I admit I am not very good at math. Actually, I stink at math. I am very thankful that I am married to an accountant for whom numbers come naturally. However, the good thing about not being good at math is that I have no problem understanding God's math, even when it does not make sense to those who are good at math.
For example, in God's math 1= 120. Let me explain...about 5 years ago a woman and her son came to worship with us. She is a woman with a big heart, but very unassuming. She will do anything for anyone, but prefers to do it behind the scenes. She is gentle and quiet, but she is God's. And because she is God's, she lets God work through her in the way that seems to come most naturally for her. Through her relationships with family, friends and c0-workers, she exhibits the love of Christ and then, when God opens the door, she simply invites them to come visit her church family with her on Sunday. And because they love her and they know she loves them, they come. One by one...people she has invited have come. One person she invited sent me an email this week and shared that at her last count 120 people have visited Living Hope because of this one person. Many of them have not only become a part of the church but have for the first time discovered for themselves what it is like to live in a daily and personal relationship with Christ. Person after person numbered in that 120 now have their own stories of how God is radically transforming their lives.
To us 1 is small...1 can't do much...1 won't amount too much...but in God's mathematical system 1 can equal 120. For that I praise God and I say thank you to the one who let God use her to equal 120. God is using her one life and one simple invitation at a time to change the world one person at a time. Praise God and thank you, Amber Sweeney!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
"I Believe in Miracles"
Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe God steps into our realm of space and time and does the impossible? I do. Without any hesitation, I believe. I guess, I have seen too much evidence not to believe. Let me share with you four recent miracles in the life of our church family:
1) I believe in miracles of life transformation. So far, in 2008, eighty-eight people have made personal decisions to follow Christ. Praise God! That alone is a miracle! But I am more interested in what happens after the initial commitment...here is one example...he and his wife came to Living Hope for the first time in September. He has some church background and she none. After the service he said to me, "I need God to make a lot of changes in my life." We talked, he prayed, God came into his life. He said, "as we prayed it was like a weight was lifted off of me." His wife then prayed and Jesus showed up in her life as well. It is now December and they are here very Sunday, but more than that God is doing the miracle of life-transformation in them. Not only they, but those who know them best can see the difference. There is no greater miracle than one person finding God's love and hope personally. I believe in miracles!
2) I believe in miracles of physical healing. Regularly, people come to the Gathering or write the Prayer Chain for us to pray for them for specific needs...often those needs are physical and often we have seen specific answer to prayer. For instance, last Wednesday at the Gathering a women asked us to pray for her. She was having surgery the next day. One of the big concerns were pre-cancer cells on 9 different cysts. The surgery happened the next day and the doctor saw her after to share that he could not explain it but all 9 cysts and their pre-cancer cells were gone. They were there and then they were not. I believe in miracles!
The same kind of thing happened this week. One of our members asked the Prayer Chain to pray because tests revealed an aneurysm on her sister's aorta. Today the doctor called to say what was there, is now gone. How did that happen? My answer is...I believe in miracles!
3) I believe in miracles of peace and calm. Every bit as powerful as a change of circumstances, such as a physical healing, is a change of one's spirit, when the circumstances do not change. For instance, someone called this week and said, "Chad, its been three weeks now of peace and joy. When we did the service about accepting what was in our control and putting into God's hands, what we cannot control, I did just that. I fully gave the situation to God. The situation is still going on, but I am not worried and upset. I have peace and joy." The person can even begin to see how God could change the situation. I believe in miracles!
Luke 1:37 comes from the Bible's Christmas story. It says, "For nothing is impossible with God!" The Christmas story is all about the greatest miracle in the history of the world: Our God came down to us to do for us what we could not do for ourselves...he came to give us relationship with himself so that we can truly live now and even live after we die. The only questions is...do you believe?
1) I believe in miracles of life transformation. So far, in 2008, eighty-eight people have made personal decisions to follow Christ. Praise God! That alone is a miracle! But I am more interested in what happens after the initial commitment...here is one example...he and his wife came to Living Hope for the first time in September. He has some church background and she none. After the service he said to me, "I need God to make a lot of changes in my life." We talked, he prayed, God came into his life. He said, "as we prayed it was like a weight was lifted off of me." His wife then prayed and Jesus showed up in her life as well. It is now December and they are here very Sunday, but more than that God is doing the miracle of life-transformation in them. Not only they, but those who know them best can see the difference. There is no greater miracle than one person finding God's love and hope personally. I believe in miracles!
2) I believe in miracles of physical healing. Regularly, people come to the Gathering or write the Prayer Chain for us to pray for them for specific needs...often those needs are physical and often we have seen specific answer to prayer. For instance, last Wednesday at the Gathering a women asked us to pray for her. She was having surgery the next day. One of the big concerns were pre-cancer cells on 9 different cysts. The surgery happened the next day and the doctor saw her after to share that he could not explain it but all 9 cysts and their pre-cancer cells were gone. They were there and then they were not. I believe in miracles!
The same kind of thing happened this week. One of our members asked the Prayer Chain to pray because tests revealed an aneurysm on her sister's aorta. Today the doctor called to say what was there, is now gone. How did that happen? My answer is...I believe in miracles!
3) I believe in miracles of peace and calm. Every bit as powerful as a change of circumstances, such as a physical healing, is a change of one's spirit, when the circumstances do not change. For instance, someone called this week and said, "Chad, its been three weeks now of peace and joy. When we did the service about accepting what was in our control and putting into God's hands, what we cannot control, I did just that. I fully gave the situation to God. The situation is still going on, but I am not worried and upset. I have peace and joy." The person can even begin to see how God could change the situation. I believe in miracles!
Luke 1:37 comes from the Bible's Christmas story. It says, "For nothing is impossible with God!" The Christmas story is all about the greatest miracle in the history of the world: Our God came down to us to do for us what we could not do for ourselves...he came to give us relationship with himself so that we can truly live now and even live after we die. The only questions is...do you believe?
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
"My Strength or His Spirit?"
I heard this story many years ago. It is one that sticks with me because I think I relate to it pretty well.
A father asked his son to move a large rock in their yard. The boy was determined to do it. He ran to the rock and pushed and shoved with all his might. The rock did not budge so he pushed all harder...his muscles straining and sweat forming on his forehead. His father was watching and said, "Your not using all your strength." The boy said nothing. He just pushed all the harder. Again, the father said, "You're not using all your strength." The boy pushed even harder but still did not budge the rock an inch. Again the father said, "Your not using all your strength." Finally, the exasperated boy shouted back, "I am too. I am using all my strength but I cannot move it." To which the father replied, "No. You're not using all your strength because you have not asked me to help."
This morning, God put Zechariah 4:6 in my face, "Not by might nor by power, but by my
Spirit, " says the Lord Almighty.
I don't know about you but I am guilty of pushing and straining and sweating to try to make rocks move and getting no where. Over and over again, I have to relearn the old lesson that I am not using all my strength until I stop depending solely on mine and ask God to add in his. In my might and power I can see what I can do, but I am increasingly hungry to see what God's spirit could do if I would depend less on myself and more on him.
God, forgive me and God help me.
A father asked his son to move a large rock in their yard. The boy was determined to do it. He ran to the rock and pushed and shoved with all his might. The rock did not budge so he pushed all harder...his muscles straining and sweat forming on his forehead. His father was watching and said, "Your not using all your strength." The boy said nothing. He just pushed all the harder. Again, the father said, "You're not using all your strength." The boy pushed even harder but still did not budge the rock an inch. Again the father said, "Your not using all your strength." Finally, the exasperated boy shouted back, "I am too. I am using all my strength but I cannot move it." To which the father replied, "No. You're not using all your strength because you have not asked me to help."
This morning, God put Zechariah 4:6 in my face, "Not by might nor by power, but by my
Spirit, " says the Lord Almighty.
