How Should We Worship Together?

How Should We Worship As The Gathered Church?

When we pray, we pray to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.  When we worship together as a church we worship the Son, in the Spirit, to the glory of the Father.  “the real circumcision , who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3).  The two ideas of worshipping in the Spirit and glorying in Christ should not escape our notice here.  They are inseparable. When the Spirit of God is at work within us, we most assuredly will be amazed with Jesus.  The Spirit’s chief mandate and focus is to bring glory to the Son, “He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). This is all pleasing to the Father.  One day every knee will bow and tongue confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father” (Phil. 2:11).  All worship of the Son, inevitably points to the Father!  All worship to the Son must be understood to be further to the glory and majesty of the Father.  We could safely say that Christian worship must be worship of the Son, by the power of the Spirit, to the ultimate glory of the Father.  Worship is deeply satisfying when we engage in worshipping in Spirit and truth. 

How Can We Pray?

How Can We Pray?

Someone recently with all sincerity told me that prayer for them was confusing.  They said, “do I pray to Jesus, the Father, or the Holy Spirit?” Perhaps this has been a question you have wrestled with in your struggle with prayer.  Thankfully scripture is clear and simple as to how we are to pray.

In a very revealing and remarkable way Paul writes, “For through him [Christ] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). 

It’s short and simple, yet what is written speaks volumes as to how we are to pray. 

First, notice that we have “access to the Father.”  Our prayers should be directed to the Father just as Jesus taught us, “Our Father in heaven” (Matt.6:9). 

Second, our prayers are to be directed to the Father through the Son.  For it is through Christ and Christ alone that we can come “boldly into the throne room of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb.4:16).  He is the one who had made a way for us to have restored relationship with the Father.  I do not come to the Father based on my own righteousness which are as “filthy rags” (Is. 64:6).  This is the rightful understanding of praying in Jesus name.  I can say “in Jesus name” at the end of my prayer and not be praying in Jesus’ name at all.  It’s great to say, “in Jesus’ name” if I am saying it with understanding of the gospel.

Third, on the question of the Spirit’s relation to prayer, “access in one Spirit,” Paul writes that all Christians should be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Eph. 6:18). The Spirit helps us to pray and listen in prayer (Rom. 8:26).

Rightfully understood prayer is to be directed to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.  Hope this helps you as you wrestle with the amazing adventure of prayer!

Success Or Significance?

 

“The thief only comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

People either live in survival, success, or significance.  Most of the world lives at the survival level.  Half the world’s 7 billion people live on less than two dollars a day.  Yet when I visit these places in the world I find these very people often have more significance in their lives. If you live in the United States, you live at the success level even if you feel poor.  But success doesn’t satisfy.  You can have a lot to live on but nothing to live for.  You can be so busy trying to make a living that you fail to make a life.  You were made for far more than success, you were made for significance.  But we’ll never find significance in positions, pleasures, or possessions.  Significance comes from service.  Giving away your life for a purpose larger than yourself.  Jesus “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil.2:7). 

Growth in my life involves giving up other things for significance. 

“It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, or relationships that have lost their meaning.  Whatever the case, everything we gain in life comes as a result of sacrificing something else.  We must give up to grow up.” Maxwell 

Don’t waste your new year.  This is a time of deep reflection in my life. I ask the Lord, “Am I walking in, and doing the exact things that you have called me to presently?”  “Am I surrendered in this season of my life?”

Pastor's Devotion: God Can Relate

Pastor's Devotion: God Can Relate

Blessing or Stressing?

This is the time of year when people work on their dungeon tans (the pale skin of a person who eats a steady diet of Xbox and Facebook and doesn’t get any sunlight or exercise.)  Example: “Yo, Tim hasn’t come out in days,”….  “Ya he’s playing xbox working on his dungeon tan.”  Just remember the habits you form in the month of December will be your story until Spring.  “Cool story bro.”   It is also the time of year when people get super-stressed out, and the season that’s supposed to be special becomes stressful.  The Christmas buzz hits hard (you’re buying a wii on ebay for $500 with your credit card…. must be the Christmas buzz.)

During the Christmas season I slow down my life intentionally.  I do so because the Christmas season is the most stressful season of the year, and I don’t think that is God’s heart.  He didn’t come to bring stress, but peace.  If we are walking in unhealthy stress during the Christmas season perhaps we aren’t celebrating Jesus, perhaps we are celebrating something or someone altogether different.  Here are some practical things I do in the Christmas season to stay on chill. 

1. Pause throughout the day and listen to worship music or “opera to relax station” on Pandora.  When you listen to Christmas music try not to listen to annoying Christmas music.
2. Exercise
3. Walk slower unless you’re exercising. 
4. Give in random acts of kindness.
5. Remind myself the stuff cannot make me happy. (Remember the beautiful letdown that happens every year on the afternoon of December 25^th). 
6. Use less social media like Twitter, Facebook, etc.  and stop exposing yourself to constant advertisements.  Instead spend time reflecting on Jesus as God with us (Emmanuel).
7. Budget really well on needs versus wants, and communicate very clearly with your spouse the plan.
8. Plan your week out on Sunday nights so you are not saying yes to everything.
9. Remember the stores are set up in such a way to entice you to buy a bunch of nonsense.
10. Evaluate your traditions.  Are they honoring to Jesus?  Do they add to the quality of the season or just the quantity? 
11. Breathe deeper.  Studies show that stressed out people breathe much shallower in their lungs.
12.  If you’re married remember to spend quality time together (NAKED TIME).  Date nights!  Don’t neglect them!  A stressed marriage makes everything LAME.       

Holiness Is Joy

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  1 Peter 2:11. 

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:14-16.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 
1 Peter 2:25. 

Holiness=peace and joy. 
Unholy passion=suffering. 

Define holiness:  It is an attribute of God. He is completely and utterly without sin and the result is goodness. He is immutable and never ceases to be holy.  As we abide in him and he in us we partake of his holiness and become set apart as his worshippers and servant/friends from one degree to another as we are in the process of sanctification.  

