Watch, Listen, and Learn.

  On my computer desktop screen is a photo of a person silhouetted against a sunset (maybe sunrise) kneeling in prayer. The caption on the picture says "When life gets to hard to stand... kneel".
   This little slogan was put there to remind me to spend time in prayer as I go through this tough financial season I am experiencing now, but it has come to teach me much more about the truth, depth, and possibilities of my relationship with God.
   As I lift my burden to the Lord I have seen his hand and heart revealed in many ways, restoring joy, hope and peace. The financial barrier has not been removed but I am trusting it will crumble soon and from an unexpected avenue.
   As we read His word, God is revealed in many powerful ways. We are hear how he deeply loves and care for his people and desires the best for their lives.
   So day by day we learn from a God, who by personal revelation, guides us, nurtures us, matures us as we step out of our situation into His Kingdom.

Church Life - A Word Of Encouragement

   It is a common definition, in our culture, to think of the church as some place you go or something you do once you get there. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but where that can cause trouble is when it becomes the only definition. By holding only to that narrow view the church is limited only to the building and the activities that are limited to that building.

   In the truest and most biblical sense we are the church. The church is the body of Christ in the world. So yes on Sundays when we gather at a certain building and do certain things we are doing church, but come Monday we are back to doing "life"? If we are the church, if we are the body of Christ, if we are His disciples, doing His work, should not church life be our life?

   God desires a church that gathers in the everyday places of life. Out in the trenches of life where people struggle and dream. People stepping into life and lifting those who stumble, being the guide for someone who needs a map; living life as a follower of Jesus our Lord, becoming his hands and his voice in a hurting world. We do not "go" to church, we are a church that "goes".

Faith is Just a Leap Away

   I have to admit some of the stuff in the bible does seem pretty far fetched and hard to wrap a puny human mind around. But,through the years and with lots of study, I may not have a full understanding of what the book has to say, but I stand by it as a revelation of the person of God and his magnificent love for us. The bible requires you to think and reason and, yes, sometimes just take a leap of faith.
   When I first came to an awareness of my inadequacies before a holy God and my need for Jesus as my advocate to His father, I thought the bible was just a bunch of stories and pretty sayings. But I heard the truth about my sin nature. I heard about my need to turn from a life ruled by that sin nature. I heard that even though I was a sinner God loved me. I heard that because God loved me Jesus, His son, paid the price of that sin so I could be reconciled to God. I heard that I was now a new creation, a child of God. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
   So how does that happen; that amazing leap from dis-belief to faith? In my case I was obviously open to what I heard, but how did I become open?
   I think that my openness to hearing the gospel was that the ones that were bringing the Word of God to me were doing so mostly with the actions of their lives and not hammering me with what I "needed to do". These people put me at ease by allowing me to be myself, they accepted me for who I was and expressed Gods love for me by their very being and let me "work out my own salvation".
   Most importantly, as they brought the Word of God to me, they were also bringing the Holy Spirit into my life in a new and profound way. As I considered, debated, and wrestled with the Word of God, the Holy Spirit began to reveal himself into that opening heart of mine. So as I heard the Word of God I was also hearing "See how much I love you, see how much you need to come to me. Your way has no map. Follow me."
   Faith does not have to be a big thing at the start, it can be the size of a mustard seed, but with time it will grow. That basic seed of faith is the acceptance of the miracle that God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
   Take the Word of God into the world today with the Holy Spirit as you guide. Be honest, be truly loving; love the way God loves. You are a living letter from God; The Word is in you. Those you come in contact with will have the seed of faith planted in their lives. You may not see it, but have faith. It is there.
   

Alter Call

  
  Brothers and sisters, God has shown you his mercy. So I am asking you to offer up your bodies to him while you are still alive. Your bodies are a holy sacrifice that is pleasing to God. When you offer your bodies to God, you are worshiping him. (Romans 12:1)

Step 1: Build an alter to God.

Step 2: Put your life on it.

Step 3: Wait and see what God does with it.

