Together ... visionary

Vision is vital - for nations, for churches; yes, even for individuals.  In many Bible stories, great works began when the Lord gave a new vision to a person.  Moses was handed a vision while he was tending some sheep on the backside of the desert and went back to Egypt to become Israel's deliverer.  David was anointed by Samuel and left the family farm to become a leader of the nation. Simon was fishing for his village when Jesus told him He would make him a 'fisher of men,' and he left the life he knew to become Peter, the rock, who led the Believers in the first decades of Christianity!

Last week, some of the key members of our local congregation gathered to present reports at the Annual Meeting. The unity was encouraging!  Whether a kid- focused effort, a 'whole church' effort,  a teen ministry, or maintenance; which is often perceived as being a less 'spiritual' work,  what we heard about was the work of dozens of people which brought benefits to hundreds of people!  These servants of Jesus willingly invested hundreds of hours, and thousands of dollars, so that their lives would make a Kingdom difference in the world.  

 A shared vision, given by the Spirit, united our little church and is making her strong.   We celebrated a center downtown (The Vault) that welcomes teens in the afternoon hours. We noted a week-long Summer Bible School (Kingdom Rock) that served 235 kids! We heard of our Christian preschool and elementary school (Good Shepherd Christian Academy) where more than 200 kids are provided a “Christ-centered and excellent education.”  And, there is weekly worship in a sanctuary that is inviting, ongoing discipleship work in small groups and youth groups.  Dozens of families from our community receive groceries each week from our pantry.

Faith Discovery Church is not a large church by any stretch of the imagination!  There isn't much chance that Christianity Today will be writing us up in a feature article any time soon.  But, she is a church with a great heart for God and His work in the world.  The amazing thing is just how much a few people who are Spirit-gifted, passionate about changing lives, and unified in mission and purpose are accomplishing under the Lordship of Jesus.

·         Do you know the joy of being part of the ‘mighty army’ commissioned by Christ to tell the world that God’s reign is here? 

·         Are you contributing to the work of the Body of Christ, not just financially, but in time and effort and cooperation?

·         Are you weaving a network of connections with people of like mind and heart?

·         Are you aware of what others are doing, rejoicing in their successes, supporting them in their disappointments?

That's how we change the world.   The Church is not a place for competition.  It's not a place to thump our chests and strut our stuff.  It's not about who's more important, or who has a bigger chunk of the annual budget.  It's about MINISTRY, making God look good and building up people at the same time.  Jesus said it succinctly:  “The commands are just two:  love God wholeheartedly and love others like you love yourself.”

If we do that, He takes care of the rest.

Here’ the word from The Word.  May it shape our commitment to one another in Christ’s Church, keeping us unified, filling all our vision.

Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace. We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all. However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. (Ephesians 4:2-7, NLT)

The work of the Kingdom is far from finished. There are broken, lonely people who wait for us to extend a hand of mercy.  There are children waiting to be taught the Way to Life.  There are marriages waiting to be strengthened by the infusion of the love of Jesus.  There are men and women who are waiting to shown the way to know God's Presence, the joy of saying 'Yes,' to God's purposes. Are you part of the need or part of the solution? Join the Team.   Let's make a Kingdom Difference together! 

Make the following your prayer.

 ________________

Be Thou My Vision (Slane)

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

Riches I heed not

Nor man's empty praise

Thou mine inheritance

Now and always

Thou and Thou only

Be 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

© Public Domain

Plan "B" - curse or blessing?

I look back over the past 4 years with a wry smile.  So many developments in my life were a complete surprise. They are not awful, terrible things; just unanticipated. Life changed in ways that were beyond the boundaries even of my imagination!  But, I can trust God in the unforeseen circumstances of life because there is a foundation of faith that His Word and my experiences have put in place.  

25 years ago, life as I had planned it was swallowed by developments unsought and unanticipated. Due in part to my own foolish choices I found myself unemployed, forced to sell the home we had bought only months prior, and without prospects.  After 4 months of waiting and wondering, I received an invitation to became the pastor of a small church at one half the salary I previously made.  Life was surely going to be different for me, my wife, and 4 little kids depending on me for support. The sense of loss I felt was real. I mistakenly thought that ‘faith’ and grief could not co-exist, so I held all those churning emotions inside.  A couple of years later, I  suffered a time of terrible depression.

My life, at that time, was beyond plan 'B!' For a time I lived each day like a man feeling his way in the dark.  I wondered;  Has God left me?  Is He angry with me beyond restoration?  Will life ever make sense?  In time, it became clear that plan “B: was a gift of precious value.  When God allowed things to be turned upside down, it was a severe mercy that saved me from myself!  That reassignment that looked so much like a step backward was, in reality, a different kind of blessing.  God saved my marriage, enabled me to become a real Dad who spent time with his children, and most valuable of all - taught me to drink deeply of the cup of His amazing grace. He showed Himself faithful to me, even when I was faithless towards Him. I came to love that place seeing it not as the exile it once seemed, but as His sovereign plan for my good, a rich and wonderful place of greater blessings!

