In the past few weeks we have begun the endeavor of searching for a congregation to call home. I have spent much time in thought and prayer on what exactly we are searching for. In my mind, a picture has begun to form. Please understand that I know that all congregations have flaws and are all human. I know there is no such thing as a "perfect church" (except through Christ). But as I search, I believe these are the things that have come to matter most to me and the things for which Clay & I are searching.
1. A church who is convicted fully that Jesus is the son of God; That Jesus lived on earth, that he died for our sins & that he was resurrected by the power of God so that we might walk with Him. And this church must hold this out as the one & only gospel. A church that knows Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life and that the only way to the father is through him." (John 14:6)
2. A church that recognizes that without this gospel, life is hopeless; That we have zero chance of being reconciled with God without His grace and the sacrifice of Christ. (I Corinthians 15:1-2)
3. A church that is passionate about loving God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength & loving others because of this love for God and the love He has for us. (Mark 12:29-31)
4. A church who strives in all things to look like Jesus, to the world and to each other. This should show through:
A. Their actions and service in the community - they should be
recognized by the community around them for their actions and
their love.
B. Their leadership - The leadership should model Christ through
their love, their shepherding, their passion for spiritual growth
in the body & just generally looking like Jesus.
C. Their budget - it reflects what is most important to the church
and their willingness to "put their money where their mouth is".
5. A church where freedom in Christ is embraced and the mission of Christ always trumps the traditions of man. A place that takes seriously "being all things to all men that some may be saved" (I Corinthians 9:20-22)
6. A church where we can engage and have an impact on the Kingdom of God. A church that needs what Christ has to offer through us. (Romans 12:3-7)
Just my thoughts.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
God in the Midst
May 30, 2011
Some would posit that God sent the storms to Joplin. I do not believe that.
I believe there is an epic spiritual battle going on of which, we are mostly totally unaware. It is a battle of proportions that we cannot even imagine. The God of everything continuously battles with the prince of the world, who roams the earth looking for those he can devour.
I believe Satan, in this battle, heaps destruction, death and devastation on the people of this world. His battle plan is to cause the people of our world to forsake their God and curse His name. The battle rages fiercely and totally out of our scrutiny. We reject it because we cannot see it.
In my humble opinion and opinion only, I believe the tornados in Joplin were an assault from the Satanic forces we battle against. I envision Satan laughing at the victory he perceived as the F5 storm devastated a 9 square mile area. I imagine him smirking at the destruction and death and cheering victoriously when the people asked “Where is God?” His siege was working…
And God, I believe was heartbroken at the cost of the battle. God stepped in and began to soothe the pain. He was there with the mother who clung to her child and prayed that Jesus would save them. He was there with the family that hid in the tub and was dumped out on the ground as the vicious winds ripped the tub into the air. He was there with the lady hiding in her apartment tub who cried out to God for the safety of the children in the apartment next who she could hear crying….even as she was trapped in her own tub as it filled with rain water. God was there and I believe if God cries, He cried. I believe he wept for the people He so loves.
And when Satan’s sadistic attack was over, and he proclaimed victory in this battle, God said, “Not yet”. And throughout the country, He spoke to the hearts of His soldiers and He commanded them to GO. And they did. Thousands of dollars worth of supplies, food and funds were shipped within hours. God’s earthly army began mobilizing. The branches of our Lord’s army were forgotten; suddenly we just all served the one true God and were there to bring His love and His peace to a battle stricken area. The saints of God arrived and declared they were taking back what Satan had claimed as victory.
We were all part of a larger-than-life battle. As God’s children, we are called into battle. We fight back the advances of Satan every day. But, in these times, we are called into action. We must choose to stand side by side with our brothers and show the world “where God is”. He is in His children.
He is in the hands of those who gave. He is with those who drove hundreds or more miles to deliver supplies. He is in the hands of the ones spreading hope, who are working side by side with people who lost everything. God is in the midst of those who cried with the broken. He was there as thousands gathered to pray for the peace and courage of the battle stricken areas. And as the people of Joplin looked around and found some semblance of hope and realize they are not abandoned, God began to smile. When they looked to Heaven and reached their hands upward to God, the victory was God’s.
God is alive and He is working through His saints to finish the battle…and the battle is won… so many proclaimed life and victory through Jesus this week. The people we worked with, sorting through the wreckage and the chaos that is now their lives, praised Him and were amazed and humbled at the servants of God. Even those of us working were amazed at seeing God at work. Car after car came by the worksites bringing cold drinks, hot food, snacks…and all were ready to pray and love and listen.
I stand amazed at my Father and how He can take such an ugly strike from the devourer and He can proclaim victory. He can proclaim victory because love still stands strong and the people of God heard the calling and rose up to conquer the destroyer’s victory with the love of their Father.
Some would posit that God sent the storms to Joplin. I do not believe that.
I believe there is an epic spiritual battle going on of which, we are mostly totally unaware. It is a battle of proportions that we cannot even imagine. The God of everything continuously battles with the prince of the world, who roams the earth looking for those he can devour.
I believe Satan, in this battle, heaps destruction, death and devastation on the people of this world. His battle plan is to cause the people of our world to forsake their God and curse His name. The battle rages fiercely and totally out of our scrutiny. We reject it because we cannot see it.
