Throw in a little "Jesus" for flavor

Throw in a little ‘Jesus’ for flavor

The ‘rat race’ is unending.  Grab a shower while thinking through the day. Get the kids some breakfast and off to school. Drive to the office, sort through email, voicemail, and yesterday’s unfinished tasks. Prioritize the day, what has to be done, ought to be done, and just isn’t going to get done! Plow through the calls, the meetings.  Get home, engage with the family, do household chores.  Relax a bit, fall into bed, do it all again tomorrow.  Oh, and don’t forget to throw in a little “Jesus” for flavor.  That is how many Christians live.  A prayer here, a snippet of Scripture there, a inspirational thought occasionally …  an hour or so for worship on Sunday – is their religion.

There is another way. The Bible says "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV)  The Message amplifies the urgency: "Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives." (Galatians 5:25, The Message) Many who claim to be followers of Christ are satisfied with being morally upright, somewhat more kind and gentle than their neighbors. If they are avoiding theft, paying taxes, and generally being law-abiding, with a dash of Christian conversation thrown in for good measure, they think they are living the Christian life. But what if their agnostic neighbor does the same things except for going to church? Where’s the difference?

Studies of people who claim to be ‘born again’ followers of Jesus Christ here in America reveal that there are no measurable differences in their daily choices from those who are not believers.  Evangelical Christians  watch sexually explicit movies at the same rate, get divorced as often,  show no more concern for the poor, are even less likely to be concerned about care for the earth, and “lie when convenient.”  The only measurable differences were that they were more likely to volunteer for their church and less likely to use profanity in public!  In other words, other than superficially, Jesus is NOT making much difference. How can this be?

Cheap grace is no grace. Jesus warned that many will be surprised at the judgment to find that they are on the outside because they only said the right things, but never really knew Him!  A person transformed by the Spirit, whose every day life is devoted to the love and service of Christ, will be markedly different.  If it is not, then there is no Spiritual life, no hope of Heaven.   The Bible says "The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. …
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives." (Galatians 5:17-25, NLT)

Jesus is uncompromising when He challenges us to become His disciples. He says we cannot love two masters, that we must take up our cross and die to Self, that we must forsake friend and family to pursue the will of God for our lives.  None of those things is possible without desperate faith!  But where faith is allowed to take root in us, we become people with ‘eternal life’ here and now, alive in the Spirit, and remarkably different.

So, are you a disciple or just an American with a little “Jesus” sprinkled into your life for flavor?

_____________

You are my life,

O precious Christ.

You are to me

The pearl of greatest price,

O holy fire,

Love's purest light,

Burn all desires ‘till

You are my one delight.

O conquering King,

Conquer my heart!

And make of me a pleasing gift to God.

I come to You;

I run to You.

There's no greater joy

Than knowing You,

My love for You will never die.

Jesus, You are my life!

Jesus You Are My Life

Steve Fry

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Look, Listen- Hear, Obey!

Some challenge arises and we wonder, “What are we going to do?” With that we are off and running, scrambling to assemble resources, putting together our strategies. What’s wrong with that?  Nothing, except that as Christians, we are not our own! The Bible teaches us that we are to “Be silent, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation.” (Psalm 46:10, NLT)  Before we work, we are to wait. If we make the plans, we do so within the framework of what we believe to be possible.  The Lord does BIGGER things! 

The newly ‘called out’ nation of Israel left Egypt in high spirits. After a long struggle with Pharaoh, they were finally free. They danced across the desert, singing the praises of God and their leader, Moses.  Then, somebody spotted the dust plume on the horizon and scouts reported that the crack brigade of Egypt’s army was on their tail, some 600 chariots, coming to take them back to slavery.  They could not flee because the Red Sea was front of them. "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:10-12, NIV) Their terror is not baseless.

Moses response to them is a lesson for the ages, for all who would know the salvation of the Lord.  “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.” (Exodus 14:13, NIV)  Wait? Stand in place? With an army coming quickly to capture?  That was exactly what God wanted them to do.  Moses listened prayerfully and God gave him an absurd (by human reason) direction.  “Lead the people right up to the edge of the Sea, then extend your staff over the water and I’ll make a way for them.”  Can you even imagine the faith it took for Moses to relay those plans to the nation?  But, he knew he had heard from the Lord and he did as instructed.  One of the more dramatic and spectacular deliverances in the Bible happened that night. "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left." (Exodus 14:21-22, NIV)  God did not want a Moses-sized plan because then Moses would have received the credit for the victory.  He told Moses - "The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:18, NIV)

The Spirit of God wants to work in our lives in a way that clearly makes it known that we are His and that what happens to us and through us is His design.  We cannot know His plan if we are full of our own!  He invites us to stop, look, and listen – and only then to move out in obedience.  The first generation of disciples waited before they went out to tell the Story.  God wanted to empower them so they would bear witness to Him, not to themselves.  He does not call us to passivity, but to prayer. Those prayers are not to instruct Him on what we want done, but rather to talk over the challenges of the world we live in, so that He can share His heart with us.  Are you ready to wait?

Here’s the word from the Word.  It’s familiar. Don’t rush through it. Read it prayerfully, thoughtfully - "For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7, NLT)

In my life, Lord, be glorified today! Amen.

So, help me, God!

