Posted by Chris on October 8, 2006 under Sermons
Do you remember when TV’s had knobs and dials? What is sort of a relic now was high-tech once upon a time. There was typically two knobs on those manually adjusted sets that you will not find on most TV’s now – the vertical hold and the horizontal hold. Adjusting these two controls kept your picture in balance. The horizontal hold kept the picture adjusted from left to right and the vertical kept it adjusted from top to bottom.
In our life together as disciples of Jesus, we are balanced by two adjustments – a spiritual set of controls that keep us balanced vertically and horizontally. Two of our banners set before us the Scriptures that keep us aware of those two “holds” and how they shape the way we live and what we do.
Vertical Hold
The vertical hold is God’s involvement in what we do. As we think about our “ministries” – and we can use this to speak of the ministries we are involved in as individuals or as a church – ask “why are we involved in these possibilities?” Take a look at Ephesians 2:8-10.
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God has created you. He made you. Not only has he made us, but he has saved us. All of that effort on God’s part is to craft our lives into a beautiful and useful masterpiece to accomplish his purposes. When God called Jeremiah, he made it clear to him that he was made for his calling. When Mordecai encourages Esther to risk her life to save her people, he asks her to consider if her entire life had not led up to this very possibility. The vertical hold is the hold of God’s shaping and forming hand that not only saves us, but enables us to do the good works that he has prepared in advance for us to do.
These good works are not efforts on our part to win God’s favor. No, the good works are the outgrowth of the kind of people God wants us to be. He wants the people around us to witness these good works and recognize how God wants the whole world to live.
Have you seen how the Amish community in Nickel Mines has taught the world how to forgive? They are striving to live out the teaching of Jesus in their attitudes. One of their leaders has said, “We must not think evil of this man.” Other Amish have reached out to the family of the shooter. Daniel Esh is a member of the Amish community and he told the news that he hoped the family of the shooter would remain in the community “I hope they stay around here and they’ll have a lot of friends and a lot of support.”
How can we be so bold in doing the good works that God has prepared for us to do? We have to have the vertical hold of God’s spirit.
Horizontal Hold
Another of our banners comes from Hebrews 10:24. Listen to this text in its context … 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Notice how the vertical hold of what God is doing in our lives and our life together flows into the horizontal hold of how we build up and encourage one another. The recipients of the Hebrew sermon had gotten weary. They needed to be encouraged. Maybe because of persecution or despair, they were missing their calling. That’s why we need the horizontal hold.
Thursday a friend called me out of the blue. For most of his professional life he had been a chemical engineer. But he went through a very difficult time a few years back in which he realized that his calling was to be in full-time ministry. I have always done my best to encourage him in the transition into ministry and in his continued efforts in that. Simply because I believe in him and I want him to serve God and others in the way that God has gifted him. Thursday he called me to give me a word of encouragement. At just the right time, too.
This is the horizontal hold. This is the way we spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
One other banner speaks of the blending of these two. Prepare for Works of Service to Build up His Body. ~ Ephesians 4:12. That’s what the Ministry Fair is all about. I hope as this day continues you will take the time to be prepared for Works of Service. Do a little tuning today. Adjust the vertical and horizontal holds in your spiritual calling. God has made you and saved you to do good works – good works that he has set up already for you to do. And we are all hear to spur one another on.
Posted by David on October 5, 2006 under Bulletin Articles
Jesus said twice in the same sermon: “You have heard that it was said, ?You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48) “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) He said again in Matthew 22:39 that the second greatest command God has given is this: “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Paul said to a congregation in Rome: “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ?You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ?You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10)
Peter said, “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” (1 Peter 2:1-3)
John said, “Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:7-11)
Very high on God’s priority list is loving people made in His image and likeness. Where does loving people come on your priority list?
Posted by Chris on October 1, 2006 under Sermons
Matthew 6:1-21. Notice what Jesus says:
1. Do not pray like the Pharisees – public display, to show their own piety and (self ) righteousness
2. Do not pray like Pagans – who babble on in an attempt to get what they want. God actually knows what we need before we pray – (so what’s the point of praying?) – Pray like this …
The Lord’s Prayer – at it’s heart is the phrase “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This phrase reflects what is different about this prayer and the prayer of Pharisees and Pagans.
Praying Like Pagans
New Prayer – Sending Prayers to the Last Known Location of God. What is interesting is their assumptions about God and prayer:
“How can we know that our prayers are heard and that we are clearly sending our message to God? What do we know for sure about the location of God?”
So, the inventors of the New Prayer website have a radio transmitter aimed at the center of the universe. They assume that if God created the universe with a Big Bang, then God had to be there, so they beam prayers to God’s last known location. If your prayers haven’t been answered (they claim) you just haven’t been facing the right direction or you don’t have enough wattage.
The website is now defunct, but there is a report about it at www.religioustolerance.org/tnews_01oct.htm
2001-OCT-24 (approx): Pay-2-Pray: Send prayer to God. A new service is being provided by a web site at www.NewPrayer.com. At no cost, you can compose a prayer to God and send it to this web site. They have designed and built a directional radio transmitter which will then transmit your prayers to the last known location of God. They state: “We know that GOD was at the birth of His universe. We know how the universe began – with a ‘Big Bang’. We know where the oldest part of the universe is located. We can transmit radio messages to this precise location.”
They don’t guarantee a reply. One thing that they forgot to mention is that it will take billions of years for the message to travel from Earth to the oldest part of the universe.
We can easily reject their assumptions about the Big Bang and the last known location of God. We believe that God is with us – not away out in space. But the assumptions about prayer are not so easy to dismiss because we share in many of these assumptions.
1) The assumption that prayer is all about asking and getting.
2) The assumption that prayers done right get answered and prayers not done right “fail to transmit”
3) The assumption that prayer is our technique to change God.
Haddon Robinson tells a story that illustrates our tendency to pray for what we want. He says that when his children were small he played a game. He’d take coins in his fist and his children would sit in his lap work to open his fingers. Once a finger was opened – it had to stay opened. They would work at this until they got all the pennies in his hand. Then they would jump down and run away giggling and happy. Sometimes we come to God and all we want are the pennies in his hand. “Lord I need, … I need” We reach for the pennies and when God grants the request, we push away his hand. More important than the pennies in God’s hand is the hand of God himself.
Praying Like Pharisees
Many Pharisees were well-intentioned, but misguided. They thought that prayer was all about them. Sometimes we turn prayer into a chore and we forget the one to whom we pray. It sounds quite good to dedicate ourselves to more prayer (and perhaps fasting and contribution) but if the focus is not on the one to whom we pray, then the pbject of our prayers become our own special interest – the righteousness we seek is our own self-righteouness. Self-serving prayer becomes out divine sanction for our self-serving status quo – but what if that status needs to be changed? When this is the case, prayer does not put us in touch with God’s presence.
Isaiah 58:3 – The Lord desires mercy, not sacrifice. Our prayers and fasting and religious observance do not earn God’s favor. We can prayer without ceasing but if our prayers are inconsistent with our life, then we are not in step with God.
We have become self-righteous if our prayers express and reinforce our “own interests” rather than glorifying God and inviting submission to God’s will. If our prayers mirror our self-centered culture and are simply an expressing of our interest that it is no wonder that our ministries suffer, that we ache over conflicts in the church, that we divide into camps and our worship becomes the focus of offense and argument.
The language “THY will be done” and the admission that we need forgiveness and need to forgive others, the dependence on God for daily food assumes an attitude of repentance, not arrogance. Let us no longer focus on our will being done and attempt to impose our will upon the whole church or accuse others of trying to do so when we are frustrated.
Praying Like Jesus
The agenda for the Lord’s Prayer is not a formula that commands the God in the sky to give us what we’ve always wanted. The agenda for the Lord’s kind of praying is not to appease the Almighty with the right kind of religious talk or to demonstrate our religious ability.
The agenda of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples is to welcome God to reveal his will on earth – to make known his power and transform people and society. It anticipates God revealing his hand and making his power known over all the world. It longs for a spiritual shockwave that turns our world inside out and makes everything new and holy. Of course the epicenter of that shockwave is the church and the hearts of those faithful in prayer.
Now God will enact his will whether we invite or not, he doesn’t need our prayers to make it happen. So, our prayers must have something to do with us entering into that kingdom agenda! Prayer changes us.
Prayer that glorifies God is transforming. Why? Because we are not focused on our needs, but the one who meets those needs. Why? Because we are not focused on the healing, but the healer. Why? Because we are not focused on the gifts, but the gift-giver.
Prayer properly involves the profession that God rules the world, that God claims our individual and communal lives. God’s rule is characterized by attributes such as righteousness, mercy, and justice. So, those who acknowledge God’s claim to rule the world in such a way will also have to be righteous, merciful and just. One cannot pray “Thy will be done” with no intention of ever wanting to be like God. When God’s people acknowledge that he rules the world, they will become like God! It is an invitation to set aside our own interest and to offer ourselves and our church for the sake of the world just as God offers himself for the sake of the world.
Challenge: Faithful in Prayer
Internet and TV offers promise diets and fitness that can change your body and health in less than 6 weeks. 10 weeks to this, 12 weeks to that. New life and new opportunities are just a few weeks away.
Prayer is not a technique that manipulates God, and prayer is something we are always supposed to do – not just at special times. But how many of us have daily routines of prayer? Jesus set aside 40 days to pray and fast so that he might be prepared for his mission. Prayer was not optional, it was transformational and essential.
Now just imagine what YOU might be like if you prayed for 40 days. How different would you be? How differently would you come to God? Who would you forgive? How would your relationships change?
Now imagine what WE might be like if we prayed like this for 40 days. How would the church be changed if some of us prayed for one another for 40 days? How would our focus change? How different would our worship and fellowship change if we prayed for one another often? How would our ministry and mission be different? How would the world change if a church prayed for 40 days? How would they impact their community? Who would be affected?
The answer to all these is what could God do with a people who are humble and submissive to him for 40 days? What could God’s spirit do with a people who for just five weeks were faithful in prayer?
How would God’s kingdom come? How might his will be done on earth as it is in heaven?
Posted by Chris on under Sermons
Read Matthew 6:19-34.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If the poor have the kingdom of heaven, then what do the not-so-poor have? Well, those who certainly aren’t poor have treasure on earth. A trust fund. Something to keep us secure. Savings for the future.
Jesus has warned his disciples of a couple of pitfalls to living out the kingdom righteousness. One is legalism: When we equate righteousness with keeping the rules, we fail to live out the spirit of the law. Legalism is not the sort of “salt and light,” kingdom righteousness that surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
The second pitfall is approval from others: When we equate righteousness with the judgment of others, custom, tradition, or “the way we’ve always done it,” then we fail to be content with God’s approval. We give up God’s reward for the reward of being approved by others. Instead of an excellent righteousness, we settle with a mediocre righteousness.
And now Jesus warns us of a third pitfall: distraction. Those who originally heard this teaching were distracted by the lack of material things. They were anxious about having enough to eat, having fresh water to drink, having basic goods. That’s not most of us. For most of us we are distracted by having too many material things … or we are distracted by our desire for more material things. Whether the problem is not enough, too much, or desire the source of the distraction in every case is treasure on earth. The problem is the false God of money.
We cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve God and Money at the same time. Trying to pledge allegiance to two masters is distracting. A master, by definition, requires complete loyalty. The disciples of Jesus cannot be distracted, especially not if they are anticipating the kingdom of heaven.
