Sharper

Sunday I finished up a series called "Present" (you can listen to the messages here). The idea is that we need to be more present in the lives of people. Jesus modeled it by coming to earth to dwell among men. He was "Present" through the discipleship process as he chose 12 guys to do life with. He then tells his disciples to be "Present" in the world connecting people to Jesus as disciple makers.

I met with three groups this past week where we discussed Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." 

This verse means you need people in your life who are authentic, real and you trust enough to speak into your heart to make you a better person. While most agree that we need others to help us do life better we often forget this is not always a pleasant process.

In order for a knife, sword or tool to be sharpened there mus be some tension. There is a chipping away at the old in order to get a new, sharper edge. The problem is we don't liked to be stretched. We don't like the friction and tension. But this is what is necessary in order to be sharpened and get better. If we don't let others sharpen us then we can get pretty dull.

So there are a couple questions to consider:

1) Who do you let sharpen you  . . .

           . . . in your faith?
           . . . to be a better spouse?
           . . . to be a better parent?
           . . . to be a better friend?

2) Who are you sharpening?

Am I a Disciple?

In John 8:31 Jesus makes this statement, "If you hold to my teaching, you will really be my disciples."

Disciples are not defined by church attendance. They are not defined by self-proclamation. They are not defined by how many Bible verses memorized or if you carry a Bible. They are not defined by praying before a meal, in the morning or in the evening. They are not defined by how much you give in an offering.

Disciples do all the stuff mentioned above, but there is one defining thing according to Jesus that "really" qualifies someone one of His disciples. Do you hold to Jesus' teachings? Do you imitate Him?

Do people know you are a follower because you say you are a follower or because you live as a follower?

Our challenge is to live a little more like Jesus today than we did yesterday.

Church Marketing

Recently, I have heard people talk about how we need to do more advertising in the newspapers, radio or on our sign. The argument is that the way to get more people to come to the church is to market the church better.

I agree we need to do a better job in marketing the church, I just don't agree with the method or the message.

The method of advertising in the media is expensive and it does not produce great results. I understand the argument that people need to know who we are in the community, but what does an advertisement do other than giving the time we meet, where we are located and how to contact the church.

Important stuff, but that doesn't make people stay. They may come one time, staying for a few weeks, but whether they stay long term depends on so much more. We can say we have great music (which we do), a children's program and biblical teaching, but if we are not helping people connect with Jesus we are missing the mark.

If the church would become intentional on reflecting the image of Jesus in our community people would know who are and find out where we worship. When we live out the message people take notice. People become interested. People give of their time and resources at a higher level. An impact is made on the lives of those around us and on those who live out the mission of the church.

When we do a great day of service and people are serving in the community those they are serving or serving with begin to inquire about the church. They want to know why you would give up time on a weekend to serve people you don't even know. And the answer is not, "So you will come to our church." The answer is, "Jesus wants us to be the servant of all. And I have made the choice I am going to serve others the way Jesus served us all."

The method becomes taking the church to the world instead of hoping the world comes to the church. Kind of the way Jesus marketed the church, wouldn't you say?

Charlie's Oak

When we read through the gospels there will be times Jesus will say "the kingdom of God is like . . ." right before he illustrates the kingdom with a story. If we are looking to become more like Jesus maybe it would be wise to read through the gospels making note of the time Jesus illustrates the kingdom. 

In Mark 4:30-32 Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is like . . . a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." 

What is Jesus trying to say to us about the kingdom? I think he is trying to say, focus on the small things and let God make it something big!

Look, I am all for Big Hairy Audacious Goals, but if that is all you focus on you can really miss some of the greater things of God. 

Sometimes it is the little things that have the greatest impact because God is in the little things also. 

On one of my relatives farms in West Virginia there is this enormous oak tree. It is called Charlie's oak. I don't know why other than I have a great uncle named Charlie and somehow his name is attached to this tree. I am sure there is a story attached to it--but I don't know what it is and it really doesn't matter today. 

So this big oak, started from an acorn that fell from another tree, a tree that does not exist. I wonder how far it's roots extend. I wonder how many oaks around it have started from an acorn that fell from it's branches. I wonder how many birds or squirrels have made their temporary home in Charlie's Oak. 

Isn't it amazing God can take a small acorn and make such a difference within this small portion of space on earth. 

Can you imagine what God can do if we learn to live in the small stuff, letting God make it grow? Can you imagine what God can do through you if you let Him do his work?

What small thing can you do today, that God can use to make a big impact? 

Storms

In Matthew 8:23-27 there's this story of Jesus and his disciples in boat on the lake. Without warning, a furious storm came up and was sweeping them across the lake. There are two types of storms, ones we can see approaching on radar and then those that just seem to come out of no where.

