Embracing Abundance: A Digital Reset Journey
Devotional
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So I've got my backpack on because I'm going to Alabama. I'm going right now. No, it feels like I'm going right now. I'm not going right now. But listen, I want to invite you to join me on this trip. I am actually going to be a part of the trip, helping to lead the trip that's leaving June 24th to go to Montgomery, Alabama. And I will just tell you, the reason is because I'm inspired by Eliana and I'm inspired by Linda Blackman -Lowery that I can make a difference and you can make a difference. We go around here. It's one of the things we do at Crossroads. Is we get out of our comfort zones and we step into other places where we can be a blessing and also where we can learn. And why Alabama? Well, at Crossroads, we've been praying and asking God that we could be part of something called an awakening. [00:00:00] (42 seconds)
And an awakening is when many, many people come to faith in Jesus. And that faith doesn't just impact their individual lives, but it impacts their families and their communities. It begins to impact the culture. And the civil rights movement was a spiritual awakening. And there are people like Linda Blackman -Lowery who, through their faith, made bold steps. And I think we're invited to do the same. It was a unified and diverse movement of God. And when we go down there, we get to tap into the spiritual legacy of that movement. We also get to make an impact. We've got amazing partners down there, so you can get your hands dirty and do work that will bless people in the community. And I just know you will experience the heart of Jesus in a powerful way. [00:00:42] (40 seconds)
So, like I said, we might be in different places about this, but all of us need this. See, Jesus promised us life abundantly. That's what Jesus said He came to do. I came that you would have life abundantly. But the truth is, self -reported, we are not experiencing the abundant life. We did this back in the fall during our 10X push. We asked the question, what's the condition of the soil of your heart? And we gave people some different words. And I want you to just look at this data and see very clearly what I see. Four out of five of us say that we are feeling distracted. [00:03:18] (36 seconds)
And two out of three are saying not only am I distracted, but I'm exhausted, I feel anxious, I'm unfocused, or I'm feeling overwhelmed. And let's just say there's nothing abundant about that kind of feeling. There's nothing abundant about that kind of life. In fact, if you feel that way, I want to suggest that, like Jesus says, there is a spiritual enemy that has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And one of the ways that he's doing that is through the ways in which we relate to our devices. And so we want to get into that today, but the question is why? Why is it a relationship? Why is there a relationship between those feelings and these things in our pocket? We want to get into that and understand it. But listen, we'll never find out if we remain distracted. [00:04:14] (49 seconds)
I want to tell you that Jesus did come for you and I to experience life abundantly. That's why we're doing this, and that's why I'm inviting you to do this. And we're leaning into this spiritual practice called fasting. It's going to be a digital fast. And we're going to do it during a time in the church rhythm where fasting is pretty common. It's called Lent. Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter. And, you know, if you grew up with any kind of Catholic or traditional church context, you're familiar with Lent. Lent is when you give up chocolate for 40 days or you give up whatever the thing is that you're giving up. But what you're doing in that, it was never about just giving up the thing. It's really about practicing this spiritual ancient rhythm called fasting. [00:05:01] (40 seconds)
And I define fasting this way. Fasting is giving up something in the spiritual to gain — I'm sorry, giving up something in the physical to gain something in the spiritual. So every time we fast, it isn't just about the giving up, but it's about the gaining of something that we can't get any other way. And I want to say this. We're not anti -tech. We're not anti -tech. In fact, when you go on a journey, when I go on the journey, I am — I'm very excited about my technology. And we have to just admit that our phones have given us a lot. Have they not? Our phones have given us a lot. In fact, in this bag, I've just got some symbolic items that will just help us remember just what we've gained. [00:06:23] (42 seconds)
And Adam and Eve believed that they could be like God in that way, and it unleashed all kind of havoc in the world. Because whenever we put anything in the place that only God deserves, the Bible has a word for it, and the word is idolatry. And let me tell you this, idolatry never ends well for human beings. Because idols, every idol, makes the same promise that the serpent made to Adam and Eve in the garden. Number one, you will not surely die. What is that saying? That's the promise that you can be less vulnerable in this world. And who among us doesn't want to be less vulnerable to the brokenness of this world? Who doesn't want to be less financially vulnerable to the economy of this world? Who doesn't want to be less relationally vulnerable to the ways in which people can hurt us? We all desire that. [00:12:57] (58 seconds)
And the serpent makes this promise to us, hey, if you just go with this thing that I'm giving you, it will make you less vulnerable. You shall not surely die. And then he also makes this promise. Every idol makes this promise. And you will be like God, which means you'll be more powerful. And I want to tell you that these two motivations are behind every action we do that the Bible calls sin. Everything that the Bible calls sin is either us trying to lessen our vulnerability in ways that God never intended, or it's us trying to gain power for ourselves in ways that God never intended. And I don't think there's ever been a device in the history of mankind that promises less vulnerability and more power than our phone. [00:14:13] (50 seconds)
Now, here's the truth. The truth is there's only one being who is truly not vulnerable in the way that we are and is the most powerful. It's God. God is limitless. God is not limited by time or space. God has not met an obstacle that he can't overcome. God is limitless. In fact, there's some churchy kind of theological words that describe attributes of God. One of them is this. God is omniscient. God is omniscient. What does that mean? It means that God knows everything. God knows the end from the beginning. He knows every thought and every mind. He knows every different scenario that can play out. God is omniscient. Another thing that God is, God is omnipresent. [00:19:58] (43 seconds)
God is everywhere at the same time. This is a mystery. We can't understand it. I can't understand how God is in the same time in history and in the present and in the future. I can't understand how God is present with every living being on the earth. I can't imagine how God is present in even the universe, in parts of the universe that I don't even understand. But because he's God, he is omnipresent. He's also omnipotent. God truly is all -powerful. Now, here's the thing with our phones. While God is limitless, we are limited. But our phones make us believe otherwise. Doesn't our phone make us feel omniscient? Because we can Google anything and know it. And yet the evidence is clear. We're losing our ability to think critically because of our smartphones. [00:20:18] (44 seconds)
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And an awakening is when many, many people come to faith in Jesus. And that faith doesn't just impact their individual lives, but it impacts their families and their communities. It begins to impact the culture. And the civil rights movement was a spiritual awakening. And there are people like Linda Blackman -Lowery who, through their faith, made bold steps. And I think we're invited to do the same. It was a unified and diverse movement of God. And when we go down there, we get to tap into the spiritual legacy of that movement. We also get to make an impact. We've got amazing partners down there, so you can get your hands dirty and do work that will bless people in the community. And I just know you will experience the heart of Jesus in a powerful way. [00:00:42] (40 seconds)
So, like I said, we might be in different places about this, but all of us need this. See, Jesus promised us life abundantly. That's what Jesus said He came to do. I came that you would have life abundantly. But the truth is, self -reported, we are not experiencing the abundant life. We did this back in the fall during our 10X push. We asked the question, what's the condition of the soil of your heart? And we gave people some different words. And I want you to just look at this data and see very clearly what I see. Four out of five of us say that we are feeling distracted. [00:03:18] (36 seconds)
And two out of three are saying not only am I distracted, but I'm exhausted, I feel anxious, I'm unfocused, or I'm feeling overwhelmed. And let's just say there's nothing abundant about that kind of feeling. There's nothing abundant about that kind of life. In fact, if you feel that way, I want to suggest that, like Jesus says, there is a spiritual enemy that has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And one of the ways that he's doing that is through the ways in which we relate to our devices. And so we want to get into that today, but the question is why? Why is it a relationship? Why is there a relationship between those feelings and these things in our pocket? We want to get into that and understand it. But listen, we'll never find out if we remain distracted. [00:04:14] (49 seconds)
I want to tell you that Jesus did come for you and I to experience life abundantly. That's why we're doing this, and that's why I'm inviting you to do this. And we're leaning into this spiritual practice called fasting. It's going to be a digital fast. And we're going to do it during a time in the church rhythm where fasting is pretty common. It's called Lent. Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter. And, you know, if you grew up with any kind of Catholic or traditional church context, you're familiar with Lent. Lent is when you give up chocolate for 40 days or you give up whatever the thing is that you're giving up. But what you're doing in that, it was never about just giving up the thing. It's really about practicing this spiritual ancient rhythm called fasting. [00:05:01] (40 seconds)
And I define fasting this way. Fasting is giving up something in the spiritual to gain — I'm sorry, giving up something in the physical to gain something in the spiritual. So every time we fast, it isn't just about the giving up, but it's about the gaining of something that we can't get any other way. And I want to say this. We're not anti -tech. We're not anti -tech. In fact, when you go on a journey, when I go on the journey, I am — I'm very excited about my technology. And we have to just admit that our phones have given us a lot. Have they not? Our phones have given us a lot. In fact, in this bag, I've just got some symbolic items that will just help us remember just what we've gained. [00:06:23] (42 seconds)
And Adam and Eve believed that they could be like God in that way, and it unleashed all kind of havoc in the world. Because whenever we put anything in the place that only God deserves, the Bible has a word for it, and the word is idolatry. And let me tell you this, idolatry never ends well for human beings. Because idols, every idol, makes the same promise that the serpent made to Adam and Eve in the garden. Number one, you will not surely die. What is that saying? That's the promise that you can be less vulnerable in this world. And who among us doesn't want to be less vulnerable to the brokenness of this world? Who doesn't want to be less financially vulnerable to the economy of this world? Who doesn't want to be less relationally vulnerable to the ways in which people can hurt us? We all desire that. [00:12:57] (58 seconds)
And the serpent makes this promise to us, hey, if you just go with this thing that I'm giving you, it will make you less vulnerable. You shall not surely die. And then he also makes this promise. Every idol makes this promise. And you will be like God, which means you'll be more powerful. And I want to tell you that these two motivations are behind every action we do that the Bible calls sin. Everything that the Bible calls sin is either us trying to lessen our vulnerability in ways that God never intended, or it's us trying to gain power for ourselves in ways that God never intended. And I don't think there's ever been a device in the history of mankind that promises less vulnerability and more power than our phone. [00:14:13] (50 seconds)
Now, here's the truth. The truth is there's only one being who is truly not vulnerable in the way that we are and is the most powerful. It's God. God is limitless. God is not limited by time or space. God has not met an obstacle that he can't overcome. God is limitless. In fact, there's some churchy kind of theological words that describe attributes of God. One of them is this. God is omniscient. God is omniscient. What does that mean? It means that God knows everything. God knows the end from the beginning. He knows every thought and every mind. He knows every different scenario that can play out. God is omniscient. Another thing that God is, God is omnipresent. [00:19:58] (43 seconds)
God is everywhere at the same time. This is a mystery. We can't understand it. I can't understand how God is in the same time in history and in the present and in the future. I can't understand how God is present with every living being on the earth. I can't imagine how God is present in even the universe, in parts of the universe that I don't even understand. But because he's God, he is omnipresent. He's also omnipotent. God truly is all -powerful. Now, here's the thing with our phones. While God is limitless, we are limited. But our phones make us believe otherwise. Doesn't our phone make us feel omniscient? Because we can Google anything and know it. And yet the evidence is clear. We're losing our ability to think critically because of our smartphones. [00:20:18] (44 seconds)
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