Emmaus Road Church

Embracing the New Covenant

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

It's a New Year!

And the good news of the Gospel is that we are under a New Covenant. The word covenant means a binding commitment or a mutual promise between two people or two parties. It is a word that appears hundreds of times in Scripture to describe God’s relationship to us his people. When Jesus sat down to celebrate the Jewish Feast of Passover with his disciples he held up the cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22).

It was not surprising to talk of covenant at a Passover Meal. It was very much a covenant meal to be enjoyed by God’s people who were about to be delivered from the slavery of Egypt. Nor was it surprising to talk about blood at a Passover meal. One of the requirements of the Passover celebration was that each family smear the blood of the lamb on their front doors. What was surprising was that Jesus was talking about a NEW covenant and the he was talking about HIS blood, instead of the blood of a lamb or some other animal.

What was Jesus talking about?

Jesus was talking about a totally new way of relating with God, a new way of contacting the Creator, a new path of spirituality. And it was something the world had never known.

The book of Hebrews goes into great depth about this New Covenant. Hebrews was written to a congregation of early Christians who were most likely ethnically Jewish. These believers in Jesus had most likely grown up going to synagogue and reading the Hebrew scriptures. When they came to believe in Jesus as Messiah they became what we call today “completed Jews” or “Messianic Jews”

However they soon came to discover that the Roman Empire looked harshly upon this new religion and that it persecuted Christians in unspeakable ways. As a result of persecution the people of this congregation were being tempted to revert back to Judaism and abandon their belief in Jesus. After all the Roman Empire was not persecuting Jews. The author of Hebrews is writing to show them that Jesus has ushered in a new covenant that is far superior to the old covenant which they used to live under. Hebrews 10:1 says “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves.”

A quick look at Hebrews 7:18-28 displays the difference. Relating to God under the old covenant was characterized by • Many priests (v.23) • Who were weak men(v.28) • Offering many sacrifices (v.27) • for themselves and the people (v.27) • It was weak and useless (v. 18) • It made nothing perfect (v.19) • It took place in a sanctuary set up by men (8:5)

However the New Covenant that Jesus inaugurated was different. In the New Covenant there is • One permanent priest (v. 24) • Who is perfect forever (v.28) • Who himself as the one ultimate sacrifice (v.27) • He sacrifices for the people only and not for himself since he had no sin (v.27) • His sacrifice takes place in heaven in a sanctuary set up by the Lord not man (8:2) The other major change that takes place under the New Covenant is that the Law goes from being external to us and it is now internal to us, being inscribed on our hearts. This was predicted in Jeremiah 31.

“The day is coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 9 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the LORD. 10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the LORD: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. 12 And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

The New Covenant is a beautiful reality that Jesus inaugurated on the cross when he sacrificed himself for our sins. Before Jesus died on the cross there were many priests who offered many sacrifices and yet the people continued to feel afraid of God and guilty for their sins. This fear was symbolized by the heavy curtain that excluded everyone from entering the Inner Room of the Temple where God’s presence dwelt. This special room was called the Most Holy Place and only the High Priest was allowed to enter once a year on Yom Kippur the day of atonement.

Yet when Jesus died on the cross that holy curtain of exclusion and separation was ripped from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38 and Luke 23:45). Now we can draw near to God everyday in every place through faith in Jesus.

Hebrews 10:19-22 puts it this way. “ By his death Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean,”

The good news of the New Covenant is that we are welcomed into fellowship and communion with God in a totally new way than every before. This is revolutionary, like bullet-time in the Matrix or Technicolor in the Wizard of Oz. Nothing in our lives will ever be the same again. The battle against sin and evil has been turned on its head, the drab and dreary world has burst into color, and ordinary sinners like us are welcomed in to the Holy of Holies.

Source: Embracing the New Covenant

God Came Down

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

~A Christmas blog from Christina Ellerman

In September I started working for a faith based non-profit in the Lake Hills area in Bellevue. I really love the organization and am so glad to be a part of their mission to love the people of Bellevue. I started off working in an after school program we run at Highland Middle School. For the last month and a half I have also been work a morning shift, running a before school program for an elementary school in Bellevue. To say the least, I am not a morning person, so the hours have been rough. I have to be there at 6. Right now there are only three children enrolled in the morning program, a huge difference from the normal 85 to 100 kids that come to our after school program. But these three kids. They make my mornings very hard. Most days I feel like they have been carrying around all this pent up anger and emotion and they decide to let it loose on me for an hour and a half. I often leave feeling discouraged and like it was a terrible start to all four of our days. The other week it was time to go to school and two of them were not having that. It had been a rough morning and I was asking them to get on their coats and backpacks and all of the sudden I was crying. Right in front of them. I have worked with a lot of children. None of them have broken me to tears before these three.

Last week was an extremely trying one for the four of us. Thursday morning was the climax of an increasingly difficult few days that ended with me taking them to school about ten minutes early because I had run out of options. I don't know how much detail to go into about these kids, but basically, they don't listen to me or respect me even though the expectations and consequences have been made very clear to them. This, watching over these three children, loving these three children, is the hardest job I have ever had.

I got in my car to go home on Thursday morning and broke down. Tired and despairing, I wept. Asking God how I was supposed to love them, knowing it was not possible to on my own. I kept wondering why in the world anyone would knowingly and repeatedly put themselves into this situation, to be rebelled against and hated and disrespected and defied. I felt like a punching bag. And then, in His perfectly timed, abounding grace the Lord showed me my own heart. How much more have I rebelled against my Creator? How much more have I defied Him? I cannot count the ways. And now I was weeping because I have not been left in my rebellion. Because God Came Down. Because he came to this Earth and was hated and rejected, by me, by us. Rejected and hated to the point of death on a cross. Because he has always and will always put himself into situations where I, we, the world will reject him. But he has done it anyway. With joy. Because he loves us deeply.

I know that I am called to love these three children, and I am asking the Lord for grace and humility to do so in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. On Friday we had our best day together since I started. Only by his grace.

This is what my heart is celebrating and in awe of this December, this Christmas. That I have not been left alone. That even though I rebel and sin against him, God continues to enter into my life and love me perfectly. And he has done that tangibly through the gift of Jesus Christ. Oh how he loves us.

Merry Christmas!