Simple message, but let’s be honest; there’s so much about our life together and our life in this world that has to do with money. It seems that church has a lot to do with money. We collect an offering every Sunday. We have a business management team. We hire staff. We pay bills. Who are we serving? God or Money? How can we know the difference? Are we distracted or are we disciples?
Giving at West-Ark has increased. But our church budget is just a small part of the significance here. As a church, do we make our decisions based on trust in money or based on trust in God? That’s important because the answer reveals our true master.
- When God determines our economic decisions we are using money. We are storing up treasure in heaven and using money for the sake of others and the kingdom. Our eyes are clear and we are not anxious about money or the future. We trust in God
- When money determines our economic decisions we are serving money. We are storing up treasures on earth (where they are vulnerable and insecure). Our eyes are clouded. We are anxious about money and the future. We trust in stuff and self.
When we truly say “in God we trust” and when we are not just reading it off of our money, we begin to see money differently. Instead of naively assuming that money is a neutral substance, we begin to understand how money and material things become a power and force not only in our own lives, but in our life together – in our society. Rather than a neutral substance it can actually determine what decisions we make and it can burden us with anxieties and drive us into serving it.
When we truly say that it is in God that we trust, we begin to realize that money and things can distract us, but we also learn that there is a difference between Using Money and Serving Money – Money, like all forces and powers, must be redeemed to serve God. The key to knowing if we are distracted by another master is for us to answer this question: Do we use money or do we serve money?
When we trust in CASH, we tend to think that God only cares about his cut – his 10 %. As long as he gets his due he’s fine with us. But God actually has an opinion about the other 90% as well. Why? Because he knows what this stuff and money can do to us …
- It will corrupt our vision. Our eyes become dark. We start to see everything as a problem that can be solved with money. Or we start to see everything as a problem about money. (We become Marxists – communists and capitalists make good Marxists, because it is all about money).
- We start to see people in terms of what they are “worth.” They are either commodity that we can own or sell. Or they are people that we trade with.
- Jesus says that when the light of the body goes dark, the whole person goes dark.
- We invest in earth rather than heaven. That’s an investment in a company destined to fail. Faith becomes a transaction. God does X and we do Y. It is part of the contract and barter. We pay for services. We shop for churches. We are sold out and invested in religion. (Other material/financial language we use for faith).
- Jesus warns us that treasures on earth are very unreliable. They are vulnerable to decay and theft. When Jesus returns to claim his disciples is he going to be looking at the balance of our checking account? Will he inquire about the church ledger? Asking for “his money?” No, the only currency that will matter is treasure in heaven.
- We will become enslaved to a false god that will consume us. And this false God loves to make people RUN. It loves to send us running after the basic necessities of life. Run for your food – get there quick before it goes away. Run for your clothing – run don’t walk to the weekend sidewalk sale, one day only! We are enslaved with the chains of anxiety.
- But Jesus says that the pagans run after all these things. His disciples are not anxious and worried. They don’t run, they walk in righteousness.
What about your money, your resources, your securities? Are you using them? Are they using you? Are you tired of running anxiously. Are you weary of being a consumer consumed with worry?
Today when you look around you are going to see the world that God runs. We are a bit past the blooming of flowers, but you will see the master’s artistry in the fall colors – colors that inspire the great fashion houses. You will have to pay thousands of dollars for designer clothing. The trees pay nothing for God’s care.You will see birds building their houses and collecting food. You and I may ring up a hefty bill for lunch and get anxious if the meal isn’t ready in fifteen minutes. But the birds pay nothing for God’s care.
Who is your master? Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
If we are to establish a life of simplicity this week among pagans who run after all these things, we should also do a bit of self-evaluation today about how much of our energy we devote to worrying in general. Ours is a society that nurtures worry as though it were a virtue. When we worry, we hold back those areas of our lives from God. Worry-I prefer Robert Guelich’s definition to any I have heard-is “an anxious endeavor to secure one’s needs.”
I would take that a step farther and say that worry is an anxious endeavor to secure one’s needs and wants and how we think the world should be.
Here is your opportunity this morning to come bring your worrying to the foot of the cross and leave it here. Sometimes in our prayers in worship we ask God to help us leave the cares of the world outside. I am saying this morning that it should be just the opposite. This morning, bring all of your worries into this room, and leave them here. That’s not to say that you will not think about them any more. It is to say, however, that you are bringing these things to God that you worry about too much, and that you acknowledge on this day that you need to hand those over to God.
If it is money, you cannot serve money if you want to serve God. The acquisition of stuff is not is not a part of the world imagined in the Sermon on the Mount. But it is just as foreign to the life God wants for us when we try to walk alongside Christ without handing everything over to him.
Lay your burdens down, every care you carry. Bring them all today into the presence of God. Be a follower of God today. Do that, and let tomorrow take care of itself.
Our worries are not rooted in having too little, our worries are in having too much. And having an abundance forms us into people that trust in ourselves. And the more we trust in ourselves for these daily needs the more we trust in ourselves for the deeper needs of security and value. One characteristic of the incarnation that has always intrigued me is the fact that God made himself vulnerable. Look at all our new babies. They need constant care. They depend entirely on the people around them. God came and made himself as vulnerable as a new born baby. Jesus actually lives his life relying on the Father and others. He is not consumed with security.
When we make our economic decisions because we trust in God, or when we use money for God rather than serve it …
- We tend to think that God only cares about his cut – his 10 %. As long as he gets his due he’s fine with us. But God actually has an opinion about the other 90% as well. Why? Because he knows what this stuff and money can do to us …
- It will corrupt our vision. Our eyes become dark. We start to see everything as a problem that can be solved with money. Or we start to see everything as a problem about money. (We become Marxists – communists and capitalists make good Marxists, because it is all about money).
- We start to see people in terms of what they are “worth.” They are either commodity that we can own or sell. Or they are people that we trade with.