The first, while it can be rough to go through at least gives you time to prepare. My father who lives in Florida has been through several hurricanes. He knew a head of time they may reach land about where he lives so he was able to prepare for the storm. He has hurricane windows that he can put into place and he can get supplies ready in case they are confined to the house for several days. He can even prepare for clean-up. The storm is still hard to go through, but if you are proactive you can make things a little easier.

It is the storms that just seem to come out of no where that can make us panic. I was on Lake Erie fishing with a friend. We had checked the weather and everything seemed like it was going to be a perfect day. Even though it seemed like it was going to be a good day there is always a chance on Lake Erie a storm can come out of no where. It did.

Panic set in as we headed toward the shore line. As the water got rougher the ride in got more intense. You begin to wonder if you you are going to get to a safe place in time. We did, but it was a rough journey.

Life is the same way. There are storms that arise sometimes with warning and sometimes with no warning. They can both be difficult. They both can end badly. Yet there is one constant when you are a follower of Jesus. Faith.

In the story from Matthew while the boat is being blown across the lake the disciples wake Jesus and say, "Lord, saves us! We are going to drown!" Sometimes in the middle of life's storms we think we are going to drown. And in the middle of those storms there is only one place to turn--God.

Jesus gets up rebukes his disciples, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he rebukes the storm and it was completely calm.

I think he got upset with His disciples because they had forgotten who was with them.

The thing is these storms that come up in life can cause us to forget or at least not acknowledge who is with us, who is in our presence. While these life storms don't always cease in a moment like the storm in this story, we can be at peace knowing we are in the presence of a God who is powerful enough to calm a storm on a lake. A God who tells us not to fear, who takes a hold of our hands and walks through the storms with us.

The way we can prepare for these spontaneous storms is to have a relationship with the one who walks with us no matter how hard it can get. The one who allows us to trust him when our instinct is to have fear.

Living (Loving) God

The Vision Statement at Northwest is "Living God, Loving People, Changing Lives."

It is only a statement unless you begin to put it into practice.

Here is how this vision statement works for Northwest. We are going to challenge people to first Love God with all of their being. But what does that mean? Saying you Love God is only a statement unless you put it into practice. So the question is, how do you put into practice "Loving God?"

1 John 5:1-3 says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands."

If we are going to practice loving God, we are going to live by his commands and we are going to live for him everyday.

So the question for each of us today is: How are you living out you love for God?

Cheerful Giver

Nobody really likes being asked to give money. And nobody likes to ask for people to give either. Yet the Bible is filled with passages that teach followers of Jesus to give regularly. Nobody wants to hear and nobody wants to ask. So there is this natural tension within the church.

If followers would just strive to give 10% then nobody would ever need to ask and the church could do incredible things throughout its neighborhoods and the world. One of the reasons Christianity is struggling in the United States is because we are not making an impact on our communities. Because we are not in the habit of giving. When the church does have good offerings they seem to be using it all on their own wants rather than investing it into building God's kingdom.

Look, I get it, those multi-million dollar buildings are being used to attract people to the church. It is being used for kingdom work. But couldn't we build buildings that are more functional rather than so extravagant? I know what you are saying, we should build the very best for God, like Solomon did when he built the temple. How did that turn out?

I really think God is more into advancing his kingdom and reaching people who are far from Him rather than maintaining a nice building that has a lot of people in it every week. I know what some of you are thinking--that is success. By who's standards? Mans or Gods? It reminds me of Isaiah 1 when God tells Judah that he is tired of "meaningless offerings" and when they pray he "will not listen." Look, Judah was doing all the right things, but when it came to worship, he was still not pleased.

In Isaiah 1:16-17 it says, "Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encouraged the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Just because we give it does not mean we are doing the right things. Like Dave Browning says, “It is more important to do the “right things” than to do things right.”

I heard this great quote the other day that I am going to change around a little bit to apply to giving a regular offering-- "We are asking the wrong question, which is, 'How do we make people give a regular offering?' What if we started to ask, 'How do we let people give a regular offering?'"

The first question is out of law, the second is about grace.

We know the Bible teaches that we should give a regular offering yet the average for a Christian who faithfully goes to church gives an offering of about 2% of their income. And church leaders are constantly asking how can we make people give more? When they do give more a lot of leaders just turnaround use it for better things and not necessarily for ministry (encouraging the oppressed, defending the fatherless and pleading the case for the widow).

If the church could change how it uses it resources so that people could see real ministry and life change happening people would then become cheerful givers. They would live like 1 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Leaders need to begin to ask the question, “How can we let people give?”

If At All Possible . . . Live at Peace

We shouldn’t be surprised with the ruling that came down from the Supreme Court concerning gay marriage. The more secularized the United States has become over the last 50 years decisions like this are going to happen. So what should a Christian’s response be to the decisions that go against their core beliefs? The way Christian’s respond is so important.

First, we can never forget that we are dealing with people. While we may disagree with each other we are all people in need of a redeeming God. We can’t come across arrogant or dismissive because each of us have dealt with and are dealing with sinful issues of our own.

