

Trash Trucks

A good friend of ours is a police captain and he shared this "God Encounter."   On his way to work on Monday, he felt like he was in the middle of one of those "Rob Bell - NOOMA video's." 

So here's what he told me: 

As I'm traveling down Old Philly Pike, I see flashing lights and several cars ahead of me.  The lights appear to be in the middle of the road and I'm thinking...Oh, there must be an accident up ahead.

I wonder which officer is handling.

(This is neat, notice how I'm using the same crazy formatting that Rob Bell uses in 'Velvet Elvis)

After a few seconds, I realize that I'm not getting any closer to the flashing lights and that traffic is stop and go.

Now I think, it must be an ambulance, going the same direction I am, looking for a door number or something.

When I finally get close enough to see, I recognize that it's a trash truck, stopping at residences to pick up the garbage.

All of the sudden I have this really unusual thought that this seems like one of those Rob Bell NOOMA videos and I'm being filmed while following this stop & go trash truck. The thought hits me, aren't our lives like this sometimes, when we aren't experiencing the successful Christian living, because we get ourselves behind a trash truck.

Just one garbage stop after another.

Then I remember something I read recently. (Probably in 'Chasing Daylight') There is nothing NEW that we as a society can do wrong. It's all been done before. The events have already been lived out, the consequences already paid, the lessons already learned (hopefully) OR NOT?

Because like the trash truck, we are stop & go picking up the same stuff other's have already thrown away or moved on from. The same sins, the same heartache, the same everything!

The amazing thing is, it's all there for us to see. If we'd only open our eyes and recognize it for what it is, we'd probably stop making other peoples mistakes ourselves.

- Steve Zerbe

Steve goes on to say how he, his wife Michelle and their two gorgeous girls (McKenna and Brynn) have been learning so much in the past few weeks, growing in the Lord.  He is recognizing Christ's presence in his life more than ever have before. Steve said, "I know He was always there, but I was so busy following the trash truck, I never took my eyes off it to focus on Jesus."

Do you know what the coolest thing about this is, God spoke to a regular, everyday, normal guy.  I just think it is awesome that Steve's antenna's are up and listening!

Here’s to, slowing down.