Thunderstorms!

  Call me silly, but I love Summer’s thunderstorms. Standing in sunshine, I can see the dark on the horizon and I know that in moments the storm will be blowing around my house. As the storm approaches, the trees begin bend in the wind that howls. Debris whips around. An ominous darkened sky settles like a heavy blanket over the earth.  Bright flashes of lightning slash through the sky, followed by the crash of thunder that shakes the ground. What a display! And, then, just as quickly as it arrived, it’s gone. The birds sing again; the sun shines.

John 18 tells several interwoven stories, but it Peter’s that captured my attention this morning. Jesus told his friends the storm was coming, that He must die. He warned Peter that he, the Rock, would fail! Then, after His soul-wrenching cries in the garden, the soldiers arrived and He was dragged to begin the awful procession to the Cross. Peter observed it all. At  one point, he lashed out with his sword, cutting off the ear of a man. Jesus told him to put the sword away, that He ‘must drink the cup the Father has given me.’ 

Not long after that strange conversation, Peter is standing in the courtyard of the High Priest’s home, the storm is raging around him and in him. And John tells us this - "Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.” (John 18:16-17, NLT)  Crash! Failure:  and it got worse, much worse.

A few chapters and many days later, the Resurrected Lord found Peter and spoke tender words of healing and forgiveness. Peter never looked back, investing the rest of life to tell the Story, through some up’s and down’s but he never uttered those words of denial again. He died a martyr about 3 decades later, after seeing thousands come to faith in Christ Jesus.

Christian, there will be chapters in your life much like John 18!  If life had a musical score, the ominous low sounds would start to play as the drama increases. The storm will start, a darkened sky at first, then tempestuous. You will be tempted to run, perhaps to deny Him, to wonder why it is this way, if He is there.  What will you do?

I encourage you to STAND FIRM. Wait out the storm.  No less than a dozen times, Paul writes those words in his letter – “Stand firm.”  "Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong." (1 Corinthians 16:13, NLT)  You are stronger than you think you are. Why can I say that? Because you are not alone, in spite of what you may feel.  God is your Advocate, so stand firm.

And, learn to do something that few of us do well in our time – WAIT. "And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ." (2 Thessalonians 3:5, KJV)  When the storm is reaching its crescendo, we just want it to be over. We may be tempted, like Peter when he used the sword, to try to settle the score, make it all end quickly, find some quick fix. But, God asks us to wait patiently for His purposes, even when they are beyond our comprehension in the moment. So, wait!

And, remind yourself that FAILURE IS NOT FATAL.  Near the end of the dramatic 18th chapter of John, Peter hears the rooster crow in the pre-dawn hour but that sound announces his failure loudly! Jesus had warned him that he would deny Him three times before the next day dawned- and he had.  He failed, badly. He abandoned the One who was dearest to him and the storm only worsened.  It felt like the ‘end of the story.’  We learn that Peter went back to Galilee and to his fishing boat. It was safe and familiar. I have to think that for those few days that he was there, each time he threw a net into the water, he heard himself say, “I never knew Him.” We might write off a friend like that but Jesus did not.  And, one morning, He found that broken man and told him, “Feed my sheep!”

Stormy time in your life? Stand. Wait. Failed? Turn back and, with repentance, find renewal.

Our word from the Word come from Peter, writing years later to Christians and to us. Speaking from inspiration and experience, he says - "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen." (1 Peter 5:8-11, NLT)