Second, disagree respectfully. Defend your values with all your heart but don’t be argumentative. Don’t resort to name calling or labeling others. Be confident in your defense. Ask questions to gain a better understanding of someone else’s opinion. When someone turns it into an argument and starts using name calling as a tactic—walk away. Don’t get caught up in the intolerance of others.

Third, pray for the consequences that will arise from these kinds of decisions. When emotional decisions are made whether they are personal or national, there are consequences that have not been thought through. Pray for wisdom to say the right thing and to react the right way. Jesus even said, “Pray for those who persecute you.”

Finally, Love Wins. Here is a new twist to all the “#lovewins” I have seen over the last few days. Jesus tells us that the second greatest command is to love people. In the Sermon on the Mount he tells us to love our enemies not just those who agree with us, but everyone. When we are able to discuss issues out of “love” rather than “hate” it changes the culture. When love wins it does not divide—even when there are disagreements.

For those who may read this that have been hurt by Christians who disagree with you, but have done it disrespectfully, have labeled you, have been hateful, have come across dismissive or arrogant—I apologize because that is not the way of Jesus.

Even though Jesus did not defend our sinful nature he always saw us as people who need grace and mercy. He always respectfully disagreed. He always prayed for us to be one and wanted us to avoid the consequences of all sin. Ultimately, it is His love for us that wins and it is that love that made him attractive to the people he comes in contact with even today.

Romans 12:18-21

No Names, No Titles, Just Christ

I know this is unrealistic in our polarized culture today, but what if . . . what if we could become a culture in which the only identity we had was tied to our identity in Christ? I have to believe a lot of things would be different.

Jesus treated everyone with the same love when he was here on earth. The thing that made Jesus angry the most was when his kingdom was divided by labels--labels like Jew, Gentile, male, female, sinner, righteous. Some of today's labels are sinner, Christian, American, foreigner, racist, male, female, democrat, republican, wealthy and poor.

Quite frankly, I am tired of all the labels. It is divisive and counter productive. It is completely opposite of what Jesus stood for and practiced. Jesus sees us all as people who need a redeeming God to bring us together as one.

Paul wrote in Galatians 3:26-28, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ Jesus have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Jesus sought a culture where people were brought together as one--not divided. Those who constantly want to divide our culture are creating the polarization. Leaders of our country constantly want to pick a side, promote their side and drive a wedge of division deeper into our culture. Think about that as you search for people to put into leadership positions in this great country.

Honestly, the church could take the leadership in our culture. We can begin to create a space where people come and are not labeled. They are seen as people who need to be clothed with Christ. We should all be able to find our identity in the one who came to bring us together as one. The church needs to set the example.

It should be an easy example to set if we submit ourselves to find our identity in Christ.

Love Neighbor As Yourself

Jesus tells us the second greatest command is to "Love your neighbor as yourself."

If someone were to ask you "Do you love your neighbor?" Would you be able to say "Yes."

How would you even know? How about if we were to ask your neighbor? What would they say?

The thing is Jesus is not just talking about the people who live around you. He is talking about anyone you may come in contact with during the day. As I sit in Starbucks right now I am surrounded by neighbors. Some of them have values different from mine, some of them come from different countries and some I  may even be uncomfortable around, but that does not mean I can't listen to what Jesus' says.

I am to love people no matter who they are, no matter where they live and no matter where they come from.

This is not a suggestion from Jesus, it is a command. This is the second greatest command behind loving God. I can not escape it.

The thing is it can be hard sometimes because there are some people I just don't like to be around. Jesus says that is not an excuse. He wants us to be different than what is considered normal. Jesus put it this way in the Sermon on the Mount, "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even sinners doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Are not even pagans doing that?" (Matthew 5:46-47)

When Jesus says we need to "Love our neighbor as yourself" he is telling us this includes the unlovable--those who are different from us and those who may even be our enemies.

So let's ask ourselves this question again, "Do you love your neighbor?" How would those around you answer that about you?

Now go love your neighbor! Whoever that may be today!

Imitating I Am

"Be imitators of God."

That is what Paul writes to the church in Ephesus.

Jesus came and dwelled among us teaching us what it means to imitate God. Paul goes on to explain how we should live as imitators of "I Am." He says "walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (Ephesians 5:2).

The way of love is surrendering ourselves to God and His mission--That's what Jesus did.

The way of love is surrendering ourselves to others--that is what Jesus did.

If we love God and others we will learn sacrifice. We will learn what it means to put God first and what it means to think of others needs above our own.

Paul calls this a fragrant offering and a sacrifice--to God.

How can you surrender to God this week? How can you surrender to others?

Power, Love, Self-Discipline

Paul writes to the Evangelist Timothy saying this: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7)

This past Sunday we talked about being led by the Spirit, moving from the ordinary to the extraordinary. (You can listen to it here ). To move from the ordinary to the extraordinary means we are going to need to take some risks. We can't be timid.

