"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?