Often, as I read through scripture, I wonder, “When are we, the True Church, really going to start doing what God asks us to do?” Just take this passage for instance: Matthew 5:42, 46-47. Jesus says, “Give to Him who keeps on begging from you and do not turn away from him who would borrow [at interest] from you…For if you love only those who love you what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that?” Now often Christians will say, “Well, I give to my church and my church helps the poor. I even help with the programs of the church that give handouts to the needy.” But is that what Jesus meant: Help with a program or a particular ministry?
It definitely seems safer to help the poor through a program so that they never really know our names or where we live or whether or not we have children. It’s a very real risk to try to help a stranger by yourself as an individual, but I have seen often in many churches and many different ministry situations, that when we help through a program there is a constant “we” and “them” mentality. There are usually reports of people from the community (“them”) who “get saved” through the program, but rarely do those people then join up with that church and become faithful members. We seem to think that if we give people something for free then they will want to come back and be with us and find out why we would do such a thing. And we plan that when they do we will tell them that it is because of the love of Christ within us for them. But does a handout show Christ’s love effectively? In my experience, very few people because of what they have received from a church or ministry then desire to be with the people of that church or ministry at any future event that does not include a handout of some sort. My personal conclusion is that a handout by itself is not enough to show the love of Christ, we need to pair it with something else – loving friendship.
In 1 Thess. 2:7-8 Paul says, “But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother nursing and cherishing her own children. So, being thus tenderly and affectionately desirous of you, we continued to share with you not only God’s good news (the Gospel) but also our own lives as well, for you had become so very dear to us.” Are we sharing our own lives as we give handouts? Are we tenderly and affectionately sharing God’s Good News, or are we just herding people through the line so that we can get everything handed out. It seems to me that often in our outreach ministries, we talk to those who come, we feed them, and we give them the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but do we, as individual servants in the body, really cross the line and make friends with people in the community that we are reaching out to, or are we just showing up to do our part? Perhaps this is why we have more converts than long-term disciples. We need to ask ourselves if we are really loving the people we say we are serving or are we just “doing ministry”? And if we’re not really loving people, then it’s no wonder that they are not coming back to participate in that love again; our handouts to them are no different than the handouts from the government.
Now this all sounds a little harsh and critical, but I am preaching to myself as much as to anyone else. I know I’m not good at loving strangers and I don’t have much desire to actually be involved in the lives of those whom I consider irresponsible. I simply do not relate well to people who don’t have the same values that I have and I’m sure that’s why God is showing me these things in scripture. It’s an area where I need to grow, but perhaps you need to grow in this area as well, so let’s continue.
If we look at the example of Jesus we can see that everything he did was personal. He did not see the crowds of people who came to him for healing and just wave his hand to heal everyone at once (even though it was certainly in his power to do so). Instead he healed each one individually. He gave them a personal experience of Himself because of His love for them. He taught and fed more than 5000 people at once, but he had those 12 disciples with whom He shared Himself daily.
The main instruction that Jesus leaves with the disciples, and with us as their spiritual descendants, is to make disciples and teach them everything that Christ has commanded us (Matt. 28:18-20). Teaching everything that Christ commanded is sure to take a long time. Again, loving friendships will be the most effective means of discipleship relationships (long-term, one-on-one or small group relationships). So why do we keep settling for hearing a salvation prayer from someone? Because it’s easier and because we can’t get them to come back for more, but if we really took the time to make friends with those we serve, and with others already in the body, then that love relationship would bring them back wanting to know more of Christ. I know we can’t all make friends with everyone who passes through a line to receive something, but we can each pray and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit while we are serving, so that God can lead us to the one or two people with whom He wants us to make friends. It we each make a couple friends and they are not just the people we randomly pick out, but instead those whom God chooses for us to invest in, then we can be sure that they will be the people whose hearts are ready for discipleship. It will most likely start out as uncomfortable and inconvenient, but God does amazing things even when He starts with nothing. Let’s trust ourselves to Him and let Him give us the love we need in order to care for and disciple others. Let’s cross the “we/them” line and pull more souls into a journey of true discipleship.
-Jenny Greene
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
“My bretheren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith creates patience.”
