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)

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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

Mr. Ambassador

There are plenty of people in the world whose choices are beyond my understanding. Harvey Weinstein, the media mogul, who stands accused of multiple sexual assaults, is a cipher to me.  Why would he treat women that way? The guy who leaves a productive life behind to live on the street, why? The addict who keeps going back to the same places and people after rehab, reentering the destructive spiral into drug abuse, why? The woman who lives in constant drama, stirring up strife in her family; why?  The easy response to people who are ‘different,’ those whose lives are ‘sinful’ in my estimation,  is avoidance or dismissal. Judged, condemned, ignored.

But … God did not give me the gavel, He handed me the towel. I’m no judge, I am a servant! Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians about this very thing. They were an argumentative group, full of spiritual pride, competing with each other to be ‘’more spiritual.” He told them they were seriously in error, not understanding even themselves, what God had done for them, and their true mission.  Read these inspired words slowly, prayerfully.

• "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
  
  
• We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:14-21, NIV)

We are beloved children of God, restored to our place with Him by the love of Christ Jesus. And what is one of the results of that change in identity?  “Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look.”  Even those whose behaviors are beyond our understanding, whose sins are gross, find love in us! We stop dismissing others, choosing who’s in and who’s out! As the Spirit teaches us that we are beloved, we love – more and deeply.  We still have the discernment to understand right and wrong, to speak honestly to sin, but we love people like Jesus loved us.

Paul says that this change is the result of an inner transformation, being made into a ‘new creation.’  In the ‘old’ way people naturally fight and compete. In the ‘new’ way, we take up the mission of reconciliation. God looked at the world and instead of destroying it and starting over, He entered it to restore it through His Son. “God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.” Now what? He sends us, secured in His love, humble because we know we did not save ourselves, to continue that work of peace-making. Our message is not – “Go to Hell!” It is “Come home to the Father!” 

Ah, Christian, do you meet your world with a judge’s stare or open hands?  Yes, we are given the privilege of being the ambassadors of the Kingdom, representing God, inviting others to find wholeness of person and hope for eternal life. Paul says, “We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.”

For too long, too many of us have decided to dismiss those we have already judged as inferior, worthless, and beyond redemption. It is time to repent of that spiritual pride, to ask the Spirit of God to break our hard hearts, to hold us close so that we will be loved and loving.  Ask yourself today – am I a good ambassador of Christ? Do I invite others, in my words and my choices, to consider the love of Jesus as a treasure to be accepted in faith?

Here is a word from the Word.  It is a part of the same text above, this time from The Message.  God, make it my mission to be – Mr. Ambassador!
"Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own. Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. …  

What we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! …  God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God." (2 Corinthians 5:14-21, The Message)

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Reckless Love

(worship with this song about His love)

Before I spoke a word
You were singing over me

You have been so so good to me

Before I took a breath
You breathed Your life in me

You have been so so kind to me

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

O it chases me down fights 'til I'm found

Leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it I don't deserve

Still You give Yourself away

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

When I was Your foe still Your love fought for me

You have been so so good to me

When I felt no worth You paid it all for me

You have been so so kind to me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Caleb Culver | Cory Asbury | Ran Jackson

© Watershed Publishing Group (Admin. by Watershed Music Group)

Bethel Music Publishing

Richmond Park Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Confusing your image with reality?

Ever see the movie, Catch Me If You Can?  It is the story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. (played by Leonardo DiCaprio).  Frank, before his 19th birthday, forged millions of dollars' worth of checks to fund a fraudulent lifestyle. He lived for a time posing as a Pan Am pilot. He actually was hired to work as a doctor in a hospital.  He managed to pass the bar exam without an education and was a legal prosecutor until his fake identity was revealed. He was so good at his game that he was able to win accolades for his work! But, eventually his lack of credentials and qualifications would become obvious and he would run, only to take on yet another identity. After he was finally arrested, the FBI gave him the opportunity to work with them to detect fraud!

Knowing ourselves, honestly, is one of the most difficult things in the world. Facing the ‘real’ is nearly impossible for some. In our digital world it is possible to create an image that is a far cry from real. Our Facebook timeline can be edited to include only the wins of life, the profile photo retouched to take off 15 years, our ‘friends’ list lengthened by inclusion of people we met once at a conference 10 years ago!

The question is an important one. Are you actually that person you try to make others believe that you are?

Living truthfully is a key choice in the pursuit of true freedom. When we are authentic; owning our successes and failures, grasping the strengths and weaknesses, using the gifts that God has given us without coveting those of another, we are liberated from that awful ‘need to succeed’ that drives millions. Jesus says, “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought." (Matthew 5:5, The Message)

We need not adopt an attitude of apathy, nor should we confuse ‘contentment’ with laziness. Ambition, for the glory of God, is an admirable trait. The Lord is worthy of our best and highest efforts in life. However, it is hard to learn to measure our best without comparing ourselves to others which is a path that leads too often to image building and pretense.  We tend to look around for approval and acceptance, don’t we?  From the earliest days of schooling we get report cards and take tests that rank us based on our achievement in the class. Our God will never do that! He sees us for who we are and asks that we live for His glory, using the gifts and opportunities presented to us to please Him.

I need to remind myself… and I’ll remind you … of this liberating fact:  The One who knows you best, loves you most!  Yes, He wants us to deal with our sins, to develop our gifts; but He does not want us to lose ourselves to the pressures of performance laid on us by our world.  Here what we must remember.  He has prepared a place for YOU and ME in His world and the Church that no one else can fill.  He has uniquely equipped you to be a part of His faithful people who are sent to change the world. Paul was inspired by the Spirit to teach us that "God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!" (1 Corinthians 12:6-7, The Message)  Believe it and you will be able to get real, be honest, and become beautiful in His purposes.

Here is a word from the Word.  Let this wisdom remove the pressure to ‘be somebody’ from you, an invitation to serve the living Lord authentically. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you." (Romans 12:2-3, NLT)

Honest to God.  The best way to live!

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