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