Lord, lead me in the dance!

A couple of decades ago I saw an ad that said something like this - “Take dance lessons. She will love it.”  So I signed Bev and myself up for a swing dance class. Really, I did! Our instructors opened the first session by putting on a song and showing us what they hoped to teach us to achieve;  two people, moving as one, gracefully across the floor. I loved the beauty of it. After two frustrating sessions, I gave up and became a class drop-out. Bev could dance, beautifully, and I regret we could never share that joy. I am told that there are two reasons that I can't dance.   First, I am self-conscious and won't just 'let myself go.’ Second, I am over thinking the dance; trying to break down each movement into tiny parts rather than just moving into the music. To become a good dancer, I’d have to come under the influence of the music as well as becoming more responsive to the movement of my partner.

In case you’re wondering if there is a point to this, let’s get on with it. Living as a Spirit-filled Christian is a kind of ‘dance’ a life lived in synchronized with God’s music and responsive to His lead. The Bible says, (Galatians 5:25) “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” 
Do you find your Christian life like my experience in that dance class?  I could hear the instructor’s words. I watched them and wanted it but I just could not make it happen. Do you see some enjoying the joy of the Lord, watch them worship, see their fulfillment and wonder, why can’t I find that rhythm? Some of just will not let go and let Him lead. We surrender for a moment or a day but quickly return to forcing our own agenda. While others move through life’s difficulties and disappointments, enduring ill health, traffic jams, and overcoming temptation with real grace, we bumble along.

Simon Peter was called by Jesus to become a disciple. For three years, he didn't get it right. Talk about a man with bad timing. Oh, he tried mightily but, too often, things turned out badly. The low point was the night of Jesus' arrest and trial. When warned of impending failure by the Lord, Peter insisted that even if the other disciples failed, "I never will!"  "Ah," Jesus said sadly, "but you will, Peter. Before the rooster announces the dawn, you will deny me three times."  A few hours later as Jesus was being arrested, Peter pulled out his sword and made an attempt at defending his Friend, succeeding only in cutting off a man's ear, which Jesus promptly healed, as He told Peter, "Put that thing away!" And, later that same night, in the grip of panic in the courtyard of the high priest’s house, Peter was cursing and swearing while emphatically declaring, "I tell you, I never knew him!"

Fifty days later, at Pentecost, we meet a transformed man in Acts, a man dancing with the Spirit!  Empowered, Peter provided leadership to the emerging group of followers of Jesus, explained the Scripture, preached on the street, and courageously faced the enemies of the Jesus movement. With grace and beauty we watch him lead the Church. How does the Bible account for the difference? Acts 4:8 sums it up, saying "Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, ... "   The life and music of the Spirit filled him up and he began to dance gracefully under the Spirit's influence, moving to the rhythms of Heaven. When he came to the end of himself, when he was crushed beyond hope, God came with the outpouring of His Spirit. From that day, Peter danced. Yes, he made mistakes now and again, but he was a man of grace and power, who spread the message of Jesus and life across the world!

Yesterday, in a time of prayer with 3 other local pastors, I asked them to pray for me as I try to find a life without Bev, my wife, who went to Heaven 18 months ago. It’s been a time of ‘lostness’ for me.  As we prayed, I felt an impression to get on my knees instead of remaining seated like the others. It felt strange, but I followed the impression. The prayers continued and I knelt there praying softly in the Spirit, a kind of desperation driving my prayer.  Then there was another impression – “Hush!”  I stopped saying anything, waiting quietly and then suddenly …  it is hard to describe … I was enveloped in His Presence. The voices of my fellow Pastor disappeared, and I was lost in a place of safety, peace – almost as if I were sleeping, yet awake.  In a few moments I returned to conscious awareness of the room, where the others were still praying, but I felt as if I had slept an entire night, so rested.  An interesting secondary effect was that my knees that had been very painful for several days were no longer giving me any pain!  The sense of peace and rest persisted for the entire day! To enjoy that small blessed experience, I had to follow His lead.

Are you 'keeping step with the Spirit,' or are you stumbling and bumbling, from fall to failure?

Listen to the music of the Spirit. Give yourself over to His lead. Be filled! And, start to dance!

Here is a word from the Word. "Once when Jesus (post Resurrection) was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:4-8, NLT)

Let Him lead;  Lord of the dance!

____________

Spirit Of The Living God  (worship as you listen)

Spirit of the living God

Spirit of the living God

We only want to hear Your voice

We're hanging on ev'ry word

Spirit of the living God

Spirit of the living God

We want to know You more and more

We're hanging on ev'ry word

Come and speak to us O Lord

'Cause when You speak and when You move

When You do what only You can do

It changes us

It changes what we see and what we seek

When You come in the room

When You do what only You can do

It changes us

It changes what we see and what we seek

You're changing ev'rything

Spirit of the living God

Spirit of the living God

We're leaning in to all You are

Ev'rything else can wait

Spirit of the living God

Spirit of the living God

Come now and breathe upon our hearts

Come now and have Your way

When You move You move all our fears

When You move You move us to tears

When You move You move all our fears

When You move You move us to tears

When You fall we fall on our knees

When You fall we fall at Your feet

And when You fall we fall on our knees

And when You fall we fall at Your feet yeah

Spirit of the living God

Spirit of the living God

We only want to hear Your voice

We're hanging on ev'ry word

Jacob Sooter | Mia Fieldes

© 2014 All Essential Music (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

Be Essential Songs (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

CCLI License # 810055

Jerry D. Scott, Pastor

Faith Discovery Church

www.FaithDiscovery.com

A Leap into the dark?