Christina Ellerman lives on Mercer Island and serves Jesus as part of Emmaus Road Church

Source: God Came Down

Love Each Other with God's Love

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

1 John 4:7-21

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

(1 John 4:7-21 NIV84)

"I left Seattle and headed to Kosova"

Last Spring when I left Seattle and headed to Kosova in Eastern Europe for two months, I was genuinely sad to go. I had spent 7 months getting used to living in the Northwest and investing in relationships and our church family. On my last Sunday at Emmaus Road, I was struck by how emotional I was, how saddened I was to leave these people that I had grown to love. When I came back this August I had just spent the summer with my family and friends in Chicago. And it was awesome. I was, and am, so thankful that I had that time. It was easy to come back to a fiance and a sure idea of what was ahead. But, it was not easy to leave my family and friends. It was not easy to know that I was coming here to stay. Like uh, for good. Yikes.

I love my family deeply. And I have a deep desire to see my siblings and their families grow in knowledge and love of the Lord, to know the healing power of Jesus Christ, to claim redemption and abundant life in Christ. Its hard to foster that growth anywhere, but feels really hard to do that from the other side of the country.

"God loves us and has made us to love him and others--but we cannot do that without relying on his love."

This Fall I have been convicted of not always having these same desires for my church family here. Before Emmaus Road, I had never been involved deeply in the life of a church. Just went on Sundays and took what they gave me. I am learning that its not necessarily a natural feeling to have those deep desires for your church family or anyone for that matter. I am learning that a deeper love and care for my church family is something I need to pray for, something that will grow as I invest in relationships and give of my time. And something that pastor Rich reminded us a few weeks ago that is given in the Spirit, we do not have the power in ourselves to love people the way we should. Verse 16 above says, "We know and rely on the love God has for us." We know that God loves us and has made us to love him and others --but we cannot do that without relying on his love. He first loved us!

"We have to be willing to do the work that God glorifying relationships take"

Since graduating college, I guess I have been surprised that relationships take work. As a church family we have to be willing to do the work that God glorifying relationships take. It takes work to be honest and vulnerable, to put in time, to serve others, to pray for others, to really love others as we are called to. I forget often that when I am trying to do this work without relying on God and without reflecting on the work that Jesus completed on the Cross, my efforts are futile.

"I am eternally thankful that we are called brothers and sisters in Christ."

I am eternally thankful for the role that Emmaus Road has played in my life for the last year. I am eternally thankful that we are called brothers and sisters in Christ. Not just that we are called that, but that we are that. That is our identity in Christ Jesus as adopted, chosen children. I am asking the Lord to give me the grace to love you more and treat you more like the family that you are.

~Christina Ellerman lives on Mercer Island and serves Jesus as part of the Emmaus Road family

Source: Love Each Other with God's Love

Look for God in your difficulties

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

As I work with kids nearly everyday, I hear a lot of "Gaaaaah..." and "Nooooooo," and "I can't do this!"

Usually, the cause of the complaints is because the work is perceived as too difficult or unfamiliar. We often have to discuss how there would be no point in always doing work that is easy.

Why?

Without challenging material, without new words and more complex stories, there would simply be no growth. It would be tragic to see a high school student flipping through picture books because the chapter books had always been to intimidating - so many words! A good teacher would never let this happen.

I give students challenging work to help them learn, to facilitate their growth.

It may seem uncomfortable for a moment, but I have their ultimate good in mind. This makes perfect sense when applied to my students, but I seem to forget this logical path when it comes to myself.

In the past few years of my life, I have experienced some pretty uncomfortable circumstances. Unemployment, loneliness, our church that we loved closing...I would be lying to say that I responded to these things correctly.

Truthfully, I was more like my students -

"Why, God?" "No." "I can't do this!"

I knew God was there, and I knew that He loved me, but life just seemed too hard.

The thing is, just as teachers don't give their students hard work just to torture them, God does not put trying circumstances in our lives without a cause. Just like I have to remind my students why I push them, God reminds us in James 1:2-4.

James writes "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing."

God wants me, He wants you, to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

God loves us too much to allow us to be stagnant.

I, unfortunately, do not always respond to hardship with this assurance in mind. It seems like that it is only in hindsight that I see where God has grown me and blessed me through trials. Perhaps, however, this is only because I am not looking for the blessing until after the fact.

God has blessed my life tremendously through circumstances I never would have chosen on my own, through "difficult assignments" that were uncomfortable at the time. What are you faced with right now that seems too hard? I encourage you to respond in a way that I am just now learning and look for the goodness of God in your difficulties.

~Megan Spurgeon lives on the Eastside and serves Jesus as part of the Emmaus Road family

Source: Look for God in your difficulties

Fasting and Praying on the Eastside

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Our lives our filled with God's blessings, and it is easy for those blessings to preoccupy us and distract us. We can get so caught up with the good things we enjoy. We eventually forget the one who gave them to us.

Scripture says, "God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment"

I am learning how much I love my life. I love waking up to see my beautiful children and wife. I love drinking freshly brewed French pressed coffee and driving in my SUV while I listen to my iPhone. I love opening the fridge and eating whatever I want whenever I want. I love that I can watch virtually any movie or TV show any time I want.

Life is good! In fact, the more I think of it, the more I'm convinced that there are some parallels between our magical lives here on the Eastside and the Garden of Eden. God had blessed them with all the fruit on all the trees except for one. This was Whole Foods on steroids! And yet an interesting thing happened when sin was introduced to the picture.When sin came, they hid from God behind his good gifts. It was the trees that they hid behind. The trees were God's gift, but sin twisted them into barriers to hide behind.

If we aren't careful our SUV's, our French press coffee, our OnDemand entertainment, even our iPhones can become the things we hide behind. They can become barriers between us and the God who gave them to us.

I am grateful to be part of Emmaus Road Church as we fast and pray together this week. I know it will help to put all of God's blessings into the proper perspective, as blessings from God and not God himself.

As great as these things are, Jesus is better.

Source: Fasting and Praying on the Eastside

Church Planting is a race

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

I was very impressed this summer to see several of my neighbors with black numbers and letters scribbled on their shoulders and legs. It turns out they had done a triathalon.