  We are a part of something so large, so awesome, as we follow Jesus. Sometimes it's hard to comprehend the full magnitude of what we have signed up for when we asked Jesus into our hearts. It's enough though to realize that we are apart of something large and awesome and that God's hand is guiding it all. We can take comfort that our lives lived, offered up to him as a living sacrifice, is all we need to do to be a part of this miraculous adventure that Jesus leads us in.
  As we take God's love that He's given us, and share it with the world, we can rejoice that the largeness and awesomeness of God is being revealed through us.
  Wow! A kind word, a giving act and there is God in our midst. And these are no small miracles. There are no small miracles. A hand held out to help is as powerful as a hand held out to heal if it is done from a heart of love.
  So as we step out today, take God's love into the world and give it as extravagantly as he did toward us. Let the world see what God is doing with your life. In so doing we invite others to experience the miraculous adventure of living in God's kingdom. 

Kingdom Living

  There is coming a time when Jesus will return and establish His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. We do not know the time of His return but we wait patiently and faithfully for that day. Jesus also speaks of the Kingdom being in us and around us; a place that we can enter. In all of these the Kingdom of God is the place where God rules. So if God rules our hearts, our minds, and souls; our lives, then that’s were we find the Kingdom of God now. In our hope of the Kingdom to come those in Christ live in the Kingdom present.  
  When a person turns their life to Jesus, receiving his salvation by grace through faith, they become "saved", but possibly more importantly they become a disciple of Jesus in God's Kingdom.
  When we become disciples; Citizens of God's Kingdom, we begin to model our life after the life of Jesus. This is a life of giving ourselves to love and good works. This is a life that becomes a testimony of what we have witnessed Jesus do in our lives and with our lives. It becomes our all consuming desire for all to see the power of the Gospel and the power of God’s grace.

God's Glory

  "... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,". (Romans 3:23 NIV)   Most of the time this verse is drawn upon to point out a persons sin and their need to turn their life to God. And it's true; I'm a sinner, everyone reading this is a sinner, everyone not reading this is a sinner. But I think the optimum word in the verse is "glory".

  It is because of God's glory, his holiness, His majesty, His sovereignty, His supremacy, that we have a reference point to become aware of our sin.
  There are a lot of good people in the world. For the most part we all want to live our lives peacefully and get along with every one else, but held up beside God all our good deeds are nothing. But here's the good news:
  God has shown us grace, a free gift emanating from His glorious love, that through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are cleansed of our sin. We, taking up the righteousness of Christ, can now stand before God in personal relationship.
  And that is the beauty of God's love. He wants us in relationship with Him. Just as He would walk with Adam and Eve in the garden during the "cool of the evening" he wants that personal time with us now. Isn't that glorious?

Prayer as Communion with God

        The Christian life is our present and personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This relationship brings us the wonderful gift of being able to talk directly with God. Prayer. We have this because of what Christ has done for us, creating a sacred union between human-kind and God. We are in Christ and He is in us.

So many think prayer is a way to get what we want. I truth prayer is bringing ourselves into union with His thoughts, ways, and teachings. Christ is the focus of prayer, His work, and His impact on your life. This is what Jesus teaches in the Lord’s Prayer.

(Luke 11:1-4 NIV) 1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

  Prayer becomes our connection with God our way to be in tune with Him and His will. God is seeking to strengthen us; empower us for all we encounter in our lives. This is the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit, who prays for us even when we do not know how to pray. This is just a hint of the depth of which God wants to interact with us in our lives. He desires a moment to moment relationship with us. That is why we are called to a life of constant communion with Him.

We need to recognize and establish the supremacy of God in our lives and an attitude constant communion through prayer helps make that happen. Prayer is probably the most key aspects of a Christian life, Bringing to the fore-front of our hearts, minds and spirits that Jesus Christ LORD.

This is the day the Lord has made...