So if we have been given a spirit of power what does that mean? It means we need to pray for God's power to come. We should not pray timid prayers, we need to boldly pray for God to heal people, intervene in life events and world events. We are calling on Him to do miracles today. Will every prayer end up in a miracle--no. But that should not stop us from asking God to do the impossible. Try it today. Boldly pray for God to bless you or someone else, calling on Him to perform a miracle. Be persistent, don't stop after one day. If God does the miraculous comment on this post so others can see the power of God. Pray for the extraordinary to happen.

If he gives us a spirit of love what does that mean? It means we need to love people extraordinarily. It is not an ordinary or normal love. Jesus talks about this love in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:43-48, he teaches us that His followers don't just love those who love them--they love their enemies, those who persecute them and those who are unlovable. How can you show the love of Jesus this week by loving the unlovable? Try it this week. Love someone extraordinarily, someone one that is hard to love. Show them love in a simple and practical way.

Then he say we have been given a spirit of self-discipline. Where do you need the Spirit to help you when it comes to self-discipline? Is there a sin you are struggling with? Is it a spiritual practice you need to do better? Is it a life change? Don't be like everyone else, don't do what is normal--add some self-discipline to your life and let God help you through whatever your struggle may be.

We all need to recognize this spirit that God has given us and allow Him to move us from being ordinary to extraordinary.

Let the Spirit Move You From Ordinary to Extraordinary

The Holy Spirit is so misunderstood within Christianity. It almost makes me nervous talking about Him. However, as followers of Jesus we need to learn to live by the Spirit's leading. Why? Because according to what the Bible says about Jesus' followers and the church, the Spirit plays a huge role.

Our verse of the week at Northwest is "And in Him (Jesus) you too (the church) are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit." Ephesians 2:22

Isn't that nice. God's Spirit dwells in the church. That should bring us comfort, peace and give us a feeling of safety, right? Yes and No. 

The presence of the Spirit means we are led by the Spirit. Being led by the Spirit means we are going to be asked to do things that may take us out of our comfortable padded pews and our safe little Bible studies moving us to take Godly risks. Moving us from ordinary to extraordinary.

Being Spirit-led means there will be times we go against logic--and in those moments we will see God do the extraordinary. 

I took a student with other students on a mission trip to Brooklyn, NY.  This student said he was an atheist. I knew he was going for all the wrong reasons, but I had this gut feeling it was the right thing to do. I explained to him we were going to do a VBS and he would have to teach as if he did believe in God. He agreed. 

He was asked by a kid at VBS why he believed in God. So living by what I asked him to do he began to explain why he believed. That night he told us about having to share why he believed in God. He then told us that as he was explaining his reasoning he realized he did believe. Who would have thought an atheist teaching VBS would come to an understanding about God. I will tell you who--God. 

God did the extraordinary in a very ordinary situation. 

This is the church being the church, letting the Spirit lead us to extraordinary places that only God can imagine. 

Later in Ephesians Paul takes the dwelling of the Spirit to an individual level, "I pray that out of His glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Ephesians 3:16-17

The Spirit dwells within your inner being--in your soul. We have to learn to let Him lead and not keep His presence limited to our own knowledge. If we want to live extraordinary lives as followers we have to let the Spirit lead us as we live on mission for God.  

First Love

I was finishing up my teaching for Sunday this morning. We are beginning a series called "We Are . . . The Church." We are going to look into several things that make the church, the church. We are starting with a passage from Revelation 2:1-7. In Revelation Jesus addresses 7 churches, the first is Ephesus. He begins by talking about how good they are in the church at Ephesus. He is saying to them  "you are good people and a good church." Then he says this:

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Consider how far you have fallen!" Revelation 2:4-5

There are two groups of people in the church, those who have grown up in the church and those who have become a follower later in life. Those who have become a follower later in life seem to have a greater zeal, at least for a while. Then they meet the second group-- those who have grown up in the church (smh).

Those who have become a follower later in life have a greater zeal because "how far they have fallen" is fresh on their mind. They grasp grace a whole lot better because they knew they life they had before Jesus and the life they now have with Jesus. They are zealous to share their faith because they have this great love for Jesus.

Those of us who have grown up in the church sometimes don't appreciate how good we've had it. I know, because I am one of those people. As one of these people I understand how easy it is to become complacent with my love for Jesus. We take Him for granted.

Jesus tells us how we can get back on track with our love for Him when he says, "Consider how far you have fallen!" Remember where you would be without Jesus spiritually. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. His love is shown when we consider what we have been saved from combined with how we have been saved through Jesus.

I mentioned earlier how those who become a follower later in life have a greater zeal and love of Jesus. If you have been a follower all your life here is something you need to do:

1) Learn from those who have become a follower later in life. Watch as they worship, serve and love God. Let them be a reminder of how far you have fallen and what Jesus has saved you from.