- We invest in earth rather than heaven. That’s an investment in a company destined to fail. Faith becomes a transaction. God does X and we do Y. It is part of the contract and barter. We pay for services. We shop for churches. We are sold out and invested in religion. (Other material/financial language we use for faith).
- We will become enslaved to a false god that will consume us. And the tragedy of it is that the false God “mammon” wears a God-like mask. That mask slips and we see its true face only as it begins to consume us. We are enslaved with the chains of anxiety. And this false God loves to make people RUN. It loves to send us running after the basic necessities of life. Run for your food – get there quick before it goes away. Run for your clothing – run don’t walk to the weekend sidewalk sale, one day only! But Jesus says that the pagans run after all these things. His disciples are not anxious and worried. They don’t run, they walk in righteousness.
Posted by David on September 28, 2006 under Sermons
Would you like to see Satan utterly defeated? Would you like to see him flounder helplessly in total confusion? Would you like to see him fall flat on his face completely disoriented? Would you like to see his power evaporate, his strength fail, and his throne destroyed? Most Christians would love to witness that happening!
Would you like for the Lord to use you personally to help cause Satan’s defeat? Would you like to put "the hurt" on Satan without him being able to hurt you? Would you like to do things that would tumble Satan?
It would surprise me if those ideas did not appeal to most Christians. Why? Most of us have witnessed tragedies that Satan caused. We have seen good people betrayed through evil. Through evil, we have seen godly people fall to their ruin. We have seen heartache and pain caused by evil. Many of us have felt helpless as we observed Satan’s deceptions.
It would be wonderful to "get even" with Satan just once. It would be wonderful to see him suffer the pain he delights in bringing to us, to destroy his influence, to frustrate his efforts. Just once would you not like to witness Satan receiving what he deserves?
If God used you in that way, what would happen? If God used you in that way, what would you have to do to Satan? If Satan were beaten, what would have to happen?
There was a time when Jesus used people to do exactly that! Consider what happened in Luke 10.
- Jesus used seventy (70) men as "advance men" to prepare villages and cities in Galilee and Judah to get ready for his coming.
- These men would go throughout the entire Jewish region to build a sense of expectation for Jesus’ and his message.
- To each of the places they visited, they would inform people, "Jesus is coming here!"
- An announcement of this type was necessary in a time without printing, radio, or television to create a sense of expectation.
- They wanted even small villages to know they would not be passed by.
- The objective was information, not profit.
- Jesus wanted the men to know they were going on a dangerous mission.
- The opportunity was enormous!
- However, the risk was great! The hatred of some was not to be underestimated!
- These men would be defenseless–like lambs among wolves!
- There were some conditions they had to accept.
- They would trust Jesus as they represented Jesus.
- They would not travel as usual with extra provisions and clothing.
- There would be no bag with extra food for an unexpected situation.
- They would not talk to people as they traveled.
- Their mission was too urgent!
- They must not be delayed as they announced Jesus’ coming.
- When they entered a house, they extended the family peace.
- If the family accepted their peace, that peace would rest on the family.
- If the family rejected them, their peace would be denied the family.
- "When you are accepted, stay in that one place–there is no time to move from place to place."
- "Wherever you are:
- "Eat what you are served.
- "Heal the sick.
- "Inform everyone that God’s kingdom is near" (the expectation of Israel was close to being a reality).
- "If you are rejected:
- "Publicly declare they are responsible for the consequences of their rejection–do not even carry dust from that place on your sandals!
- "Still let them know God’s kingdom will come soon.
- "In the future, God’s condemnation will be terrifying!"
- Their basic awareness about their message should be this:
- "When they listen to you, they listen to me."
- "When they reject you, they reject me."
- "If they reject me, they reject God."
- The seventy (70) returned with joy and excitement!
- Many exciting things happened–obviously more than they expected!
- They made the journey just as Jesus instructed them.
- They visited hostile places and survived.
- They visited receptive places and were well treated.
- They healed the sick.
- Most excitingly–they had power over demons; they did things many regarded extremely difficult or impossible!
- Demon possession was regarded the most difficult form of sickness.
- In Jesus’ name they could do that which rarely happened.
- Can you imagine what a sense of power they felt?
- Can you hear their sense of excitement when they said: "Lord, we were unstoppable! We really did something special!"
- Jesus’ reaction to their report is so important!
- He agreed something special happened.
- In the time of their mission, Jesus said he saw Satan falling as lightning from heaven.
- That likely meant Jesus saw Satan losing his position of power and control.
- The unstoppable process of dethroning Satan had begun!
- Satan’s total defeat had begun.
- Satan’s defeat had begun, and nothing bad occurred to Jesus’ messengers.
- Jesus’ warning is critical!
- "Do not rejoice in the wrong thing!"
- The wrong thing was having power over demons!
- "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven!"
- What was the significance of Satan falling as lightning?
- Did it mean Satan could do no damage to Jesus or his followers?
- Certainly not!
- Jesus was still betrayed, denied, and crucified.
- The 12 were still scattered and disillusioned.
- However, Jesus’ resurrection meant an end to the power and reign of Satan over all this world–and that was a powerful, glorious moment!
- However, not even that moment meant the death of Satan.
- It means it is impossible for Satan to defeat Jesus Christ.
- It means Satan cannot spiritually destroy people who belong to Jesus Christ.
- Yet, Satan still can afflict those in Christ who remain in this physical existence.
- That evil power will not end until God’s final judgment.
- We must remember two things.
- First, Satan–though eternally defeated–never stops fighting us.
- When the situation looks promising, we are tempted to feel, "We are really sticking it to Satan!"
- With faith, courage, and sacrifice, we can inflict damage on Satan in many ways.
- Satan will fight us every way he can as we seek to capitalize on God’s opportunities before us.
- You can be assured that Satan also has some special obstacles in store for us.
- He will not let us capitalize on opportunities for good without resisting us in every way he can!