As I asked them about it they all lit up with smiles from ear to ear. It was intriguing to see them so happy, so of course I asked what all non-triathletes ask real triathletes, “Did you win?” Their smile did not fade though as they told me “No”

I realized they were exuberant simply because they had done it. They participated, for the simple thrill of finishing what they started no matter how grueling or taxing it became. They felt so accomplished just to have participated. And each one, despite their fatigue, tried to convince me of two things, 1) I really should do one and 2) they are planning to sign up for multiple triathalons next year.

In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul called church planting a race. The Greek word he used was trecko. Church planting is not a roller coaster, going up and down in circles til you get off where you started with weak knees and a queasy stomach. It is a trek; A cross country race over varied terrain with challenging conditions.

In a trek there are mountains to climb and gorges to descend and the thrill is finishing what you started.

A trek changes us and we finish in a new place, as changed people, with a deeper understanding of ourselves and the God who made us. The thrill is arriving at the finish line and seeing Jesus face to face and hearing him say, “Well done good and faithful servant”

Hebrews 12 puts it well. Notice the plural pronouns and how it speaks to us as a community and not just as individuals. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;

then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.” Hebrews 12:1-5

I am praying for you today to keep your eyes on Jesus and to run with endurance the race set before us.

Source: Church Planting is a race

Pastoral Tips on Father's Day (Ladies Only)

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Married Ladies,

This weekend is Father's Day, and as a father of five, I thought I would send you some thoughts on how to maximize your weekend.

1) REMEMBER THE GOSPEL

The gospel message is simple. God crossed heaven to give himself up for us and make us his own. Simple, right? Yes! But its also very RADICAL. See the Bible tells us that we were nowhere near deserving of such love. Romans 5:8 says it was "while we were still sinners that God demonstrated his love for us" We were not attractive or deserving. We were probably self-absorbed and undeserving. Yet Jesus came and gave his all for us. This is the gospel of grace that Christianity preaches. It is different than every other view of the world known to man. No other religious and philosophical system has this message at its core. It is radically unique. AND radically practical.

2) REMEMBER THE GOSPEL IN YOUR MARRIAGE

Yes practical. Marriage is all about us giving ourselves for our spouses, putting their needs above our own. serving them, blessing them, loving them, etc. But let's face it, we all want the other person to go first. We want our spouse to serve us, bless us, love us.... And when we think about doing that for them there is a big obstacle. Our spouse does not always deserve for us to do this. Sometimes its been a bad day, or a bad week, or a bad month. He has blown you off, put himself first, ignored your needs or demanded too much from you. When this happens it is easy to withhold your love until he is more deserving. But that is not the gospel. The gospel is that God loved us even when we were unlovable. And in loving us he transformed our hearts. Remembering the gospel in your marriage means that, you love your husband whether he is deserving or not. Serve him, bless him, put him first, not because he deserves it, but because that is how Jesus has already treated you on the cross.

3) TELL AND TOUCH

As you love your husband unconditionally here are two practical ways to do that. Touch and Tell. In all the marital counseling that I have done I always ask the same question. "What is your love language?" Most of the men I ask say "Physical Affection" and "Words of Affirmation" They put these over other love langauges like quality time, acts of service or gifts.Now your man is surely unique but there is a strong chance that these are his two love languages as well.

"Words of Affirmation" - tell your husband the things he does that you appreciate and respect. Look him in the eye and tell him how glad you are that he works so hard at his job and how he constantly looks out for you and your family. Tell him you love him. Tell him he is the only one for you. It will be music to his soul.

"Physical Affection" Scripture praises the glory or romantic passionate love within the context of marriage.

In 1st Corinthians 7 it talks about sex and says clearly, "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. Do not deprive each other."

Touch your husband this Father's Day. Grab him and jump his bones. Tell him your body is all his and ask him what does he want you to do to him? In marriage there should be a great freedom around sexuality and you should get physical with each other to the glory of God. Find out his favorite thing and do it.

Genesis2:25 says "the man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame." Don't let stress, or your age, or your yardwork, or anything else keep you back from passionately serving your husband this weekend. "Do not deprive each other" After all, you are the only naked woman on the planet that he can look at so make the most of it!!

Of course there are other things you can do to make Father's Day special, cook him steak for breakfast, watch Die Hard together, or bring him to Emmaus Road for some jalapeno poppers and a manly message, but I think these three things above are by far the most important.

Happy Father's Day!

Pastor Rich

Source: Pastoral Tips on Father's Day (Ladies Only)

What does it mean to be a Christian?

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

What does it mean to be a Christian?

Does it mean you like VeggieTales and are really "nice"? Does it mean you picket at funerals? What does it mean?

In Acts 6 we see the early Christians in action and there is something peculiar about them. Luke takes the time to record what was happening early on in the Christian movement so that future generations could know what this thing is all about.

As in any movement there is always opportunity to let your original focus and vision shift to something different. This is happening today to the Y. They were founded on Christian principles and with a different name. They used to be the YMCA - Young Men's Christian Association. Today they are just "The Y" and they have removed two of their original core values "Faith" and "Fun"

The early church is faced with a decision in Acts 6 as to what their vision will be for the future. How will they respond to the pressures and challenges facing them. Will they stick to their original plan or will they shift?

Because Christianity was spreading like a fire at an origami convention they began to feel the strains of being a mega-church. They were serving food every day to the widows in the community and some of them were beginning to complain. This community of faith which the Holy Spirit had created was feeling some of its first growth pains. There was conflict so the leaders of the church, the apostles, made a decision.

They declare “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

Their mission is to serve the word and pray. This is what it means to be a Christian to devote ourselves to prayer and to God's word.

"This is what it means to be a Christian: to devote ourselves to prayer and to God's word"

By "prayer" they surely mean praying for their city to know the gospel of grace, praying for each other to boldly share this gospel of grace, and praying for their church to clearly embody this gospel of grace.

By "the word" they are referring to, teaching and preaching the good news about Jesus dying on the cross, being raised from the dead, ascending to the right hand of God, and promising to return one day to judge the living and the dead.

At first glance it is easy to think that only the apostles were devoted to these things. But in reality it was the whole community that was devoted to God's word and to prayer. They all wanted to the word to go forth. They all wanted the city to be prayed for. So they were willing to do whatever it took. Even if that meant standing over a hot stove to cook for cranky grandmas.

This is what it meant to be part of the early Christian movement. It meant that you were committed to the spreading of the gospel word so much so that you would pitch in and serve wherever you were needed. It still means the same thing today.