2) Don’t kill the zeal and excitement new followers have by imposing unnecessary traditions and practices on them. Instead long for the love they have for Jesus.

Make Every Effort to Live at Peace

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." Hebrews 12:14-15

I have been giving this verse a lot of thought today.

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men." Exhaust yourself chasing after peace with others is what the writer is saying to followers of Jesus. With that said we have to understand peace will not always be achieved. There will be times when there are disagreements, but when there are, work toward a peaceful solution.

The problem with our country and our world right now is that we are too polarized. When there are disagreements it separates us creating an enemy for life. This is not the way of God, this is the way of the world. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions, they just want to blame those who don't agree with them. This is no way to chase after peace.

Culture has divided us into groups: rich and poor, black and white, Christian and Atheists, man and woman, liberal and conservative . . . Through these divisions we have made our enemy some really good people who just happen not to agree with us. This weakens us as a nation and a world because we are so busy fighting among each other we don't stand up to real enemies of the world.

I am in no way saying we should not stand up for what we believe in, because we should. What I am saying is we need to have peaceful disagreements and peaceful resolutions if at all possible so "that no bitter root grows and causes trouble and defile many (vs 15).

I am speaking to Christians right now because how we disagree matters. We should make every effort to live in peace with all men because the writer of Hebrews says it is tied to holiness. And the writer says without holiness people will not see God. We need to set the example for the world when it comes to peace. When we disagree with others we need to see to it that no one misses the grace of God in the process.

I got to hear Ravi Zacharias do a question and answer time several weeks ago. He has always been a guy who stands up for his Christian beliefs. When you hear him speak you can learn a lot on how to answer some of the tougher questions, but it is not his knowledge that is most impressive. It is the spirit in which he disagrees with others. He does it with grace. He honestly chases after peace in the way he stands up for truth. He is truly a modern day example of how we need to make every effort to live at peace with all men.

When I reflect on this verse I think of Jesus. How he was focused on the mission of grace. How he was pursuing holiness in such a way so people could see God. When he was betrayed, beaten, mocked and crucified he chased after a peaceful outcome. Without Jesus standing for truth in a peaceful manner we may never understand the grace of God.

Jesus was not passive. He was bold and courageous as he revealed the grace of God for all.

Now it is our turn.

The Servant

The disciples are sitting around the table getting ready to share the Passover meal. Their host, Jesus, begins to do something that had to make them pause in silence. As was the custom the host would provide a servant to wash the feet of their guests as they reclined at the table.

I often wonder when Jesus began to wash the feet of one of his disciples if they even recognized it was him. I wonder if they just kept talking knowing what was happening was common enough that many guest never looked at the person who was doing this lowly task of washing feet. I wonder if they just took for granted what was happening until they noticed it was Jesus.

Peter speaks up because he is embarrassed that Jesus is taking on this lowly role. But Jesus tells Peter, if you don't let me serve you--you will have no part of me.

Stunned they watched as Jesus finished serving each of them in an act the host never does. He then begins to teach them about living as one of his disciples.

"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who has sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13:13-17

Not only has their host washed their feet, their Lord and Rabbi has taken on the role of this lowly servant. He said he did it to give them an example as to how they should live as one of His followers. Jesus says His followers will serve one another in some of the most humbling ways.

He also says that since He has done this as "Lord" and "Teacher"--we are not exempt as His followers. If He is willing to humble Himself and serve, we need to have the same attitude because we are not greater than He is--He is our master, we are His servant--We are His messengers and He is the one who sends us out to serve the world.

Philippians 2:5-7 says this:

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."

Who are you going to serve today?

Easter Is Over, Now What?

Easter is over. The big crowd, the new clothes, the Krispy Kreme donuts, it's over until next year. Then we do it all over again.

Here is the thing, when Jesus rose from the dead they did not wait until the next "Easter Sunday" to celebrate His resurrection.

At first there was a little confusion, they really didn't know what to do. When he was in the tomb they assumed this journey was over, but when he rose from the grave they were in uncharted territory. Even though he tried to let them know what was going to happen they themselves were in a place of the unknown.

After forty days of being present with His disciples they probably thought it was going to go back to business as usual. But he left again. He ascended into heaven and promised a return.

Before he ascended he said this to them, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

They were given a charge--a responsibility--and it was not just waiting for the next Easter Sunday.

They were given the power of the Holy Spirit and told to be Jesus' witness to the very ends of the earth. Witnesses to what? They were to testify to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It was not a once a year celebration--it was every day!

Notice He didn't say to go and witness. He said to be a witness. We are to live in such away that people see Jesus by the way we live our life. He wants people to see His resurrection power in our changed lives. He wants us to live a questionable life so that people will question how we live--then we get to testify about Jesus.