James 1:2 is a familiar scripture. But recently it took on new light for me during a study of the beginning passages of the opening chapter of that particular epistle. James addresses his brothers and sisters in the Lord, which by association includes those in the present-day church. Simply put, James is writing to us.
He encourages us to “count” something or “chalk up” something, if you will. When my children were learning to count in school, the teacher would have them use tally marks; four vertical ones and a fifth diagonally over the rest would count as five. In a sense, James is encouraging us to chalk up with the proverbial spiritual tally marks those times when we get tested. More about that later.
To what are we to chalk up these trying experiences? To joy. We know that true joy comes when we are walking with Jesus according to his father’s word, the Bible. We also know that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So, it follows then that when we go through a trying experience, instead of expressing frustration we ought to chalk up these trying experience to strengthening or an exercise of our faith. That’s easier said than done, I know. But in a very real sense, we are getting a spiritual workout when we endure trials. Our faith muscles are being worked out and strengthened.
What sort of trials are we talking about? We all know about the big ones; a death in the family, a less than positive medical diagnosis, a difficult work environment. The list goes on. But faith tests even happen when we get caught driving behind that little old lady traveling eight miles an hour in a 45-mph zone. You’ve been there, right? Or how about when we are in a hurry and we line up in the 20 items or less express lane and the person in front of you has 21 items and the cashier calls for a price check on the third item. You’ve been there too, haven’t you? I heard an evangelist once call those experiences as “spiritual lice.”
When we’re going through these “little tests” of our faith they seem as enormous as the others I just mentioned. But what if we began viewing those times behind that little old lady and those times in the express lane as mini faith workouts? James 1:3 makes it very clear what will happen when we have that approach. Those tests, all tests, will help develop patience. We will become slow to speak, slow to anger and quick to listen, won’t we?
So, the next time you have to deal with an ignorant boss or have to change a flat tire on the way to your child’s concert or any other “spiritual lice,” take a deep breath, say a little prayer and relax. Realize that you’re getting a faith workout. It will all be over soon and you’ll be stronger for it.
-Ben Hanneman
James 1:2 is a familiar scripture. But recently it took on new light for me during a study of the beginning passages of the opening chapter of that particular epistle. James addresses his brothers and sisters in the Lord, which by association includes those in the present-day church. Simply put, James is writing to us.
He encourages us to “count” something or “chalk up” something, if you will. When my children were learning to count in school, the teacher would have them use tally marks; four vertical ones and a fifth diagonally over the rest would count as five. In a sense, James is encouraging us to chalk up with the proverbial spiritual tally marks those times when we get tested. More about that later.
To what are we to chalk up these trying experiences? To joy. We know that true joy comes when we are walking with Jesus according to his father’s word, the Bible. We also know that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So, it follows then that when we go through a trying experience, instead of expressing frustration we ought to chalk up these trying experience to strengthening or an exercise of our faith. That’s easier said than done, I know. But in a very real sense, we are getting a spiritual workout when we endure trials. Our faith muscles are being worked out and strengthened.
What sort of trials are we talking about? We all know about the big ones; a death in the family, a less than positive medical diagnosis, a difficult work environment. The list goes on. But faith tests even happen when we get caught driving behind that little old lady traveling eight miles an hour in a 45-mph zone. You’ve been there, right? Or how about when we are in a hurry and we line up in the 20 items or less express lane and the person in front of you has 21 items and the cashier calls for a price check on the third item. You’ve been there too, haven’t you? I heard an evangelist once call those experiences as “spiritual lice.”
When we’re going through these “little tests” of our faith they seem as enormous as the others I just mentioned. But what if we began viewing those times behind that little old lady and those times in the express lane as mini faith workouts? James 1:3 makes it very clear what will happen when we have that approach. Those tests, all tests, will help develop patience. We will become slow to speak, slow to anger and quick to listen, won’t we?
So, the next time you have to deal with an ignorant boss or have to change a flat tire on the way to your child’s concert or any other “spiritual lice,” take a deep breath, say a little prayer and relax. Realize that you’re getting a faith workout. It will all be over soon and you’ll be stronger for it.