How devoted are you to the gospel word going forth? How important is it to you that your city is prayed for?

If you are like me, then your guilt indicator starts to glow about now. I don't read enough, I don't share my faith enough, I don't pray enough. Maybe you don't either. Luke does not record this to increase our sense of guilt. He records this to fill us with encouragement.

But how is this encouraging?

Think for a moment about who these "apostles" were. These were the same people who just months before had walked and talked and witnessed Jesus' earthly ministry. But they were not so devoted to the word and to prayer then. In fact they were once really bad at the word and prayer.

"They were once really bad at the word and prayer"

In Mark 8:31-32 Jesus predicts his death and resurrection, the core elements of this gospel word. And what happens? Peter, the leader of the apostles, rebukes Jesus and tries to talk him out of it. That is not devotion to the word. That is opposition.

Later in Mark 14:38-40 Jesus asks his closest followers to pray with him before he is arrested. "Do they pray? No. They sleep! Can you imagine? Jesus invites you to pray with him and you fall asleep!? That is not devotion to prayer. That is a devotion to sleep.

This is who the apostles were but the Holy Spirit came upon them in power and completely reoriented their hearts and restructured their priorities.

"But the Holy Spirit came upon them in power"

This is such good news for Christians today. TO be a Christian today means the same thing that it meant for them. It means allowing the Holy Spirit to re-prioritize our lives and to so change our hearts that instead of sleeping we pray, and instead of opposing God's word we devote ourselves to it.

This is a work of grace!

So don't be surprised when the Holy Spirit empowers you to pray for your city, pray for your church, pray for each other. And don't be surprised when you find you are willing to do whatever is necessary to see the good word of the gospel spread to the ends of the earth.

After all, this is what it means to be Christians.

Source: What does it mean to be a Christian?

Seeing the bigger mission

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

We all want to make a difference in the world. We want to leave a legacy and to know that the world is a better place than it was when we got here. But there are so many charities and worthy causes. Where does God really want us to invest ourselves?

Let's face it. Money is part of all of our lives. Everyday we find ourselves thinking about it, trying to make more of it, trying to spend less of it. Shows like ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ and ‘Minute to win it’ hold out the possibility that even regular people like us can becoming Über rich overnight.

Whether we are making ends meet, or waiting to win a game show, we all know how important money is to our lives. Without it we would be sorely hurting. So it is no wonder that we are skeptical about passages of scripture that tell us to give it away.

In Acts 4:32-37 we read that the early church was doing just that. They saw their money, not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end. A missional end. Luke tells us “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.”

Barnabas is just one of the people who was selling his possessions and contributing to the mission of the local Jerusalem church. He had taken Jesus’ teaching to heart that “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

But Barnabas had taken something else to heart as well. He had taken to heart the mission of the church and had allowed that to define his perspective on the things that he owned. It is easy to let wrong motivations creep in to our giving. We do it because “we have to” or because “the church needs it” rather than giving because “we believe in the mission.” This is the motivation behind the generosity of that early church. They believed in the mission. But what was that mission?

We find the answer in Acts 1:8 where Jesus tells his followers, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This was the global mission that motivated Barnabas to give.

If Barnabas was like me he would have overlooked this mission. Instead he would have focused on the needs of this local Jerusalem church. He would have reviewed their annual budget, asked for some year-end projections of any possible shortfall and then given something along those lines. But this is not what he does. Instead these early Christians look at the global mission of the church: to take the good news of Jesus’ forgiveness and grace to the ends of the earth. Barnabas does not give because he loves his leaders and he wants them to get a good salary and their kids to go to good schools. He does not give because he feels pressured by everyone else who is giving. And he does not give because it is his Christian duty. No! Barnabas gives because he believes in the mission. His own life has been changed by the grace of Jesus and he wants to be part of seeing that change happen in others.

The church today needs to believe in this global mission too. In 2004 the average amount of money given by a full or confirmed member of a U.S. Christian church in was $691.93. This comes to an average of $13.31 per week.

Finances are one of the items on our spiritual dashboard that tells us how we are doing in following Jesus on his mission.

As important as giving is though, it is only part of the picture. Barnabas believes in the mission so much that he wants to be involved on every level, not just giving. He is not happy to be simply a generous giver who writes checks while the leaders teach, preach and lead the church. He wants to teach and preach and lead right alongside of them.

We see this in Acts 11:26 where Barnabas travels to Antioch and spends a year there teaching the local church. He is then sent out from Antioch with Paul to travel the Mediterranean world helping to plant churches. And all of this begins in Acts 4 with Barnabas writing checks. Becoming a giver opens up Barnabas’ eyes to see that his time and his talents are for the Lord as well.

These things are not our own, but rather gifts from God, intended to be employed in the advancement of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Yes the gospel inspires us to give, but not just our money. It inspires us to give our time and our treasure as well. As Paul says, “What I want is not your possessions but you.” ~2 Corinthians 12:14

Barnabas is an amazing example of a man who understood the mission and gave generously to it. But he is nothing compared to the man Jesus Christ, who gave everything including his very life!

Jesus believed in the global mission even more than Barnabas. He embodied the Father’s heart for all the peoples of the world. “Red and yellow black and white they are precious in his sight.” This is why Jesus gave his all. He sacrificed everything to make us his own. And His self-sacrifice restructured the pathways of Barnabas' heart and freed him from overvaluing his stuff. It also showed Barnabas which charity to devote his life to: indigenous reproducing local churches.

Jesus gave his all for the church and that is what Barnabas did as well. They realized that the church is God's hope for the world, his instrument to bring renewal, healing and reconciliation. There is no better cause to give our lives to.

Source: Seeing the bigger mission

Praying for Healing

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

This is going to be a reverse blog today.

Usually I write something to be helpful to you. Today I am writing to ask you to write something that will be helpful to me.

This morning Elliana Joy our oldest child had laser surgery on her tongue. The procedure was called a lingual franectomy, and she is home recovering. Would you please post a prayer for her? She will be reading these throughout the week and I know it would encourage her to know that others are praying for her.

God says in his word "You will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen." Jeremiah 29:12

Happy Reverse Blogging!

~Pastor Rich

Source: Praying for Healing

God is Gracious - so I don't have to prove myself

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

God is the center of the Christian life. We go through our daily routine with a faith in Him that transforms how we act and react to the circumstances that come our way.

