Faith Reflected in Love

As I preparing for Sunday, I was studying in 1 Corinthians. The Corinthians were an immature lot, but genuinely saved. They were focusing on minor subjects and missing the major issues. Several times in the first letter to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul tries to motivate them by reminding them that they would stand before Christ one day. As I was reading through the letter I came to this most marvelous chapter on love. Agape love. The word for love is the Bible is the foundation of maturity. The Apostle Paul told the Galatians the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You probably know 1 Corinthians 13 fairly well. It says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast . . .” In verse 3 the Apostle Paul wrote, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” There is no value to doing these things without love; without the right motives there is no reward. Love is risky. A lover is a risk taker. Loving children is risky, marriage is risky, loving people of other nations is risky, and loving people in church is the most risky of all. The more we love the more likely we are to get hurt. Jesus took the risk of loving and was crucified. But what is not acceptable for us is to bury our “talent” of love in the ground and refuse to take the risk of loving. When I use that word “talent,” I am referring to the parable of talents, when one person was given five talents, another two talents and then another person only had one talent and buried it. Love is the bottom line of a faith lived out. When we stand before Jesus one day, I believe he will be evaluating how we loved. You know what the Bible says, “Love never fails.” Won’t you risk loving? . . .

Teach Our Children

Praying is on my mind. I was delighted to have so many people respond this past Sunday with the commitment to seek God in prayer on a daily basis. May the Lord bless you as you pursue him. One of my strongest prayers is for our investment in the lives of children. Jesus showed a clear sense of love and concern for children, something that was rare in that day. As we follow the steps of Jesus and bless children, God will bless us. There is a calling on a church body for the development of spiritual understanding for children as they learn the truth of God’s Word. We are the dispensers of that truth. Our Children’s Ministry is key to whether God will bless us or not. If we are faithful to our children, God will put us in charge of even more things.

The Scripture is clear when it challenges parents to instruct their children. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says it in a very clear and challenging way.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

May our relationship with Jesus Christ be expressed and impressed on our children as they see our faith as the most integral part of our lives, then the covenant of Jesus will be passed down in a healthy and strong way, and the legacy of our faith will continue well beyond our lifetime.

Just Do It!

When Johnny Jones, living in a middle-class suburb in central California, made a commitment to pray five blessings on five neighbors for five minutes a day for five days a week for five weeks, surprising things began to happen. One neighbor asked him how she could have a personal relationship with Christ. When Johnny shared the Gospel with her, she accepted Christ as her Savior. A drug-dealing neighbor asked Johnny to pray for him and help him turn his life around and get out of the drug business. A Buddhist couple from across the street asked if they could go to church with Johnny’s family. And a Hispanic couple living next door asked him to start a Bible study for their neighborhood. Johnny Jones’ prayers mattered to God. They provided God the opportunity he was looking for to work in the hearts and lives of Johnny’s neighbors.

I read that story in a magazine article on the subject of prayer, of course. If you take a close notice of the story, you will realize that four neighbors are mentioned and yet the story presents five neighbors being prayed for. I think that is realistic also. Nevertheless, prayer matters to God. As I conclude this series on prayer this coming Sunday, I have a sense there is more to learn about prayer. I also believe that what God wants to do for us in prayer is just beginning. There is so much more that he has in mind. I know that things don’t just change around after a six-week series on prayer, but I do hope you will sense how significant this gift is as a real and deep connection with God, inviting us to release our request and to know him better, and to be totally honest with our loving God.

Prayer Changes Me

Here is another thought provoking story – Four associates were playing a round of golf on Sunday morning. None of their scores was good. On top of their embarrassment it began to rain. The men returned to the clubhouse only to learn that the electrical power line had been hit by lightening so the restaurant was closed. As the men prepared to rush for their cars, one of them remarked, “We could have just as well gone to church this morning.” Another of the men disagreed, “Oh, I couldn’t have gone to church, anyway. My wife is sick in bed this morning.”

The title of that story is “Bad Day for Church.” I know pastors are supposed to care about church attendance. At times in church history, church attendance had been associated with being a “good” Christian. There are many different mixed messages about attending, which can feel like obligation, or even legalism. But there are two things that come to my mind when I think of people making church a priority.