All these years later I thank Him, repeatedly, for letting me lose a life I loved, to find Him dearer as well as to find friends that I cherish to this day.  Yes, Joseph spoke a profound truth when he faced the brothers who sold him into slavery decades earlier- "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done." (Genesis 50:20, NIV)

Robert Burns, the 18th century Scottish poet, wrote of the poor mouse whose nest was torn up by the farmer's plow.  I love his words.
"The best laid schemes
o' mice and men
Gang aft a-gley, (go oft awry)
And leaves us naught but grief and pain
For promised joy."

Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, grouses, "And who knows what’s best for us as we live out our meager smoke-and-shadow lives? And who can tell any of us the next chapter of our lives?" (Ecclesiastes 6:12, The Message)   The answer is that our Heavenly Abba knows!  Our hopes and dreams for tomorrow seem no longer to have a foundation as the road ahead is washed out.  What then? What do we do when plan 'A' disappears?  We trust the One who knows the way.  God always has a plan. We may not see 'round the bend in life's road, and often that's a good thing, but He does. Life is never plan 'B' to Him, nor for those who live in His care.

Are you struggling with more questions than answers today?
Did the road of life you thought you were traveling disappear in the storms of life?
Wait on Him to reveal His purposes.

Here’s a word from the Word. I pray these will be words of life for us today.

“Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you. ...
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. ..." (Psalm 37:2-7, NLT)

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How Great Is Your Love

My heart is steadfast, O God,

And I will sing

With all my heart and soul

Music for the King.

And I will awake the dawn

With my praise to You, O Lord.

How great is Your love

So much higher than the heavens

With faithfulness that reaches the sky.

How great is Your love

So much higher than the heavens

With faithfulness that reaches the sky.

O how great is Your love.

Be exalted, O God and let Your glory reign!

Be exalted, O God and let Your glory reign!

Let it reign, let it reign, let it reign.

Let it reign, let it reign, let it reign!

Bart Millard | Pete Kipley

© 2001 Simpleville Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

Simply Complex Songs (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

Possessed?

The man and woman standing before me at the wedding last Saturday, gave themselves to one another.  By the spoken vows and exchange of rings, an expectation of an exclusive relationship was created.  He belongs to her, she belongs to him.  They ‘own’ one another!  Even the law of the land recognizes this mutual interest and will enforce it should one or the other stray from their vows.  No wonder we are cautioned not to enter into the marriage covenant without sober reflection!  For some, marriage becomes a heavy yoke of slavery. They feel trapped in a relationship that is like a prison.  For those who know genuine love; marriage is safe and nurturing. Their covenant vows create an interdependence that makes them together what they could never be apart.  They own a mutual affection and each exists to serve the other.

The Scripture leans heavily on marital imagery to define our relationship with Christ. "You husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and 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. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. And we are his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one." (Ephesians 5:25-32, NLT)

When we are ‘in Christ,’ by faith, our commitment signified by baptism, a new ownership is created! "Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NLT)  The Bible goes further and reminds us that when we give ourselves to Christ, we become "slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." (Romans 6:22, NIV)

Yes, Christians are possessed, owned, by the Lord of Glory. But it is not an oppressive relationship. It is a place of safety.  His deep love is our refuge.  His Spirit lives in us and leads us from a life that has no hope, to one that has Heaven on the horizon.

Our American ideal of individualism makes it very hard for us grasp that we could ever be happy if ‘owned’ by another. We learn from our earliest age that it is good to insist on our rights and to protect ourselves from anyone who would take away our freedom of self-expression.  But, the Lord’s wisdom challenges us to live to give ourselves away, to embrace Christ as our Master!  Jesus does not sugarcoat the demand. “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal. “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me." (John 12:24-26, The Message)

Here’s the question I want to leave in your mind today:  are you married to Christ, irrevocably given to Him, owned by Him, and owning His love?  Or, are you just His friend? 

Oh For Grace to Trust Him More

Yesterday, when the physician told Bev no further treatment was needed, that her extensive biopsy showed no irregular cells, we were thrilled. We thanked God from the depths of our beings. Later that same day, an old friend wrote and told us that after being diagnosed with a late stage cancer several months ago, and going through treatment, her most recent scans show no cancer.  We were so happy for Susan, so grateful to the Lord for this blessing.  Then last night, another colleague sent word of great disappointment in his life. He wrote, “We're really upset, but trusting in God's sovereignty and providence. Please pray for us as we deal with this loss.”  As I prayed for this man, I asked the Lord to increase MY faith that I would trust Him in the same way when the answer is ‘yes,’ and when the answer is ‘no,’ when His Presence is evident, and when His face is hidden.