Martin Luther viewed God's grace (and therefore God's holiness), as an invasion of the life. Actions that demonstrated holiness would spring up, not premeditated, as the believer focused more and more on his or her relationship with Christ. This was the life of faith, according to Luther; a life in which one recognizes that the sin inherent in human nature never departs, yet Grace invades each human spirit and draws each person after Christ.

Gods invasion in my life=personal and practical holiness. 

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. Psalm 119:9

 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.  Psalm 119:11

When God Speaks Your Language

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross.  It read, “Jesus of Nazereth, the King of the Jews.”  Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.  So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘the King of the Jews’, but rather, ‘this man said I am King of the Jews.’”  Pilate answered “what I have written I have written.”  (John 19:19-22)

And he said( thief on the cross next to Jesus), “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Luke 23:43

What I find so striking in these texts is the fact that God uses Pilate who can care less about Jesus, to point people to Jesus, by making a sign that was simply meant to mock the Jews by saying, “as the king goes, so go the people.”  In the Luke 23 account the sign which was written in the three languages is connected to the thief on the Cross saying, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  The Lord used Pilate to make a sign that a thief on a cross could read and it would even speak his language. 

Yesterday, I bought a book which happened to be the book the Lord used in my life at 18 years old to completely turn my life around.  The book gives a simple down to earth explanation of the cross of Christ.  There’s nothing spectacular about the book but the fact that it absolutely speaks my language.  I was on a plane when I read it, and it was Christmas break.  The book starts out with both illustrations of Christmas shopping and flights in describing the gospel.  What are the chances that I would randomly grab a book off a shelf, actually have the money to buy it (college life), and then actually read it?  I am an ADD poster child by nature and the chances of me reading a book, let alone a book about the gospel is mind-boggling.  God spoke my language. 

What language is He speaking to you?  I am not talking about dialect but the day to day drama of your life.  How is God making known to you the truth of the gospel in your language?  How is He bringing the truths of the Bible into your heart?  Are you listening? There were two thieves around Jesus that day as He hung on the cross, yet there was only one who understood the sign.  We have the greatest sign ever—the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  May we pay close attention to what God is speaking to us today.  

Take Courage!

Courage

The book of Joshua picks up the story after Moses had died.  Moses was a prophet, representative, a picture, a type of the Law.  Moses brought the people to the edge of the promised land, but it would be Joshua whose name is the Old Testament name for Jesus, who would actually bring them into the promised land.  In numbers 13:8 we read that Joshua’s name used to be Hoshea meaning “salvation”.  Joshua was indeed saved when the Passover lamb’s blood was applied to the door of his family’s house during the first Passover. Having been the firstborn in his house, he would have died otherwise.  So his name “salvation” was an appropriate one.  Moses then changed his name from Hoshea “salvation” to Joshua “Jehovah is Salvation”, signifying that Jesus alone brings salvation. 

What I like best about Joshua is what I get to read about him in the book of Exodus.  He always goes with Moses to the tent of meeting to assist him as he was meeting with the Lord.  After Moses would depart from the tent, Joshua would stay there sometimes all night (Exodus 33:11).  He also was one of the two spies that came back with a good report while the others caused fear in the people.  It is obvious that Joshua had a hunger in his heart for the Lord.  He had gotten to witness some amazing provisions, and see God’s hand numerous times providing amazing victories.  Despite what Joshua had seen with his eyes and experienced by watching Moses, the Lord tells Joshua after Moses had died, “I will not leave you or forsake you” (1:5), “Be strong and courageous” (1:6), “Above all, be strong and very courageous…” (1:7), “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (1:9).  You see, Joshua would be stretched.  His own journey was going to intensify, and the Lord needed to drive this truth into his head.  Entering the promised land was going to require faith.  In fact, Joshua immediately begins to lead with faith by saying, “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit’” (Josh.1:11).  Oh really Joshua?  We are just going to cross this huge, deep river huh?  Yep.  “That makes no sense, and is impossible,” some would no doubt say.  So on the third day, the priests walked right into the water leading the people, and as their sandals plunged into the cold river, the Lord began to part the water for the entire camp to cross (Josh.3:15-17).  I love to see Joshua call the people to prepare for something before they know how it will all work out.  It takes faith to rise up and walk right up to the edge of the water.  Our greater than Joshua, named Jesus, has given us the same charge, “Have courage! It is I. Be not afraid. “Lord if it’s you,” Peter answered Him, “command me to come to you on the water.”  “Come!” He said” (Matt.14:27-29).  

The Voice of Jacob and The Hands of Esau?

"Now I implore you brothers, watch out for those who cause dissensions and pitfalls contrary to the doctrine you have learned.  Avoid them; for such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting." Romans 16:17-18

We have all heard the story of the man who preached so well and lived so badly, that when he was in the pulpit everybody wished he would not come out of it, and when he was out it they all wished he would never get back into it.  Paul warns the church of false teaching that does not align with right living.  In Leviticus 11 we are given a list of animals that are either clean or unclean.  Their cleanliness is decided by how they eat and the way they walk.  Lev. 11:3 says, "you may eat any animal with divided hooves and that chews the cud."  We then are told not to eat "the camel, though it chews the cud, it does not have hooves--it is unclean for you.....the pig, though it has divided hooves, does not chew the cud--it is unclean for you."  The hebrew word for chewing the cud is essentially the same word translated "meditation".  "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success." (Joshua 1:8)  As we meditate on the Word and walk it out rightly our way becomes obvious.  Some are like the camel who know the truth but don't walk it out.  Others are like the pig who live moral lives but not to the glory of Jesus and His Word.  What good is it if we have the voice of Jacob and the hands of Esau.  Let the Spirit of God search our hearts for anything that would make us to be false teachers.

Church Planting by Winfield Bevins

Church Planting

There is a church planting movement happening right now in the United States and around the world. It is causing a rapid multiplication of new disciples of Christ across denominational lines and cultural divides.

Experts say that church planting is the number one way to reach unchurched people and make new disciples for Jesus Christ. C. Peter Wagner says, "Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven." Likewise, statistics show that it is much harder for traditional churches to reach the unchurched. Therefore, there is a great need to plant churches that reach the unchurched in our nation. Church planters are modern-day missionaries to North America.