  Christians have fallen into a trap of prescribing certain things to be done at certain times, such as church happens on Sundays and possibly Wednesday, Prayer time is in the morning and evening, on Saturday we may set a time to go out to witness. The trap is that we have lost sight that all of the above are to take place at anytime, anyplace in our moment to moment walk with Jesus.
  We are the church, we are called to be constantly in prayer, our very life is to be our witness.
  So what about the other aspects of the Christian life; worship and praise, discipleship, loving your neighbor/enemy/everyone? These also need to be the very present aspects of our lives. Setting a schedule is not a bad thing but we need to not limit ourselves to that schedule. In so doing we run the risk of putting Jesus in a little religious box only to be brought out at specified times. We are to have the image of Christ within us projected dynamically outward through our lives.
  Let us marvel everyday at the baby in the manger who is truly God and not set that aside just for Christmas. Let's experience Easter and Pentecost in every moment of the lives. Look! Here is the Kingdom of God! "... Rejoice and be glad in it!"

Called to Discipleship

What is a disciple

  By definition a disciple is a student who intentionally follows their teacher, listening and learning from their instruction. In the new Testament we not only see the disciples of Jesus, there is mention of John the Baptist's disciples and disciples of the Pharisees.

  Jesus focused much of his teachings on what it meant to be His disciple. He expected his disciple to follow purposefully and with an awareness of the commitment He was demanding before they made a decision to follow. For example in Luke 14:26-33 He says:

²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

   ²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

   ³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (NIV)

  

  Jesus expects His disciples to be committed to him and His teachings. We, as His Church; His congregation of disciples, also need to teach the importance a total commitment to Jesus and His commands. But more importantly that commitment needs to be exemplified in our lives. We need to live like the disciples we are called to be.

"Go, make disciples..."

  Some people view discipleship as something separate from evangelism when in truth they are inseparable. When you have the opportunity explain the Gospel to someone you say "This what Jesus did for me, this is why Jesus did this for me, this is how Jesus did this for me, and this is what Jesus is doing in my life now."

  We make disciples by being disciples. When we talk about Jesus and all He's done for us and is doing in our lives we need to show that following Jesus is truly the most important and meaningful journey anyone can ever make. Our testimony for Jesus should be totally immersed, baptized as it were, in his teachings


John 14:15,21,23

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands."

²¹ "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me."

²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."


Matthew 22:37-39-  37 “Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself." 
Matthew 5:43-48- 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 ’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

A new species of human

Between noon and 12:30 every Monday a group of us meet on the corner of the Lake County Courthouse to "Stand for Peace".  We're a mixed bag of people (including Sophie the Peace Dog) that come from diverse backgrounds but with the common belief that conflict can be resolved by peaceful means.  So rain or shine we gather with our placards and smiles, waving to the  people passing by . We get horn honks and waves back, some show us the peace sign; some times they forget to use both fingers but that's okay. 

A few weeks ago when we had finished some of us went to "Soups on" at the Journey Be Church for lunch where we got into a conversation about our "Stand". A statement was made by a non-participant that peace was an unattainable goal because it would take "a new species of human to make it happen.".

I mused on that for awhile and realized that was totally true. Not that peace is unattainable but that it would take a new species; or rather a new creature ."Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold, all things are become new.". (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Jesus wants us to example His life as we live ours; to reach out to those around us in love and forgiveness. He wants us to be the ambassadors of peace for His Kingdom. A Kingdom, by the way, that you can not even be aware of unless you are born again; "a new creature" (John 3:3)

The Way of Love

Tom Robbins wrote in "Jitterbug Perfume" that "the highest function of love is that the loved one becomes a unique and irreplaceable being". And while the context of  the book deals with the love between men and women is it not also true of God's love for us. That while we are trapped in our sin nature; unlovable, God expressed an unfathomable love for us. We are unique and irreplaceable in his eyes.

This love that God expressed toward us, this grace, is unearned and undeserved. It is not given because of anything we have done. So if we receive it, accept it, should not our lives be changed?  "This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:5,6) "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2). Our lives are to be expressions of the love God has shown us.  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philipians 4:8-9).