I don't know about you but I am guilty of pushing and straining and sweating to try to make rocks move and getting no where. Over and over again, I have to relearn the old lesson that I am not using all my strength until I stop depending solely on mine and ask God to add in his. In my might and power I can see what I can do, but I am increasingly hungry to see what God's spirit could do if I would depend less on myself and more on him.
God, forgive me and God help me.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"Letting Go"
Seth, our nine month old, loves being mobile. He crawls around as fast as lightning. He pulls himself up on whatever he can find...a chair, my pant leg, his sisters hair...and he stands. More and more he let's go of what he used to help stand himself up. And each time he let's go, he stands a little longer before he falls. As a parent this is exciting and a little sad all at the same time. On the one hand, you want the boy to be able to stand on his own two feet, but on the other hand you want to make these moments last as long as possible and with each stand he makes you know your baby will not be a baby forever. But being a parent means learning to let go, doesn't it?
It seems that spiritual growth is also about a life-long process of letting go so that you can increasingly experience God for all he is. See if you can relate to any of these letting go spiritual growth steps:
Letting go of my way to stand for God's way.
Letting go of hurt to experience God's healing.
Letting go of fear to find God's courage.
Letting go of doubt to accept God's power.
Letting go of selfishness to be used by God to touch others.
Letting go of money to let God be my financial planner.
Letting go of lies to live in the truth.
Letting go of hate to be free to truly love.
Letting go of my comfort zone to not miss out on his adventure.
Letting go of isolation to embrace others and let others embrace me.
Letting go of thinking I am in control so that God can be in control.
The list could go on and on, couldn't it? Letting go is a beneficial part of life. For each time we dare to let go, we get to find out for ourselves what it is like to stand with Christ in a whole new way! Hey...Don't be a baby...let go! :-)
Check out Hebrews 5:11-6:3
It seems that spiritual growth is also about a life-long process of letting go so that you can increasingly experience God for all he is. See if you can relate to any of these letting go spiritual growth steps:
Letting go of my way to stand for God's way.
Letting go of hurt to experience God's healing.
Letting go of fear to find God's courage.
Letting go of doubt to accept God's power.
Letting go of selfishness to be used by God to touch others.
Letting go of money to let God be my financial planner.
Letting go of lies to live in the truth.
Letting go of hate to be free to truly love.
Letting go of my comfort zone to not miss out on his adventure.
Letting go of isolation to embrace others and let others embrace me.
Letting go of thinking I am in control so that God can be in control.
The list could go on and on, couldn't it? Letting go is a beneficial part of life. For each time we dare to let go, we get to find out for ourselves what it is like to stand with Christ in a whole new way! Hey...Don't be a baby...let go! :-)
Check out Hebrews 5:11-6:3
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"It's True"
I just left "The Gathering" (it is our Wednesday evening time of communion, worship and prayer). Every week I rediscover that what Jesus said is true: "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them" (Matthew 18:20). It's true! I just had a fresh encounter with Christ. Jesus shows up where his Body gathers to seek him.
If there is one truth that is hard for we individualistic, private American Christians to hear it is that Jesus' is where two or three gather. We want to experience him all by ourselves. Perhaps we lack God's presence not because God is withholding himself from us but because we do not believe him. O, we say, we do, but our actions say otherwise. We say we want God to be close and real. We say we pray for God to give us his peace and his strength, but then we neglect the path he has given us for experiencing his presence. What is that path? Community; Connecting with other Followers of Christ in a way that goes beyond "Hi and How are You". We cannot grow spiritually in isolation. He has given us the Church not as a place to go on Sunday, but as a Body to grow in and with for good or bad, pretty or ugly.
To those of you who know what I am talking about, I encourage you....press on! "Do not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing" as Hebrews says. Rather keep on connecting. Keep on being real. You will find Jesus presence and because of you others will find the same.
To those of you who do not know yet what I am talking about, I encourage you...Go find out for yourself that it's (Matthew 18:20) true!
If there is one truth that is hard for we individualistic, private American Christians to hear it is that Jesus' is where two or three gather. We want to experience him all by ourselves. Perhaps we lack God's presence not because God is withholding himself from us but because we do not believe him. O, we say, we do, but our actions say otherwise. We say we want God to be close and real. We say we pray for God to give us his peace and his strength, but then we neglect the path he has given us for experiencing his presence. What is that path? Community; Connecting with other Followers of Christ in a way that goes beyond "Hi and How are You". We cannot grow spiritually in isolation. He has given us the Church not as a place to go on Sunday, but as a Body to grow in and with for good or bad, pretty or ugly.
To those of you who know what I am talking about, I encourage you....press on! "Do not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing" as Hebrews says. Rather keep on connecting. Keep on being real. You will find Jesus presence and because of you others will find the same.
To those of you who do not know yet what I am talking about, I encourage you...Go find out for yourself that it's (Matthew 18:20) true!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
"72 degrees in November"
With election day behind us, we can answer the phone without hearing a political call and we can open the mail box without receiving a hundred political mailers. So, take the signs out of the yard, turn off the news and just may be you and I will not miss that it is November and it is 72 degrees and sunny outside!
Did you hear me? It's 72 outside. Need I remind you we live in Ohio?! There cannot be very many sunny, 72 degree days left. Before long, the cold will come to stay for winter and gray will color the sky. But today, friends, it is sunny and 72!
I wonder how many people will miss this rare November day? Some will be so busy celebrating or mourning the election results that they will miss it. Some will be so busy working till it is dark to notice it. Some will be so focused on today's crisis that this nice day is not worth enjoying.
It is easy to miss the little, but truly special gifts God gives us every day, isn't it? I am convinced that the greatest things in life are the smallest things. Things like...the colors of a sun rise splashing across the sky, the giggle of a child, the time to eat your favorite ice cream nice and slow, a little prayer to God that brings him up close and personal...you know...things like a 72 degree day in November.
The Bible says, "This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it." How do we do that? By not missing the "72 degree days of November" in our lives.
Can I be really honest? In the last two week I have been gone working too much. Too many nights away and not enough time at home...I have more than put in my hours . I looked at the weather forecast for tomorrow. It is suppose to get colder. So, I have made a decision. I am leaving and I will be back in time for the Gathering.
If you call, you won't reach me. If you email, I will not reply. If you stop by the church, I will not be here. Ask me where I'll be and I will tell you...I went home to make up on time that I will never get back with my 2 favorite kids and my beautiful wife. After all, 72 degrees in November is something that is here one day and gone the next, so you better enjoy it while you can.
Did you hear me? It's 72 outside. Need I remind you we live in Ohio?! There cannot be very many sunny, 72 degree days left. Before long, the cold will come to stay for winter and gray will color the sky. But today, friends, it is sunny and 72!
I wonder how many people will miss this rare November day? Some will be so busy celebrating or mourning the election results that they will miss it. Some will be so busy working till it is dark to notice it. Some will be so focused on today's crisis that this nice day is not worth enjoying.
It is easy to miss the little, but truly special gifts God gives us every day, isn't it? I am convinced that the greatest things in life are the smallest things. Things like...the colors of a sun rise splashing across the sky, the giggle of a child, the time to eat your favorite ice cream nice and slow, a little prayer to God that brings him up close and personal...you know...things like a 72 degree day in November.
The Bible says, "This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it." How do we do that? By not missing the "72 degree days of November" in our lives.
Can I be really honest? In the last two week I have been gone working too much. Too many nights away and not enough time at home...I have more than put in my hours . I looked at the weather forecast for tomorrow. It is suppose to get colder. So, I have made a decision. I am leaving and I will be back in time for the Gathering.
If you call, you won't reach me. If you email, I will not reply. If you stop by the church, I will not be here. Ask me where I'll be and I will tell you...I went home to make up on time that I will never get back with my 2 favorite kids and my beautiful wife. After all, 72 degrees in November is something that is here one day and gone the next, so you better enjoy it while you can.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
"Who Would Jesus Vote For?"
For all of you who are wondering who to vote for next week, I figured the most helpful thing to do would be to cut through all political promises and mud-slinging and get to the bottom line. Let's just ask the question: Who would Jesus vote for? (About this time I imagine some of you are getting a little hot under the collar and others of you are thinking that it is about time I said something--I have a feeling I am going to disappoint you both).