In a childish way, I sometimes wish God would always say “yes,” but realize what chaos would ensue in this world.  In the film, “Bruce Almighty,” (2003) the lead character questions God and is allowed to exercise divine power in the city of Buffalo, NY for a time.  Overwhelmed by the prayerful petitions that pour in, he says yes to every prayer, and quickly realizes that he cannot do that again. (Yes, it’s comedy and we cannot form theology from pop culture!)  

 Think over your life and how many unwise prayers you have prayed. God reveals Himself as a purposeful and wise Father and asks that He trust Him to lead us in ways that are best. Sometimes the only prayer we can muster is the desperate one of the father who brought his tormented son to Jesus for healing. When his faith was challenged, he cried: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, NIV)

Prayers can be derailed by too much of "ME" in them. If our prayers are answered with healing, prosperity, or other blessings, we may be tempted with subtle pride.  “I must have been good enough, prayed with enough faith, did something that merited this good thing,” we think.  Or, on the other side of the coin, we might think, “If only I were a better person, if I gave more, served more, prayed harder … God would have spared me this trial.”  The Devil rejoices when we turn our focus on ourselves.  If it’s all about “me” I cannot know the grace He offers, the wonderful peace found in the center of His love.  Awful insecurity results as we wonder if we are good enough for God!  Yes, of course, it is both good and right to live in intimate obedience, walking with our Heavenly Father.  The Bible warns us that God cannot be mocked, and that a man will reap a harvest from the seeds he plants.  But, hopefully those warning will not drive us to perfectionism, but to greater dependence on His mercy and grace!

Here’s a word from the Word for ALL times, glad and sad, blessed and broken, failure and success. Meditate on the wisdom of the Spirit. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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."
(Philippians 4:6-8, NIV)

_____________

I love this arrangement of the hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour.”  It’s done a capella.  Listen and enjoy.

http://youtu.be/T3wSbLa2uGg

Your Position on the Team

Your position on the team

The Patriots (an NFL Football team) were defeated yesterday.  One of the reasons they lost the game was that their defensive line was porous, weak at the center. Why? A key player was injured last week. Vince Wilfork is a big man who plays a role as big as he is for the Pats. Yes, he is just one man on the team, but his important influence on that team is undeniable.  No I would not say, irreplaceable. A new man can be brought in and rise to the challenge, but not easily, nor quickly.

Each of us is called by the Spirit to a place on God’s squad!  Old news, right?  Perhaps it is familiar to us, but the truth is still compelling.  Nobody can do exactly what you do in the world for the Lord. Yes, it is true, some may enjoy a more prominent role. Some have more influence.  But, we’re all on God’s team, all doing what we do in His Church, for His glory.  Christians who find a place to serve, who do what they do for the Lord and others with enthusiasm, find fulfillment.  Those who think Christianity is a spectator sport grow discontent, often becoming critics and moving on to find a ‘new show’ somewhere else.

I have served in pastoral ministry for almost 4 decades.  Without exception, each of those congregations where I served had people who filled key roles because they heard the call of God, developed the gifts of the Spirit given to them, and were faithful.  Not all were in roles that were visible.  Some served Christ actively and effectively, but primarily outside of the church’s building or programs.  Then there were those who looked for recognition, who craved rewards, who wanted the spotlight.  They ‘served’ but only when pushed or promised some incentive.  Others were amazingly gifted, but undisciplined, showing up only when they felt like it  or when it was convenient.  They never became effective, precisely because they were not reliable.  Some were wounded by life, some distracted by other things, some walked away for reasons unknown. When they quit, it left a a hole on the team.  Their absence was felt and the church suffered loss in each case. 

There are several passages in the Scripture that teach us about our position on God’s team. One of those is found in Romans 8.  As you read this quote from The Message, a contemporary translation of the Bible, ask yourself if you are ready to play your position well. "Let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle." (Romans 12:6-10, The Message)

God has a place for you on His team.  Nobody is left out, unwanted, or unnecessary.  Some pray. Some give. Some teach. Some lead. Some sing. Some write. Some support. Some give encouragement. Some offer hospitality. Some build. Some go out on missions far away. Some serve in the same place for life. Some are exuberant and demonstrative. Some are quiet and reserved.  All love God and His people.

So, step up. Pray to know how He is calling and equipping you. Then, help the Church win a victory over the World, the Sinful Nature, and the Devil himself. "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:10-11, NIV)
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Faithful Men

Come and join the reapers,

All the kingdom seekers,

Laying down your life to

Find it in the end.

Come and share the harvest,

Help to light the darkness,

For the Lord is calling
faithful men!

Twila Paris

© 1985 Straightway Music (a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Mountain Spring Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055