-Ben Hanneman
Saturday, June 12, 2010
A Life of Worship...
Deut. 10.12 “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,” 13 “and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”
I think we should ask ourselves what sits on the throne of our heart. This time in which we live is indeed exciting. We are seeing the fulfillment of scripture before our very eyes. But, are we really seeking His kingdom first, though? Am I submitting my life to His purpose and plan? Am I really living a life of worship? I must say that I still struggle in areas of my life when it comes to submission to His plan. I still forget sometimes that it is His timing, His plan. I would seek sometimes to push things along, if you will, maybe before I am ready, out of step with His timing for my life.
I believe it can be traced back to our worship. A life of worship will place us in step with what He is doing, where He is taking us. Let me explain why. Our worship of Him is relational. A life of worship of the Father will mean we are in relationship with the Father. I love what Pastor Hal has preached about God's sovereignty and might. It is impossible for me to know God exhaustively, but we can know Him relationally. That is an amazing truth when you really think of it. I have a relationship with my wife and children. It is very hard to imagine that I could ever have an exhaustive knowledge of them in this life. Now imagine God and our finite understanding. Scripture even says that we see as through a mirror darkly…
Now imagine that I studied the “exhaustive” biography of Dana Farmer to gain knowledge of who she is, but never met her personally. I might know many things about her, but I would never know her the way I do having spent seven years in a relationship with her. Our worship is relational. A life of worship submits to the words of the Father, to the Son who is the Word made Flesh, to His Spirit- walks with Him. He has revealed His nature and character to us in His word, and sees us through every aspect (Philippians 1.6).
William Temple was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942- 1944. This is how he describes worship:
It is submission of all our nature to God-
It is quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by his beauty, opening of the heart to his love, submission of will to His purpose. All of this gathered up in adoration is the greatest expression of which we are capable.
That is the way I want to worship Him.
-Chris Farmer
Monday, May 24, 2010
A Cheerful heart makes the face cheerful! (Proverbs 15:13)
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands… nod your head…. shout hooray. If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it; If you're happy and you know it do all three! Remember this song? We may not sing the song out loud, however our faces surely show it.
Many a happy Spirit-filled Christian has been asked by others, “Why are you always so happy? As I have observed you, you don’t seem to get gloomy and downhearted. What is your secret?” What an opportunity this gives to testify to our joy in the Lord! The secret for some is to get their souls full of joy each day in their time alone with God. (You will fill me with joy in your presence. Psalm 16:11) They do this before they go about their day. They carry the blessing of the secret place into their day’s activities. The first great and primary business to which we ought to attend every day is to have our soul happy in the Lord.
A heart bubbling over with joy makes your life more attractive to the unsaved, is a powerful witness to Christ’s grace, and makes a more lasting impact on others than almost any other aspect of your Christian life. Measure your own life’s testimony by your joy. Ask yourself…. Is my spirit singing the song today?
- Elaine Wood
Many a happy Spirit-filled Christian has been asked by others, “Why are you always so happy? As I have observed you, you don’t seem to get gloomy and downhearted. What is your secret?” What an opportunity this gives to testify to our joy in the Lord! The secret for some is to get their souls full of joy each day in their time alone with God. (You will fill me with joy in your presence. Psalm 16:11) They do this before they go about their day. They carry the blessing of the secret place into their day’s activities. The first great and primary business to which we ought to attend every day is to have our soul happy in the Lord.
A heart bubbling over with joy makes your life more attractive to the unsaved, is a powerful witness to Christ’s grace, and makes a more lasting impact on others than almost any other aspect of your Christian life. Measure your own life’s testimony by your joy. Ask yourself…. Is my spirit singing the song today?
- Elaine Wood
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Let us encourage one another
This past Saturday, Pastor Chris and I took a group of children from Kid’s Church on a “Kid’s Day Out”. We went to play putt-putt golf and then took the children out for ice cream. The thought of taking ten children, boys and girls ages 5-12, out on such an adventure was initially a little bit scary. But our prayer was that these children would develop friendships with one another and begin to feel a bond of Christian fellowship, even at that young age. I cannot express how wonderful each one of the children were; they were so well-behaved; even the children who typically do not interact with one another enjoyed playing with each other and seemed to have a wonderful time. Our prayer is that all of the children will be able to develop friendships with one another that will be nurtured into adulthood.