One Size Doesn't Fit All

There are many different types of church plants: missional, multi-site, house church, theatre church, and purpose-driven, to name a few. Planting culturally relevant churches in the 21st century is one of the best ways to reproduce disciples through rapid multiplication. We need churches that will reach urban, suburban, and rural communities.

One size does not fit all, and one church cannot win all. It takes a variety of churches to reach all kinds of people. The key is that the church needs to be gospel-centered and culturally relevant to whatever community or culture that they are called to serve through planting. It is important to take into consideration the culture, race, and ethnicity of the culture in which you plan to plant a church.

There are many ways to plant a church, not just one. For instance, some people choose to plant as a team, while others may choose to plant as a solo church planter. When we are talking about church structure, we should be primarily concerned with what the Bible says on the matter.

Getting Involved

Existing churches can and should reproduce themselves by planting new churches. You may be asking yourself, "How can I help plant a church? I have enough to worry about with the church I am already a part of." There are many ways that you can become involved in church planting.

Encourage Planters

First, you can encourage church planters in your area. Planting a church can be a lonely business. Nearly 80 percent of church plants fail within their first year. One of the primary reasons for failure is not a lack of finances, but a lack of relational support. Church planters often experience culture shock and spiritual fatigue. It is hard for a church planter and his family to adjust to a new culture.

Church planters have a real need for fellowship and accountability. You can build relationships with church planters and encourage them to fight the good fight of faith. These men have sacrificed everything to plant a new church. These guys need all the encouragement they can get. Meet with a church planter, pray with him, and take him to lunch or coffee.

Support a New Church

Secondly, you can help financially support a church plant. One of the greatest needs for church planting is finances. An existing church can collaborate with a new church plant by becoming a mother church that sends out a church planting team with funds. You can help pay a church planter's salary for a year. Churches in a region or community can partner together to plant new churches in their area.

You can also join or support new churches in a church planting network such as Acts 29. The Acts 29 Church Planting Network is one of the leaders of this movement. It is a trans-denominational peer-based network of missional church planting churches that have a high view of Scripture and a commitment to engage contemporary culture with the gospel. In just a few years, they have planted nearly 300 churches in the United States and have bold plans to plant over 1,000 new churches in the next 20 years.

Replanting

A final way for churches to get involved with church planting is through replanting or church revitalization. Replanting happens when a church that is in decline or dying decides to face the music and dares to start over again for the sake of advancing the gospel. This will require churches to be willing to create a new identity, empower new leaders, and reach new people for Jesus. It will probably mean that a church sells their building and puts that money back into church planting.

The reality is that very few churches have the honesty and humility to admit that it's over, and even less have the courage to do what it takes to replant. Pray and ask God if he may be leading you and your church to replant.

Church planting is one of the greatest ways to make disciples. We should all share in the responsibility of impacting our nation for Christ through planting new churches that are gospel-centered and culturally relevant. If we want to be serious about making disciples for the 21st century, we need to get involved in church planting.

Life Can And Will Be Hard

By John Bryson
Fellowship Memphis

In Stephen Pressfield’s classic “War of Art”, he mentions that the high performers, the creatives, those who produce, those who are effective, etc. eventually have to learn to “be miserable”.

“The artist must be like that marine. He has to know how to be miserable. He has to love being miserable. He has to take pride in being more miserable than any soldier…because this is war, baby. And war is hell.” (68)

I believe this is a powerful idea and one every man, every leader and every change agent must learn in order to perform and push through tough seasons of life and leadership.

Navy Seals teach this...one of my friends at dinner mentioned how two-a-days football practices taught him this...another friend added how Medical school Residency taught him this...I threw in how that was my greatest lesson in training for and running a marathon…you can be miserable, and still move forward, produce and thrive.  God teaches this…see Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, Paul…take your pick.

What a powerful lesson we should all live!  Could there be a greater gift, on a practical level, to invest in our kids?  How can we train emerging leaders or church planters with this reality?

In our age of spoiled kids, privileged kids, over-indulgence, helicopter parenting, and the lies we tell kids and young men and women that they “can be and do anything they want to be and do”…many are launching “soft” young adults into the world who have no idea how to struggle well or thrive through misery…so they pout and quit and remain a taker, not a giver.

Couple that with ridiculous expectations that a perfect job is waiting on them along with a perfect boss in exactly the city they want to live in along with a paycheck that is more than they’ll need and you have a recipe for a disaster…check most 20-somethings.

The few truly understand, theologically, that we live in a fallen world, this is not heaven (thank God), life is hard, there is much pain, disappointment and misery…but in the midst of that, by God’s grace, we can learn to cultivate and create in the midst of circumstances that will rarely, if ever, be ideal.

A friend once told me to pinch Gen 1 and 2 in one hand and Rev 19 and 20 in the other.  Those 4 chapters are perfection.  The other 1,185 chapters in the Bible teach us to contend in the midst of a fallen world.

Don’t be a whiner, quitter, or baby and quit pouting or being surprised about “how hard” it is to do what you are doing.  Of course it is.  You are limited as a fallen human in a fallen world.  Learn to cultivate and create…all the while, being miserable.  If you can thrive and stay on mission, especially through the worst of circumstances, you are preparing to be a game changer, a true leader, who can adapt, adjust, and endure.

Jesus is still our perfect rescuer and our relentless pursuit of Him is still our greatest joy.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

Here are some things I have been learning from Scott Thomas.


Moralistic:  
This is the belief that God can be reduced to improvements in behavior.  This skips the cross for justification and sanctification.  A moralistic person continually hates on those who don't make the grade and finds justification in comparing themselves with those who may be struggling.  But our standing is in Jesus, and we cannot obtain morality without him giving us his righteousness.  Moralism will not ease our pain or find us favor in God.  As Timothy Keller has said, "we are flawed and sinful more than we ever  dared to believe, yet we are loved and excepted more than we ever dared hope."  I saw this at a community church gathering in which a pastor said the answer to all our problems is in voting for all the right people.  He went on to point out how messed up "they" all are.  Moralistic people often get entrapped in political blame-ism rather than practicing personal repentance.