_________

Love Wins

It's a big world

We are hoping for a big change

We are broken in the fading light of a dying sun

We cry for redemption

There is hope there is hope there is hope

That ev'ryone who's lost will be coming home

And ev'rything that hurts will be whole again

And love will be the last thing standing

Can't stop you can't stop the seasons

Don't stop don't stop believing

Keep on dreaming of the day when it all will change

Believe in the end love wins

If you're waiting for the time

When your sun will shine

Oh look above 'cause love wins

If it hurts you just breathe in

When it pains you just believe in the radiant light

Of the morning sun

We can find our redemption

Love is strong love is strong love is strong

It's been there holding you all along

Ev'rything thrown away will be new again

And love will be the last thing standing

There is hope there is hope for my lonely soul

There is hope there is hope to be made whole

There is life there is life to be set free

There is life there is life surrounding me

There is hope there is hope for my broken heart

There is hope there is hope for a brand new start

There is life there is life give me eyes to see

There is life there is life You have captured me

Doug McKelvey | Robbie Seay | Tedd Tjornhom

© 2007 Birdwing Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Meaux Hits (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Tedasia Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Just plain weird or truly holy?

 The faith I embrace is full of promise, a powerfully transformative message … sometimes. I have seen Jesus’ Gospel make a mean man into a gentle Dad, turn a hopeless woman into a purposeful person, bring freedom to addicts, sobriety to alcoholics, restore broken marriages, cause people to leave lucrative careers for places of lesser service … 
What is Jesus doing in you, through you? 
Are you different because of Christ in you?
Has He made you distinctive, a stand-out in our world?

In Jesus’ amazing prayer of the night before the Cross His words reveal His desire for us. "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." (John 17:15-19, NIV)  He wants God to ‘sanctify’ us as we live in this present age. That word is a prayer we will understand our destiny is found when we realize that we are “selected for a special purpose, consecrated for God’s use.”   When we receive the invitation to faith in Christ, the Spirit makes us alive to Him, to Truth. That truth teaches how to sort out the conflicting messages that come our way, gives us the ability to see beyond time to eternity so we will stay on course. He makes us different;  loving when others hate, at peace when others fight, living by God’s will rather than our own.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about that ‘different.’

Some define it like the guy who wrote the book about trying to live by every word of the Bible. In his attempt to literally transfer every word into the 21^st century he did strange things like throwing stones at his friend who was in an adulterous relationship because that what he read in Leviticus. My fundamentalist upbringing led me to understand ‘holiness’ in some ways that just made me unreasonably weird. It was not the Spirit that was ‘sanctifying’ me for God’s purposes, it was a set of rules written to govern behavior. Paul calls this out as ‘legalism’ and reminds us that if we try to live the Christian life by writing endless lists of rules, we are not free; we are slaves. The beauty of the life of Christ in us never attained by that kind of ‘holiness.’

At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who have lost the whole idea of being ‘sanctified’ to a desire to fit into the culture, to be ‘relevant.’  An inordinate need to be ‘accepted’ robs such people of the distinctiveness of Christ’s call. Yes, we need to be able to speak to the world that we live in, to be able to communicate the hope of Christ in a way that it can be understood, but if, in the process, we become so enmeshed in that world that we love the same things, say the same things, sing the same songs, and make the same choices –  the Gospel’s ability to transform is lost! A insipid faith that cannot muster the courage to speak truth, that ‘conforms to the world’ in which it being expressed, is surely not what Jesus calls you and me to live.

We are to be people of the Spirit, who enjoy a lively conversation with Him that shapes us into wise, winsome, whole people in whom the beauty of Jesus is clearly evident.  People of the Spirit are humble, not arrogant. They do not have a need to condemn or criticize. They are truly different but not in weird, graceless ways. Like Jesus they will be offensive and attractive at the same time.  The world hated Jesus because His life and love exposed their emptiness and challenged their pretensions. Yet, they could not ignore Him, destroy Him, or marginalize Him.  When we are living ‘in the Truth’ we will be much the same; misfits, but yet able to effect change.

Here is a word from the Word. I have chosen to bring it to you from The Message, with the hope that the language will grab your attention, make you long to be fully alive to the Spirit.

"Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. … It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!" (Romans 8:5-11, The Message)

Let’s be different – not weirdly, but Spiritually!