Do people see Jesus through your life? Are you one of His witnesses?

Live and Believe

In John 11, Jesus goes to Bethany because His good friend Lazarus has died. When He arrives one of Lazarus' sisters approaches and tells Jesus if he had been there her brother would not have died. Jesus says the unbelievable--"Your brother will rise again."

She responds by saying "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

Here is Jesus' response:

     I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and
     whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26)

If you are a follower of Jesus you may be familiar with this verse. Sometimes familiarity can cause a person to miss all of what Jesus is saying.

So many times I hear people say all you have to do is believe in Jesus. People will say that in order to experience the resurrection all that is required is belief. But that is just part of what Jesus says. He says that in order for us to never die (spiritually) we must "live" and "believe."

The believe part is considered fairly easy to accomplish. All a person needs to do is say they believe in Jesus. I can make that statement in this post: "I Scott Baker, believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and even though I die, I can live for eternity."

I confidently can make this statement because of the redeeming quality of God, through His Son, Jesus. I have life because of God's grace.

It is the second part to my belief that is most convincing. Do I "live" in Jesus? Is my belief so strong in Jesus that my life is different from the world. Can people tell I am a disciple of Jesus by the way I live?

It is the "living in Jesus" that defines me as a Christian. It is more than a statement of faith verbally. It is a statement of faith physically--faith by action.

Do you believe in Jesus enough you are going to be defined by Him--is your identity found in Jesus?

Are you a Disciple?

And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. -- Luke 14:27

 

 

Without over analyzing this short statement by Jesus I want to think through what Jesus is trying to say to those who would call themselves His disciples. I want to look at the last part of His statement first--"Cannot be my disciple."

 

If we have a desire to identify ourselves with Jesus, which is really what defines a disciple, then maybe we should think about what it is Jesus says disqualifies us from being a disciple. Jesus makes it very clear that just stating that we are a disciple of his is not enough.

 

There is something more than just stating our allegiance to Him. It involves movement and a cross. Jesus was beaten and then had the burden of carrying the cross to his death. When we get a mental picture of this journey we begin to understand Jesus' commitment to the mission. This mission required a sacrifice. So if we are going find identity in Jesus the first thing is to have a willingness to sacrifice.

 

Sacrifice!? Sacrifice what? Whatever get is in the way of the second part of the qualifier. Jesus said we must carry our cross and "Follow Him." When our identity is found in Jesus we will follow his ways while we live on this earth. We will reflect His image.

 

In order to qualify as a disciple--someone who identifies with Jesus--we must sacrifice what ever gets in the way of following Jesus. And then we follow Him.

 

As we approach Easter and as we talk about the cross, find something you are willing to sacrifice in order to follow Jesus. 

What if you had access to the smartest and most powerful person in the world to help you build your life, your business or your church, would you listen to them?

Of course you would. You may ask some questions and push back, but ultimately you would respect that persons knowledge and strength.  Most, if not all of your decisions would be based on that access.

Then why is it so difficult to let God lead? I mean he is the most powerful--the creator of the universe. He is the wisest--Paul says that "the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength" (1 Corinthians 1:25).

If this is true, and as a follower I believe it is, then why can't I let Him lead?

Think about this verse from Psalms 127:1:

     "Unless God builds the house, its builders labor in vain."

Get out of the way and let God lead. Let Him be the center of your family, your career or your church.

He has the greatest wisdom and the greatest strength. Only a foolish person would go it alone.

Stop . . .

Elihu, the younger friend of Job is angry because Job charges God of being his enemy. So he speaks to Job, correcting him for questioning God.

In the middle of going through hell on earth, this young friend of Job utters these words, "Stop and consider the wonders of God." (Job 37:14)

Elihu is challenging Job to look at how God has blessed him despite the major set backs in life. Before Elihu tells Job to consider the great things God has done, he tells him to "Stop."

What great advice for all of us. Something goes wrong at home, at work or at church. Frustration sets in, we begin to rant about our situation. We blame God for our circumstances or the current situation. We begin to get angry because we have not gotten what we want. What should we do?

     Stop!

     Pause!

Think about how you have been blessed. Too many times we think about what we don't have instead of thinking about the things we do have.

Look around you. How does God show His wonder? Do you ever consider the ways of God? Do you ever consider God's presence in your life?

A lot of times we miss the wonders of God because we don't take the time to "Stop." Their is great purpose in taking a days rest to experience the blessings of God. How often do you rest in the presence of God and consider His blessings?

Not the things you want? But what he has blessed you with--food, water, clothing shelter, relationships and His grace. "Stop" and consider His wonders, thanking Him for the blessings you need.

Shades of Grey

There is a popular movie out right now, I don't plan on seeing because of the content. The name of the Movie is Shades of Grey.

The verse of the week at Northwest is:

     "See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full
       of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted as when the light of a lamp shines
       on you." Luke 11:35-36

The part of this verse that struck me as odd was the first sentence, "See to it that the light within you is not darkness." How can you have light and darkness at the same time?

