Kenneth Olson.org

What In The World Is Going On?

Earlier this week I was listening to a radio interview of a best-selling author, a man who lives his life observing world events and as a result has written over 20 books, one of which was made into a movie.

While being interviewed, he made a statement that smacked me between the eyes and sobered me spiritually. He said, “we live in a world that is literally filled with signs!”

As far as I know, he’s not a Christian, yet even through his secular worldview, he can’t ignore the fact that the earth and heavens alike are overflowing with blaring signs! Signals that something or someone is trying to get our attention, trying to let us know the present world and everything about it is changing!

As Christians, this shouldn’t sound unfamiliar because Jesus Himself made every effort to describe what things would be like just before His second return. In fact, He faulted the religious leaders of His day for being able to predict the weather, but not being able to reads the signs all around them of His first coming.

In Luke 21 Jesus named some very specific signs that would lead up to His second return. He even indicated there would be signs in the sun, is it possible the recent solar flares everyone is talking about is a sign He was referring to?

I’ll let you decide, but here’s my concern, many people, including Christians aren’t paying attention to what’s coming. We’re not catching our cues that the God of heaven through creation is sounding an alarm, one that’s saying, “get ready…I’m coming. Get your house in order, set your sights on me and while there’s still time, boldly pray, work and tell the story of my mercy, grace and forgiveness.

The language of scripture is even more forceful and clear, it declares, “…go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.” (Luke 14:23)

The end of days doesn’t mean we have to be afraid, know how to hotwire a car, order survival gear or hunker down in a cave, instead, every new day should remind us that God is patient. That He’s waiting for His Church (that’s us) to reach out to as many people as possible with His love and grace.

Not wanting anyone to perish, He’s patiently giving us more time to pray, preach and reach the many who are unknowingly crying out for His love and forgiveness. (2 Peter 3:9)

Let's shake off what distracts and stops us and stir our hearts toward the Father, committing ourselves with a fresh decision to go after Him and live conscious of the reality of His return.

Decide to step out, move forward and pray, love, give, demonstrate and tell the story of the One Who was and is and is to come!

I challenge you before you finish reading this, write down the name of one person who’s far from God and begin to pray for them. Then let the Holy Spirit lead you to develop a relationship with them, share your faith and/or invite them to your Church.

Remember, you and I are Jesus’ hands, His feet and His mouthpiece. If we don’t pray, who will? If we don’t go, who will and if we don’t speak for Him, who will?

 

What's On My Mind

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is behind us and Christmas is just a few weeks away! There's something about this time of year that always causes me to reflect and be thankful. Here are a few things I've been thinking about today: 

• Grateful beyond words to be marked by God's presence and have the opportunity to serve such a great church family!

• Thankful that Authentic Life Church was able to bless 8 families and individuals for Thanksgiving through the Poultry Project!

• Amazed and inspired at how faithful our ministry teams are! From setup teams to the kid's ministry team and every area in between, they define servant hood and faithfulness to me and I'm honored to be a part of a journey with them. A journey that is without a doubt impacting people's lives every week. You guys are awesome!

• Honored to be praying over the many prayer requests we received Sunday at ALc. If you submitted one, expect and get ready for answers and change!

• Lastly, I'm excited and looking forward to 2012! I'm convinced it's going to be an awesome and outstanding year. The law of leaving and entering states that how you leave a place (or year) will determine how you enter the next (place or year). The best way to position yourself for an outstanding and blessed 2012 is to begin reflecting, praying, preparing and expecting now! 

• Your best year is ahead of you in 2012 - get ready!!

 

"I Do" I Did...Now What?

The last couple weeks I’ve been teaching on the topic of marriage and I can honestly say each time I talk about the subject God is personally challenges me to change and go deeper in relating to those He's brought into my life.

So many people wander through life interfacing and interacting with others, but never find authentic connection. For many, healthy relationships become the elusive thing in their life, so they try harder, but never quite unlock the potential of God-ordained friendships and marriages.

Sadly because of this, it cuts them off from the primary way God brings life, healing and purpose into our lives.

With relationships, it’s not a matter of “working harder at it”, instead, it’s about getting smarter and developing our own relational intelligence. When it comes to marriage here are four essential requirements to building up and making a marriage healthy, strong and able to go the distance.

 1) Be totally committed – too many couples live with the “D” word hanging over their heads and it destabilizes the relationship. Without a sure foundation, there’s nothing to build on and it’s difficult to trust.

 2) Submit to one another – you will never take your marriage to the next level until you learn to prefer your spouse and put their needs before your own. Health comes into a relationship when you let them out rank you, when we die to our self-centered ways.

 3) Make love not war – most of us understand the importance of loving each other, but the question is, “are we communicating that love in a way our spouse can receive it”? Men and woman receive love in different ways and because of that we need to seek to understand each other’s love language and learn to speak them fluently.

4) Give a little respect – both love and respect should be unconditional in marriage. Make it you daily task to fight the disease of familiarity. Familiarity will always limit or hold a relationship in shallow place however, respect and honor provide the fertile ground for our spouse's hopes, dreams and potential to germinate and grow.