Therapeutic:
This false God is one that says, "your life is all about your comfort and psychological ease."  It's about feeling good, happy, secure, and at peace.  It's about being nice to people and maintaing subjective well being.  These people may have a notecard in their desk that says, "lighten up and smile" in which they pull out from time to time.  Many people never follow their calling in Jesus because of this false God.  We think, "God wouldn't call me to something that is hard would he?"  Life becomes about yoga, listening to enigma, and retreating from conflict.

Deism:
Just do it!  This false view makes God look like a cosmic butler whom you summon when your life takes a bad turn.  Deists picture God as "way far away" but now that I need him, i will summon him.  Highly organized people tend to this.  "It's all up to us and our perfect planning."  These people love corny leadership maxims and pragmatic quick fix ideals.

I believe for the most part that in the Valley most churches are preaching a moralistic, therapeutic, deism.

He Who Has Ears To Hear

I watched The Book of Eli again last night with my wife.  The movie is about a man on a mission to deliver the Scriptures where God is guiding him amidst the chaos of broken humanity.  He has the last Bible in his possession.  There are many foes that cross his path in which he oftentimes must fight for his life and the life of his book.  There is one particular scene that is very stirring to me.  It's when this girl named Solara walks away from her dark town though it is all she has ever known.  She sees something in Eli and follows him.  At one point she experiences the weight lifted off her shoulders as she is walking away from her town.  She places her arm over her face and begins to weep. It's like the reality of the danger of the situation she was in becomes clear to her.  The sudden weight of knowing the danger she was in and the overwhelming knowledge of her present rescue.  It is a touching scene to me, I can relate to Solara because I have experienced a somewhat similar thing.  I was living in Eugene with a bunch of baseball players, and our house was a party house full of darkness.  We were living for baseball, girls, and money.  It was a dog eat dog world.  Throughout my time in Eugene God began to speak to my heart.  I knew there must be a better way, and so I walked away in mid-term.  I didn't know where I was going. I had no money. I just loaded up a car, leaving many of my things behind, never to return to get them.  I didn't know where I was going, so I headed North on I5, and as I was between Eugene and Salem I felt the tangible presence of God with me in my car and I knew without a doubt I would be ok, and that in fact I was going somewhere.  I made a call to the baseball coach at George Fox University where I used to attend and play baseball.  They decided to have me live with them for a period of time.  It was in that time that God brought healing to my life and began to teach me his character in the scriptures.  When I watch The Book of Eli I am reminded again as the scriptures say, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and curing all who were under the tyranny of the devil, because God was with him." (Acts 10:38).  Also, "The true light who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world."(John 1:9).  Despite what our post-modern culture is throwing down, it still remains that we are in tremendous need of the "Light of the World".  We are not progressing.  Without a doubt, we all need to have the same experience Solara had.  There are times in our life that we need to walk away from all we have known and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. It is going to require faith, but you will never regret it.

Perhaps it's time to take His hand and let Him lead you into something radically beautiful today?......

Belonging Before Believing? Believing Before Belonging?

Which is it?  The emerging say belonging is everything, the traditionalists say believing is the only way to be a part of this community.  I believe there is a third way to a deep community, and I see it in the life of the Son of God.  Did people belong before they believed Jesus was the Son of God?  Yes.  Tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, sick people, drunks, and self-righteous people all were invited and were attracted to Jesus.  Many followed him daily.  One man in particular stands out to me.  He was the rich young ruler.  The rich young ruler believed with all his heart he was in the inner circle of community with Jesus.  He had been following Jesus.  But Jesus showed the man, that though he was in the community, he had not yet committed himself to believing in Jesus.  He still trusted in his money.  The man's reaction includes him leaving the community altogether, and he is no longer part of the community.  Further, the gospel accounts of Jesus' ministry is split into three time periods.  The first part chronicles Jesus ministry to his disciples, the second narrates Jesus travels to the south towards Jerusalem, and the third charts his entrance into Jerusalem.  In the first part of his ministry he trains his disciples to know exactly who he is and what he's about. It's in the second section you see Jesus surrounded by the tax collectors, prostitutes, sick, etc. But in the third section, Jesus begins to ask the community, "but who do you say that I am?"     I pray that our community at West Valley will be deep community where people will belong before they believe, but where we are not ashamed of the only source of life and joy and will travail and labor until we see Christ birthed in the lives of others.  There is a third way between stuffy, rejecting, traditionalism and shallow, watered down, post-modernism.

I Love You Oh Lord, My Strength

Psalm 18 is recorded twice in the Bible.  Once in 2 Samuel 22 and once at Psalm 18.  The beginning line of "I love you oh Lord, my strength" is not in the 2 Samuel 22 passage.  It was added years later after David had seen many more years of God's faithfulness.  David added this line to his song many years later.  His worship was sweetening, and growing more and more in depth as the years went on.  I desire to have this heart of worship, bearing this type of fruit in my life.  Psalm 18 is simply a grateful retrospect as David recalls the Lord showing him mercy in delivering him from his enemies.  Further down in the Psalm he says, "I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies"(vs.3).  In this verse David believes with certainty that he can sing out in joy and win the battle with a song in his heart.  How awesome it is when we anticipate new trials with a confidence based upon past experiences of God's perfect provision during those times.  To be rescued singing is to be rescued for sure!  Many are rescued mourning and doubting.

"No fearing or doubting with Christ on our side,
 We hope to die shouting, 'The Lord will provide.' "
author unknown

The Lie of Self-Betterment

"When an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.  Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there.  And the last state of that person is worse than the first." Luke 11:24-26

If I had had to summarize the Christian faith in one simple phrase I would choose "reliance in Jesus".  Our culture screams "no, I will rely on myself!"  Just as Psalm 14:1 states, "The fool has said in his heart, no God!" So we aim at self-betterment with seven point sermons on how to be better.  The problem is if you are honest, you suck at being better.  You try for awhile and fix some weird area in your life, only to have seven more problems come shake your life to the core.  Unless Jesus is my source of strength and power in my life there is no bettering.  If I become "so called" better on my own, it really isn't better because I am simply doing it to show you how I  am so much more better than you.  The better that Jesus wants for us is love.  Not love like the world thinks, but love like He thinks.