Would Jesus register as a democrat or a republican? Would he put an Obama or a McCain sign in his front yard? I think that's a pretty good question to ask just days away from election day. The problem is I am afraid that Jesus will end up doing what he seemed to do best when he was here on earth: He will end up offending people on both sides of the party lines.
That's what we see Jesus doing in John 6. Here's the setting...Jesus has just finished feeding 5000 men plus women and children with 5 small loaves of bread and two small fish. Talk about a great political move. He's just had 5000 + people hearing his speech on what it means to have God's kingdom come on earth and then he led it to all culminate with not only making the promise but meeting the need. Well, you can imagine that Jesus was rating high in the popularity polls. In fact, Jesus knew it. That is why we see Jesus do what is recorded in John 6:14-15, "After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again into the hills by himself." You see the people misunderstood the kingdom of God. They were convinced it was to be a political revolution in which the Messiah would overthrow the Roman government and reestablish the throne of Israel.
Over 2000 years later, God's people seem to still be looking for Jesus to do the same thing. We want a Christian nation. Our hopes for our nation seem to rise and fall based upon the legislation in favor or opposition to Christian values. We are determined to force Jesus to be king. But Jesus showed us that he was not interested in being king of a nation. He was and is interested in being King of individual lives that make up the Church through whom he plans to usher in heaven on earth.
John 6 continues and Jesus explains this. He says, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me" (John 6:56-57). In response the people, who hours before wanted to elect him king, now say, "This is a hard teaching who can accept it? " (John 6: 60) and many of them walk away from Christ.
Ask Jesus who he would vote for and according to this chapter of the Bible instead of getting an ear full of political information, Jesus would say that we who call ourselves Followers of Him are to be more concerned with how we live than who is elected. I guess we would call Jesus un-American (of course, he was not American, though we tend to forget this) because he would not appear to be nearly as concerned with who is in office as he is with who is in at the center of our personal and corporate lives as the Church, His Body. To feed on Christ means we eat of his love so much that we love him with all ourselves and love our neighbors as ourselves.
Wait a minute? Am I saying Jesus does not care if Obama or McCain is president? Am, I saying Jesus would not want us to consider wheather we vote per our morals or the economy? No...I am not saying a word on that simply because Jesus apparently did not think it was important enough to give time and talk to it. Instead, when he was offered the throne of a nation he said all he was interested in was being in the throne of our personal lives so much so that wherever we go, whomever we meet we are ushering in God's kingdom here and now.
The hope of our nation does not rest on the next President of the United Sates. The hope of our nation rests solely in Jesus Christ and that hope is made reality each and every time a person turns form self to Christ and each an every time a church turns from self-service to others-service. And each time that is allowed to happen, Jesus said it is like a mustard seed. No matter how small of a beginning it has, it will grow and grow until it becomes the largest plant in the garden. And when God's kingdom is growing through the hungry being fed, the sick being cared for, the oppressed being freed, the hated being loved, the prideful being humbled, the spiritually lost being found...then it does not matter who is President...because where Christ is King no man or nation can stop heaven from coming on earth.
I am Chad Current and I approve this message!
Would Jesus register as a democrat or a republican? Would he put an Obama or a McCain sign in his front yard? I think that's a pretty good question to ask just days away from election day. The problem is I am afraid that Jesus will end up doing what he seemed to do best when he was here on earth: He will end up offending people on both sides of the party lines.
That's what we see Jesus doing in John 6. Here's the setting...Jesus has just finished feeding 5000 men plus women and children with 5 small loaves of bread and two small fish. Talk about a great political move. He's just had 5000 + people hearing his speech on what it means to have God's kingdom come on earth and then he led it to all culminate with not only making the promise but meeting the need. Well, you can imagine that Jesus was rating high in the popularity polls. In fact, Jesus knew it. That is why we see Jesus do what is recorded in John 6:14-15, "After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again into the hills by himself." You see the people misunderstood the kingdom of God. They were convinced it was to be a political revolution in which the Messiah would overthrow the Roman government and reestablish the throne of Israel.
Over 2000 years later, God's people seem to still be looking for Jesus to do the same thing. We want a Christian nation. Our hopes for our nation seem to rise and fall based upon the legislation in favor or opposition to Christian values. We are determined to force Jesus to be king. But Jesus showed us that he was not interested in being king of a nation. He was and is interested in being King of individual lives that make up the Church through whom he plans to usher in heaven on earth.
John 6 continues and Jesus explains this. He says, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me" (John 6:56-57). In response the people, who hours before wanted to elect him king, now say, "This is a hard teaching who can accept it? " (John 6: 60) and many of them walk away from Christ.
Ask Jesus who he would vote for and according to this chapter of the Bible instead of getting an ear full of political information, Jesus would say that we who call ourselves Followers of Him are to be more concerned with how we live than who is elected. I guess we would call Jesus un-American (of course, he was not American, though we tend to forget this) because he would not appear to be nearly as concerned with who is in office as he is with who is in at the center of our personal and corporate lives as the Church, His Body. To feed on Christ means we eat of his love so much that we love him with all ourselves and love our neighbors as ourselves.
Wait a minute? Am I saying Jesus does not care if Obama or McCain is president? Am, I saying Jesus would not want us to consider wheather we vote per our morals or the economy? No...I am not saying a word on that simply because Jesus apparently did not think it was important enough to give time and talk to it. Instead, when he was offered the throne of a nation he said all he was interested in was being in the throne of our personal lives so much so that wherever we go, whomever we meet we are ushering in God's kingdom here and now.
The hope of our nation does not rest on the next President of the United Sates. The hope of our nation rests solely in Jesus Christ and that hope is made reality each and every time a person turns form self to Christ and each an every time a church turns from self-service to others-service. And each time that is allowed to happen, Jesus said it is like a mustard seed. No matter how small of a beginning it has, it will grow and grow until it becomes the largest plant in the garden. And when God's kingdom is growing through the hungry being fed, the sick being cared for, the oppressed being freed, the hated being loved, the prideful being humbled, the spiritually lost being found...then it does not matter who is President...because where Christ is King no man or nation can stop heaven from coming on earth.
I am Chad Current and I approve this message!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
"Don't Play Defense"
In these thirty four years of my life, I have only played on any kind of organized sports league for about three years. In fourth through sixth grade I played Miamisburg Rec. League Basketball. As I look back on those years of discovering my unathletic ability, I remember that I always like playing defense better than offense. I liked defense better because I was always better at blocking a ball ( I was tall for my age, so that helped) than I was at shooting the ball. In fact, I remember praying during the game that no one would pass the ball to me. And that is not the only time I have prayed on the defense.
Tonight during the men's accountability group we were looking at Acts 4 in the Bible. Acts 4:23-31 records the prayer of Christ Followers as they were facing there first onslaught of threats of persecution. The powers to be had told them in no uncertain terms to stop worshipping and preaching Jesus Christ. So, the Christ Followers all gathered for prayer.
What would I pray, if people were threatening to make me stop preaching Christ, if I did not stop my own? I can tell you what I would pray...I would pray for God to protect me and stop them. In other words, I would pray on the defense.
However, the Christ Followers in Acts, prayed just the opposite...they prayed on the offense. Listen to their prayer in Acts 4:29-30, "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." That is no prayer of defense...it is a prayer of offense! They don't pray for God to stop the threats but to give them courage in the face of the threats. They don't pray for the enemies of God to shut up, but for the people of God to speak up. They don't pray for the hand of Satan to no longer to be seen, but for the hand of God to be seen all the more clearer in the presence of evil.
In response to their prayers, the Bible says in verse 31, "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."
Do you want to see God shake things up? Instead of being filled with worry, fear, stress, sadness and weariness, do you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Instead of cowering on the defense, do you want to be bold in your faith? Then don't just play offense, pray it!