 

Sunday Reflection

Wow, what a Sunday for ALc, so proud of our ministry teams! Their faithfulness and hard work made it possible for us to experience another high-water mark as a church.

Our worship was “off the charts” bringing the energy and anointing of God and it was truly amazing to see so many commit and re-commit their lives to Christ.

I have to say though, it was our BBQ and baptism that inspired me the most. Seeing the determination, faith, and raw emotion of those who were baptized made the hard work of ministry seem small in comparison.

For me personally, baptizing my oldest (6 yrs old) son Samuel was truly memorable. His only request was to wear his swimming goggles. J Loved seeing the confidence of his faith at such an early age – makes a parent proud!

Stricken Series

I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching on the subject of redemption over the past five weeks. It's amazing to me the scope of what was paid for and provided through the selfless offering of our Lord's life. Without much thought, redemption seems pretty black and white, yet every time I study it I'm awed by the unending dimensions of God's love for us.

I'm sure it's like astronomers peering into the cosmos, each time using more powerful and sophisticated telescopes permitting them to see new galaxies and nebula. Yet they never fully able to comprehend the true magnitude of God's creation. 

I suppose that's the reason for eternity? No amount of finite time or human effort will ever enable us to grasp the breadth, width and height of our creator. He just goes on and on and on and on. 

Although disconcerting to my mind because I can't understand it, it's comforting to my spirit to know God is, and always will be greater than anything I'll ever face.

Sunday Reflection

Extremely proud of my wife and partner in ministry today. Sara definitely "brought it" this morning with a timely message challenging us to get out of our religious and even self-imposed boxes. Boxes that hinder us from obeying God and staying true to our convictions. 

She shared the Lord has been impressing upon her it's time for God's people to value and give whole-hearted attention to six things. They are, for God's people to.....

1. stop being miserable
2. be done with shallow, counterfeit Christianity
3. open our mouths and speak our faith 
4. reach out to God and receive His power to be immovable, unshakable and unstoppable
5. truly love and obey God (if you love Him you'll obey Him)
6. do the great commission

Monday's Reflection

Mondays tend to be a day of rest and recovery for me, usually spent catching up around home and enjoying time with my family. Today we went for a relaxing drive looking for possible new locations for Authentic Life Church. On Sunday, I shared a few major strategic steps we'll be taking as a church later this year, including transitioning to a new facility and location.

Even though there's much prayer and work ahead of us, we have a unique and outstanding opportunity to go to the next level of influence and effectiveness as a church. The direction God has been mapping out in our hearts will certainly prepare and position us to lead more people than ever into a purposeful, passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. 

I see a screaming opportunity flagging us down to create an inviting and relevant church that's an authentic expression of God's hope and love to this generation and our corner of the world. In fact, one community alone in the southwestern metro is forecasted to grow by over 20,000 households in the next 10 years. If there was ever a more whitened field ready for harvest, I've never heard of it.

It reminds me of what John 9:4 says, We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 

What's your God assigned task to carry out? Are you doing it with a sense of urgency and passion?

Women's Conference Hosted by ALC

The past week has been packed with meetings and feverish preparation for a women's conference we'll be hosting tomorrow and Saturday. Even though it's a women's conference, thus I will not be attending, I'm super amped about what God is going to do during these meetings

My wife Sara and our long-time friend Margie McDaniel will be leading over 115 women into the presence of God during the next two days. The fact that so many women registered tells me they'll be bringing a hunger for God and an expectation he's going to move powerfully in their lives. No doubt their collective heart cry will bring an atmosphere of God's glory, transformation in their hearts and new beginnings to many lives.

I've been of so many people recently who have been identifying with an organic hunger for the things of God and are urgently desiring to get back to a pure, unencumbered and devoted walk with Him. I pray that will be the experience of everyone attending this conference!

Awakening 2009

I'm excited about Authentic Life uniting with churches nationwide for a season of prayer and fasting January 11 through January 31. No doubt, fasting in conjunction with prayer is a hugely overlooked spiritual discipline. It aligns our lives with the heart and purpose of God like nothing else can. 

For me personally, it has been a key to hearing God's voice, breaking free from stubborn patterns of behavior and experiencing spiritual breakthrough. New Testament fasting doesn't change God, but changes us!

What a way to set the tone for 2009 and generate spiritual momentum. It's an opportunity to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and become more effective conduits of divine purpose and change in our churches and nation.

Weekend Reflections

Wow, what a weekend!

It started by Sara and I enjoying a great dinner Friday night to celebrate our 11th wedding aanniversary. Yes, it's been 11 years, I can hardly comprehend how fast the years have gone by. 

On Saturday and Sunday we were excited to represent Authentic Life Church at James J. Hill Days in Wayzata. It was our first opportunity to introduce ourselves to the community. Many people stopped by the booth interested and supportive of what we're doing. It was great to represent Jesus and at least for a moment, cause people to think about Him.