On Sunday morning, after our congregational prayer, the people join me in saying “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth,  and in Jesus Christ,  His only Son, our Lord…”  The declaration always fills me up with a special kind of joy, hearing all those voices united in the Apostle’s Creed.  This ancient creed affirms the core elements of Christian doctrine that unite the Body of Christ and I see it as both a teaching moment and a statement that reaffirms the foundation of our hope!

“I believe!” What does that mean?
Is it agreeing in my mind with the words?
Is it being convinced of the truth?
Is it struggling with conflicted thoughts and making a choice?
Is it a ‘knowing’ that goes beyond proof? 

Jesus appeared to His disciples after Resurrection knowing that Thomas was refusing to believe the testimony of his friends. Somewhat defiantly he had said he would only believe if he saw Jesus with his own eyes and was convinced by the marks in His hands and side. "Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:27-31, NIV)

Belief is connected to faith. It is not a blind leap into the dark, but it does require trust in the unseen.  That Jesus lived, a real man in Palestine 2 millennia ago, is beyond debate. There is ample proof that an itinerant rabbi taught radical ideas about knowing God. But, to accept that He is God in flesh, that He died according to the will of God for our sins, and was raised to life to assure us of our eternal salvation – demands faith.  The Gospels tell us the stories and we have a choice to make. Will we believe them to be the truth or will we turn them into fables?

Faith is both a gift of the Spirit of God at work in us and a decision we make in our response.  To say “I believe,” does not eliminate all doubts, answer every question, or turn our world into stark black and white!  We believe and we ‘work out our salvation,’ one day, one question, at a time.  My own experience as a Christian is something of a paradox.  The longer I live the Christian life, the deeper my faith goes, a solid bedrock foundation for my life. At the same time, there are moments when trusting God is more difficult than ever. I am convinced that Christ is God’s revelation of Himself, that He is the Savior.  But there complex questions that I wrestle with that most likely will not find resolution on this side of Heaven. That does not mean that I am without faith, nor does it indicate a flawed Christianity.

Paul alludes to the mysteries of faith saying, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV)  The mirrors of his time were not like ours. They were polished metal with a imperfect surface so that the image was imperfect, a distortion of the face shown on it.  Our faith, he says, deals with distortions caused by our imperfect knowledge, our bias, faulty teaching, wrong assumptions – all part of humanity. But, there will be a moment of absolute clarity when we see Jesus face to face! Oh, Glorious Day!

So, while we live among the questions, we rest on the unfailing grace of the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Our faith is at work, empowered by the Spirit who also works powerfully in us and around us. Here is a word from the Word. Believe, love, live! "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. … Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  … But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." (James 1:12, 22; 2:18, NIV)

__________

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
   the Maker of heaven and earth, 
and in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,   
born of the virgin Mary,  
suffered under Pontius Pilate,  
was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of
God the Father Almighty;
from there He shall come to judge
the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit;
In Christ’s universal Church;
   the communion of all Believers;
   the forgiveness of sins;
   the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.

Making an unforgettable impression

It’s Monday and you, Christian, have an awesome privilege and responsibility.  You are going to represent Jesus to your family, your friends, your world.

A friend who has walked through deep disappointment in her life, told a story of an encounter she had. She is an American and a Christian who speaks Arabic. (that’s another story!)  In a visit to Walmart in middle America, she saw woman was covered head to toe in typical Islamic dress. The woman’s husband stepped away for a moment and so my friend spoke to the woman in Arabic.  The woman responded and phone numbers got exchanged. Later in the week, my friend met up with her new acquaintance and found a lonely, discouraged woman, dealing with family troubles. My friend considered it a privilege to share friendship with this family that knew next to nothing about Christianity!  All from an encounter at a Walmart checkout.

Remember, that you, too, are an ambassador of Christ’s realm! Wherever you go this week, stay aware of the Spirit and others for God has credentialed you (and me!) to represent Him. Read this commission carefully even though you may be familiar with it.  "God … 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 5:18-21, NIV) God uses people just like us to change the course of life for others, to offer His love and hope through us!

Paul talks about one of the ways we represent Christ in this world. He says that as we move through life, we leave a scent!  To some, it’s a sweet fragrance. To others, it’s the stink of death!  Read this text carefully - "And I got it, thank God! In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on?" (2 Corinthians 2:14-16, The Message)

So, I encourage you to spend time in the Presence of God, bathing in His love, His sweetness so that the 'fragrance'  you leave behind today represents Him in all His wonder! Will people 'smell' the sweet perfume of the holiness of Jesus on you?  Paul asks, "And who is adequate for such a task as this?"  You see, we can't splash on a little "Jesus" perfume to cover the stink of persistent and deliberate disobedience or hypocrisy! The fragrance of Christ permeates our lives ONLY WHEN we have spent time with Him, soaking in His Spirit which lets His character be created in us! Sit down and rest in His Presence. Invite Him to live in you. Then, your inadequacy will be wrapped and covered by His Presence. The 'fragrance' that trails you will be the sweet smell of LIFE, both pleasing to God and those who love Him!

Be His ambassador, not a noisy, pushy voice, but rather a persistent, beautiful influence that turns the hearts of others towards the One who loves them deeply.  Pray to be so filled with Jesus that you leave behind an unforgettable impression on others through you today.

A word from the Word – live it! Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  (John 20:21-22)
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Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,All His wonderful passion and purity.O my Savior divine, all my nature refine,‘Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.
-           Albert Orbson, public domain