The 4G's are a helpful and needed summary of God in all his beauty. They call each of us to really examine our own hearts to see if we really believe the gospel, or if we just know it in our heads.

If we really believe it, then it will show in the way we live each day.

How do you behave at work, in the classroom, around your house? Do you behave like you believe that God is gracious towards you and that all you have is a gift from Him, or do you behave as if you are "all that" and you earned all of this on your own? "You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the LORD your God for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant." (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Is this verse for you? DO you look at the things in your life and see them as trophies you have won or as treasures the Lord has graciously blessed you with?

If we think of our life as a series of trophies then we feel the pressure to continue to perform and to prove ourselves worthy. But the truth is that we are not worthy. We are unworthy.

Isaiah says it best, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins sweep us away" (Isaiah 64:6). This sentiment is continued in the New Testament as well. "There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) As a result of our sin we are worthy of death. Paul writes, "the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)

We are worthy of death because of our sin, yet God in his graciousness has given us life in Jesus. "God saved us and called us to a holy life- not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time." (2 Timothy 1:8-10)

We have become like one who is unclean, we deserve death, But God has given us life in Jesus. We do not have to prove ourselves to anyone because God is gracious.

Last night I took my 6 year old son to a birthday party at a place here on the Eastside called 3 2 1 bounce. It is a big room with lots of inflated obstacle courses, slides and the like. It was fun to watch him run around and jump and slide like a maniac. And that was before he had the sugar!

I got to meet some of my neighbors and it was a really great time. As I met the neighbors though I found something inside of me that was all of a sudden very conscious of wanting to prove myself. I wanted to make a good impression and make sure I did not stick my foot in my mouth. I was worried about my clothes and my hair. I wanted to play on the bouncy toys with my son but I was afraid of their opinions of me and how it would look if I really got in there and played. By God's grace I remembered this 4th G and I had a great time with him playing dodgeball, bouncing, shouting and just being a dad. I did not have to prove myself, so I could just be myself.

Whether it is at the bus stop, or in the office, we often are motivated by a need to prove ourselves.

We want to prove ourselves to others.

We want to prove ourselves to God.

We want to prove ourselves to ourselves.

When the gospel declares that God is gracious we nod and say, 'Yeah I know that!' but do we really?

The four G's remind us that there is sometimes a gap between what we 'know' and what we 'believe'. To figure out if we really believe this truth we need to look at our hearts and the outflow of our hearts - our lives. If we believe he is gracious then we will not feel the pressure to defend ourselves or to prove ourselves.

Here were some indicators that helped me look at my own life and discern whether I really believe God is Gracious. I may not believe God is gracious if

-I find it hard to relax

-I cannot handle criticism or failure

-I am proud

-I envy the success of others

-I don't say thank you for things

-I make other people feel guilty for not working or performing as much as me.

God's graciousness can be seen in all the pages of scripture. God deals with his people and gives them good things that they do not deserve. This is true for Sarah and Jacob and Nehemiah and Ezra and David and Moses and Jonah and Peter and us too. Romans 8:32 says it well, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

Now I know that some of you are saying, "Hold on here! Doesn't this make us super lazy? I mean if I don't have to prove myself then I can stop working so hard at my job, stop studying for that test, put on my robe and order some Jet City Pizza!" You think that believing this truth about God will lead you to be lazy or to be a bad employee and so you leave all this grace talk to others and get along with the real business of life in the real world where deadlines have to be met and commitments need to be kept.You are concerned about something very real. It even has a big name associated with it "Antinomianism" (i.e. unlawfulness).

The early Christians were fierce preachers of grace and yet crystal clear that this does not lead to a license to sin. Romans 6:1-2 is a good example of this. After preaching grace grace grace for three chapters Paul writes this, "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! we died to sin how can we live in it any longer?" Paul realized that some people would try to use the truth of God's graciousness to give themselves a license to sin and Paul says "By no means!" which really means "Hell no!"

This is not the only place scripture denounces antinomianism. We also read in Galatians 5:13-14 "You my brothers were called to be free." (free from the law of God, free from proving ourselves) "But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love." Paul is giving us a new motivation here for our work in the world. Do your work with excellence not because you have to prove yourself, but rather as a way to serve others (your boss, co-workers, spouse) in love.

Jesus' brother writes in his succinct epistle that to "change the grace of God into a license for immorality" is to "deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord" (Jude 1:4).

So then, grace frees us from working hard to prove ourselves. But if this leads you to quit your job and stop all the work you are doing. If this leads you to laziness, license and antinomianism then your horizons need to be broadened!!

Can't you think of another reason why you might want to work hard??

That's right...for the glory of God. As 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." This is why we strive with excellence to manage our homes, to take care of our stuff, to meet our deadlines, to hit our goals, to get A's on every paper! It is not to prove ourselves! It is to bring Him glory. Glory that he alone deserves. Because He has been so gracious to us!

Now may God's Graciousness, Goodness, Gloriousness and Greatness inspire you to live today for Him above all else!

Source: God is Gracious - so I don't have to prove myself

God is Good - so I don't have to look elsewhere for satisfaction

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Sin is a dark and depressing subject. After all, who wants to think about offending or disappointing the creator of the universe? And yet we all recognize that our world is not the place we dream it should be. The reason for this simply put is sin. Sin has mucked it all up for us as a planet and for us as individuals.

But blaming all of the worlds ills on 'sin' does not bring us closer to a solution. Sin is just too broad of a category to be helpful. If I say to my daughter, 'stop sinning' I am not confident her life will get any better. We all want to stop sinning, but how exactly do we go about doing that? What is step one?

A helpful approach is to look at sin through the grid of the 4G's and to ask ourselves which of these four great truths about God do I not believe? The third G is:

God is Good - so I don't have to look elsewhere for satisfaction

I realized just today how frequently I tell other people that I AM good. In fact I was at a SuperBowl party yesterday and someone asked me if I wanted some more fried chicken. How did I respond? "That's okay," I said "I'm good." Now by this I did not mean that I am morally superior or a man of integrity, I meant I am satisfied so I don't need anything else.

When we talk of God's goodness it is certainly true that he is morally superior and a God who is merciful, kind, gracious and loving to his creatures. But in the grid of the 4G's God's goodness refers primarily to his satisfying nature. God is satisfying. He is real satisfaction. He is good.