- He will not give up parts of his kingdom without a fight!
- His primary ground for waging war against God is within the church itself!
- Second, we must not rejoice in the wrong things.
- Do not rejoice in our accomplishments as congregations or individuals–that is not the ultimate war against evil!
- Every battle we win at this moment will be fought again by other people.
- Every lesson this generation learns in its war against evil must be learned again by future generations.
- Rejoice that you let Jesus be your Lord as you pursue God’s will.
- Rejoice in belonging to Jesus.
- Rejoice as you see others willingly yielding to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
It always is important for us to rejoice in what Jesus has done and continues to do for us, not in what we think we do for Jesus.
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
At least within our society, we adopt a way to measure life’s experiences. It is a simple, subjective way to measure: Good things feel good, and bad things feel bad. Thus, if something feels good, it cannot be bad; and if something feels bad, it cannot be good.
Most hasten to add that there are numerous exceptions: Discipline rarely “feels” good. Chemotherapy rarely “feels” good. Yet, both are administered and endured because an eventual improvement is sought, but not guaranteed.
My point is NOT that one’s feelings have no value in determining wise and unwise, good and bad, or right and wrong. My point: the Christian who uses only his or her feelings as a primary means to determine (1) the meaning of a scripture, (2) right or wrong, or (3) correct behavior makes himself or herself an inviting target for Satan’s deception.
Before Jesus raised Lazarus, he told Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha thought only of the final resurrection. When Jesus’ affirmed he was the power of life and resurrection, Martha did not “feel” an immediate solution to her grief for her brother. (See John 11:23,24.)
When Jesus was in Gethsemane less than 24 hours before his death (Matthew 26:38-44), or Paul was frustrated by his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), or Peter was afraid of the Judaizing teachers (Galatians 2:11, 12), or Barnabas was deceived by hypocritical forces (Galatians 2:13), “feelings” either threatened to mask or did mask God at work. Jesus’ feelings said, “Death is unacceptable.” Paul’s feelings said, “You can be more effective for God without this thorn.” Peter’s feelings said, “I do not want to experience that again.” Barnabas’ feelings said, “They cannot be wrong about this.”
Thank God Jesus did not surrender to his feelings! Thank God Paul listened to Christ when He explained! May we be warned by Peter’s fear and Barnabas’ deception! Yes, always consider your feelings, but never let your feelings become God’s voice. (If we do not consider our feelings, we will have no conscience.)
Jesus knew God was at work in his death. He saw beyond how he felt and felt grieved for those who caused his death (Luke 23:34). Stephen even saw God at work in his death (Acts 7:59, 60). That is the key for the Christian-to see God working when we experience the distasteful. God often works through human pain and injustice.
Posted by Chris on September 24, 2006 under Sermons
Read Matthew 6:1-18.
We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. We are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Our Lord has instructed us to let our light shine so that when people see our good deeds they will glorify our Father in heaven.
But now he is saying that we ought to be careful not to do our acts of righteousness before people. Instead we ought to do them in secret. Is he contradicting himself? Are we to let our light shine or cover it with a bushel?
There’s no contradiction. We are the city set on a hill. As a church that is salt and light, we don not practice righteousness for our own sakes – we practice righteousness so that world might know God.
This is why there is no contradiction: In the teaching we just heard, Jesus is cautioning us not to do good deeds in order to gain approval from others. It’s all about the reward we expect. Our we letting our light shine so that the world will praise our Father (and come to know Him) or are we concerned with the approval and acceptance of others?
Jesus brings up the hypocrites. A hypocrite is an actor or performer. Jesus is using this term to colorfully describe the people whose acts of righteousness are aimed at getting public acceptance. They need to people to know their generosity. They need people to notice how carefully and accurately they can pray. They need people to see that they observe self-denial and are repentant. Hypocrites – their faith is on display for others to evaluate. That’s what Jesus meant with that term.
Of course, we have modified the term a bit. We’ve taken it out of its pedestrian usage and made it semi-religious. For us the hypocrite is a charlatan, a phony, someone with impure motives. It’s Elmer Gantry trying to bilk the good folk at the tent meeting. It’s the televangelist who asks for a seed offering and then he spends it on a house in Hawaii. It’s the false prophet who manipulates the church and the busybody who doesn’t practice what she preaches. (In our usage, a hypocrite is usually someone else) These are all problems, but that not what Jesus means by hypocrite.
In fact, a hypocrite does practice what he preaches. Notice that the “hypocrites” are gravely concerned about their acts of righteousness gaining the approval of others. They want to be “seen.” They need their reward from others. Jesus mentions three very individual acts of righteousness: giving, praying, fasting. These are three acts in which the individual (the singular “you”) participates in what all the community of the righteous should be doing.
The ones who seek the reward and approval of others is anxious for others to notice that what he or she gives is enough to make a difference. He doesn’t want to be shamed as someone who didn’t give his due. She doesn’t want to be thought of as someone who doesn’t contribute her part.
The ones who seek the reward and approval of others are anxious for others to notice that he or she prays often and prays correctly. He wants people to see how we ought to pray. She wants to pray at the proper times.The ones who seek the reward and approval of others are anxious for others to notice that – well, we don’t fast do we. Kind of hard to get a hold of that in our age of indulgence, eh? So the ones who seek the reward and approval of others are anxious are anxious to let others know when they have given up something important. They want some understanding and just the acknowledgement of their sacrifice.
It’s easy to describe those who seek the reward and approval of others and always think of them as someone else. So I want to tell you how I am complicit in the system of “being seen by others” and if you find yourself there too, then you can share with me in the journey of letting God change you too.