How do you know if you are living independently of Jesus?

1.  Repentance is not your life.  Instead, you seek to have a "good week" and when you think you do it's time for Jesus to hook you up in the blessing compartment.  (All of life is faith and repentance). We don't typically think of repenting from our self-atoning self sufficiency. So when we fail, we distance our selves further to prove to the Lord we are good to go on our own strength.  We do this by beating ourselves up, disciplining ourselves, and putting up fences everywhere.  This looks spiritual to our friends but it is really unashamed pride.

2.  Spiritual disciplines seem like drinking cough syrup.   If I pray, read my Bible, and am in community because I know I should do these things verses seeing them as how I breathe I have ceased to understand my need for Jesus and his grace.

3.  You only believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Bible.  Without the Holy Spirit we cannot live the Christian life.  Jesus made the disciples wait in the upper room to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus lived out his entire earthly life in the power of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 61). Jesus broke away and prayed in order to be strengthened on a regular basis.  He considered it more important than physical food.  Many Christians are simply Christian Atheists when they ignore their need to wait upon the Lord for his direction, strength, and empowerment.

4.  Worship Is Not Exciting.  When you find your righteousness, strength, purpose, value, and direction in Jesus you simply desire to worship him because he is real.  You are encountering him and therefore you are not ashamed to express his name publicly.  You know with certainty that what he said is true, "whoever confesses me before men, him shall the son of man confess before his Father and the holy angels in heaven."

Find The Bright Spots

"Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up"  Romans 15:2

I recently read the story about Jerry Sternin who worked for the internationally organization called Save The Children.  The Vietnam government had invited Save The Children into their country to help deal with the striking problem of child malnutrition.  Sternin, traveling with his wife and ten year old son arrived in Vietnam not knowing a lick of Vietnamese.  They were met with the cold reality of universal poverty, poor sanitation, and very little clean drinking water.  The foreign minister told Sternin that he expected nothing from his program and if nothing changed within six months they were to leave.  All the experts kept cramming T.B.U. information (true but useless) his way.  Yes, there is universal poverty, poor sanitation, lack of drinking water, but Sternin went a different route.  He started looking for bright spots, and he found them.  He found children from some of the poorest families, were more healthy than children from some of the more well to do families.  Sternin started watching these mothers and recognized the bright spots.  Some of the mothers were picking up crabs and shrimps in the rice paddies while they worked in order to put them in the rice for dinner.  He also noticed they would feed the same amount of food the other mothers were using, but spread out the meals in four serving times rather than two.  The children who were eating large quantities of rice twice a day were unable to process that much in their digestive systems.  Sternin began to teach the other mothers by showing them how to make the meals this way.  After six months 65% of the children were better nourished and stayed that way.  Sternin's program reached 2.2 million people in 265 villages.

Looking back to our verse above, we are to build up our neighbors.  Edification is the same word for "building up".  We are not called to tear people down but to find the bright spots and invite them into even more light.  Over 17 different studies were done on how college students journal.  The results were staggering.  All of the studies concluded that the college students were obsessed with the negative things of their days and recorded them in their journals.  In an exhaustive study a psychologist analyzed 558 emotion words--every one that he could find in the English language--and found that 62% of them were negative verses 38% positive.  Others studies showed people who were shown photos of bad and good events spent much longer looking at the bad events.  Many novelists make their fame by writing about jacked up marriages, but there are no successful novels about a happy marriages.  In Phillipians 4:8 we are told to think on "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  Find the bright spots in the lives around you.  Find the bright spots in your spouses, children, co-workers, and friends.

Personal-Marriage-Mission

Sometimes in our lives we find ourselves unsure about what we need to focus on.  Thankfully, we have a good Shepherd who's voice we know and can follow.  Often, because of all the noise of life, we stop listening.  Noise is usually made up morally neutral things that aren't bad or good, they just drown out the Shepherd's voice.  I have learned there are three primary areas of my life I need to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd everyday.

Personal
Marriage/Family
Mission

Personally I need to be hearing God's Word for my own life.  Not for the life of my wife, kids, or message I am preparing.  I need the gentle specific and precise words of the Savior carrying me on.  My self-sufficiency will always take over and ruin me until I seek to find my strength in the Lord.

In my marriage and family I am called to lead by feeding, protecting, knowing my family.  Feeding looks like giving solid practical counsel.  Toby asked me how to ride a bike, so heck yes I am going to do my best to show him how.  I must protect them by looking out ahead and thinking about their needs.  Is Chase going to need to sit this one out because when he gets too tired he starts to breakdown etc.  You must know them to shepherd them.  Do you know what your husband or wife is currently struggling with?  Do you know how each of your kids are uniquely wired and how to gospel them individually.

Mission-  We are all gifted by God for the work of the ministry of building up the body of Christ.  Many people sadly have their personal time with the Lord and love their family yet they never see their family as the Lord's.  Instead family becomes the core of ambition and success rather than the tool of a calling.  The other extreme is to focus on mission at the expending your family to a toxic level.  1 Timothy 3 gives us the qualifications of leaders in the church.  They are to manage their own households well, because if they can't manage their own house how can they manage the church properly (this includes hospitality to outsiders 1 Tim.3:2).  Perhaps you are a family going through a busy stretching season of new babies and tiredness.  Your mission becomes your marriage.  Many guys really want to be on mission for the Lord but need to see the mission starts with their wives and children.  This is both scriptural and practical.  1 Timothy 3.

I digress to make a linear flow of priorities but here's what it would look like.