How many of us are guilty of overeating, overshopping, overdressing, overspending, and overindulging? It is because we have not gone to God to have our needs met and so we look to other things to satisfy us. They don't satisfy us long term though, do they?!

Often the things we look to for satisfaction are good things that we have unwisely made ultimate things. We are not the first people to fall into this pattern of behavior. The people of God were doing this hundreds of years ago in Jeremiah's day. God rebuked his people for this and says, "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 2:13)

Instead of looking to God to satisfy them, they had forsaken God and were turning to other things. These other things are described as broken cisterns. A cistern is a well, or a pit. The image this evokes is a dark hole with stagnant muddy water. Jeremiah is saying that when we turn to things other than God for satisfaction it is like trying to quench our thirst by drawing water from a muddy leaking well when we have a fresh spring nearby.

What is your leaking well? It may very well be something like brand name clothing, food, alcohol, friends, coffee, pornography, television, exercise, you name it. Anything can become a broken well. Even something as good as money. Ecclesiastes 5:10 tells us "Whoever loves money never has enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income."

We need to ask ourselves, "What would be the fruit of our lives if we believed God was Good and we were deeply satisfied in him?"

Wouldn't we realize ourselves that there is nothing more we need to chase after or hunt down?

As Psalm 34:8 says "Taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" The next time you think you need a drink or you sit down to watch your favorite show consider whether you are doing it for satisfaction. Are you satisfied in the goodness of God or are you looking to this other thing to satisfy you?

If we took this into our relationships it would free us to truly put the needs of others above our own.

If I am expecting my wife to satisfy my deepest needs then I am opening myself up to be continually disappointed. If I am disappointed in her then I will surely communicate this in my tone of voice, or my body language. Over time this will cause her to feel like I am not happy with her or that I am dissatisfied with our marriage. But if I can remember that only God can satisfy my deepest needs then when she disappoints me it will just drive me back to prayer or time in the word. It will be a reminder that she is not God but rather a gift from God. Seeing her as a gift will enable me to be thankful for her even when she disappoints me. I can even thank and praise God when she disappoints me because that is really God keeping my heart in check to worship him only and not her.

So as we are seeking to 'stop sinning' this really is step one- Believe in God's Goodness and ask yourself if you are seeking satisfaction in him or in some cheap knock off. As we do this more and more we will join with David in saying to the LORD, "You are Good, and what you do is Good." (Psalm 119:68)

Source: God is Good - so I don't have to look elsewhere for satisfaction

God is Glorious - so I don't have to fear others

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Our focus on the 4G's continued this week with the second G.

"God is Glorious so I don’t have to fear others"

Proverbs 29:25 tells us that “The fear of man lays a snare but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” I love this verse because it not only diagnoses our problem but it gives us the solution: trust in the LORD.

On Sunday an interesting question came up during the sermon. Someone asked “When we talk about God’s glory are we referring to his power or his beauty?” After some lively discussion we came to see that God’s glory really is a combination of his power, and his beauty.

We have all known people who were powerful but not beautiful (your boss), or beautiful but not powerful (your wife). God is both beautiful and powerful.

We see beauty in so many ways around us, Mount Rainier, the view from Newcastle Golf Club, people. And yet all of these beautiful things really are just a reflection of God’s beauty. He is the source of all this beauty. He is the most beautiful and his beauty is unfading.

Psalm 27 says, "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." The Hebrew word behind "beauty" is No'ahm. No'ahm can also be defined as "pleasantness" or "delightfulness". The Psalmist is telling us that whoever looks at God immediately wants to chase after him and "seek him."

God's is glorious which means he is beautiful beyond words. His glory is not only in his beauty but also in his power. God is powerful. This explains why people who see Him don't always sprint towards him to get a better view but instead hit the deck and grovel in humility.

When John saw Jesus in his glory in Revelation 1 "he fell at his feet as though dead"
When Ezekiel saw God in his glory in Ezekiel he says "I fell facedown"
When Peter James and John saw Jesus' glory on the mount of transfiguration they "fell facedown to the ground terrified"

His beauty attracts us to him. His power humbles us before him. All of this is wrapped together in the word glory. Glory in the original Hebrew literally means "weightiness" or "importance." This concept continues today when we hear people talk of "throwing their weight around" or "weighing in on an issue" When we hear of someone doing this we know it means that they are important. They have glory in human terms. To believe God is glorious, is to believe that he has the most "weight" and that his opinion is most "important" Most of us know God is glorious, but often we do not believe it.

This is why we fear the opinions of others. We fear the opinions of others because their opinion is more weighty and more important to us than God's opinion.

Believing God is glorious is the first step to being free from the fear of others. The second step is believing that the Glorious One has approved of me and accepted me in Christ.

Romans 14:7 tells us plainly "Christ accepted you" You have the approval, the acceptance, the embrace of the Glorious God through faith in the life death and resurrection of his Glorious Son. Jesus hammered this idea of God's radical acceptance of us through his actions and his words.

He ate regularly with unacceptable people, prostitutes, tax-collectors, and other "sinners"
He spent time with unacceptable people like lepers, Samaritans, and Roman centurions
He taught that God accepted unacceptable people in such parables as the prodigal son, and the workers in the vineyard

You have been accepted by the Glorious One whose opinion is the most important and the most weighty. And so now you do not have to live in fear of whether others will accept and approve of you.

You don't have to spend all those minutes trying to pick out just the right outfit, or getting your hair just right. You don't have to over-analyze your posts on facebook or your emails, worrying that you will not be approved or accepted. You do not have to stay silent and reclusive about your faith, worried that others will ostracize you if they know you love Jesus. You have his approval in Christ so you do not need fear the opinions of others.

Seeing God in his glory is almost always coupled a command to stop being afraid

"And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen" Ezekiel 2:4-7
"he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!" -Revelation 1:17-18
"Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” - Matthew 17

I encourage you to take your lunch break today with these three verses and meditate on them. God is glorious. His opinion matters most. He has already accepted you through faith in Jesus. And now he commands you to stop being afraid of the opinions and evaluations of others.

Believing this would free us to stop telling little white lies to make ourselves look better. It would free us to share our faith more often. It would free us to meet our neighbors and not hide from them. It would free us from all kinds of fears and stresses and allow us to rest in God's approval and acceptance of us through Jesus.