They say that ministers and their families live in a fishbowl. It means that everything we do is visible for all to see. I suppose the fishbowl would apply to a lot of leaders in the church. It would apply to so many of us really. I shared the metaphor of the fishbowl to a friend recently – someone who is not a church leader but is in a highly visible position in society – and he was impressed by the accuracy of the image. All of us feel like our deeds are being monitored. And it becomes natural that if we are “on display” we ought to at least hear what the audience thinks of our performance so far, right? “How am I doing?” as the once mayor of New York City, Ed Koch, used to say.
I get caught up in our habits that put a lot of emphasis on what others will think. Sometimes we as a church will do something simply because we are concerned about what others will think – and it may be something really good. I have sometimes taken satisfaction in doing something because it “looks good for the church.” And there are times we don’t do something because we are concerned about what people will think. I forget that sometimes it is risky to follow Jesus and sometimes people do get upset because I am trying to follow him.
Now on the one hand, our deeds must reflect the glory of God. As a community we are “on display” – we’re the city on the hill. But on the other hand, we cannot make the approval of others our aim. If we want that “Reward” we can get it – and we can get it easily. But the reward we are waiting on is the reward of our father. Our Father in heaven has a view much better than the spectators looking into the fishbowl. He sees what we do in secret. He is able to evaluate us on more than just our public display. Does that comfort you or scare you? If it scares you, then ask yourself what reward you are seeking. If it comforts you then keep focusing on what God wants you to do because of who you are.
Darlene grew up in a faith tradition that emphasized the quality of prayer. If you couldn’t pray right, she was told, then God will not answer your prayers. Darlene was intimidated and she just didn’t pray at church, or even at home. But then she found out she had cancer. She wasn’t sure if God heard her because she was told that her prayers were weak and were corrupted by the sin in her life. But she kept trying to pray anyway. Some friends put me and some of my elders in Texas in touch with Darlene. We visited with her. One of our elders assured her that God loves her. He mentioned that God’s Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray (Romans 8). I asked her, “Darlene, you say you’ve been praying. What do you pray.” She was reluctant to share it. Sort of humble and shy about it. Then she said, “I pray … Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever … And then I say, Lord it’s me again.”
Now what does God think about that prayer? The Lord’s Prayer keeps us focused on God. Whose approval do we seek?
- Do we seek the some sort of reward from others for the gifts we give, or is it enough to be rewarded by Our Father who gives us our daily bread?
- Do we seek some sort of reward from others when we engage in personal repentance, or is it enough to be rewarded by the one who forgives us as we forgive others?
- Do we seek some sort of reward when we pray for or with others, or is it enough to be rewarded by Our Father and to be satisfied that his will is done on earth as it is in heaven?
Whose will is the focus of our discipleship? Your own, or the will of your Father.
[Quote: Danny Mercer] If we are praying for God’s will and God’s reign in our lives and this church, but aren’t carrying it out, then we are merely actors on a stage who have received our reward already, the approval that quickly fades.
Do you want to get it right … or do you want to be righteous?
Posted by David on September 21, 2006 under Sermons
The American society has many great qualities that produce incredible opportunities. Among them are our high degree of individual freedom; our number of personal rights; our economic opportunities; our standard of living; and our educational opportunities. Though troubled, we are still a nation of freedom and opportunity
The irony: with all this, we still produce people filled with problems. Often in our society, there are significant groups of deeply troubled people. A common problem is many do not feel loved and are very cynical about love. "True friends" are a myth. "Lasting marriage" is a myth. "Lasting love" is a myth. Many think there are only two enduring laws in this society. (1) Everyone is out to get everyone else. (2) If you want to survive, you better look out for number one [self].
More tragic is the fact that many feel unlovable. They are convinced they are horribly flawed. They have endured lots of rejection. They have been exploited so much they conclude they are worthless.
Feeling unlovable is produced by many conditions. Some of those conditions: the victimization of racial, economic, or religious prejudice; experiencing forms of social rejection; the absence of love in a childhood home–perhaps the parents being at war with each other, or divorce, or abuse.
The tragedy deepens. People who feel unlovable often refuse love. Sometimes they do not know how to accept love. Sometimes they do not trust love. Sometimes they do not wish to risk being hurt again.
Consider Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.
- Many of you know this encounter by heart.
- Jesus passed through Samaria as he traveled to Galilee.
- He passed near Sychar as he came to a well built 2000 years earlier.
- A tired Jesus sat down by the well to rest as his disciples went to get food.
- A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and he asked her for a drink.
- A man asking a woman for a drink was not the substance of this encounter.
- Today asking for a drink of water is an innocent request.
- The significance was not in the request or the need for water to drink.
- The significance is found in the fact a Jewish man made a request of a Samaritan woman.
- She must have been shocked!
- A Jew speaking to a Samaritan in public, a man making a request of a woman in public? Unthinkable!
- Jews did not associate with Samaritans!
- Jewish men did not speak to women in public!
- This was an incredible incident!
- By our standards, the Jewish view of women was undesirable.
- Consider some statements by the Jewish Mishnah.
- Horavoth 3:7–if a man and a woman are in danger, the man must be saved first; if a man and a woman are defrauded, the man’s property must be restored sooner; if a man and a woman are in danger of defilement, the man must be freed first.
- Tohoroth 7:9–a woman is gluttonous and nosy.
- Ketuboth 7:6–a Jewish woman was to be given a document at marriage by her husband guaranteeing she would receive a sum of money if he died or divorced her. Unless:
- She gave him untithed food.
- She did not set aside a dough offering.
- She did not keep a vow she made.
- She went into public with her hair unbound.
- She spun around in the street.
- She spoke to a man.
- Ketoboth 1:8–if an unmarried woman spoke to an unknown man in the street, it was proof of her fornication, unless the man was a priest.
- Aboth l:5–"He that talks much with womenkind brings evil upon himself and neglects the study of the law and at last will inherit Gehenna."
- Jews simply did not associate with Samaritans.
- Shebiith 8:10–He who eats the bread of a Samaritan is like one who eats the flesh of a swine.