Instead of praying for God to put prayer back in school, let's pray for God to raise up students who are so on fire for God that nothing can extinguish what God will do through them.
Instead of praying for legislation to be passed to uphold our morals, let's pray for we the Church to shine so bright with God's love that those who are around us can't help but be transformed by the love of Christ.
Instead of praying for God to protect us from evil, let's pray for God to use us to put evil on the run.
Instead of praying for God to make our lives so easy that we never have to deal with any trouble, let's pray that even in the face of trouble God would make us courageous in him.
That is one of the reasons I love Baptism and Child dedication Sunday (this Sunday, October 26, at 11 AM). In Child dedications, parents are saying, "We know that we live in a broken world, but by faith we believe that He that is in us is greater than that which is in the world." Child dedication is an act of praying on the offense on behalf of a child. Baptism is also a bold and offensive move. It is a Follower of Christ making the decision to no longer allow his or her Faith in Christ to remain private. It is a courageous step of publicly proclaiming that without Christ I am dead even while I live, but with Christ I am alive even if I die! This Sunday, is going to be a powerful day of praying on the offense. I want to invite you to be with us...show up and I believe together we see God shake us up, fill us up and send us out with a renewed sense of boldness.
Tonight during the men's accountability group we were looking at Acts 4 in the Bible. Acts 4:23-31 records the prayer of Christ Followers as they were facing there first onslaught of threats of persecution. The powers to be had told them in no uncertain terms to stop worshipping and preaching Jesus Christ. So, the Christ Followers all gathered for prayer.
What would I pray, if people were threatening to make me stop preaching Christ, if I did not stop my own? I can tell you what I would pray...I would pray for God to protect me and stop them. In other words, I would pray on the defense.
However, the Christ Followers in Acts, prayed just the opposite...they prayed on the offense. Listen to their prayer in Acts 4:29-30, "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." That is no prayer of defense...it is a prayer of offense! They don't pray for God to stop the threats but to give them courage in the face of the threats. They don't pray for the enemies of God to shut up, but for the people of God to speak up. They don't pray for the hand of Satan to no longer to be seen, but for the hand of God to be seen all the more clearer in the presence of evil.
In response to their prayers, the Bible says in verse 31, "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."
Do you want to see God shake things up? Instead of being filled with worry, fear, stress, sadness and weariness, do you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Instead of cowering on the defense, do you want to be bold in your faith? Then don't just play offense, pray it!
Instead of praying for God to put prayer back in school, let's pray for God to raise up students who are so on fire for God that nothing can extinguish what God will do through them.
Instead of praying for legislation to be passed to uphold our morals, let's pray for we the Church to shine so bright with God's love that those who are around us can't help but be transformed by the love of Christ.
Instead of praying for God to protect us from evil, let's pray for God to use us to put evil on the run.
Instead of praying for God to make our lives so easy that we never have to deal with any trouble, let's pray that even in the face of trouble God would make us courageous in him.
That is one of the reasons I love Baptism and Child dedication Sunday (this Sunday, October 26, at 11 AM). In Child dedications, parents are saying, "We know that we live in a broken world, but by faith we believe that He that is in us is greater than that which is in the world." Child dedication is an act of praying on the offense on behalf of a child. Baptism is also a bold and offensive move. It is a Follower of Christ making the decision to no longer allow his or her Faith in Christ to remain private. It is a courageous step of publicly proclaiming that without Christ I am dead even while I live, but with Christ I am alive even if I die! This Sunday, is going to be a powerful day of praying on the offense. I want to invite you to be with us...show up and I believe together we see God shake us up, fill us up and send us out with a renewed sense of boldness.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
"Sleeping in the Trash"
Sunday afternoon I was taking some trash to the dumpster. I opened the lid, tossed in the trash and then I jumped and ran! I was expecting to find trash in the trash, not two eyes starring back at me followed by a mean sounding "hiss." I am not too big of a man to admit that I about wet myself...it scarred me half to death.
Of course, God never lets me have moments like those by myself. Two other men were walking by just as I was startled. They got a good laugh and the brave one looked in the trash, poked around and said, "Its just a raccoon sleeping. You know they sleep during the day." I could think of a lot better places to sleep, but apparently the raccoon was quite comfortable in the trash.
I can't really judge the animal for its sleeping arrangements because I too have too many times found myself comfortable enough with trash to sleep in it. We can get so good at denial, justification and rationalization that pretty soon we make ourselves feel good enough with trash that we sleep in it. The sin that use to bother us now doesn't even make us flinch. The unethical business practices are just business as usual. The unhealthy relationship has gone on so long that as far as we know and our kids know that its just normal family life. We spend so much time blaming others for our problems that we are convinced that our problem is everybody else's problem to fix. We treat our bad habits as though they are an unchangeable part of our DNA. Bottom line, we might as well crawl in the dumpster and sleep with the raccoon because we are sleeping in the trash.
Scarier than finding a raccoon in the dumpster is finding ourselves reaching the point where we are so out of tune with the Spirit of God that we are OK with making a bed in trash. Friends, God has better for you and me than trash. The Bible says, "Godly sorrow leads to repentance that leads to life."
If you wake up In the trash today or any day, don't roll over and hit snooze. Get up. Let Godly sorrow fill you in such a good way that you are ready to turn away from the trash to more fully receive all that Christ has for you and you'll be amazed at how much better you sleep!
Of course, God never lets me have moments like those by myself. Two other men were walking by just as I was startled. They got a good laugh and the brave one looked in the trash, poked around and said, "Its just a raccoon sleeping. You know they sleep during the day." I could think of a lot better places to sleep, but apparently the raccoon was quite comfortable in the trash.
I can't really judge the animal for its sleeping arrangements because I too have too many times found myself comfortable enough with trash to sleep in it. We can get so good at denial, justification and rationalization that pretty soon we make ourselves feel good enough with trash that we sleep in it. The sin that use to bother us now doesn't even make us flinch. The unethical business practices are just business as usual. The unhealthy relationship has gone on so long that as far as we know and our kids know that its just normal family life. We spend so much time blaming others for our problems that we are convinced that our problem is everybody else's problem to fix. We treat our bad habits as though they are an unchangeable part of our DNA. Bottom line, we might as well crawl in the dumpster and sleep with the raccoon because we are sleeping in the trash.
Scarier than finding a raccoon in the dumpster is finding ourselves reaching the point where we are so out of tune with the Spirit of God that we are OK with making a bed in trash. Friends, God has better for you and me than trash. The Bible says, "Godly sorrow leads to repentance that leads to life."
If you wake up In the trash today or any day, don't roll over and hit snooze. Get up. Let Godly sorrow fill you in such a good way that you are ready to turn away from the trash to more fully receive all that Christ has for you and you'll be amazed at how much better you sleep!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
"Beyond Ordinary"
"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13.
The context of the above verse is that Peter and John are telling others about Jesus Christ. The two men knew that to do so meant they were painting a target on their backs. However, they did not let that stop them. Their love for God was greater than their fear of the opinions or negative actions of others. Those who opposed them noticed their courage. And they noticed something more...yes, they were unschooled and they were ordinary, but something set them apart from other men...what is it? What is different about them? Then, "They took note that these men had been with Jesus." That was the difference...they had been with Jesus. Being with Jesus took ordinary men beyond ordinary.
Do any body where you or I live, work and play take note that we have been with Jesus? Do we want others to take note that we have been with Jesus? What will it take for us to be with Jesus in such a way that others recognize that we have been in his presence?
The context of the above verse is that Peter and John are telling others about Jesus Christ. The two men knew that to do so meant they were painting a target on their backs. However, they did not let that stop them. Their love for God was greater than their fear of the opinions or negative actions of others. Those who opposed them noticed their courage. And they noticed something more...yes, they were unschooled and they were ordinary, but something set them apart from other men...what is it? What is different about them? Then, "They took note that these men had been with Jesus." That was the difference...they had been with Jesus. Being with Jesus took ordinary men beyond ordinary.