When I was a kid, I had friends who had a black light as the light in their room. When we were in their room instead of being lighted, it was kind of grey. Was it light enough to see? Yes. But the room was kind of grey.

Here is a question. Do we live our life closer to the grey than to the light? Do we have some dark or grey areas in our life?

I believe this is what Jesus is challenging us to think about. He goes on to say if our whole body is full of light, no part of it will be dark or grey.

We are not called to live our lives in shades of grey. We are called to live our life in the light and to be the light of the world.

The Value of Serving

As we have been going through our core values at Northwest one of them is the concept of serving others.

I am not sure if we can really call ourselves a follower of Jesus if we are not willing to serve others. The reason I say this is because of what Jesus said and how he lived His life.

We live in a culture which has an entitlement mentality. Whether you are in the top one percent or you are living in poverty, whether you are old or young, whether your are highly educated or not and whether you are a Christian or not many in our culture believe others are on earth to serve them in some way.

We want special treatment and want nothing to do with the consequences of bad judgment. Look, don't feel bad, Jesus' disciples thought the same thing. They argued about who was the greatest and who should get the best seats.

Both times Jesus said stop focusing on who should be serving you and focus on how you can serve others.

"If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and the servant of all." Mark 9:35

It works in any relationship. the goal is to focus on the other person and their needs rather than your needs and wants. If spouses could learn this marriages would be enhanced. If employers and employees could learn this businesses would be more successful. If we could just learn this principle in life--the culture around us could be changed for the better.

Who are you serving today?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding

in all your ways acknowledge Him

and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

 

 

 

I get it, I am suppose to trust God with all my heart. There are things I don't want to do or things I get anxious about. In those moments I need to trust God with all my heart. I need to allow him to give me peace knowing he will provide for me and protect me. There are times when people will say all you need is faith. Yep that is all I need. But that faith has to be consistent with where God is leading me.

 

We all do it. We have opportunities arise where we think this is something I really need to do. But every opportunity that arises is not always in line with God's will. When we begin to question it, we always just say we need to trust God and walk through that door.

 

Sometimes the trust is on the side of the door you are standing on. I mean, some times we need to decide not to go through an open door and trust that God is leading us in the right decision.

 

I remember a time in my life I thought I needed to go to Abilene Christian University to work on my masters. I even sent in the application fee and was accepted. I was going to work with some friends at a church in Texas. Everything seemed right. Everything was falling into place. But as I prayed about it I got the sense it was not a door I needed to walk through. I had no peace, until I decided not to go to Texas. (It was hard considering it is one of the best eating states I have been)

 

I had friends tell me I was not being faithful to God and trusting Him. But as I look back it would have been one of the worst decisions I could have made.

 

It was funny, the week we decided not to pursue that direction we found out Rhonda was pregnant and soon after that we bought our first house. It was a house we lived in for seven years and then sold for almost two and a half times what we paid for it.

 

Really it is not funny, because when we acknowledge God and let him lead then He will make our paths straight. He will lead us in the right way.

 

Usually it is when I have leaned on my own understanding that it has gotten messy. Even when it seemed like the right thing to do.

 

So my encouragement to you is to Trust God, let him lead. Every decision should line up with His word and be seasoned with prayer. These are the times we are truly led by the Spirit. 

I have currently been reading through the gospel of Mark. I try to read a chapter every morning and every evening. When I get up in the morning I read a chapter before email or anything else online. It is pretty convenient with YouVersion on my phone. I can read the Bible anytime pretty quickly and easily.

In Mark 6:31 Jesus says to his disciples, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

It is what surrounds this statement that gives the verse more power. The first part of the verse says, because so many people were coming and going that they did not have a chance to eat.

They were busy. Have you ever been so busy you have not taken the time to eat? I have. It is within this busyness Jesus teaches us something. We have to take some time by ourselves and rest. Sometimes I turn the T.V. off at night when everyone has gone to bed and just sit in silence. The practice of a Sabbath is so important for all of us.

After they take some time with Jesus on a boat in a solitary place they land and the crowds were waiting for them. This eventually led to the disciples assisting Jesus in feeding five thousand people. They were right back at their busy lives.

In the midst of their busy lives they paused to be alone with Jesus.

My challenge to you this week is to take the time to spend some time alone with Jesus. It can be five or ten minutes a day reading a chapter of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Or it could be sitting in silence praying to God or listening to him speak into your soul. This is a time of rest for your soul, then you can get back to your busy life.

"Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for Him."

Mark 1:3

 

This is the mission John the Baptist was given. He was to make the path easy and clear for people to get to Jesus.

 

Shouldn't that be our mission as well? We should not put up all these walls for people to maneuver around in order to see Jesus. It is not a maze to get to Jesus. It is a straight path. We make it much harder than it should be both for ourselves and those we connect with everyday.