Relationships are very important to God and His Kingdom. Developing bonds of friendship with other Christians gives us strength and encouragement in our walk with the Lord. Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us “We must also consider how to encourage each other to show love and to do good things. We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.”
Spending time with and developing relationships with other believers is so important to the believer. Enjoying our free time is also important. As summer time approaches, we begin to make plans for all types of summer fun: vacations, trips to the lake, picnics, ball games, you name it. So many fun things, so little time! It is important to remember, however, to prioritize. God should always come first in our life. Jesus commanded us in Matthew 6:33 to seek God’s Kingdom first, to be concerned about His Kingdom and what has His approval. It is important to be in His house on Sunday morning. All those summer activities are just as fun on a Saturday or a Sunday afternoon. Being a part of the body of Christ and worshiping together with our brothers and sisters in Christ will help us to develop those friendships and give us that encouragement in the Lord that we need even more as the day of the Lord comes.
-Pastor Tina Blackburn
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Divine Design...
It’s been a real blessing to have a Dad as gifted with wood working as my Dad and over the years I’ve benefited greatly from his talent. Such as every pine wood derby, an event held by the boy scouts, the scout was to whittle away at a block of wood until it took the shape of a car, then race for all honor and glory at an annual race. My fellow competitors always assumed my car was some model we had simply bought and assembled, you could hear murmurs of “they bought that car” or some such rumor to discount my Dad’s gift. Though nearly every year, we came away with the best in show trophy, notice how I still say we, when in all realty I had very little to do with the whole process. The role I did play every year was picking out the style of car I wanted my Dad to construct, I did this by perusing one of the many encyclopedias of automobiles we had laying around the house.
Any craftsman prior to starting their craft has a picture of what it is they’re making. The design, which includes the intended function, is already in mind prior to the first stroke of the brush, or the first cut of the knife. So it is with God when He designed mankind and if we are to ever function properly we must understand what that purpose is. We get a good glimpse of this when we see the first commandment, (Mat 22:37,38) Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. God’s ultimate purpose for humanity was to be family to Him, He is not content with just causing the mandatory obedience that will ultimately occur. (Phil. 2:9-11) Instead His desire is we love Him in the same way He loves us. So He empowers us to love Him this way, (Rom 5:5) And hope does not make us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. The result of loving Him in this way is we function as He intended, it is impossible to love Jesus and not love people.
(Joh 14:21) He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him. This is simple stating a fact, if you love me then the result is you will keep my commandments. The challenge for us, to insure we are properly working is to continually realign our lives and priorities to make the first commandment first in priority.
-Pastor Ted Farmer
Any craftsman prior to starting their craft has a picture of what it is they’re making. The design, which includes the intended function, is already in mind prior to the first stroke of the brush, or the first cut of the knife. So it is with God when He designed mankind and if we are to ever function properly we must understand what that purpose is. We get a good glimpse of this when we see the first commandment, (Mat 22:37,38) Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. God’s ultimate purpose for humanity was to be family to Him, He is not content with just causing the mandatory obedience that will ultimately occur. (Phil. 2:9-11) Instead His desire is we love Him in the same way He loves us. So He empowers us to love Him this way, (Rom 5:5) And hope does not make us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. The result of loving Him in this way is we function as He intended, it is impossible to love Jesus and not love people.
(Joh 14:21) He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him. This is simple stating a fact, if you love me then the result is you will keep my commandments. The challenge for us, to insure we are properly working is to continually realign our lives and priorities to make the first commandment first in priority.
-Pastor Ted Farmer
Monday, May 3, 2010
Wisdom In An Age Of Drama...
As is the case with many of us, I occasionally will take the time to watch a few of the reality shows on TV that focus on the day-to-day drama of people that we don’t know and really don’t care that much about. It seems that we can relate to their situations or to their storylines and that is what draws us in to the show. I have found that some shows will draw me in to the point where I want to watch from week to week to see how everything will turn out.
Unfortunately, the drama on these shows never really resolves itself. Nobody seems to really learn anything . . . nobody seems to have a real change of heart . . . and their lives never really have any significant change. Although it may seem that they have a personal “Ah Ha!!” moment at the end of each episode, the drama finds a new script, new characters and new plots each week. In reality, nothing really changes. Quite frankly, they are addicted to the drama of their lives. They profit by selling it to a public thirsty for more drama.
The real scary part of these latest reality TV shows is that there is a growing lust for more and more drama while nobody really learns anything from them other than to speak, think and act in an immature fashion despite their age or lot in life. This does have an impact on our society and our kids. It has an impact on Christians and non-Christians alike. Quietly, many of us want to be just like them.
In the Bible, the book of Proverbs speaks often about wisdom. Wisdom, quite frankly, is the opposite of drama. If we all made choices to live in a Christ-like manner in every life decision we made . . . in every word we spoke . . . in every thought we have . . . many of us could avoid and would choose to avoid the drama we develop in our own lives and, quite frankly, would turn away from the TV filled reality shows that distort the way we should interact with one another.
Proverbs 3:29-32 states “Do not plan to do something wrong to your neighbor while he is sitting with you and suspecting nothing. Do not quarrel with a person for no reason if he has not harmed you. Do not envy a violent person. Do not choose any of his ways. The devious person is disgusting to the Lord. The Lord’s intimate advice is with decent people.”
After reading that, I was convicted in my own heart about my own desire to watch many of the shows. If you find that you gain pleasure watching these shows or that you favor a particular character because of how they behave, take a moment and read . . . study if you will, Proverbs Chapters 1 -4 which talk about wisdom. God’s Wisdom is ours for the asking.
BTW, if you really want to take a bite out of most reality shows . . . go and read Proverbs chapter 5 on adultery . . . or chapter 6 which talks about avoiding disaster by the way you think and act . . . or chapter 7, which is even more advice on avoiding adultery . . . I’m just saying. It is time we start to look at the world around us and how we choose to interact with it.
-Pastor Chris Blackburn
Unfortunately, the drama on these shows never really resolves itself. Nobody seems to really learn anything . . . nobody seems to have a real change of heart . . . and their lives never really have any significant change. Although it may seem that they have a personal “Ah Ha!!” moment at the end of each episode, the drama finds a new script, new characters and new plots each week. In reality, nothing really changes. Quite frankly, they are addicted to the drama of their lives. They profit by selling it to a public thirsty for more drama.
The real scary part of these latest reality TV shows is that there is a growing lust for more and more drama while nobody really learns anything from them other than to speak, think and act in an immature fashion despite their age or lot in life. This does have an impact on our society and our kids. It has an impact on Christians and non-Christians alike. Quietly, many of us want to be just like them.
In the Bible, the book of Proverbs speaks often about wisdom. Wisdom, quite frankly, is the opposite of drama. If we all made choices to live in a Christ-like manner in every life decision we made . . . in every word we spoke . . . in every thought we have . . . many of us could avoid and would choose to avoid the drama we develop in our own lives and, quite frankly, would turn away from the TV filled reality shows that distort the way we should interact with one another.
Proverbs 3:29-32 states “Do not plan to do something wrong to your neighbor while he is sitting with you and suspecting nothing. Do not quarrel with a person for no reason if he has not harmed you. Do not envy a violent person. Do not choose any of his ways. The devious person is disgusting to the Lord. The Lord’s intimate advice is with decent people.”
After reading that, I was convicted in my own heart about my own desire to watch many of the shows. If you find that you gain pleasure watching these shows or that you favor a particular character because of how they behave, take a moment and read . . . study if you will, Proverbs Chapters 1 -4 which talk about wisdom. God’s Wisdom is ours for the asking.
BTW, if you really want to take a bite out of most reality shows . . . go and read Proverbs chapter 5 on adultery . . . or chapter 6 which talks about avoiding disaster by the way you think and act . . . or chapter 7, which is even more advice on avoiding adultery . . . I’m just saying. It is time we start to look at the world around us and how we choose to interact with it.
-Pastor Chris Blackburn
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