Source: God is Glorious - so I don't have to fear others

God is Great - So I don't have to be in control

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For the month of January Emmaus Road Church is focusing on the 4G's. The an 4G's are four truths about God that deeply impact the way we live our everyday lives.

I am grateful for my Acts29 brothers who developed a lot of this material. Tim Chester in his book You Can Change, Soma Communities for their audio recordings on the 4 G's and Luke Simmons of Second Mile Church in Arizona for his sermon notes and more.

The material presented here is a combination of the hard work of these men plus my own additions all contextualized for us here on the Eastside.

So this week we focus on the 1st G- GOD IS GREAT SO I DON'T HAVE TO BE IN CONTROL

Francis Chan reminds us of the greatness of God,

“a caterpillar has 228 separate and distinct muscles in its head...the average elm tree has approximately 6 million leaves on it. And your own heart generates enough pressure as it pumps blood throughout your body that it could squirt blood up to 30 feet.”

God is so great and yet we often live like we are in control of the universe.

Yet Scripture declares

God knows everything: 1 John 3:20, Revelation 19:20, Luke 16:15, Acts 15:8

God sees everything: Think of the story of David and Bathsheeba (2 Samuel 11:27), or Cain's murder of Able (Genesis 4:10), or Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:9). In each of these stories God knows exactly what was done without anyone telling him. These stories teach us that, when it comes to God, we can never do anything behind his back. Jesus teaches this truth, that God sees everything, as an encouragement for us to pray secretly and give generously, He says, "Your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matt 6:4,6,18)

God knows the future: This is why he so often speaks to people in dreams. Some examples are the dreams of Joseph, the dream of Pharaoh, the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar, and all the Old Testament predictions about Jesus. Jesus himself knew the future and predicted Peter’s denial, Judas' betrayal and his own resurrection.

God made us: As Isaiah 44:2 says, " The LORD ... made you,... formed you from the womb, and will help you."

God works out his good purposes despite the evil in the world: This is most evident in the lives of people like Joseph, Job and Jesus.

Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers, falsely accused, ignored, forgotten, misunderstood and unjustly imprisoned. But God in his greatness orchestrated all of that evil and suffering to bring about good. God gave him the ability to interpret dreams and to save the nation from economic collapse.
Job lost everything, his family, his portfolio, his property, his reputation and his health. But in the end God blessed his life even more than he had at the beginning and his story lives on to give hope to people today who suffer.
Jesus was betrayed, falsely accused, denied, misunderstood and abandoned much like Joseph. He endured physical pain and suffering much like Job. But more than Job and Joseph Jesus' suffering culminated in being brutally executed on a roman cross after being publicly whipped. Joseph and Job suffered. Jesus suffered and died. Yet God took his suffering and brought forgiveness, salvation, redemption, reconciliation for the whole world. Romans 8:28 puts it well. "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God."

When we gathered for gospel community on Wednesday we asked the question: "What stories in Scripture show God’s greatness, his power and his total control of all that is?" As we started to discuss it we realized that almost every story in the Bible does just that. Splitting the Red Sea, all of Jesus' miracles, Creation, Noah's Ark and on and on.

Then we discussed: "What stories in Scripture show people not believing in God’s greatness and as a result trying to be in control?

We remembered Adam and Eve taking control of the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil. That was the one thing in all the world that God wanted to control for them. Yet they could not trust his greatness and so they had to take control and eat what they were forbidden to eat.
Abram and Sarai is another example of people taking control when they should have trusted God's greatness. They did not have a child yet and so Sarai gave her housekeeper to Abram instead. Abram went along with it. The birth of Ishmael and the conflict with Isaac began a family dispute that has lasted through the centuries even to the present day with the conflict in the middle East between the Jews and the Arabs. All of this turmoil is a result of people not trusting in God's greatness and trying to take control.
Korah, in the book of Numbers chapter 16, tries to take control of the Israelites and opposes the leadership of Moses. He thinks he could do a better job as the leader. The results again were devastating. These were not the only people to take control when they should have trusted.
Moses did not trust God was great enough to create a rock that was responsive to verbal commands. So instead he took control and hit the rock with his stick. What was the result? Moses was now forbidden to enter the Promised Land.
Peter is a good New Testament example of this as well. In the garden of Gathsemene when the guards come to arrest Jesus, Peter does not trust God's greatness and so he attacks with his sword and chops off a man's ear.

The Bible is pretty clear that God is great and yet that God's people do not always live like they believe it. We are the same as Peter and Moses. We know in our heads that God is great and that he is in control but we do not believe it in our hearts. When we do not believe God is great we try to take control through manipulation or domination. When we do not believe God is great we get angry. We stress out. We worry. Even though Jesus teaches over and over "Do not worry." (Matthew 6:25, 31, 34; 10:19)

But is being in control always bad?

No. God placed us on the earth to have dominion (Hebrew Radah), to fill the earth and subdue (Hebrew Cabash) it” (Genesis 1:26-28) It is part of our destiny to be in control of the rest of creation. However we are called to exercise that control as unto the Lord & to reflect his glory.

When Adam and Eve tried to control the knowledge of Good and Evil, it led to death. If our taking control comes from a place of rebellion or fear or worry it is sin. A key verse for this is Romans 14:23 "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." When we take control we must ask ourselves, "Is this springing from my faith in God's greatness and being exercised for his glory, or is it springing from my fears, my doubts, my worry, or simply from my need to be in control?" If it does not spring from faith it is sin.

The question is, "Where does your control spring from?"

Jesus gave two examples of exercising Godly control in Matthew 21:33-46 and 25:14-30. In each of these parables a master entrusts his property to his servants and goes away. He then expects those servants to produce fruit and to share that fruit with him. Jesus is the master and he has given us his property in the form of our jobs, our houses, our things, our talents, our good looks, our free time, our weekends, etc. ...and one day he will return. When he returns he expects us to share the profits with him.

In Matthew 25 the servant who sinfully takes control buries the talents of his master and does nothing with them. He is lazy and silent and does nothing. Yet that is his way of taking control. In Matthew 21 the servants who sinfully take control are anything but lazy. They generate a lot of profit yet they refuse to share any with their master. That is their way of taking control.