Do any body where you or I live, work and play take note that we have been with Jesus? Do we want others to take note that we have been with Jesus? What will it take for us to be with Jesus in such a way that others recognize that we have been in his presence?
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
"Singing in the Rain"
A while back my neighbor that lives across the street from me said, "Chad, did you hear the rain early this morning?"
"Yeah," I said, "It woke me up."
"Did you hear anything else?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"The birds," he said, "The whole time it was raining the birds were singing. When was the last time you sang in the rain?"
What about you? When was the last time you sang in the rain? I have cried in the rain...I've thrown adult-temper tantrums in the rain...I've shouted in frustrated, "It's not fair...why me?" in the rain...I've withdrawn into a dark and lonely place in the rain...but sing...? I wonder what birds know that I don't? I wonder what would happen if I gave their response a try to the rain in my life?
"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God , and the other prisoners {Did you catch that? Paul and Silas are singing in prison} were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison door's flew open, and every body's chains came loose. The jailer woke up and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, 'Don't harm yourself! We are all here!' ...the jailer asked, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:25-30).
That's what happened when Paul and Silas, beaten and bleeding in prison, sang songs of praise to God! First of all, singing to God got their focus on something greater and more hopeful than their own negative circumstances. Next, when we focus on God we put ourselves in a position to let God open doors for us that we could never open on our own. Third, God uses people who sing in the rain or in the prison cell to help others hear and receive his love now and forever.
Birds singing in the rain...Men singing in a prison cell...I wonder what they know that I don't? I wonder what would happen if I gave a their response a try?
Is it raining? Why not try singing?
"Yeah," I said, "It woke me up."
"Did you hear anything else?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"The birds," he said, "The whole time it was raining the birds were singing. When was the last time you sang in the rain?"
What about you? When was the last time you sang in the rain? I have cried in the rain...I've thrown adult-temper tantrums in the rain...I've shouted in frustrated, "It's not fair...why me?" in the rain...I've withdrawn into a dark and lonely place in the rain...but sing...? I wonder what birds know that I don't? I wonder what would happen if I gave their response a try to the rain in my life?
"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God , and the other prisoners {Did you catch that? Paul and Silas are singing in prison} were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison door's flew open, and every body's chains came loose. The jailer woke up and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, 'Don't harm yourself! We are all here!' ...the jailer asked, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:25-30).
That's what happened when Paul and Silas, beaten and bleeding in prison, sang songs of praise to God! First of all, singing to God got their focus on something greater and more hopeful than their own negative circumstances. Next, when we focus on God we put ourselves in a position to let God open doors for us that we could never open on our own. Third, God uses people who sing in the rain or in the prison cell to help others hear and receive his love now and forever.
Birds singing in the rain...Men singing in a prison cell...I wonder what they know that I don't? I wonder what would happen if I gave a their response a try?
Is it raining? Why not try singing?
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
"For theTroubled"
We all know that in this sin-fallen world trouble is bound to find us. Yet, when it does, knowing that does not make us feel any better does it?
You watch as the floor of our financial market appears to fall out and you here your future retirement funds saying, "bye, bye." You watch everybody else get their power back on while yours stays off. Somebody rams you in the rear end and puts your car in the shop. A loved dies unexpectedly. A friendship is on the rocks. Do I need to go on? Of course not, we are all familiar with trouble.
So, what words do I have that will change your life in the face of trouble? I have none to offer of my own. But what I do have to offer is better. This week I read a promise from God's word that I have been holding onto. It is real to life and yet it presents great hope. Psalm 137:8 says, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life."
Is trouble real? yes. Will you and I walk through our share of trouble in this life? Yes. Does trouble have to destroy me? No. Does trouble have to have the final say in my life? No.
"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you, O, Lord, preserve my life." Are you in the midst of trouble? Why not take a moment right now to meditate on that sentence? Repeat it over and over in your head. Say it out loud. Then ask Jesus to show up and reveal anything he especially wants you to hear from him about your trouble and his power.
I am praying for you. Any trouble I can pray specifically about with you?
You watch as the floor of our financial market appears to fall out and you here your future retirement funds saying, "bye, bye." You watch everybody else get their power back on while yours stays off. Somebody rams you in the rear end and puts your car in the shop. A loved dies unexpectedly. A friendship is on the rocks. Do I need to go on? Of course not, we are all familiar with trouble.
So, what words do I have that will change your life in the face of trouble? I have none to offer of my own. But what I do have to offer is better. This week I read a promise from God's word that I have been holding onto. It is real to life and yet it presents great hope. Psalm 137:8 says, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life."
Is trouble real? yes. Will you and I walk through our share of trouble in this life? Yes. Does trouble have to destroy me? No. Does trouble have to have the final say in my life? No.
"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you, O, Lord, preserve my life." Are you in the midst of trouble? Why not take a moment right now to meditate on that sentence? Repeat it over and over in your head. Say it out loud. Then ask Jesus to show up and reveal anything he especially wants you to hear from him about your trouble and his power.
I am praying for you. Any trouble I can pray specifically about with you?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
"And the Wind Blew"
So, how are you doing during "Storm aftermath day 3"? I hope you are well. You have been prayed for and the offer for help from your church family still stands.
The force of the winds on Sunday were pretty incredible. Not realizing how bad it would get, around 2 PM, Kimberly said, "Let's go get ice cream." It seemed that every mile we drove the worst the winds became. We finally made it to the ice cream shop and while we were paying for our order, the wind blew the front door off the store and shattered it on the concrete. At that point I looked at Kimberly and said, "What are we doing out here?" (Of course, we finished our ice cream. I figured if we were going to die, I could think of no better way than spending my final moments with the ones I love eating black raspberry chip ice cream with whip cream on top :-) Of course, that was just the beginning of the winds and the damage it left in its aftermath is still being dealt with by many and probably many of you...debris to be cleaned up, damage to property to be repaired, power to be restored. I just heard that one area may not have power for 5-6 weeks. The wind has come and gone, but its effect will not be forgotten for some time.
As I think about our wind I am reminded that the Bible looks to the wind as an illustration for spiritual truths, such as the following:
Jesus says in Matthew 3:5-8,"I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit to spirit. You should not be surprised by this saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." The wind may be invisible, but its effect is powerful. The same is true with the Spirit of God. You may not be able to see it, but what he can do in a person's life is nothing less than powerfully miraculous. Have you been born of the Spirit? Have you received Jesus as the Forgiver of your Sins and Leader of your life? If so, then you will see his work blowing through you.
Ephesians 4:14, "Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." On Sunday some trees swayed with the wind and other trees broke under it. What kind of follower of Christ are you? Spiritual infants are easily blown by every wind that comes along. This section of Scripture goes on to urge us to grow up in our faith so that even if we are shaken we will not be broken.
Ecclesiastes 2:11, "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." These words are written by a man who had it all according to human standards, but reviewed his life and found that all that he had was worth little more than wind in his hands. Am I chasing after anything more?
I do not know what the wind has done to you, but my prayer is that even today, in this moment, you and I would make room in our day for God to blow his Spirit afresh in and through us.
The force of the winds on Sunday were pretty incredible. Not realizing how bad it would get, around 2 PM, Kimberly said, "Let's go get ice cream." It seemed that every mile we drove the worst the winds became. We finally made it to the ice cream shop and while we were paying for our order, the wind blew the front door off the store and shattered it on the concrete. At that point I looked at Kimberly and said, "What are we doing out here?" (Of course, we finished our ice cream. I figured if we were going to die, I could think of no better way than spending my final moments with the ones I love eating black raspberry chip ice cream with whip cream on top :-) Of course, that was just the beginning of the winds and the damage it left in its aftermath is still being dealt with by many and probably many of you...debris to be cleaned up, damage to property to be repaired, power to be restored. I just heard that one area may not have power for 5-6 weeks. The wind has come and gone, but its effect will not be forgotten for some time.