Jesus calls us to a way of life, not an adherence to the bondage of a strict belief system. He calls us to experience the Kingdom of God in our daily lives by copying his life and the love and compassion he offers. The evidence that we walk with Jesus is that we demonstrate his humility, love, acceptance and forgiveness towards others at all times, never reacting in a condemning and condescending way.

Unfortunately the largest misrepresentation of what Jesus teaches comes from those most prominent in the public eye. Too many people use the name of Jesus to forward their own selfish agendas. Preachers and politicians using modern media to spread the "Word" but in truth only spreading mistrust,t division,and hate; using the power they garner to feed their own greed and lust. All they do is widen the gap between the camps they have chosen to define as"Us and Them" Them" are usually painted as an enemy.

Jesus teaches us to love our enemies. If we love our enemy, are they still our enemy? The way of love that Jesus guides us to is to be a way of life; a way of  life that becomes a sacred expression of our worship of him. We will find it hard to lift a hand in anger toward someone when our holy hands are lifted in praise.

One Way

  Over the years I have heard so many sermons and teachings based in John 3-16 that it would lead one to believe it is the foundational passage in the whole bible. But recently I have been continually drawn to Jesus's words in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." and while John 3:16 is one of the most foundational teachings in scripture, 14:6 becomes cornerstone.
  In this statement Jesus only gives us two choices of what to think of him. We can regard his words as the most profound statement of all time or the rantings of a madman. We are not even given the option to think of Jesus as a great teacher or at best a prophet.
  So the question for the day: Who do you say he is?

The Peace of God

Philippians 4:2-9

4:2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
4:3 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

What an amazing passage of scripture. In this short and in someways seemingly out of place passage Paul not only gives a teaching that shows the depth of peace we as Christians can have but also how we can achieve it. He shows us how we can have peace with those around us, peace with ourselves, and peace with God.

Peace With Others

Paul, in the letter to the Philippians, focuses on how even in the presence of adversity, even to the point of death, we can have assurance of Christ's ability to impact our lives with a joyful, God given, peace. He then he turns to what seems like a minor civil matter within the Philippian congregation dealing with an un-named friction between two members of the Philippian church.
Every day we will most likely find conflict to some degree with the people around us. The key to dealing with these situations is to recognize the difference between re-acting and responding. In re-acting the conflict most likely escalate to anger, division, mistrust, and maybe even violence. On the other hand if we respond in an imitation of Christ, seeing the big picture of who the other person really is; someone who God loves and only wishes peace and happiness for, then we can move forward toward peace. In the Philippian text Paul encourages these two Christians to find common ground where they can agree, and writes, "I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord".When we are "of the same mind in the Lord": when we follow Jesus, imitate Jesus, dedicate our lives to Jesus, and doing this together, we will be at peace with one another.
But what if the conflict is with someone without an understanding of these spiritual concepts? Then it becomes even more important that we "respond" in a Christ-like manner. Paul wrote in Romans 12:18 "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." As in all situations in life this is a chance to reveal Christ to the world through your actions. 

Peace With Yourself

One of the hardest things it seems for people to do is find peace with ourselves. So many people walk around carrying the baggage of life; worries over family, finances, past sins. burdens that weigh us down, crush us, bury us, but Paul encourages us by writing, "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus".
Think about where Paul is as he writes this. He is in prison in Rome awaiting trial; tomorrow could be his last. But in this letter he tells us of his peace. He lets us know that no matter what life throws at us we can have peace with ourselves because Jesus is in our life, we can be in communion with him. We can have fellowship with him no matter what our situation. We have "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding"

Peace With God

 So how do we find peace with God. How do we, when we struggle with finding peace with those around us and war with ourselves to find peace within, find peace with The Almighty God; Paul writes "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."

Simply said: If it’s not true, then don’t invite it into you life. If it’s not honest, if it’s not just, or pure or lovely or you can' speak well of it or it has no virtue or it is not  praiseworthy, don’t let it take root in your heart. Run your actions, thoughts, and aspirations through this criteria you’ll have peace with God."

Is not, as a whole, this letter a teaching on how to not only find peace but how to live it.