Mission

I saw Midway last night. The film shows the many critical decisions that led to that critical sea and air battle which turned the tide of the war with Japan. The courage of the pilots who flew into storms of lead, who kept flying and fighting even as they saw so many of their colleagues perish, is set against the backdrop of their sense of mission.  They were convinced that IF they did not carry through on what they were trained to do and bring about the destruction of the Japanese fleet that the very fate of the United States was in the balance. The mission became more important than personal safety, family, or friend.

Christians are given a mission by Christ Jesus that is every bit as compelling as any mission ever carried out by a military unit, with consequences that far exceed those of any battle in any earthly war! That mission involves the eternal destiny of human beings, the defeat of evil in this world. Before leaving His disciples, Jesus gathered them and gave us this charge - "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)  That is the mission statement of the Church.

The mission does not change. The ‘how,’ however, is ever adapting to the needs that we find in our time, with the resources given to us.  Christ is preached from pulpits and across dining room tables. We make disciples while we build schools, drill wells, care for the sick, and build schools.  Ed Stetzer writes - “The mission and responsibility of the church includes both the proclamation of the Gospel and its demonstration. From Jesus, we learn the truth is to be proclaimed with authority and lived with grace. The church must constantly evangelize, respond lovingly to human needs, as well as “seek the welfare of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7) By living out the implications of the gospel, the missional church offers a verbal defense and a living example of its power.”

While that might sound tame compared to flying a fighter plane in an air battle, it truly is not. Serious Christians who embrace the mission of Christ do so at great personal cost. Accepting the call to serve (not all will be full-time pastors or missionaries) where you live involves a hard choices, possible rejection, and daily death to self-interest. Have YOU stepped up, presenting yourself for service?  Great cost equals great reward. When Peter reminded Jesus that “We have left all we had to follow you!”   Jesus answered with this  declaration - “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.” (Luke 18:28-30, NIV)

Is your life a living demonstration of discipleship?

Do your words and actions, your choices, your investment of time and energy, invite others to join you in pursuit of the Kingdom of God?

The questions are not without merit, my friend.  The world is constantly plunging toward death and God has given us the prescription for healing and life.

Our word from the Word today changes the metaphor, but keeps the urgency.  Jesus had led His disciples into Samaria, a region considered beyond hope. There, at a well, He met a woman who desperately needed hope and change. She found it in Him. He challenged those men who walked with Him to see their mission! "Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (John 4:35-38, NIV)

The world, beginning at your front door, waits for hope, for life. Will you help them find Him?

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For The Sake Of The Call

Nobody stood and applauded them

So they knew from the start

This road would not lead to fame

All they really knew for sure

Was Jesus had called by name

He said come follow me

And they came

With reckless abandon they came

We will abandon it all

For the sake of the call

No other reason at all

But the sake of the call

Wholly devoted to live and to die

For the sake of the call

Empty nets lying there

At the water's edge

Told a story that few could believe

And none could explain

How some crazy fishermen

Agreed to go where Jesus led

With no thought

For what they would gain

For Jesus had called them by name

And they answered

We will abandon it all

For the sake of the call

No other reason at all

But the sake of the call

Wholly devoted to live and to die

For the sake of the call

Not for the sake of a creed or a cause

Not for a dream or a promise

Simply because it is Jesus who calls

And if we believe we'll obey

Drawn like rivers

Are drawn to the sea

There's no turning back

For the water cannot help but flow

Once we hear the Savior's call

We'll follow wherever He leads

Because of the love He has shown

Because He has called us to go

We will answer

We will abandon it all

For the sake of the call

No other reason at all

But the sake of the call

Wholly devoted to live and to die

For the sake of the call

Steven Curtis Chapman

© 1990 Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Songs (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

Greg Nelson Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Sparrow Song (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

My Only Hope

Do you know and live the gospel of Christ? It would be interesting to know how you answer that. Is it your morality, church attendance, personal character to which you look for some assurance? Truthfully, our hope, our salvation rest on Jesus and the promise of the Father, end of story. We are saved by faith, through grace, period. But …  no but’s, friend.  Do we need to grow in that grace? The answer is an obvious yes. Will that gift of being set right with God need to work into our life, changing us from the inside out? Yes, again.  The moment, however, that we look back to ‘’the Law,” to our good works, our own commitment, that Law enslaves us anew and begins to erode the confidence that we have before God, the Father, through Christ Jesus.

Duplicity stalks us all, doesn’t it?  Every Christian who is completely honest knows that there are areas in his life are not yet as Christ desires them to be. To deny that we are capable of disobeying God’s moral law, to tell ourselves that we are somehow better than others and therefore above temptation, too good to fail, is a trap. The Bible gives this two-fold direction to us: "If another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." (Galatians 6:1, NLT)

Every Christian deals with temptations, some grossly offensive, others more subtle, sins of pride, ego, or self-centeredness.  In Romans 7, which is a long chapter about the impossibility of making ourselves right with God through our own efforts, Paul writes, "I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?" (Romans 7:22-24, The Message)  

Overcoming temptation and living a life of integrity is not for wimps!  It requires unwavering honesty with ourselves before the Lord.  If we choose to excuse ourselves when the Spirit convicts, when we suppress the call to genuine holiness by smearing on layers of superficial morality, or when we become hyper-religious, we hinder the flow of the Spirit that brings life and victory to us. Healing begins when we look at our longings, our unmet needs, our desires and expectations through the eyes of Christ.  Purity requires openness, before God, before others, too.  Nothing breaks the power of temptation like dragging it into the light.  Purity comes when we respond to the invitation of the Spirit to come near to the Heart of God, regularly. And, that intimacy is ONLY possible if we lean on grace, by faith.

Ah, Christian, there is such beauty in grace, for all us. God’s grace will make us loving, gentle, and accepting. It will create a kind of beauty in us that lifts up Jesus, not our church, not our stellar morality. And, as He promised, “when He is lifted up, He draws all to Himself!”  Grace allows you and me to look at our struggles, inadequacies, disappointments honestly. Grace lets us understand that we are not unique in those experiences. Finding security in Christ Jesus, we then are empowered to extend acceptance to all those other imperfect people that share this world with us. It sounds so easy when I write it, but it is a quite human to turn from grace to Law, judging ourselves and others.

Are you troubled in heart, knowing the failures and sins of your own life?

Are you resolving to change only to fail anew?

Stop trying so hard to find change using all those tricks of behavior modification. Refuse the temporary sense of ‘being right’ that you can find in doing all those good things. Instead, lean on Jesus, completely.

Our word from the Word calls us to the foundation of our salvation – Christ Jesus.  As you read this, truly worship, honestly praise, and receive the gift of grace.   "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death." (Romans 7:25-8:2, NLT)

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Be Thou My Vision (Slane)

(worship with this great hymn)

Be Thou my vision

O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me

Save that Thou art

Thou my best thought

By day or by night

Waking or sleeping

Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom

And Thou my true Word

I ever with Thee

And Thou with me Lord

Thou my great Father

I Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling

And I with Thee one

Riches I heed not

Nor man's empty praise

Thou mine inheritance

Now and always

Thou and Thou only

First in my heart

High King of heaven

My treasure Thou art

High King of heaven

When vict'ry is won

May I reach heaven's joys

O bright Heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart

Whatever befall

Still be my vision

O Ruler of all

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain