Rob Bell & Brain Cramps


Shane Sanchez
Tonight I will be sitting in a very peculiar shaped auditorium, listening to a fairly odd pastor, speak a relatively unique message.

As I listen to Rob Bell speak I expect my mind to be stretched beyond that of a normal college lecture class. I plan on walking away from whatever he has to say with a mind full of questions eager to investigate the truth. Whether I agree with everything Rob says is beside the point.

You see, Rob Bell has stepped where far too many pastors shy away from. He has gripped the intellectual side of Christianity and forced people into a deeper knowledge of who God is and what He is saying to us.

Many of us have become comfortable with a 4th grade understanding of God: He died, rose again, and now we live for Him by making wise choices. The truth is that God transcends even the mind of a genius; so then why do we dumb down His word?

I like Rob Bell because what he has to say actually seems like it took thought. I like Him because He has challenged other great leaders to deepen their understanding and knowledge of God.

I've never heard him claim to know everything, but I know from the way he writes and speaks that he is working to know as much as possible.

Who stretches you to think outside of the box?

Who are the people you surround yourself with that constantly cause your brain to reach it's intellectual border and then cause you to jump past it?

God created nerds in more of his image than you think.

Do Not Fear Intellect,
Shane
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Be A Common Creative


Shane Sanchez

Is our ability to create stagnated by our ability to understand creativity?


I have heard the statement "I'm just not creative" way too many times. The truth is we are all creative. We create on a daily basis. Every time we get ready in the morning we create something. Whether it's our hair, our style, our wash routine, our breakfast, or the way we sing that hit song in the shower, we are constantly creating.


The problem with creativity is that we always expect originality.


We think creativity is the art of forming something the world has never seen. In many ways this is what creativity perceives, but the truth is creativity is something common being used in a form that is new to humanity.


STOP trying to create from nothing and begin to create from everything.


Our creativity is using the materials of old to supply the needs and provoke the minds of today.


King Solomon (the wisest man ever to live) puts it this way in Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (NIV):


9 "What has been will be again,

what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time."

Maybe the reason you struggle with "being creative" is due to your definition of creativity.

Perhaps you've been striving for originality by removing yourself from the common.

I want to challenge you to gaze upon the world with creative eyes. Look at the world around you and begin to use it in new ways. Start to adapt what is already there to enhance the lives of those around you. Be creative by using what God has already created in a way to bring Him the overall glory.

True creativity is hidden within the common.

You've Been Trying Too Hard,
Shane

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My Weekend In Pictures


Shane Sanchez



















































































I may have left LA but my heart is still in town.

It Really Is The City of Angels,
Shane
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LaLaLand


Shane Sanchez
My weekend looks a little like this:















And this:









For the next 4 days my incredible fiancée (1 point Shane), Heather, and I will be in LA hanging with some great new friends. We are going to experience as much of the city as possible. We will be hanging with the Red Eye Inc. crew who are currently pursuing an agenda of love for all people. I am hoping for big things from this weekend trip.

I have always loved the people of Southern California. Every vacation I've taken to LA has been eye-opening and thought provoking, but every trip has been a vacation.

This time I'm ready to serve. I'm ready to have fun and enjoy the excitement of LA, but I'm also ready to experience the hurt. I am asking God to break my heart for the things that break His and for my eyes to be focused through His lens. I want my passion for the hurting to cause my heart to beat right out of my chest. I want my love for an amazing city to seep from my pores. I want this weekend to be everything it could and should be for a God-fearing, human loving man.

If what I am expecting is what God is planning, things could get interesting.

Southland Is Waiting,
Shane
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This Little Thing Called Love


Shane Sanchez
What's getting in the way of God's love in your life?

Do you hide behind Bible study materials, a hearty to-do list, or volunteer opportunities because they make you feel important?

What if i told you that you couldn't do anything to make God love you more?

This concept has completely blown my mind. For years I have been trapped in this corrupt idea of God's love. Reading my Bible more, spending more time at church, or being more "holy" would trick me into believing I was earning more love from God. I felt more loved when I was in a place that required me to do something. I had no idea that I could feel love better within the silence of my devotion time.

Here's the big idea:

"But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him." (Romans 5:8 MSG emphasis added)

Whoa, is that really in the Word?

We bring nothing to the table in our relationship with God, but for some reason He still loved us, He still loves us.

There is nothing we can do to earn God's love. He has been giving it unconditionally since the beginning of time. The time we spend devoting our lives to His cause are greatly blessed, but they don't submerge us in any more of His love. We had His love from the moment He created us. Before we were placed in our mother's womb He loved us. Before we had even taken our first breath, His love for us was just as great as it is now. We can never destroy God's love in our lives. Whether we reject Him or accept Him, His love remains the same.

God's great love stretches us in our personal love for others.

God first loved us while we were of "no use whatever" to Him. That requires us to love everyone around us. People don't need to earn our love, they should receive it simply because they exist. Everyone is someone, they breath, they sleep, they eat, they have a soul, that means they are worthy of our love. If we love other people before they offer us anything we will better understand exactly how we are loved.

Love is deep. Love is beyond rational thinking. Love has no boundaries. Love is the answer to all of our problems.

Love without thought today and every day of your life.

Shattering Misconceptions,
Shane
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