Personal Abiding in Jesus  
Marriage
Family        
Mission

When The Squirrels Don't Show

"That we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Romans 15:4b

Today I took my three year old son on a "daddy date".  I'm not sure if that is a manly thing to call it or not but my boys know what it is and get super excited anytime it is their turn.  It is so rewarding to spend quality time with your children individually as compared to doing everything with a herd mentality.  Chase and I went to the Ike Box and split a white chocolate soy mocha.  He told everyone about his lightning McQueen car he was holding in his hand.  We proceeded from there to make our way to the state capital with the intention of chasing squirrels.  The squirrels were no where to be found and so Chase got really upset at them.  I told him they were in their beds for nap time.  Chase nodded like they were good squirrels and gave it his approval but he was on the verge of throwing a Chase fit.  We then decided to jump into the fountains and it was a refreshing delight to see his joy amidst the busy bus station and people in sleeveless shirts picketing on the capitol steps.

Parenthood is such a gift from God.  Parenting requires patience and the ability to comfort your children.  They get upset about many things like when the squirrels don't show.  We like Chase have our own fake super men that we trust will make us happy.  The Bible calls this idolatry.  It can be your job, relationships, success, your political allegiances, your kids, comfort, sex, your degrees, etc.


When I trace through the story line of the Bible it becomes clear that from day one of creation God has been showing us patience and offering us comfort.  The Lord comforted Adam and Eve by clothing their shame in the garden. Before Cain was thinking of murdering Abel the Lord warned him, and after Cain killed Abel the Lord still pursued Cain and protected him.  The Lord rescued Noah and his family from zombie like sinners bent on murderous destruction.  When Noah's descendants decided to build their rockstar to heaven building (symbolizing their self-sufficiency) called the "tower of Babel" God frustrated their plans in his grace.  Joseph's brothers tried to kill him exhibiting their appetite for the forbidden fruit as well, yet the Lord rescued Joseph and used Joseph for good even to bless his hateful brothers by providing for them. Finally, God sent us His Son to exhibit the ultimate patience and comfort. The God of the Bible has pursued us individually from the very beginning.  When's the last time you spent some time with your Creator?  Sometimes our misconceptions of who He is keeps us from coming to Him.  He is full of patience and comfort and His heart towards you is that you'd have joy and hope.  If you have a Bible, take some time to read the gospel of John and see what God in the flesh truly looks like.

God's Patience=Our Hope

Romans 15:4

4. For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and the comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

 “For whatever things were written before”   The Bible is a book of prophecies forth telling the coming of the messiah who would suffer on behalf of  sin-fallen mankind. I recently asked some guys why they thought the Bible was the inspired Word of God.  After all, other books claim the same.  The answer is in the countless prophecies that have been given and fulfilled.  Just read through Isaiah 53 and 54 and Psalm 22. 

“were written for our learning”   God wants us to learn the story.  As we see the big picture of salvation our view of God’s character begins to clarify.  Our faith is not built on fuzzy feelings and staring at our belly buttons.  When we see Christ in the scriptures our faith ignites and we see that He has saved us to His mission in the world.  Many have not learned this reality yet.  They still think the answer to their joy, even as Christians, is to live for themselves. 

“that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope”  It doesn’t take long as you read through the scriptures to see the perfect patience of God displayed through His Son Jesus.  The Christian message is a message of patience and hope.  It's not a message of self atonement and guilt trips.  Some people will listen to a sermon that is not centered on Jesus at all and will come away saying "wow, that was great" because they haven't learned the scriptures and that platitudes of self-righteousness and self-sufficiency are traps.  Patience and hope are displaying reflections of Jesus.  Our whole lives Jesus has been offering us the most beautiful song for us to play with our lives, but there is just so much white noise out there.  When I look into the scriptures a calming sense of hope and peace invade my noise.  I picture my life as a pond that is easily disturbed, and it isn’t until it becomes calm that I can see my reflection again.  It’s like that with the scriptures. When I look in and see Jesus once again, I then can see He has patience and I therefore can have hope.  This affects the way I relate to others in the world.  As I see the patience of Jesus in dealing and bearing with my own sin, my heart is enlarged towards the people in my life.  

Sanctification

I know this is a big word, "Sanctification" but not really.  It simply means becoming more like Jesus.  I know this may not sound like rocket science, but it really is.  It's incredible that God wont just leave us the lame, cesna (as in the boring, lame airplane) way we are.  James 1:2 says, "brothers and sisters, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this that the trying of your faith works patience."  We face many things whether it be our own struggle with our signature sins, loneliness, pride, depression, anger, sadness, grief, traffic, walmart, America, suburbia, school, family, toddlers who act like toddlers, the U.N., and tiredness, .........you get the point.  Know that you haven't arrived, you are not a varsity Christian, you still desperately need Jesus as much as when you first realized you were an enemy to the King of all creation.

Ephesians 6:10-12

6:10  "Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."

Strength is found as we realize our inability to produce strength from ourselves.  This power we are to seek is from the Lord, and is extrinsic of ourselves.  The Lord is the only one who has a inherent, intrinsic, all consuming, and never lacking power.  The eternal Jesus became a man just like us and modeled a life of dependency on the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus accomplished our salvation by "being strong in the Lord and, in the power of his might."

6:11  "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

"Wiles of the devil"  this does not mean that Satan himself in person is coming against you, because Satan is not omni-present as God is and cannot be everywhere at once.  Satan can only be in one place at a time because he is a fallen angel and not God.  But it does mean you will deal with a third of the angels who fell with Satan and the demonic forces behind Satan and how they are organized against you and mankind.  They have been around for a long time and they know what you typically get tripped up by.  They can only observe you and make suggestions.  "Put on the whole armor of God"  The armor of God is simply made up of six pieces--  Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, and the Word of God.

6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

"We wrestle not against flesh and blood"  Oftentimes we see the "people problems" that we experience as if the people themselves were our root enemies.  Even though the apostle Paul was beheaded by the infamous Caesar Nero he could say "If I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing" (1 Cor.13:3).  We oftentimes get caught up in the lateral perspective of life in our daily situations when we are called by Jesus to be looking vertically in our situations and circumstances.  In 2 Kings 6:13-17, Elisha assures his servant as the enemy troops surround their house to "Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16).  Then Elisha prays for him saying, "Lord....open his eyes, that he may see.  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).  What a powerful lesson that young man learned that day.