In my humble opinion and opinion only, I believe the tornados in Joplin were an assault from the Satanic forces we battle against. I envision Satan laughing at the victory he perceived as the F5 storm devastated a 9 square mile area. I imagine him smirking at the destruction and death and cheering victoriously when the people asked “Where is God?” His siege was working…
And God, I believe was heartbroken at the cost of the battle. God stepped in and began to soothe the pain. He was there with the mother who clung to her child and prayed that Jesus would save them. He was there with the family that hid in the tub and was dumped out on the ground as the vicious winds ripped the tub into the air. He was there with the lady hiding in her apartment tub who cried out to God for the safety of the children in the apartment next who she could hear crying….even as she was trapped in her own tub as it filled with rain water. God was there and I believe if God cries, He cried. I believe he wept for the people He so loves.
And when Satan’s sadistic attack was over, and he proclaimed victory in this battle, God said, “Not yet”. And throughout the country, He spoke to the hearts of His soldiers and He commanded them to GO. And they did. Thousands of dollars worth of supplies, food and funds were shipped within hours. God’s earthly army began mobilizing. The branches of our Lord’s army were forgotten; suddenly we just all served the one true God and were there to bring His love and His peace to a battle stricken area. The saints of God arrived and declared they were taking back what Satan had claimed as victory.
We were all part of a larger-than-life battle. As God’s children, we are called into battle. We fight back the advances of Satan every day. But, in these times, we are called into action. We must choose to stand side by side with our brothers and show the world “where God is”. He is in His children.
He is in the hands of those who gave. He is with those who drove hundreds or more miles to deliver supplies. He is in the hands of the ones spreading hope, who are working side by side with people who lost everything. God is in the midst of those who cried with the broken. He was there as thousands gathered to pray for the peace and courage of the battle stricken areas. And as the people of Joplin looked around and found some semblance of hope and realize they are not abandoned, God began to smile. When they looked to Heaven and reached their hands upward to God, the victory was God’s.
God is alive and He is working through His saints to finish the battle…and the battle is won… so many proclaimed life and victory through Jesus this week. The people we worked with, sorting through the wreckage and the chaos that is now their lives, praised Him and were amazed and humbled at the servants of God. Even those of us working were amazed at seeing God at work. Car after car came by the worksites bringing cold drinks, hot food, snacks…and all were ready to pray and love and listen.
I stand amazed at my Father and how He can take such an ugly strike from the devourer and He can proclaim victory. He can proclaim victory because love still stands strong and the people of God heard the calling and rose up to conquer the destroyer’s victory with the love of their Father.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
A Different Spirit
My God is big enough. I serve the mighty God of Moses. The God in whom Caleb believed in wholeheartedly. As I reread the story of the spies coming back from the promised land, I was struck with the testimony God himself gave of Caleb. God said, "my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly". Oh to hear my God say this about my faith.
I want to follow Him...especially when there are giants in the land. When all the odds seem insurmountable. I want to have the faith in my God to realize that he is bigger. Bigger than giants who loom over us, bigger than those who are with me who say it can't be done.
Faith. It's a funny thing. If you only believe in things you see and can hold, you have no faith. Recently a preacher asked who believed he held a $100 cash in his fist, few believed. He opened his hand and showed us the money. He then asked, who believes now? Of course everyone did. But seeing the money and believing does not constitute faith...it is seeing. I do not have faith in things I see; I have sight.
God has worked so much in our past and we believe Him. We see how mightily God has worked in our midst. But this is the money in the fist. This is sight. It is cause to grow and be thankful. However, faith is in those things God has not yet done; the things we can see no answer to. God holds the keys. If we focus on Him and building His Kingdom, as we were commanded, He is faithful and He will give in accordance to His will. When we are living faithfully in Him, we can ask for anything and He will give it. We can relax and know that God is in control and he does not need me to manage Him. He just needs me to faithfully share His Kingdom.
Faith. Jesus rebuked his most faithful followers again and again for their lack of faith. Sometimes, I think he must look at us and do the same. "Oh you of little faith", "When will you believe?"...I pray that my God does not whisper these words over me. I pray that as I fall face down in worship to Him, that he will help me in my unbelief (Mk 9:24), that He will remind me that "all things are possible for him who believes" and that He will look at me and say, "this one has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly".
I want to follow Him...especially when there are giants in the land. When all the odds seem insurmountable. I want to have the faith in my God to realize that he is bigger. Bigger than giants who loom over us, bigger than those who are with me who say it can't be done.
Faith. It's a funny thing. If you only believe in things you see and can hold, you have no faith. Recently a preacher asked who believed he held a $100 cash in his fist, few believed. He opened his hand and showed us the money. He then asked, who believes now? Of course everyone did. But seeing the money and believing does not constitute faith...it is seeing. I do not have faith in things I see; I have sight.
God has worked so much in our past and we believe Him. We see how mightily God has worked in our midst. But this is the money in the fist. This is sight. It is cause to grow and be thankful. However, faith is in those things God has not yet done; the things we can see no answer to. God holds the keys. If we focus on Him and building His Kingdom, as we were commanded, He is faithful and He will give in accordance to His will. When we are living faithfully in Him, we can ask for anything and He will give it. We can relax and know that God is in control and he does not need me to manage Him. He just needs me to faithfully share His Kingdom.
Faith. Jesus rebuked his most faithful followers again and again for their lack of faith. Sometimes, I think he must look at us and do the same. "Oh you of little faith", "When will you believe?"...I pray that my God does not whisper these words over me. I pray that as I fall face down in worship to Him, that he will help me in my unbelief (Mk 9:24), that He will remind me that "all things are possible for him who believes" and that He will look at me and say, "this one has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly".
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