An elder in our congregation took the words right out of my mouth when he said, “I want to experience the power and Presence of the Spirit of God!” We were talking about the relative impotence of the church, about the gatherings in which we too often went through the motions of worship but failed to engage with the life of God’s Spirit.  We wondered how it is that people can be active ‘church-ians’ and fail completely to love, to forgive, to serve?  Apparently this condition has existed since the first generation of Christians appeared.  In the last letter he wrote, Paul warned Timothy about those who had "a form of godliness but deny its power." (2 Timothy 3:5, NIV)

A robust and living Christian experience is quite similar to marriage. It has moments when excitement and passion are primary, alongside of moments when love is expressed with quiet patience and perseverance. Who wouldn’t want to live each day of marriage with the same kind of emotional engagement that comes in the first months of the relationship? But, we recognize that is not possible.  (Well, some of us do. Others have affairs!)  Our marital vows include “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.”  Our intimacy goes far beyond sentimentality.  Learning to love the Spirit includes a covenant that is not self-centered, but God-focused.  Honestly, we will sometimes find Him enthralling and sometimes wonder where He’s gone.  He is a Person, not a program; a living Being, not a machine whose levers we control.  And, we must not confuse a genuine Spirit-filled life with ‘feeling good.’

Yet, we must hunger for Him, pursue Him, and wait on Him. When Garry made the statement that I quoted in the opening lines today, I added that I too am desperate for the Spirit’s move. But, am I really?  Or I am so full of religion, that I have no real appetite for loving God?  “When we are at our wits’ end for an answer, then the Holy Spirit can give us an answer.  But how can He give us an answer when we are still well supplied with all sorts of answers of our own?” – Karl Barth (as quoted by Francis Chan in Forgotten God)

I thought I could never love Bev more than I did when I was an infatuated 19 year old kid.  37 years later, it is apparent that I knew next to nothing of love then.  Our ties now include parenting four kids into adulthood, surviving major surgery, holding on to each other when death visited our family, and leading two congregations as a team.  We have learned the language of love that allows us to send support across a crowded room when our eyes meet. We share our tears and our laughter. Our dreams are merged.  In the best sense of the Genesis ideal, we complete each other:  she is me, I am her!

If we would love the Spirit, He will lead us through experiences that rip away our pretensions, reveal our weaknesses, and hurt deeply.  He is no Sadist. He just wants us to look past health, wealth, and comfort. He wants to become one with us.  Jesus promised that he would  “ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17, NIV)  It takes courage and faith to abandon what we know to become the Spirit’s friend.  I want to know Him. So, help me God!

_________________
Jerry D. Scott, Pastor
Faith Discovery Church
Washington, NJ  07882

http://www.FaithDiscovery.com

No, I cannot keep it to myself

This morning our local newspaper’s headline was about yet another shooting at a local nightclub, a senseless killing that left one dead and only God knows how many families dealing with more tragedy.  As I read it, I reflected about my talk to our kids at Awana last night about the ‘most important and best good news ever.’  Christ was born, lived to show us our Father, died to make peace with God for us, and rose again so that we would know we have eternal life!  Wherever that story is told it changes people’s lives. I wondered today, had the men involved in that killing, men out having a ‘good time,’ ever really heard the Story?  Had anyone felt compelled to give them the most important and best good news ever? 

Twice last week I found myself part of discussions about the future of the church, about the way forward.  Some suggest that it’s time to pull back, to focus inward, to conserve resources. That makes me ask if we really believe the Gospel? Are we custodians of the most important and best good news ever or are we just trying to hang on to some feel-good stories that provide a little diversion from the trials of life?  Here’s what I know: "I am  …  eager to preach the gospel … I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:15-17, NIV)  The business of the Church is not happy talk, moral tales, or poetry for hard times.  Our business is proclamation – in every way possible – of the Truth about life and death.

During a siege in ancient Israel, the famine in the city grew terrible. God intervened during the night frightening off the army that was besieging the city in such a way that they ran off, leaving all their supplies. Four outcasts living outside the city walls concluded that they would starve to death so they decided, not knowing the enemy army had fled, to go to the army camp and look for food in the garbage. If we get killed, they thought, so what? We’re going to die anyway!  Imagine their surprise when they came upon the army camp, without a living soul in it! "When the lepers arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating, drinking wine, and carrying out silver and gold and clothing and hiding it.”  They had come upon their own personal bonanza.  The story goes one to reveal a change of heart in these men:  “ they said to each other, “This is not right. This is wonderful news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some terrible calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.” (2 Kings 7:8-9, NLT)

We have been given the riches of God in Christ! We have hope, a future, eternal life, forgiveness of sin. Can we, because it is hard, or expensive, or inconvenient, decide to keep the Gospel to ourselves, singing together, enjoying each other’s company, living in splendid isolation while the world around slips into deeper darkness? No way!  I cannot contemplate standing before the Lord of Glory at the last judgment telling Him that I decided it was too hard to continue to reach out to the world around me. What would He say?  Would He admire my purity, my adoration?  No, I know He would ask, ‘but what did you do for the lost, the least, the lonely, the sin-harassed, the hopeless?’

The American Church faces difficult times. The culture is hostile to our message. Many Christians are self-absorbed, hearing only part of the Gospel that promises them great blessings, but ignoring the call to go and make disciples.  Sunday morning in many local churches is a gathering of the few for a ‘bless-me’ session, an exercise disconnected from the streets of city,  “This is not right. We have wonderful news.” 

Here’s the word from the Word. It is Jesus’ final word. I take seriously, how about you? "Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT)