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Dare To Love

Posted in Uncategorized on February 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

One of the online Bible sites I use daily is BibleGateway.  As I opened that site this morning for my reading time, I came face to face (and heart to heart) with the verse of the day.  Given the emphasis placed on February 14th, the verse of the day, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, is fitting.  Sunrise Heart

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

As I meditated on these two verses that describe many of the facets of real love, I began to dissect the phrases and ask myself how the love I offer measures up to this standard.  Part of my mental process was to understand each of the descriptions as positive actions.  As such, I think we can paraphrase the verses like this:

Love is patient and kind.  It trusts and is humble.  Love brings honor to others and puts their needs before our own.  Love is understanding and forgiving.

As I reflected on the verses and the paraphrase, I began to wrestle with how we can possibly love this way consistently.  Then I remembered 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.”  The idea expressed by John in this little letter is not that we love out of obligation because God loved us first.  The idea is that we are able to love because God has illustrated real love for us.

Not only does God give us the perfect example of love but because God loves us, we are secure.  Because of this confidence, we can be willing to risk loving others.  There is nothing we can do to make God stop loving us.  So even if we risk to love others and our love is rejected or not reciprocated, God’s love for us will never end.

Dare to love like that today!

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Learn From the Past and Move Forward

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope, Uncategorized on February 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I had the opportunity to speak in the chapel service for our school this morning.  My instruction was to cover one sentence of the model prayer Jesus gave us in Matthew 6 – verse 13; “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”

As we look at the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray, we see just before this plea to protect us from temptation, a request to forgive us for our shortcomings.  There are things in our lives we can’t change – decisions we have made that we can’t change – words we have said we can’t un-say.  For those things, Jesus teaches us to ask for forgiveness.  We learn from our mistakes and humbly ask for forgiveness.Praying at Sunrise

But moving forward, now we can do something about that.  We can make good decisions moving forward.  We can watch we say and do for the rest of this day.  So Jesus reminds us to ask for forgiveness for the past and then ask for direction and protection moving forward.

Here are three things we can learn from this petition in verse 13:

  1.  God will guide us and give direction if we seek it.  James 1:13-15 tells us that God does not tempt us.  We are tempted by our own evil desires and lusts.  But Jesus reminds us to pray for God to lead us and guide us away from temptations.  So our prayer should be for his guidance.
  2. We can’t do this on our own.  If left to our own, we will fall prey to our own desires.  Without God’s guidance, we will allow our focus to drift away from God and toward instant gratification and our own lusts.  James 1:15 says, “after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”  We need God to guide and protect us.
  3. God is fully capable of delivering us from evil.  Evil is anything that takes our focus away from God. When we allow God to guide our steps, we will be led away from temptation and protected from evil.

Father, we humbly ask for your forgiveness for our shortcomings up to this point and pray that you will guide our thoughts, words and actions this day.     Amen

Be blessed today!

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Commitment to Growth

Posted in Church, Community, Hope, Uncategorized on February 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

This past Sunday, we began a new series in our services together entitled, Church 101.  We church_101-title-2-still-16x9
are going back to the basics of what it means to be the church.  God’s church is made up of God’s people – followers in the Way.  So if a church is to be a vibrant church, it must be filled with vibrant followers.

The first step to being a vibrant follower is a commitment to growth – growth in our understanding of God, growth in our relationship with Jesus and growth in our relationships with others.

As we continue to grow in our understanding and knowledge, our relationship with Jesus grows as we experience his truth lived in out in our lives.  And as our relationship with Jesus matures, our love for one another grows.  We begin to see others as Jesus sees them.

God’s plan A for the redemption of the world is the church.  Commit today to be the church God expects by committing to be a vibrant, fully engaged follower.

Be a blessing today!

 

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The Best Resolution You Could Make

Posted in Community, Formation, Grace, Hope, Uncategorized on January 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Are you a goal setter?  How about a resolution maker?

Here we are 3 weeks into the new year.  Statistically, most of us have already given up on our resolutions.  In another week or two,  the guilt will set in as we begin to beat ourselves up over how we can’t seem to stick to  that diet or that overzealous exercise regimen we set for ourselves while still under the influence of a food induced euphoria almost a month ago.

I’m not knocking the genuine recognition of the needed improvement in taking care of one’s self.  But I wonder if we have put the same emphasis on our spiritual health?  How many resolutions were made to spend more time in prayer or scripture reading?  How many resolutions were made to do a better job of loving God and loving others in 2016?

We are only 3 weeks into 2016.  It’s not too late to make the best resolution you could ever make for 2016.  Join me in refreshing your commitment to spend time with God daily in prayer and in the sacred text.  God will honor your commitment with joy and peace.

Stick with it!

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Joy Is Found In Relationship

Posted in Community, Formation, Hope, Uncategorized on January 20, 2016| Leave a Comment »

This past week the mornings came early. But nothing gets the day going like a strong cup of Dominican coffee and a cool breeze blowing through the open-air roof top perch overlooking the northern part of the city of Santo Domingo. I have always heard that Las Vegas is the city that never sleeps but I am pretty sure Santo Domingo stays awake most of the night as well – or at least the dog next door does.

While the city may be the loudest city I have ever spent time in, the people have to be some of the most hospitable and joyful people I have ever had the pleasure of walking with. I visited the beautiful island of the Dominican Republic for several days to get a glimpse of what God is doing there among the faithful believers in that country. We visited orphanages and schools, churches and homes – and without exception, God was at work in the lives of his servants.

I have walked among people in many different counties in my lifetime and I am always reminded that true joy comes not from material possessions but from a relationship with God lived out in community with other followers in The Way.

It really doesn’t matter what we acquire in this lifetime. Material possessions wear out, break or just become out dated. Money gets spent and can cause more relational problems than it solves. Fame doesn’t last and neither does authority and power.

The only nugget left in the sieve when our lives have passed through it’s screen is our relationship with the Father and the relationships we developed as a result of knowing him. On the surface, that seems harsh. But the glorious truth of the matter is this: when we place our priority on the most important relationship in our lives – our relationship with God – then all else becomes joy (Matthew 6:33).

 

Seek after God today!

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Stay Salty

Posted in Church, Community, Formation, Hope, Uncategorized on January 8, 2016| Leave a Comment »

SaltIn Matthew 5 we have one of the most profound sermons ever delivered to humanity. Jesus saw a teachable moment and he made the most of it. What has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount is recorded here in this chapter. Jesus was the master teacher. His words changed the direction of humanity and they still have the same effect today.

In verse 13 of this chapter, Jesus used a common, household item to make a very concrete statement of our role as followers in The Way. He told his followers gathered on that hillside that they were the salt of the earth. Salt is something used in a number of ways. It gives flavor to what otherwise might be a bland dish. It can also be used as a preservative, helping to prevent things from spoiling.

In the first century, salt was viewed with a bit more significance than we might see it today. But the point of Jesus’ message was that we, as believers, should exist to bring taste to a tasteless world and the hope of preservation to a world void of hope. We are called to be salt.

But when salt loses it’s saltiness, it is of no value. For us to be effective in our service, we must not lose our saltiness. We must stay close to the only one who can bring taste to a tasteless world and hope to a hopeless existence.

Stay salty!

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What Will You Offer the King?

Posted in Formation, Motivational, Uncategorized on January 6, 2016| 1 Comment »

Adoration of the Magi - El Greco 1568

We are almost a week into 2016.  Today is January 6 – a day we might live through with the idea that it is a day just like any other.  But historically, the church has set this day aside as the day to remember the Epiphany or some call it the Theophany.  The mysterious reality of the revelation of Jesus as the son of God to the three magi that came bearing gifts.

The word Epiphany carries the idea of manifestation – God manifested wholly in a child.  Colossians 1:19 says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.”  We remember today that Jesus was and is fully God and fully man.  He came to earth as God in flesh.  He is called Immanuel which means “God with us.”  

The other aspect of this special day is the idea of the magi bearing gifts.  God came to earth and Gentile men, men who had nothing to do with Judaism, came to fall at the feet of this manifestation.  They came to pay tribute to the king.  Their journey was long and treacherous.  But they endured that trek in order to see the king.