As I think about our wind I am reminded that the Bible looks to the wind as an illustration for spiritual truths, such as the following:
Jesus says in Matthew 3:5-8,"I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit to spirit. You should not be surprised by this saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." The wind may be invisible, but its effect is powerful. The same is true with the Spirit of God. You may not be able to see it, but what he can do in a person's life is nothing less than powerfully miraculous. Have you been born of the Spirit? Have you received Jesus as the Forgiver of your Sins and Leader of your life? If so, then you will see his work blowing through you.
Ephesians 4:14, "Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." On Sunday some trees swayed with the wind and other trees broke under it. What kind of follower of Christ are you? Spiritual infants are easily blown by every wind that comes along. This section of Scripture goes on to urge us to grow up in our faith so that even if we are shaken we will not be broken.
Ecclesiastes 2:11, "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." These words are written by a man who had it all according to human standards, but reviewed his life and found that all that he had was worth little more than wind in his hands. Am I chasing after anything more?
I do not know what the wind has done to you, but my prayer is that even today, in this moment, you and I would make room in our day for God to blow his Spirit afresh in and through us.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
As Is
If you have ever shopped for a car on a used car lot, you have probably seen a sign in the window that says, "As Is". It is the dealers way of reminding us that the car we are looking at is used not new. Used means the warranty has most likely expired and that wear and tear has occurred. It does not mean that it is not still a good car, but it does mean it is not a new car and therefore we should not expect it to be new. If we are going to buy it, then we must accept it, "As Is"...if it has a scratch on the hood, then we must accept it as is...if it has a stain on the floor and we buy it will still have the stain on the floor when we drive it out of the lot. If we drive it for two weeks and the check engine light comes on, then remember you bought it "as is."
I was talking with someone this week who was sharing that recently they have been dealing with some inner issues from their past that have been stirred up in their present. While the person is letting God work in this area of their life, they said they also are trying to let God love them even before he "fixes" them. The person said letting God do that is just as hard as letting God bring about transformation.
I can relate to that. It is easy for me to understand how God can love me after he has fixed some broken part of my life, but it is hard for me to accept that God can love me before I am fixed. However, that is exactly what God does. Whether you and I accept it or not, he loves us "AS IS"...scratches, dents and all. Who you are right now, is who God loves. Romans 5: 8 says, "God demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." What's that say? It says, God looked at you and me and saw the "AS IS" sign on us and all that it means and in response he said, "I'll take him...I'll take her...As Is." And with the blood of his only Son he purchased us abundant life through Christ now and Forever. The only question left is, will we let Christ love us "as is." Will we fall into his arms and say, "Here I am...this is me...the good, the bad and the ugly," and let him loves us just as we are right now; trusting fully in his love and not in what we could ever do to try to earn it? To all who will receive this love, he freely gives it. It is a love that is like no other...Pure, free, amazing, unconditional love.
And once we let him love us "as is" and we think it can't get any better...it gets even better. God loves "as is", but loves us too much to leave us that way...day by day, year by year until we die he heals, frees, cleanses, transforms us from the inside out shaping us into the beautiful image of Christ. Get to know Jesus and you find there is no limit to his love...it just keeps getting better and better!
O, one more thing...since God loves you "as is" who has he put in your life that he is asking you to love "as is" for him?
I was talking with someone this week who was sharing that recently they have been dealing with some inner issues from their past that have been stirred up in their present. While the person is letting God work in this area of their life, they said they also are trying to let God love them even before he "fixes" them. The person said letting God do that is just as hard as letting God bring about transformation.
I can relate to that. It is easy for me to understand how God can love me after he has fixed some broken part of my life, but it is hard for me to accept that God can love me before I am fixed. However, that is exactly what God does. Whether you and I accept it or not, he loves us "AS IS"...scratches, dents and all. Who you are right now, is who God loves. Romans 5: 8 says, "God demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." What's that say? It says, God looked at you and me and saw the "AS IS" sign on us and all that it means and in response he said, "I'll take him...I'll take her...As Is." And with the blood of his only Son he purchased us abundant life through Christ now and Forever. The only question left is, will we let Christ love us "as is." Will we fall into his arms and say, "Here I am...this is me...the good, the bad and the ugly," and let him loves us just as we are right now; trusting fully in his love and not in what we could ever do to try to earn it? To all who will receive this love, he freely gives it. It is a love that is like no other...Pure, free, amazing, unconditional love.
And once we let him love us "as is" and we think it can't get any better...it gets even better. God loves "as is", but loves us too much to leave us that way...day by day, year by year until we die he heals, frees, cleanses, transforms us from the inside out shaping us into the beautiful image of Christ. Get to know Jesus and you find there is no limit to his love...it just keeps getting better and better!
O, one more thing...since God loves you "as is" who has he put in your life that he is asking you to love "as is" for him?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
"Be Sure She Gets Plenty of Water"
A couple of weeks ago, I was at the bank. Our bank highlights a different local business each month. This month a lawn care company was highlighted. The company had a sign that said register to win a free bush. As one who is always game for getting something for nothing, I wrote down my name and number and dropped it in the fishbowl. A week later, I received a phone call..."You won!" I was waiting for the catch, but there was none. I submitted my information, the company pulled out my name and not only did I win a new plant, they were even going to plant it for me. It is a beautiful plant with a name I cannot pronounce. Add to it that I did not even have to plant it and I was feeling like I just won the lottery. It is fun to win a free gift!
The lawn company owner who delivered and planted the bush asked of me only one thing: "Make sure she gets plenty of water," he urged. He said that our yard is full of clay and that in the summer heat, it is very important that this young bush get plenty of water if I want her to continue to have nice full and green leaves and beautiful flowers. "Yeah, yeah," I said, "plenty of water...no problem."
Day one... was no problem, especially since the lawn care company owner watered it for me. Day two...I was careful to keep it watered. Day three...I thought it's been watered two days in a row, I am tired, I think I will skip watering it until tomorrow after work. I got home from work the next day and that poor bush was shriveled and puny. It looked like somebody stole my beautiful bush and replaced it with a very pitiful specimen. About that time, I could hear the Lawn Company Owner's voice haunting me..."Be sure she gets plenty of water...Be sure she gets plenty of water..." It had only been one day of no water, but one day was enough to rob that prize of its original beauty.
In Christ we win a great and free gift! When we accept Christ as the Forgiver of our sins and leader of our lives, we win new life now and forever. Christ and his gift of new life is personal, real, exciting, beautiful! Jesus says, "This is yours. I paid the price for it. There is nothing you can do to earn or deserve it. All you have to do now is water the gift of faith." So, we get excited and we say, "No problem". We start watering our new found relationship with God...we worship, we meditate on the truth of the Bible, we pray, we serve...and we can tell we are growing...it's nothing less than beautiful...and then over time, usually very gradually, we start to devalue the importance of watering our faith. We get busy. We get distracted. We get tired. Maybe we even get a bit prideful and we think, "I can put off watering until tomorrow." And once we do it is amazing how quickly the life of God begins to fade in us...it is amazing how quickly the beauty of Christ in us begins to shrivel up.
Maybe someone reading this today feels shriveled up spiritually. I know what that is like. I have been there. Listen...can you hear his voice...Jesus says, "Make sure she gets plenty of water." What we have in Christ is not a religion. Religion is built upon rites and rituals that you go to once a week or once a month or a couple of times a year to do your spiritual duty and then go on with the rest of your life. But what we have in Christ is about a relationship with the living and personal God. For a relationship to be healthy it takes constant and daily nurturing. The more nurturing it receives, the more it blossoms.
For a long time I resisted what the Bible taught about the place of and importance of watering my faith by moving past an hour on Sunday to truly connect with other Christ Followers to study God's Word, pray, encourage and be encouraged and be held accountable. I use to think that I did not really need others to grow in my faith and besides that my personality type leaves me feeling initially uncomfortable in such situations. However, thankfully, God would not let me get away with such excuses. I now run to watering my faith in and with Christian community because I have seen how much God uses it (imagine that...God uses what he says he will use). Not only do the Small groups I participate in water my faith and help it grow, but the small groups provide me the accountability I need to keep me from falling into the thinking that my faith can go without watering for a day or two.