Defining Success

Miranda and I stayed up late talking about what success looks like for our future.  It was a tricky question.  How do you measure success?

 Fulfilling the work God has given you:
Consider Jesus' prayer to the Father in John 17, "I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work you gave me to do."  Consider how work was a gift given to us before the terrible Fall in the garden (God gave Adam and Eve the role of keeping the garden, and naming the animals, etc) part of "success" is finishing the work God has designed us to fulfill. This is why in 2 Thes. 3 God warns idle believers to get going, in view of the Day of the Lord (his coming return). In the book of Titus, the Holy Spirit instructs the young pastor by saying, "The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.  These things are excellent and profitable for people.  But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless." Paul's heart as a pastor was not to create a fear of losing the love of Jesus in his people, but for the love of Jesus to be fully formed in them.

A Promise For Success:
Psalm 1, Joshua 1:7  Meditation and prayer is one way we align ourselves with the work God has given us to do.  The work is not to earn anything, Jesus has finished the ultimate work on the cross.  God in his grace now allows us to join with him partaking of his mission in the world.  Cutting through the noise of life is necessary in tuning our spiritual ears to what God is doing in our lives.

 A Few Overarching Roadblocks to Success:
Jesus worked extremely hard to create a culture that would mirror and begin the kingdom of God on earth. The kingdom of God is like a garden in our lives that needs constant tilling, seeding, watering, and fertilizing.

Roadblock #1 Easy street
Believing the Christian life is easy, and that when Jesus said "Abide in me" he really meant "do nothing".  Growth in any area of life requires our effort.  We find both active and passive commands throughout scripture describing our spiritual growth.  "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (active),  for it is God that works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (passive).  It would be silly for my wife to say, "I am all yours" and I say in return, " Great! I'll just do nothing".

Roadblock #2 Unrepentant Lives
Romans 12:9 says to, "Abhor what is evil, and cleave to what is good."  "Abhor" is the strongest word for hate in the Bible, and "cleave" means "be glued to".  In Joshua 7, Joshua is bummed out because the children of Israel were defeated at Ai by a sandlot group of warriors.  For days Joshua is depressed and keeps coming to God questioning his character.  Finally God tells Joshua, "Get up!" there's sin in the camp and you need to deal with it."

Ruthless Trust

The Christian people I have met here in Haiti operate by a ruthless trust in God.  There is no room for ambition in worldly aims, because there is no such thing. There are no ladders to climb in life, ministry, or hobby.  There is one daily aim--make it through the day and help others do the same. My friend Joanna Howard lives here in Port Au Prince.  This is her life everyday.  Yesterday, at 7 am, a woman went into seizures as she delivered her baby in the back of a truck.  After a trip to Burkina Faso, Africa, and now Port Au Prince, Haiti I feel that I can almost begin to express what God has been so graciously trying to show me.  After my Africa trip, I came back with a sense of the brevity of the brief flicker that my life is.  That trip put a large dent in my heart that led me, I believe, to plant a church.  I knew more Bible than 90% of the world and it dawned on me that Jesus could use me at 25 years old--I went out in ruthless trust and planted a church that has grown in the gospel.  After drinking Port Au Prince in, I am letting go of my idol of ambition in life and ministry.  Everyone wants clarity, and it is the very idol that keeps us from a ruthless trust.  I walked through a tent hospital last night, and watched Haitians who were broken in horrific ways, it's not possible to describe.  They were worshipping and praying together in a ruthless trust.  Some of them will go to be with Jesus, others still got work to do here.  A human heart that pours out a ruthless trust is more precious in the eyes of Jesus than 10,000 cathedrals, pedigrees and degrees. Leaving Haiti is going to be very hard for me.  Unwavering trust is a rare and beautiful thing.  I know the Father absolutely delights when we trust Him.   I can state unequivocally, that a childlike faith and trust in God is the foundation of authentic discipleship.  Many, sadly believe, that a cautious life is some how heroic and an evidence they are walking in God's blessing based on their "togetherness, and carefulness".  I have seen enough of the world to spot the lie inside this framework of thinking. Truly, we must be good stewards of our faith, it is the only currency accepted in heaven.   

with all sincerity and grace

Russ

Streets of Port au Prince

Today was a somber experience for Russ and I. We will let the video show you a glimpse of what we saw. For me, I was struck by the Haitian's determination to continue on. This place is a different world of rubble, dust, grime, open sewers, death, decay, and tent cities. Juxtaposed against this nightmarish city, is its people. As I interact with people at Heartline ministries that come from places like the ones you see in the video, they look as though they have just come from a normal house, dressed well, with good hygiene. In other words, because there is nothing for them to do, they spend hours making themselves presentable before they leave their tent, or shack. There is nothing on the outside that you could see that would communicate that when they go "home" after a long day of ministering to people, or being ministered to, that they will go back to a broken cinder block house, or a miserable tent surrounded by thousands of other miserable tents. It was a truly strange and heavy experience. In the midst of all this, is Heartline Ministries. A place that is a refuge in the midst of trouble. Tonight, Russ and I witnessed something amazing at the Heartline Hospital. A young mother who desperately needed an operation finally was able to be seen at the Miami Field Hospital. The only problem was, she also had a newborn who needed to be cared for and nursed. One amazing woman who also had a small infant, who was once a very shy, closed off women, now transformed by the love and care she has received there, became that little boys surrogate mother, and even sacrificed some of her own breast milk to be a wet nurse for this woman while his mommy was being operated on. It was amazing to see this all take place in one day. The love of Christ is powerful, transcending barriers of every kind. It was a great ending to a heavy day.

Blessings,

Roc and Russ

Rooftop tree dodging in Haiti.

This video is from Russ and I's first day in Haiti. In fact, this video was taken within our first hour of being out of the airport. We had a pretty emotionally draining day today, and thought it would be good to post something that was funny. So we had a good time throwing this together. You can get a small glimpse of how our three hour top-of-the-truck-through-Port au Prince was like.