 

We need to live life in such a way that people can easily see Jesus.

 

Do your actions make it difficult for people to see Jesus? Do you have expectations of people based on your own traditions that make it hard for people to know Jesus? Do you always make sure people know what you are against instead of what you are for? Which can paint a negative picture of Jesus.

 

Do you live a life filled with grace and mercy before judgment?

 

The religious leaders in Jesus' time made it difficult for people to know the Messiah--Jesus. They made it so difficult some never knew him.

 

If we live in such a way as to prepare the path for Jesus, if we make straight paths to him then maybe more people will come to know Him.

 

If we can just get out of the way and let Jesus do his stuff He can change the lives of those around us. We have to trust Him to do the work. We have to put the burden on Him. Our role is to clear the path and make it easy for people to see Jesus.

 





The Tension in Forgiveness

Sunday in our series "Unbroken" we talked about forgiveness.

It is a word we like when we need it. And when we need it, we almost expect it.

We don't like it as much when we have to give it. And when we have to give it, we don't think someone should expect us to give it.

Here is the problem. If we are not willing to give it, then we should not expect it when we need it.

Even from God.

At lease that is what Jesus said: "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15

It doesn't mean we have to hang out with that person or even trust that person anymore. It means we are going to move on and not let bitterness and hatred creep into our being where it consumes us night and day. We are not going to let it get to the point of hatred and revenge.

Forgiveness is freeing both to the forgiver and the forgiven.

It is a spiritual issue for both the forgiver and the forgiven.

If we want peace we need to ask for forgiveness and we need to practice forgiveness.

The verse of the week at Northwest is Ephesians 4:32:

     "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgive each other, just as Christ forgave you."

This is one of the hardest teachings in the Bible. Yet if we are going to live like Jesus, we need to learn to put it into practice.

Perseverance and Getting Better

Congratulations to The Ohio State Buckeyes and their National Championship win last night.

I have to admit, I did not think they could do it. Sorry to all my Buckeye friends. However, I am thrilled that there was finally a playoff (even though it needs to be expanded to eight) where the number four team had a chance to win it all. A true National Champion decided on the field. Finally!

So how did Ohio State get there? I have a one word answer, "Perseverance."

I got to witness OSU's only loss this season when the Hokies from Va Tech came to the Horseshoe and beat the Buckeyes. I did not expect that to happen I only hoped it would happen. I believe that was the beginning for Ohio State and their journey to the championship.

They had to go through that loss in order to get better. They already were facing the lose of their starting QB Braxton Miller. Then they go up against an athletic, physical and fast defense in Va Tech with their second string QB J.T. Barrett. They had four new guys on the offensive line that had not jelled together yet.

After that loss the Buckeyes had to mature and get better. They did. They made it through the rest of the season without losing a game and into the Big Ten Championship. This trip was not without adversity. In the Michigan game J.T. Barrett went down with a season ending injury. Now they would be starting their third string QB Cardale Jones.

That same week the team had to deal with the loss of a teammate. They spent some time in mourning while preparing for the Big Ten Championship. When they hit the field they pounded Wisconsin, beating them so badly they ended up in the top four. This sent them to the first college football playoff.

Nobody outside the OSU faithful gave them a chance against Alabama. They won. Then they had to face the high powered offense of Oregon. They were underdogs again and again they proved everyone wrong outside the OSU faithful. They are the National Champions in the first ever College Football Playoff.

And they got there through perseverance and a desire to get better.

So congratulations to The Ohio State Buckeyes!

The verse of the week is a verse we used this past Sunday when we talked about "Perseverance" in our "Unbroken" series. It comes from Romans 5:3-5:

"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

This perseverance and getting better thing doesn't just apply to football, it applies to life.

Have the courage to persevere and get better--it could change your season around and make you a champion.

Let's Go Hokies!

The focus for 2015 at Northwest is "Make it Better" (You can listen to the teaching at www.churchonnorthwest.com/p/sunday-messages.html ). So in the spirit of  "Making it Better" I am going to make an effort to blog more often. Not long blogs, but things that relate to what is going on at the moment. For example, in an effort to make staff meetings better we are going to have a verse of the week. Something we can focus on through the week as a team.

The first of the year comes from Isaiah 43:18-19:

         "Forget the former things;
          do not dwell on the past.
          See I am doing a new thing!
          I am making a way in the desert
          and streams in the wasteland."

I had a high school coach who used to say, "I don't read yesterdays news."

We can't. We can't dwell on just what has happened in the past. Whether it is positive or negative, we can't dwell on it. We can learn from it and remember it. But we can't let it consume us to the point where we don't keep living for the next day.

We need to look to the future and figure out how we are going to change past failures or how we are going to do better at past successes. Let God lead us and do a new thing in our lives and in the life of the church.

How are you going to be better this time next year?