My prayer for everyone who calls Living Hoe there church home is that we would move past an hour on Sunday and water our faith through discovering and becoming the Christian community to which the Bible calls us. There is no need to live shriveled up spiritual lives. God gave you his gift so you could increasingly become a reflection of his beauty.
That beauty is not uncovered in isolation, but with others.
Acts 2:42-47 describes what Christian community looks like and how it waters our faith. Check it out!
The lawn company owner who delivered and planted the bush asked of me only one thing: "Make sure she gets plenty of water," he urged. He said that our yard is full of clay and that in the summer heat, it is very important that this young bush get plenty of water if I want her to continue to have nice full and green leaves and beautiful flowers. "Yeah, yeah," I said, "plenty of water...no problem."
Day one... was no problem, especially since the lawn care company owner watered it for me. Day two...I was careful to keep it watered. Day three...I thought it's been watered two days in a row, I am tired, I think I will skip watering it until tomorrow after work. I got home from work the next day and that poor bush was shriveled and puny. It looked like somebody stole my beautiful bush and replaced it with a very pitiful specimen. About that time, I could hear the Lawn Company Owner's voice haunting me..."Be sure she gets plenty of water...Be sure she gets plenty of water..." It had only been one day of no water, but one day was enough to rob that prize of its original beauty.
In Christ we win a great and free gift! When we accept Christ as the Forgiver of our sins and leader of our lives, we win new life now and forever. Christ and his gift of new life is personal, real, exciting, beautiful! Jesus says, "This is yours. I paid the price for it. There is nothing you can do to earn or deserve it. All you have to do now is water the gift of faith." So, we get excited and we say, "No problem". We start watering our new found relationship with God...we worship, we meditate on the truth of the Bible, we pray, we serve...and we can tell we are growing...it's nothing less than beautiful...and then over time, usually very gradually, we start to devalue the importance of watering our faith. We get busy. We get distracted. We get tired. Maybe we even get a bit prideful and we think, "I can put off watering until tomorrow." And once we do it is amazing how quickly the life of God begins to fade in us...it is amazing how quickly the beauty of Christ in us begins to shrivel up.
Maybe someone reading this today feels shriveled up spiritually. I know what that is like. I have been there. Listen...can you hear his voice...Jesus says, "Make sure she gets plenty of water." What we have in Christ is not a religion. Religion is built upon rites and rituals that you go to once a week or once a month or a couple of times a year to do your spiritual duty and then go on with the rest of your life. But what we have in Christ is about a relationship with the living and personal God. For a relationship to be healthy it takes constant and daily nurturing. The more nurturing it receives, the more it blossoms.
For a long time I resisted what the Bible taught about the place of and importance of watering my faith by moving past an hour on Sunday to truly connect with other Christ Followers to study God's Word, pray, encourage and be encouraged and be held accountable. I use to think that I did not really need others to grow in my faith and besides that my personality type leaves me feeling initially uncomfortable in such situations. However, thankfully, God would not let me get away with such excuses. I now run to watering my faith in and with Christian community because I have seen how much God uses it (imagine that...God uses what he says he will use). Not only do the Small groups I participate in water my faith and help it grow, but the small groups provide me the accountability I need to keep me from falling into the thinking that my faith can go without watering for a day or two.
My prayer for everyone who calls Living Hoe there church home is that we would move past an hour on Sunday and water our faith through discovering and becoming the Christian community to which the Bible calls us. There is no need to live shriveled up spiritual lives. God gave you his gift so you could increasingly become a reflection of his beauty.
That beauty is not uncovered in isolation, but with others.
Acts 2:42-47 describes what Christian community looks like and how it waters our faith. Check it out!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
What Works for Phelps, Works for Us
Michael Phelps has blown his competitors out of the water (pun intended) in Beijing! The 6'4" swimming machine explodes into the pool leaving others in his wake and collecting Gold medal after Gold.
How does he do it? Has he been gifted with a natural talent for swimming? I suppose that is a small piece of it. But I would be willing to bet that if you asked Phelps the secret to his success he would take you to the gym where he lifts weights and to the pool where he does over a hundred laps a day. The point is, Phelps has broken records and has his shelf lined with gold because he has worked for it.
It seems that there is a temptation for many of we humans to think that what we want most in life will just magically happen. We want instant wealth. We want to wake up one day and have the perfect realtionships. We want to accept Christ on Sunday and have mountain moving faith on Monday. The truth is, we are an impatient sort that think that everything we think we need and want out of life should have already been in our possession yesterday. The problem is that in our demand for instant gratification we sabotage the possibility of obtaining the good things we say we want for our relationship with God and others and ourselves. The truth we rather not hear is that the only reason Phelps is winning Gold and breaking records is because every day he goes to the gym and swims a hundred laps. He wins because he works.
I know...I will make some theologically nervous as I type these words, but the truth is those who win at anything including spirituality are those who work. No, work does not mean we earn or deserve God's free gift of salvation. The Bible is clear that we have a relationship with God now and forever by grace through faith in Christ not by works so that no one can boast (see Ephesians 2:8) However, there is a work to our faith that separates those who grow and mature in their faith from those who don't.
Philippians 2: 12-13 in the Bible says, "...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his purpose." Notice how the Apostle Paul (the writer of the passage) sees no theological compromise in saying that faith is about God's work in us and our work in it. When we exercise our faith, we open ourselves to God being at work in us and when God is at work in us we are able to put our faith to work. One flows in and out of the other. Stop God's work in us and we are working in vain. Stop our work for God and we cut ourselves off from letting God work in us.
Do you want to have a mountain moving faith? Do you want to forgive the one who has done the unforgivable act? Do you want to be free of habits, hurts and hang-ups? Do you want to see God work in your relationships? Do you want to see God change your world? Then go swim a hundred laps; get to work.
Exercise your faith...hit your knees in prayer every day, don't just read, but meditate on the truths of the Bible, make a point to find somebody to serve everyday where you live your daily life, make your finances a spiritual matter, give up complaining and arguing, accept that the Bible says we cannot grow alone and get involved in more than an hour on Sunday--find a way to connect with other Followers of Christ for learning, caring and accountability (at Living Hope that's what small groups, celebrate recovery, prayer ministry for inner healing and Spiritual mentoring is all about), don't demand to stay where you are comfortable, give up what God calls you to give up and hang onto what God calls you to pick up! There is only one way to win...do the work. Jump in the pool and start swimming! Forget the short-cuts. Quit making excuses that others are more prone to grow spiritually than you. Stop blaming the circumstances of life or your personality.
One more thing...There was nothing easy about Phelps getting to be the fastest swimmer in the world, but I am pretty sure he would tell you that all the work was worth it. Go ahead...jump in the pool and swim a hundred laps and next thing you know you'll be hearing the witnesses in heaven shouting your name and chanting "Gold, Gold, Gold!" And you'll fall to your knees and bow your head and say, "Thank you, Father!" And in reply, he will say to you, "Well done my good and faithful servant." And in that moment all the sweat, blood and tears will quickly fade away and you will know that Jesus wasn't kidding when he told us that it would all be worth it.
How does he do it? Has he been gifted with a natural talent for swimming? I suppose that is a small piece of it. But I would be willing to bet that if you asked Phelps the secret to his success he would take you to the gym where he lifts weights and to the pool where he does over a hundred laps a day. The point is, Phelps has broken records and has his shelf lined with gold because he has worked for it.
It seems that there is a temptation for many of we humans to think that what we want most in life will just magically happen. We want instant wealth. We want to wake up one day and have the perfect realtionships. We want to accept Christ on Sunday and have mountain moving faith on Monday. The truth is, we are an impatient sort that think that everything we think we need and want out of life should have already been in our possession yesterday. The problem is that in our demand for instant gratification we sabotage the possibility of obtaining the good things we say we want for our relationship with God and others and ourselves. The truth we rather not hear is that the only reason Phelps is winning Gold and breaking records is because every day he goes to the gym and swims a hundred laps. He wins because he works.