1. The Bible commands the followers of Christ to assemble together. In Hebrews 10:25 it says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” The word is assembled, and sometimes translated “worshipping together.” It is something God wants us to do.

2. I have noticed over the years a correlation between God at work in someone’s heart and seeing them at church more often. When God is stirring someone about their spiritual condition, the challenging circumstances of their life or many other kinds of needs, people move towards God through attending church. Your spiritual temperature will often dictate your desire to worship God, be with other believers and study His Word. If those things aren’t very important to you, that usually indicates your spiritual fervor is stagnant or even on the decline.

Like so many people do in blogs, if you have a comment on what I have just said, feel free to send me a note as a reply to this e-mail. I want to fan your desire to be a part of our worship connection here at New Harvest because God commands it and it reflects your desire for the things of God.

Repeating the Same

The definition of insanity has become mainstream. I have read that it is attributed to Albert Einstein. Simply put it says – “Doing something over and over expecting different results.” We have enhanced the wording to say, “repeating the same behaviors and expecting different results.” Of course that is the same definition. It is so much easier to point at others who you know that keep doing the same thing over and over again, and yet on the other hand, just miss how often you and I live up to the definition as well. The phrase that would fit would be “creatures of habit.” There is a sense of comfort in doing what comes natural, even if it is actually harmful to our well-being. One author said that it takes quite a bit of pain for us to finally realize that what we are doing isn’t working. There is evidence of this tendency at work in the disciples as we look at the feeding of the 4,000 this Sunday. Yes, I said 4,000 not 5,000. That is an interesting aspect in and of itself. I think God has given me some helpful insights into this repetitive behavior that is actually very predictable and leads to the same results. Hope you will join me this Sunday as I share a message entitled “Repeating the Same.”

John Stumbo's Blog

I want to use another blog like I did last week. This blog comes from John Stumbo, who is the Pastor at Salem Alliance Church. John has been through a “Job-like” journey with an unknown illness and disease that almost took his life. Maybe you have prayed with me for him. He is on a very slow path to recovery. At the same time, God is stirring in his heart and mind some deep thoughts. His blog is entitled, “An honest look into a mysterious journey.” About a week ago, he wrote these words:

For the past 25 years I went to church because I “had” too – after all, I was the pastor. For the past two months I’ve gone to church because I’ve needed to.

I confess that I sometimes don’t feel like attending. It is work to get out of my chair, haul my sore body and walker out to the van and get into church. It doesn’t feel convenient. I couldn’t get there without my wife. But it is good and essential. Looking back over the last few months, I realize that by attending church …

…I think thoughts I would not otherwise think
…I hear truths I would not otherwise hear
…I sing songs I would not otherwise sing
…I meet people I would not otherwise meet
…I give offerings I may not otherwise give
…I rejoice in mission’s efforts and in new followers of Jesus that I would not otherwise know about
…I receive encouragement and challenge I would not otherwise receive
…I shed tears I would not have otherwise shed
…I receive a blessing I would not otherwise have received
…I pray prayers I would not have thought to pray
…I meet God in a way I would not have met Him had I stayed home in my chair.
…And, perhaps, my attendance is an encouragement or testimony to someone else.

When I’m there, I may not like every song or agree with every word spoken. But that’s not the point. I may have wrestled with Him all week; but come the weekend I publically present myself again to acknowledge my allegiance to Him.

I now understand how easy it is for people to slip out of the habit of church attendance. And I now understand even more fully the significance of the words in Hebrews admonishing us,
“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25

House of Cards

It is amazing what we can find on the internet these days. I punched in house of cards and found several YouTube clips of the world's tallest house of cards to the "domino effect" of a house of cards. I enjoyed viewing the amazingly intricate and fascinating ways to build from normal playing cards. There is actually quite a lot of interest in this hobby. I think that it fits our society really well. Lots of people are building their lives with a sense of fascination similar to the excitement of building a house of cards. But then you see one card kicked out and how all the other cards follow in place leaving just a pile of cards. Jesus said, "If you hear my words and do not put them in practice you are like a man who builds his house on the sand" . . . like a house of cards. What is the key to a strong life? Jesus the teacher wants his followers to have a life that works - a life that is built on the rock - a life that is more than knowing the right things, it's doing the right things.