- Kiddushin 4:3–intermarriage with Samaritans is forbidden.
- Nidah 4:1,2–a Samaritan woman is to be regarded unclean from the cradle.
- Gittin 1:5–no written agreement using a Samaritan as a witness is valid except a writ of divorce and a writ of emancipation.
- Ketuboth 3:1–there are certain women with whom a Jewish man could commit fornication and not be tried:
- A woman born a illegitimate child.
- A woman descended from the Gibeonites.
- A prostitute.
- A woman taken captive in war.
- A slave who has been redeemed or proselytized.
- A Samaritan woman.
- Read Leviticus 20:10.
- Can you imagine how this Samaritan woman felt when a Jewish man she did not know spoke to her in public?
- This Samaritan woman began a deliberate attempt to reject Jesus from the moment he spoke to her.
- Of the many probably reasons for her resistance, two are obvious.
- Given Jews attitudes toward Samaritans, she likely had no kind feelings for Jews.
- She likely felt unlovable.
- She had been divorced 5 times [Jews and Samaritans followed the Law], and a woman could not divorce her husband–only the man had the right of divorce.
- The man she was currently living with was not a husband.
- What rejection and abuse!
- She tried to reject Jesus’ concern in 4 ways.
- When Jesus asked for a drink (7), she asked him why (9)?
- She stressed two relevant facts: "I am a woman, and I am a Samaritan."
- "Why do you ask me?"
- In our words, "Something is wrong here!"
- Perhaps her coming alone at noon indicates she was an outcast in Sychar–which, if true, would make her even more suspicious.
- When Jesus offered her water (11), she said he had nothing to draw water with.
- A thirsty man promising you water does not make sense!
- "Are you greater than our ancestors who dug this well?" Or, in our words, "Are you promising something you obviously cannot deliver?"
- "Just who are you trying to fool?"
- When Jesus promised water that would permanently quench thirst, she asked for that water.
- She did not like the task of drawing and carrying water!
- "Produce your promise–do not play games with me!"
- Jesus then proved he knew about her though he never had met her.
- In a final effort to reject him, she used the most prejudicial issue between Jews and Samaritans–"Where is the correct place to worship?"
- This was the "hot issue."
- Read Deuteronomy 12:1-14–Where is this place?
- I think she was confident of how he would answer, and that would give her reason to reject him.
- Note how carefully and patiently Jesus dealt with her efforts to reject him.
- He treated her like a person.
- When she asked in essence, "What are you up to?" he answered, "I have a gift for you."
- When she said, "You have nothing to draw with," he said, "We are talking about different kinds of water."
- When she challenge him to immediately produce his promise, he said, "You need to take me seriously."
- When she resorted to strong religious prejudices, he said, "Your whole concept needs improving."
- She then had two choices.
- She could walk away from a "weird situation."
- Or, she could realize who Jesus was and turn her back on past rejections.
- How strange people can be!
- Thousands of Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
- With all her problems, she saw Jesus for who he was!
- Most of us are much like that Samaritan woman.
- At some point in our lives we have been hurt, troubled people.
- We have felt the sting of rejection when others used us.
- We have sinned in ways we cannot excuse.
- We have felt guilt that devastated us.
- In this state of guilt and self-contempt, we encountered Jesus with his gospel of forgiveness and hope.
- Jesus says to us, "Regardless of what happened to you, I see you as a person who I care about."
- Like her, we say, "Something is wrong! You cannot know me and still care about me!
- Jesus says, "I have what you need! I can make you whole!"
- Like her, we say, "There is no way you can keep that promise!"
- Jesus says, "I have answers you never knew or experienced!"
- Like her, we try to prejudice the issue.
- "What about the hypocrites in the church?"
- "What about the rules?"
- "Is this really sinful?"
- Jesus says, "Your whole religious concept is in error–you are not even asking the right questions."
- At this point, we have two options.
- We can walk away saying to ourselves, "What a weird man."
- Or, we can see him for who he is.
Three questions: (1) How do you feel about yourself? (2) Do you know what Jesus can do for you? (3) How are you reacting to Jesus?
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
There are moments I remember feeling “justified” for doing things that I now deeply regret. There are moments I remember saying things I thought were profound only to discover later that they were only stupid. Unfortunately, life does not have a “do over” button. When “now” anxieties “justify” anxious decisions, later in life [when hopefully we know better because we have learned more] all we can do is live with the regret.
I have seen incredible sacrifice, unbelievable kindness, quiet acts of service, planned thoughtfulness beyond imagination, and forgiveness only because hearts were touched by God. I have witnessed Christians take enormous risks to be kind. I have seen Christians care for people one would not have thought they noticed.
Also, I have seen one elder force another elder to resign because “he is consistently late.” I have had a mature Christian come to my carport before daylight multiple times to put roofing nails under my tires because he was angry with me. I once saw two leading men of a congregation prepare to fist fight each other in a business meeting because they disagreed. I witnessed a congregation’s leadership totally alter their decision process to keep one negative person from vetoing all mission decisions. I have been told by an angry Christian that every problem existing in a congregation was my fault. [None of these incidents occurred at West-Ark.]
In all these situations, Christians felt fully justified in their acts and decisions. Also, all these Christians did some truly godly things. In my judgment, they just got more emotional and anxious about matters than God is. Thus, they decided they were “justified” in settling matters their way instead of God’s way.
When we are dead and not even an asterisk on the horizon, God will still prevail. We need to exercise great care to assist God and not Satan in our anxieties. High on God’s priority list is the godless world learning peace from God’s family.
Paul made this statement to Jewish Christians and gentile Christians who were in such dispute that they treated each other as enemies: “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:15).