Blessings,
Roc and Russ

Haiti Update

I took this video of my brother at the women's center which is a place they rescue new mothers from complete poverty, teach them how to take care of their new babies, all the while helping them learn a trade.  We interviewed one woman who was dropped off at the center with her baby, placenta, and umbilical cord all wrapped up in a blanket.  The people at Heartline ministries save lives daily.

Haitian Initiation

I thought I had seen a lot of things: Multiple tours in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, but non of those compares with what I have seen and experienced during my first day in Port au Prince. Walking out of the airport "terminal," which is nothing more then a sweltering broken down warehouse with large doors that open to the tarmac, and one to the street beyond. Russ and I were met with hundreds of Haitian men clawing at our bags hoping that we would pay them to carry our bags for us. Thankfully, Joanna and Alex met us immediately, and we quickly jumped into a truck with our gear and threaded our way into traffic. When I say traffic, you must understand that there are no road rules. Trucks and cars are each driving on different lanes in different directions. Horns are blaring, suicidal moped riders fly through small openings in the vehicular spaghetti; it was the most insane thing I have seen in some time. We then arrived at the guest house, unloaded our gear, and immediately headed out with John to pick up a large load of free food from another ministry. Russ and I had the unique opportunity to ride on top of large truck with a rack like cage that ran the length of the roof. I will never forget that ride through Port au Prince. We literally had to keep very alert due to the fact that there were power lines, tree limbs, and many other hazards that overhung the road. We often had to lay down on our backs as makeshift power lines, and debris cruised directly over our heads. When we arrived at the Three Angels Orphanage to pick up the food, I was met with lots of curious, and shy looks from little boys and girls. It was such a gift to see those children's faces light up when Russ and I talked to them, and gave them attention. Those are just a few of the fragments that are running through my mind, which isn't running all that well right now, as I have been up for well over 24 hours without any rest. Thanks for your prayers, and thank you to all who donated items for Heartline. They were very excited to see how much we brought for them.

Blessings,

Rocky

Reflections on Haiti

Confessions Of A Pastor

Confessions Of A Pastor

I have been doing a bunch of reading on “Post Adrenal Crash”.   Pastors are adrenaline addicts.  We work 80 hrs a week, deal with conflict, broken lives, study, dreaming, misconceptions, and our own sin.  Last year I learned a lot about myself.  I went to school full-time, played collegiate baseball, and planted a church while having our third son (we now have 4 boys).  After I finished the school year I went into a deep depression as my adrenal glands said, “ I hate you, and I will produce no more adrenaline.”  It has taken me close to 6 months to recover as I realized something was wrong.  I began to read some of Archibold Hart’s stuff and realized I had become an adrenaline addict.  I goes like this: work all week, preach on Sunday, get home and feel horrible, go mountain biking and go off extreme jumps, or surfing big waves, or self-medicating to get that feeling to go away. 

I have since learned to welcome the crash.  It’s not God moving away from me, it’s my body that God designed saying you need to sleep.  So I took the advice.  One day I got home after preaching on Sunday, and I went to sleep, and stayed asleep until Tuesday morning.  I have never felt better.  Sabbath is meant for man, not man for the Sabbath.  God has blessed us with bodies that speak to us.  We need to listen.  Pastors need to realize they are fragile people like everyone else. Pastors experience burnout more than any other “profession”.  Pastor’s who are to be working in the power of the Lord often violate rest because they don’t believe it’s God’s work.  Temporary atheism.  

Person of Jesus

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoking wick he will not put out.” Isaiah 42:3

This is the Holy Spirit describing the Messiah.  Do you KNOW how comforting this description is?  Have you ever been bruised?  When I go to Winco I will never buy a bruised piece of anything, and if flowers to fruit in my house begin to wither and bruise I simply throw them into the garbage can.  But Jesus will not break those who are bruised.  No one likes a smoking candle after it has been blown out.  Lick your fingers and put it out of it’s misery.  Not so with Jesus.  He blows on our souls with just the right intensity to burst us into flame once again, and he binds up the broken hearted until they are ready to love with intensity once again.  This is good news, that if God who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how much more shall he freely give us all things.  

Speaking The Word To One Another

Speaking The Word To One Another

In Ephesians 4 Paul famously lists the gifts that the ascended Christ has given the church—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers.  We are also told that these giftings will “prepare us for works of service” (Eph. 4:12). 

The picture here is of all the different parts of the body fulfilling their proper function, each part working with the others for the growth of the body.  But what is common across this multifarious function of different body parts is “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).  We may each do this in different ways, in different contexts and with different levels of effectiveness, but the basic methodology of body growth is that all the members “speak the truth in love,” one to another.  We are to be disciples confessing.  In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus said, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”  To be a disciple is to openly confess his Word to others.  We have all been given a “word ministry”.  That is what builds up a local body of believers. “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you and evil unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

This can only mean that God wants all Christians to be speaking to each other regularly, urging and encouraging one another being saturated with the Word of God.  The more Word centered we become, the more we are built up to the glory of God. 

Joy Doubled In The Joy Of Another

“For you are our glory and joy”

 John Piper writes about joy doubled in the joy of another,

“But there is another way of describing the psychological process that leads from delight in God to labors of love.  When a person delights in the display of the glorious grace of God, that person will want to see as many displays of it as possible in other people.  If it can be God’s means of another person’s miraculous conversion, I will count it all joy, because what would I rather see than another display of the beauty of God’s grace in the joy of another person?  My joy is doubled in his.”

“When the Christian sees a person without hope or joy, that person’s need becomes like a low-pressure zone approaching a high-pressure zone of joy in God’s grace.  In this spiritual atmosphere , a draft is created from the Christian with the high pressure of joy to the low-pressure zone of need, as joy tends to expand to fill the need.  The draft is called love.”

“Love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others.  The overflow is experienced consciously as the pursuit of our joy in the joy of another.  We double our delight in God as we expand it in the lives of others.  If our ultimate joy were anything less than joy in God, we would be idolaters and no eternal help to anyone.  Therefore, the pursuit of pleasure is an essential motive for every good deed.  And if you aim to abandon the pursuit of full and lasting pleasure, you cannot love people or please God.”