I know...I will make some theologically nervous as I type these words, but the truth is those who win at anything including spirituality are those who work. No, work does not mean we earn or deserve God's free gift of salvation. The Bible is clear that we have a relationship with God now and forever by grace through faith in Christ not by works so that no one can boast (see Ephesians 2:8) However, there is a work to our faith that separates those who grow and mature in their faith from those who don't.
Philippians 2: 12-13 in the Bible says, "...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his purpose." Notice how the Apostle Paul (the writer of the passage) sees no theological compromise in saying that faith is about God's work in us and our work in it. When we exercise our faith, we open ourselves to God being at work in us and when God is at work in us we are able to put our faith to work. One flows in and out of the other. Stop God's work in us and we are working in vain. Stop our work for God and we cut ourselves off from letting God work in us.
Do you want to have a mountain moving faith? Do you want to forgive the one who has done the unforgivable act? Do you want to be free of habits, hurts and hang-ups? Do you want to see God work in your relationships? Do you want to see God change your world? Then go swim a hundred laps; get to work.
Exercise your faith...hit your knees in prayer every day, don't just read, but meditate on the truths of the Bible, make a point to find somebody to serve everyday where you live your daily life, make your finances a spiritual matter, give up complaining and arguing, accept that the Bible says we cannot grow alone and get involved in more than an hour on Sunday--find a way to connect with other Followers of Christ for learning, caring and accountability (at Living Hope that's what small groups, celebrate recovery, prayer ministry for inner healing and Spiritual mentoring is all about), don't demand to stay where you are comfortable, give up what God calls you to give up and hang onto what God calls you to pick up! There is only one way to win...do the work. Jump in the pool and start swimming! Forget the short-cuts. Quit making excuses that others are more prone to grow spiritually than you. Stop blaming the circumstances of life or your personality.
One more thing...There was nothing easy about Phelps getting to be the fastest swimmer in the world, but I am pretty sure he would tell you that all the work was worth it. Go ahead...jump in the pool and swim a hundred laps and next thing you know you'll be hearing the witnesses in heaven shouting your name and chanting "Gold, Gold, Gold!" And you'll fall to your knees and bow your head and say, "Thank you, Father!" And in reply, he will say to you, "Well done my good and faithful servant." And in that moment all the sweat, blood and tears will quickly fade away and you will know that Jesus wasn't kidding when he told us that it would all be worth it.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Random Thoughts: Grocery Bags
When God is in it, even a brown, paper grocery bag takes on great significance. Whenever we go to the grocery store, I do not think much about the grocery bags. They are simply a tool in which we carry our groceries home. Grocery bags are only valuable to me from the store to the car and then into our house. Then they are quickly forgotten.
However, I now look at grocery bags differently. As I walked into the Church building this morning 11 grocery bags greeted me in the main entrance. Each was filled with the specified Food 2 Go items. Suddenly, I saw more than grocery bags, I saw children. Each of those bags represents a child that will not have to worry about going hungry some weekend this coming school year. How much more secure and hopeful will that child feel as he or she goes home Friday afternoon knowing that this weekend won’t be like last when he or she felt the pains of hunger? How much comfort and hope will that bag bring to a single mom who is working as hard as she can but still can’t keep up and cries at night when she knows her children are going to bed hungry? That’s what I see in those bags you are filling with food this month for Food 2 Go.
In those bags, I also see how easy it is for a community to ignore the needs of its neighbors. The greatest resistance our Food 2 Go ministry has faced is disbelief that there are actually children in this community who go without food. The school system knows different and the children know different, but by and large the rest of us don’t. Why is that? How is that? How can we live and work and go to school with people and not know that their most basic need is being unmet? Is it possible to so shove the poor and hungry to the margins of life that we actually start to think they do not exist? Proverbs 21:13 reminds us, “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”
And so, in those bags, I see the power of God’s love and our unity. Whether you can afford to purchase only one item or 10 bags worth of food, every item you give is valuable not only because of the stomach it will feed, but because of the love with which you purchase it. I am so grateful to be a part of a church who does not complain about what is wrong in the world, but rather gives its energy to asking, “How can we best show God’s love in response to the needs of our world?” Any one of us could not feed many children, but together we can and will feed at least 50 every weekend this school year. And I believe that is just the beginning. Others will catch on and they will help and we will all feed more. Then other school districts will see what is being done here and will help children be fed in our surrounding community. You see that is what can happen when people come together to show God’s love. God’s love spreads and spreads and is unstoppable!
In those bags, I see God’s smile. Over and over again the Bible talks about God’s heart for the poor and oppressed. “Who is like you, O Lord? You rescue the poor and needy from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob from them” (Psalm 35:10). The ones our world tries to overlook and forget, God never forgets. In fact, he says, if we are to love him, we must love the marginalized. And when we dare to love the ones God loves…how can you not see God smile. Is there anything more beautiful or worthwhile to live for than God’s smile?
So, Living Hope Church, I want to thank you in advance for turning grocery bags into something more than brown paper bags. In your hands, they will become channels of God’s grace to the young, the innocent and the hungry. And something tells me it won’t just be food that some of those children receive and you who give will find that you cannot out give God.
Bring your bags full of love this month! See you Sunday!
With Hope in Christ,
Chad Current , Pastor
"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37
However, I now look at grocery bags differently. As I walked into the Church building this morning 11 grocery bags greeted me in the main entrance. Each was filled with the specified Food 2 Go items. Suddenly, I saw more than grocery bags, I saw children. Each of those bags represents a child that will not have to worry about going hungry some weekend this coming school year. How much more secure and hopeful will that child feel as he or she goes home Friday afternoon knowing that this weekend won’t be like last when he or she felt the pains of hunger? How much comfort and hope will that bag bring to a single mom who is working as hard as she can but still can’t keep up and cries at night when she knows her children are going to bed hungry? That’s what I see in those bags you are filling with food this month for Food 2 Go.
In those bags, I also see how easy it is for a community to ignore the needs of its neighbors. The greatest resistance our Food 2 Go ministry has faced is disbelief that there are actually children in this community who go without food. The school system knows different and the children know different, but by and large the rest of us don’t. Why is that? How is that? How can we live and work and go to school with people and not know that their most basic need is being unmet? Is it possible to so shove the poor and hungry to the margins of life that we actually start to think they do not exist? Proverbs 21:13 reminds us, “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”
And so, in those bags, I see the power of God’s love and our unity. Whether you can afford to purchase only one item or 10 bags worth of food, every item you give is valuable not only because of the stomach it will feed, but because of the love with which you purchase it. I am so grateful to be a part of a church who does not complain about what is wrong in the world, but rather gives its energy to asking, “How can we best show God’s love in response to the needs of our world?” Any one of us could not feed many children, but together we can and will feed at least 50 every weekend this school year. And I believe that is just the beginning. Others will catch on and they will help and we will all feed more. Then other school districts will see what is being done here and will help children be fed in our surrounding community. You see that is what can happen when people come together to show God’s love. God’s love spreads and spreads and is unstoppable!
In those bags, I see God’s smile. Over and over again the Bible talks about God’s heart for the poor and oppressed. “Who is like you, O Lord? You rescue the poor and needy from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob from them” (Psalm 35:10). The ones our world tries to overlook and forget, God never forgets. In fact, he says, if we are to love him, we must love the marginalized. And when we dare to love the ones God loves…how can you not see God smile. Is there anything more beautiful or worthwhile to live for than God’s smile?
So, Living Hope Church, I want to thank you in advance for turning grocery bags into something more than brown paper bags. In your hands, they will become channels of God’s grace to the young, the innocent and the hungry. And something tells me it won’t just be food that some of those children receive and you who give will find that you cannot out give God.
Bring your bags full of love this month! See you Sunday!
With Hope in Christ,
Chad Current , Pastor
"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37
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