Posted by David on September 14, 2006 under Sermons
In all of us there is a deep desire to be understood. To be misunderstood is unpleasant for each of us. To be misunderstood continuously is a traumatic experience that can easily produce an enormous personal crisis. For example, for a child to feel totally misunderstood by his or her parents can create a crisis that significantly affects the rest of his or her life. Just the experience of being totally misunderstood can convince the child, “I cannot communicate,” “I am hopelessly different in terrible ways,” or “I am inferior to everyone else.” Such conclusions can destroy the person’s attitudes toward self and their confidence in their ability to relate to others. Such attitudes can even lead to troubles in a future marriage: “He (she) just does not understand me!” Such convictions can result in a feeling of worthlessness, humiliation, and self-abasement.
Do you want to be understood? How do you know your understood? Someone does not have to agree with me to understand me. I know I am understood when someone else knows my thinking, relates to my feelings, and can accurately state my view without distortion. I genuinely appreciate the person who grows in his or her ability to understand me.
What has to happen if a person is to truly understand me? He or she has to learn to think like I think and see as I see. Is that not also true of you? Is it not when these things occur that you know you are understood?
I am confident that God is more misunderstood than any of us ever have been. While we, at worst, can be misunderstood for a lifetime, God has been misunderstood for centuries. Even most who claim to be His followers fail to understand Him. Sadly, many people never even try to understand Him. The more we misunderstand God, the more assured we are that we will misunderstand the son He sent.
While it is not possible to totally understand God or Jesus Christ, it is possible to grow in knowledge and appreciation of both of them. It is not necessary for Christians to follow God blindly! Neither of them ask us to follow them blindly!
If we are to understand God better, what must happen? The same thing that must happen to understand us better–we must learn to think like He thinks and to see like He sees. How is that possible? By dedicating ourselves to having the mind of Christ.
- We must start by realizing God does not think or reason as we do.
- Scripture acknowledges this fact often.
- Isaiah 55:8,9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
- Isaiah 40:13,14 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?
- Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
- God in his thinking and reasoning is different in:
- His concerns.
- His values.
- His purposes and objectives.
- His priorities.
- His perspectives and insights.
- The Christian objective is to understand God’s will and way by learning to think as He does.
- If I am going to follow God instead of my own thinking, I must dedicate myself to understanding all I can understand about God.
- Blind, methodical obedience will not pursue that objective.
- God has reasons for what He does.
- God has purposes He seeks to accomplish.
- Without an understanding of God’s reasons and purposes, there are things God wants us to do that we will not do.
- Understanding is critical to daily life!
- Which child functions best within the family: one who knows nothing of his parents’ thinking, values, and purposes, or the one who knows his parents’ thinking, values, and purposes?
- Which employee does the best job: the one who knows nothing about the “whys” of the job, or the one who understands why the job must be done?
- Who do you want to build your house: the carpenter who is great at reading blueprints, or the carpenter who understands how the structure is supposed to work?
- Who do you want to operate on you: the doctor who knows a textbook inside-out, or the doctor who understands how your body is supposed to work?
- There is much difference in acts of informed but blind slavishness and acts that arise from both knowledge and understanding.
- God has a will, a purpose that reaches to eternity.
- God’s purposes will be accomplished.
- He wants to use us in His achievements.
- If He is to use us, we need an understanding of what He is seeking to do.
- If, as a serious Christian, I am dedicated to building a life with Christ as its foundation, I must understand how God thinks and reasons.
- How does a Christian do that?
- The most common answer Christians give is, “Study the Bible!”
- I fully agree!
- However, that instruction to most people is a vague generality.
- I would add: “Learn to reason as God does by developing Christ’s mind.”
- The best way to learn how God thinks, reasons, and feels is to learn how Jesus thinks, reasons, and feels (John 5:19; 5:30; 6:38; 8:28; etc.)
- The better I understand Jesus, the better I understand God.
- Jesus emphasized this truth.
- On his betrayal night, he said he was going away, and Thomas responded they did not know the way to wherever he was going.
- Jesus replied that he was the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
- Philip asked Jesus just to show them the Father and it would be enough.
- Jesus replied in John 14:9,
“Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father’?
- In the same conversation Jesus said,
John 14:23,24 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
John 16:28 “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”
- Jesus in human terms, in a physical life, showed us God’s will, purposes, and attitudes.
- The more fully I understand Jesus, the more fully I understand God.
- I can understand the mind of Christ because Jesus was a man–that fact provides us insights we could not have without his teachings and example as a human.
- The specific instruction is for Christians to develop the mind of Christ.
- This instruction is clear.
- Paul to the Corinthian congregation: 1 Corinthians 2:16–For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
- Paul to Christians at Philippi: Philippians 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
- Peter to Christians: 1 Peter 4:1,2 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
- The mind of Christ:
- Considers all of physical life.
- It stresses humility as we look at ourselves (Philippians 2:1-5).
- It stresses reverence as we look at God (Matthew 6:1-18).
- It stresses our attitude toward physical existence (Matthew 6:19-34).
- It stresses our attitude toward other people (Matthew 5:43-48; 7:12; Romans 15:1-3).
- It stresses compassion (Ephesians 4:32).
- It stresses our resistance to the teachings and influence of God’s enemies (Matthew 23).
- If you wish to understand God’s values and priorities, listen to Jesus.
- We do not follow Christ to learn a religion; we follow Christ to discover a life.
- In Christ, we want to learn how to live, and that involves much more than going to church.
- In Christ, we want to learn how to value what God values, and to devote our lives to those values.
- In Christ, we seek a transformation of our lives as we seek to belong to God in mind and body.
Being a Christian grows into much more than believing Jesus died and was raised to be our Christ. It is bigger than blind obedience. The Christian desires to think like God thinks, to feel as God feels, to understand from God’s perspective, and to see as God sees.
This is not about some form of mysticism, or finding spiritual secrets, or being mentally deceived. It is a matter of learning how to live and die by learning how to think as God thinks through developing the mind of Christ.
Are you a Christian? Have you accepted a religion or have you found a life?