So taking control for our own glory can look a variety of ways. It could look like laziness and doing nothing, or it could look like a passionate work ethic. The servants who trust God's greatness get to work right away but then present their profits to their master upon his return. This is the biblical picture of taking control for God's glory and not our own. Their exercise of control sprang out of a deep belief in their master's greatness and it was greatly rewarded. The master returns and says, "Well done good and faithful servant, you have been faithful with a few things I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness." (Matt 25:21,23)

Conclusion

Many times the stress in our life is the result of trying to control things. We are in essence trying to act like little gods instead of trusting the One true God, Jesus Christ. Our calendars, our phones, our tone of voice, our spending habits, our apps, our mood swings are all tied to issues of control. We can either use these things to exercise God-honoring control of the world around us and reflect his glory, or we can use them to fuel our obsession with ruling the world for our own glory.

When we can believe (not just know, but believe) that God is great, it delivers us from these enslaving and debilitating ways of living. It frees us to serve one another in love.

Source: God is Great - So I don't have to be in control

Holiday Recipe for Relational Wholeness

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

RECIPE FOR RELATIONAL WHOLENESS

This time of year is full of food. We all like to eat. In fact we just got a box from my Aunt and Uncle in Germany. It was filled with German cookies and sweets, some were delicious and the rest we will be wrapping up and re-gifting. In December we eat and put on a few pounds. Then we make New Year’s resolutions to go back to our former size. Sometimes this routine can work, but over the years those pounds tend to last beyond January and become a permanent part of our lives.

The same is true of our relationships. In the overscheduled busyness of the holiday season we often add on unwanted pounds of distance and coldness between us the ones we love. There is just so much to get done. We have to buy gifts for the family, box it up, and mail it off in time. We have to send out the family Christmas letter. We have to plan the party. Then we have to host the party. In all this festivity we often become too busy for the people we care about the most. Then January hits and we try to slow down and reconnect and shed those habits of distance and frenzy. Sometimes this works, but over the years that distance produced by the hectic pace of the holidays can become a permanent part of us.

Have you ever been at a Christmas party chit chatting for hours with others while your significant other is in the other room doing the same thing with a different group of people? You are together at the party but you really aren’t together. You share the car ride and that’s about it.

Let’s face it. The shopping and the parties and the packages are not going to get any easier. And relational coldness is even harder to get rid of than those unwanted pounds.

We need a recipe for relational wholeness that uses the right ingredients and that allows us to indulge in the holidays while deepening our relationships and not than dismantling them.

Ingredient #1

The Gospel- The Gospel of God’s grace revealed in Jesus is that God loves you unconditionally. He created you for his glory and as a display of his splendor. But you and I screwed it up. We sought our own glory, success, and fame instead of his. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) You do not, indeed you cannot, save yourself. But the Good news is that God crossed heaven to do what you could not do. The first ingredient in relational wholeness is tasting and feasting on this truth, day in and day out. You are the Beloved. God looks at you with love and compassion. This means that you do not have to earn his approval or his love. You start with his love. He loves you. This is the only way to “smile from your liver.” If you believe the Gospel of grace you will extend grace to the people you are in relationship with. You will stop expecting and demanding that they meet your standards of perfection. Standards that you yourself don’t even meet! Instead, you will love them as they are. And you will lay your life down for them, do the dishes for them, take out the trash for them, make money for them, etc. regardless of whether they deserve it or not. You will stop keeping score and you will just give to them without expecting anything in return. Relational wholeness begins with the gospel of grace.

Ingredient #2

Date Night- In this busy season the next ingredient you need in your recipe is time together just the two of you. If you have four young children like me, then date night includes finding Mary Poppins at $25 an hour to watch your offspring. But do not let this obstacle, or this cost, deter you. That money is an investment in your relationship, and it will bear much fruit. If you cannot find or afford Mary Poppins then have a date night in your home after the kids are in bed. Treat it just like a normal date. Here are a few tips for Date Night. Dress nice. You look good for your office mates and your boss, how much more should you look good for your date. Talk about real stuff. How is your soul? What are your dreams for next year? What is God teaching you? Read the Bible. Yes get out your app or print out a verse and read it with each other. You can each bring one you think will be beneficial or you can just let the man be a spiritual leader and bring one himself. Read it out loud and discuss it. Pray for each other. The couple that prays together stays together. This doesn’t have to take hours but making it part of your date is an important ingredient to make sure you do not squander the night on meaningless chitchat and finish the evening even more shallow in your relationship. And finally… have some fun together.

Ingredient #3

Apologize- The next ingredient in relational wholeness this Christmas season is saying “I’m sorry” Sometimes we are clueless that we need to do this. So it can help to ask “Is there anything I need to apologize for?” Now, when your significant other asks this question, don’t say “no” too quickly. We all have things that rub us the wrong way and you are no different. Think about it. Was there something said or done that hurt, annoyed, or disappointed you? Tell them plainly. The second caution when your significant other asks you this question is that you do not pull out a laundry list. Probably it is best to only mention 2 or 3 things. Then if you are the one apologizing don’t defend or explain yourself. Don’t justify your actions. Just say “I’m sorry.” When your significant other says these golden words it is now on you to respond by saying “I forgive you.” When your significant other hears those words from you then they have to be willing to forgive themselves. If your significant other has forgiven you and let it go then you must forget and let it go as well. Don’t beat yourself up about it or mope around and ruin the rest of your date. Accept the forgiveness. Accept the grace.

Ingredient #4

Write a note- The final ingredient in our recipe for relational wholeness is writing a note. In the busyness it is important to slow down for a second and tell that person how much they mean to you. Don’t do it in an email. Get an actual pen and some actual paper. Take fifteen minutes on a lunch break and write them to tell them how much you love and appreciate them. One simple note can pierce through the hub-bub and the holiday madness. It can go right to the heart of your significant other. Don’t do it so that they will write one back. Just do it because you care about them and you want them to know how much you appreciate them. Thank them for all the little things they and all the big things. One note is sufficient, but some of you will want to write a note everyday til Christmas. This is a good goal, just make sure you stick to it and depend on the Spirit for strength to follow through.

Wherever you find yourself this winter, I pray this recipe will keep your relationships whole. And this, in itself, is a better display of the gospel than all the presents in the world. Merry Christmas!

Source: Holiday Recipe for Relational Wholeness