I am reminded today that God’s love for me demands something of me.  Just as the magi came to Jesus bearing gifts, I too must fall before him offering something.  But I have nothing to offer worthy of the very son of God.

All I can do is humbly offer myself with no strings.

What will you offer the king today?

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The Best Year of Your Life

Posted in Formation, Hope, Uncategorized on January 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The beginning of another year – an arbitrary line drawn in time marking the end of one increment of measurement from another.  There is nothing really special about the day.  It is just another day – like the one before and the one after.

The significance comes not in the 24 hour period but in the idea that we are beginning another era.  We leave the past year with its joys and struggles and turn to a new year, hopefully a bit wiser.

This is a fresh start – a clean slate.  We can make this year the best year of our lives or it can be just another year stacked on the pile with all the others.  It is really our choice.  You may be saying, “Yes, but what about all the unforeseen circumstances that are going to come my way.  How can I be assured that this will be the best year yet?”

While it is true that life is going to happen over the next 365 days, it is just as true that God is in control of all of it and his strength will see us through those struggles that come our way.

The way to make 2016 the best year ever is to focus daily on your relationship with Jesus.  When your sights are set on Jesus and following him in The Way, all else is woven into the fabric of the year.  As we remain in him and draw ever closer to his heart, life takes on vibrant meaning and purpose.

So commit this day to remaining in Jesus and 365 days from now, you will look back and say, “I think that was the best year of my life so far!”

Be blessed today!

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The One Gift That Shouldn’t Get Lost in the Pile

Posted in Grace, Hope, Uncategorized on December 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Last minute shopping, final decorations, meal planning and cooking – that is most likely what is consuming your thoughts today – these things are fighting to consume mine.  Here we are – three days away from Christmas and if we are not cautious and diligent, the real meaning of the day and the season will be covered over like a last minute package wrapped with colorful paper – and then lost in the pile of other presents.

The gift we remember on Christmas day should not be wrapped up and placed under the tree with the other gifts.  The blessing this season was created to represent should be at the forefront of our minds and hearts – especially this week.

God had sent prophets to instruct, given words to guide and used miracles to remind the world that at the very foundation of existence is a desire on God’s part for a relationship with the creation.  But 2ooo years ago, God made sure we would see how seriously he takes this relationship.  He sent his son to enter into humanity not as some luminous being and not as an extravagant prince but as a common man – fully God and fully man.

Immanuel, God with us, came to demonstrate love.  Jesus not only instructed and guided – he lived out this relationship with God right before our eyes.  He led by an example of submission, humility and love.  And he followed the plan through to the end giving us an example of what real love involves – self-less sacrifice.

That is why we celebrate Christmas.

Jesus came!

Be blessed today!

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The Light Has Come

Posted in Formation, Hope, Uncategorized on December 17, 2015| 1 Comment »

At this time of year, we often turn to the prophesies of Isaiah as we marvel at the way God has interacted with creation over the generations.  Isaiah foretold the coming of a messiah.  His words brought hope to a struggling people.  Those words were held as a constant reminder that God would redeem.  Isaiah was so sure of what God had given him to say that he often spoke in terms that it had already happened, even though it would be hundreds of years before it came about.

Isaiah 9 is one of those passages we turn to at Christmas.  In fact, I have been preaching this Advent season on the four descriptions Isaiah gave of the coming messiah in verse 6 – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.

This morning as I read back through the passage, another verse stood out to me.  Verse 2 says, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”  

Isaiah foretold of God sending a messiah – a savior and that his coming would be like a light shining in the darkness.  The world was in the dark – unaware and oblivious to God and God’s love.  When Jesus came, he brought light.  The light he brought revealed the path to the Father.  The illumination exposed but also offered direction.

We live in a dark world as well but Jesus still offers that same light.  His light exposes our faults but it also gives us direction in living a life that honors the Father and at the same time brings fulfillment to us.

Jesus has come.  We have been walking in darkness but we have seen a great light.  We are living in a land of deep darkness but THE LIGHT has dawned!  Thanks be to God that the light has come.

May your day and this Christmas season be filled with his light!

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