___________________

All My Hope

(a great song by David Crowder)

I've been held by the Savior

I've felt fire from above

I've been down to the river

I ain't the same a prodigal returned

All my hope is in Jesus

Thank God that yesterday's gone

(Yes) All my sins are forgiven

(Oh I've) I've been washed by the blood

(Come on and sing)

I'm no stranger to prison

I've worn shackles and chains

But I've been freed and forgiven

And I'm not going back I'll never be the same

That's why I sing

David Crowder | Ed Cash

© 2016 Inot Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Alletrop Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

Pastor Jerry Scott

FAITH DISCOVERY CHURCH

www.FaithDiscovery.com

Disgusted with your church?

I had a conversation yesterday during which I slipped into sin. Yes, I expressed, in unkind terms, my frustration with ‘church.’ Within the denomination that I have called ‘home’ for my entire lifetime, the politics I see got under my skin. As I fumed, I wondered why I should remain part of it. The Spirit quickly convicted me and brought to mind more than a few lapses in my own life when it came to the fellowship! In those moments, I became like a  growing number of Christians who say that they love God but don’t need to be part of a church.

Scandals, abuse, and just plain old hypocrisy gives millions a reason to stay home on Sunday. Around half of Americans do not go to church at all, ever! Most of that group profess a vague kind of spirituality.  My concern is for another group of people, those who say that Jesus is their Savior yet refuse to participate in a local church.  Many offer stories about a place where they found superficial faith, or met leaders who appeared to be hungry for money, or saw things that seemed inconsistent with Jesus’ message of the Gospel. Some are more direct – “The pastors are boring. Their sermons are disconnected from the world I live in.” Others point to unfriendly people.  I’ll agree – all of those things are true somewhere, sometime. (I pray that we do better at Faith Discovery Church!)

Some (I think they are a little more honest) say that they enjoy keeping Sunday free after a busy work week, preferring sleeping in to Scripture study, or a leisurely breakfast to worship.

It is not my intention to make you feel guilty if you are not a regular church attender.  The truth is that by avoiding church you are missing out on being all that God desires you to be and others do not benefit from what you can bring to Christ’s church.  The normal Christian life, from the first generation, has included being part of a group of those who are disciples of Christ. The Spirit invites us into the Body.  We often make the mistake of confusing a building with a Body when we say, ‘church.’  

The Church is made up of ALL those who are ‘in Christ.’  It is what Paul describes when he says "For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28, NLT)  It is hard to see that unity with all the buildings scattered across our towns marked with distinctive names and seldom joining hands or hearts for the Kingdom.  I confess the sin of division is too often on display.  Perhaps if churches (local congregations) were more intentional about being ‘the Church,’ the Light of Jesus would shine more brightly.

Are you a church skeptic? Been hurt? Disappointed? Just not found what you think you need ‘in church?’   I will risk appearing insensitive by inviting you to ‘get past’ those things so that you can focus on the larger picture.  Church is important to your whole experience of Jesus and there are issues that are larger than your personal comfort.  Americans love independence. The 11^th commandment for many of us is ‘Thou shalt not tell me to do anything unless I feel it is in my best interest.’ That streak of independence often blinds us to the value of that which God deeply loves; His Church. How much does He love Her? "Christ gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault." (Ephesians 5:25-27, NLT)

Instead of abandoning your church in a moment of frustration (yes, I have experienced those moments, too) re-commit; first to the mission of Christ Jesus, then to that living Body through that He called into existence to carry it out.  In His final conversation with His disciples Jesus expressed His desire in prayer. “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are." (John 17:9-11, NLT)

Here’s a word from the Word today.

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Ephesians 4:1, NIV)
"It was he (Jesus) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 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 and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:11-16, NIV)

___________

The Church's One Foundation

The Church's one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord
She is His new creation
By water and the Word
From heav'n He came and sought her
To be His holy bride
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died

Elect from every nation
Yet one o'er all the earth
Her charter of salvation
One Lord one faith one birth
One holy name she blesses
Partakes one holy food
And to one hope she presses
With every grace endued

• Public domain, Samuel Wesley