Christian Hand Sanitizer

“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation” (Amos 6:1).

Powerless Christians do not walk by faith; they structure and organize their lives so they never have to.  They don’t need to listen to God’s plan for their life because they already have it mapped out.  God would never call us to something beyond our own supply of power and resources would he?  I think Jesus should have made a special hand sanitizer that would protect me from all things that require faith.  Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than the average, but besides that, they really aren't different from the average nice guy/gal unbeliever.  They assume holiness = sanitized life, but they couldn't be more wrong.  

“They don’t depend on God on a regular basis—their refrigerators are full and for the most part, they are in good health.  The truth is their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.” Francis Chan

Jesus speaks to this false security in Luke 12:16-21

“And he told them this parable: the ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop (he must of really been doing something right).  He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do.  I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years.  Take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.  Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

God Has Spoken

God Has Spoken

I have soon to be four sons.  Their names are Toby, Chase, Jack, and Max.  We named them with easy-to-say-all-at-once-names.  Try it……TOBYCHASEJACKMAX.  It almost sounds like a new name for a holiday, but that wouldn’t fit the occasion.  When I sound one of my son’s names I expect them to listen to my words because I love them and desire in my heart that they will become accustomed to listening.  I also expect them to make eye contact with me signifying they are tuned into me.  So too the Lord God has spoken.  He has spoken in times past by decrees creating with the very breathe of His word, “Let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis.1:3), “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breathe of his mouth” (Psalm.33:6).   God has also given words of personal address to people directly speaking with them such as Moses and Abraham.  These occasions are rare but they have happened.  God has also spoken through the instrument of human lips.  Frequently in scripture God raises us prophets through whom he speaks such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, “and the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, ‘Behold I have put my words in your mouth’” (Jeremiah 1:9).   God has also given us his words in written form (the Bible).  In addition to God’s words of decree, personal address, and God’s words spoken through the lips of human beings, He has also given us a written Word (1 Cor. 14:37, John 14:26, 1 Tim. 2:16, Jer. 36:29-31),

To top it all off God’s word is spoken by his Son Jesus.  Jesus is the Word become flesh.  He is what the Word looks like in a human body, “and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”(John 1:14). 

God has spoken very clearly with countless illustrations and even by hands on interaction with us.  As Christians we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to help us understand his written living Words to us.  It is most profitable to study God’s written precise Word.  It is God’s written Word that He commands us to study and learn.  The man or woman is “blessed” who “meditates” on the Word “day and night” (Psalm 1). 

Questions:

1. Do you think you would pay more attention if God spoke to you from heaven or through the voice of a living prophet than if He spoke to you through the written words of Scripture? Would you believe more eagerly and obey more diligently? 
2. Do you think your present level of response to the written words of Scripture is an appropriate one?
3. When you think about the many ways by which God speaks and the frequency with which God communicates with his creatures through these means, what conclusion might you draw concerning the nature of God and the things that bring delight to Him?

Inviting You To A New Small Group!

Pastor Russ Inviting You To A Small Group from Russell Johnston on Vimeo.

Not So Glad Gladiators

In the 2nd century a phenomena broke out in Rome inside the coliseum.  Men became intoxicated with the glory of blood lust, while they watched gladiators fight to the death.  Crowds of over 500,000 would attend these shows of steel and death with giddy gladness.  It started with slaves and criminals being forced to train in gladiator schools and fight to the death, but as the years went by many "distinguished people" such as senators volunteered their lives to taste the glory of the coliseum.  What most people don't know is that at the height of the Roman empire, more than half of all gladiators were in this deadly profession by their own choice.  To see an aristocrat fighting against a slave or criminal would produce a frenzy in the crowd that many people lusted after.  What's my point?  People even want the glory in their death.  Our flesh longs for the glory.  Glory, we think, makes us glad like glad-iators.

We all love and know this verse because of the first part of it, "Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us....." "ooh", i say, "that makes me glad!" But the second part no one has memorized, "unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

I realize oftentimes I want victory for me.  Lord do this in me so I will be amazing!  Do this in me so this circumstance that I don't appreciate will go away.  Who cares about Your glory I just want this to be over and done with.

The WHY is very important.  WHY do I want victory in this, WHY do I want this circumstance over and done with, WHY do I want to be a super sheep?  The WHY brings gladness!  God's glory and our joy as John Piper has said, are not fighting, or at odds. I'm made to reflect God's glory, not because God needs me but because I need Him.  I come alive when I hunger to bring God glory.  

Drop Kicking Depression

This is the time of year when depression runs rampant. Whether it’s the dark rainy days, cold weather, monotony of "tis the season to be stressed out….ayayayayayaya, loneliness, or noticing your getting older every year, we are easily pulled down.

I am kind of a pessimist by nature and so I have some pointers I would like to offer up to you, that have literally been life saving for me over the course of my constant struggle with the big D.

1. Worship—I grab a guitar and start to sing praise. 10 out of 10 times this changes me. If you don’t play a guitar then play a cd, or put on some headphones and worship in praising Jesus for He is God With Us. Start your day with the Living Word of God. If your a mom write down a scripture at night to meditate on in the morning like a cow chewing its cud :). I thought you’d especially like that analogy :)

2. Excersice—there’s nothing like benching 350 lbs to put a smile on your face. Stress kills our bodies and it is proven that exercise kills stress and builds endorphins. A gym membership is not a bad idea and worth it. You are going to spend money on other stuff when your depressed anyways. 
It takes discipline and planning, but that is life. Do a dorky video workout on netflix if you have to.

3. Seek help. Sometimes we get so low it seems we can’t get up. God designed us to need each other. Call someone and tell them the truth, and ask for prayer.

4. Eat real food. There is so much unhealthy food that screams our name through commercials and billboards that show us that if we eat huge quantities of food that is very fattening we will be overcome with joy and gladness. The truth is we will be overcome with fat and discouragement. There is tons of evidence that naturopathic remedies are the way to go. Eating the food God designed us to eat is the way to go.

5. You may need to seek help from a doctor that can help you—after you have sought the Lord over it. If you are suicidal, sick, or unable to get out of bed, it may mean your body is saying “my hormones are completely shot” at which point medical help is needful. Keep in mind the doctor is required to tell you that the pills he will prescribe will not heal you. They can surely help you get going though, and you may need this to make progress. What is heart breaking to me are the countless number who get on medication but do not change their lifestyle to be God-honoring in their health.

6. Bless Someone. 
Get involved on the city and find a way to bless someone. Only thinking about yourself seriously sucks the life out of you. God did not design you for this intention at all. This is the only way to experience a great Christmas.

7. Watch out! You’re about to get super busy in the next week and a half. You need time with Jesus. He is Immanuel “God With Us”. We are created to connect with him. Sin in our lives kills us. Repent of sin in your life and pursue holiness. The passions of the flesh wage war against our souls. If you are a college student and are in your home town, please spend time with Jesus. There are so many temptations that Satan wants to hit you with. Stand firm and know you are not alone in your temptations, and that the Lord will provide a way to escape. The Lord wont allow anything to come our way that we cannot defeat in the power of the Holy Spirit.

another note to the college person….
It’s ok to be alone. If you don’t go to that party you will survive. Instead, seek the Lord. The time I had one Christmas break ended up being the crossroads of my walk with Jesus. My life radically changed 10 years ago by being alone away from all the junk, and the Lord met me in weakness. Grab a Bible and your journal and seek the Lord. Good books are a great way to spend some time. If you would like any recommendations for books just hit me up on the city. Express order a book. I do it all the time!

A God Story

Friday afternoon Miranda, Lisa, and Becky had made a crazy trip to Winco loading up 2 grocery carts full of food. There were some inquisitive looks and questions by others at the sight of three gals having fun loading up on groceries donated by some families from our church family.

I was getting a bit nervous because all I had was an address given to me by a school nurse of an apparently single mom in need. What if she wasn’t home? What if she would be offended? What if she doesn’t care? What if’s filled my head. I called Jake, and Steve, and we loaded up the groceries taking Becky with us.

After having trouble finding the place (thanks to google maps) we found the street and cluster of apartments. I have to confess I felt a bit silly and extreme going to all this trouble and getting others to go to all this trouble to get some groceries to a specific location without knowing if they were even home.

I was relieved to hear some stirring as I knocked on the door with no porch light tucked in the back of the complex. A very confused mother in her 40’s along with her 12 year old daughter answered the door. It was a weird moment. Me and my mother in law, white suburbanite middle class America standing in front of a Hispanic single mother and her 12 year old daughter at 8 o’clock at night. There was an awkward pause as I tried to explain to her I was a pastor (that one is always a shocker) and then I simply told her we were wanting to bless them. She invited us in and I noticed a painting of a man praying over some bread, and sensed some excitement in Sara her 12 year old daughter. I also noticed they were having Peanut Butter and Jelly for dinner.

Jake and Steve backed up the truck and we started bringing groceries in. Once they were unloaded I could just see Udella the mother beginning to fight back tears. I asked her how we could pray and she said her daughter had been sick for a long period of time. I began to pray and could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit so thick in the moment. Udella began to freely cry, and her daughter began to cry as I prayed for them. I was trying to choke back tears while I prayed but there was no use. We found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a moment with the living God. All I know is that God likes to show up in moments like these. I felt like Peter seeing before his eyes the Holy Spirit working as he went to a place he wasn’t used to going. I realized then and there that when the ministry and message of reconciliation are united, the Holy Spirit brings it hard. He penetrated all of our hearts that night.

I wonder when Jesus said, “do this in remembrance of me” as He broke bread with the disciples, if He was not alluding to more than a ritual. A ritual absolutely as we remember Him, but perhaps more. Maybe He was saying, be broken and poured out as I have been broken and poured out for you, “do this in remembrance of me.” “He who seeks to save his life will lose it”, and “he who loses his life will find it.”

He Hears Their Cry

 "And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows."  Exodus 3:7

God is a God of mercy who hears the cry of the oppressed. These Hebrews were certainly oppressed as they built brick after brick after brick, to build the Egyptian empire.  He delivered those who were oppressed in Egypt and called them His people.  He chose them to be a people who would be his body, representing Himself to the rest of the world.  God commanded them to sabbath, to take a day off once a week to remind themselves that they aren't in Egypt anymore, and that their identity doesn't come from how many bricks you can produce and how big your empire can be.  Their significance comes from the God who rescued them, and the new life outside of exile that He offers.

Exodus means to deliver out of exile--deliverance.

These Hebrews quickly began to prosper after they were delivered out of Egypt.  They were at the height of their prosperity under the reign of Solomon.  But something happened.  Solomon's heart was turned away, and they began to create their own empire and began to oppress their own......slaves.

And God began to hear the cry of the oppressed once again.  His people hardened their hearts and they forgot He had delivered them out of Egypt--that world system of thinking.

They were commanded by God, "do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.  Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan....Do not deny justice to your poor people."

It's as if God is saying, "the deliverance you have experienced--go and make that happen for others who are oppressed."  But they didn't...

they forgot...

May we not forget we are blessed to be a blessing.  God's heart has not changed.