Agape–time for a refresher course–Play List for the next few days

Theme Love

His Love Endures Forever                               Tommy Walker and the C.A. Worship Band

Until the Whole World Hears                             Casting Crowns

Father I Adore You                                          Matt Brouwer

You Are My King (Amazing Love)                     Newsboys

Take My Life (and Let It Be)                             Chris Tomlin

Here I Am Again                                              Matt Brouwer

Perfect People                                                 Natalie Grant

My Own Little World                                         Matthew West

Love You So Much                                           Hillsong

You Are Being Loved                                        Steven Curtis Chapman

Children of God                                                Steven Curtis Chapman

What This World Needs                                    Casting Crowns

Matthew’s Song                                                 Chasing Canaan

Jesus, Friend of Sinners                                   Casting Crowns

So Far to Find You                                           Casting Crowns

You Gave Me Love                                           B.J. Thomas

The Business of Love                                       Charlie Daniels

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us                     Nichole Nordeman

Love Song for a King                                         Caleb Rowden

As the Deer                                                      Adore

Here Is Love                                                     Matt Redman

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go                        Chris Rice

I Wanna Be a New Ager

Reading Psalms 45 to Psalms 50, I see the ancient psalmist writing about what gets called “end times” by modern Christians. It is not end times. It hit me today what an injustice we do to our faith when we use that phrase. The psalmist expresses beautifully the longing for that age when God physically rules on earth–the new age.

The psalmist wrote before Christ’s first coming and he wrote before the Church Age. Old testament and new testament writers tell us a time will come when this age will end and Christ will return.

We spend so little time focusing on what life will be like on Earth when God returns to his temple.

Over the next few weeks I think I am going to focus on what life will be like during the new age. If I find interesting tidbits in my study I will post them.

But today I just want to announce I am a New Ager and I am longing for Jesus to burst through the Eastern Sky just as he left.

Come Quickly Lord Jesus

A Different Point of View

Imagine you live in Goshen thousands of years ago. You hold no position of power, you report to the leaders of the Hebrews who report to the taskmasters who answer to the King of Egypt. You are the bottom of the totem pole so to speak.

You cry out in prayers to the God of your fathers to be rescued from this torture but you don’t expect much. This life of slavery is the only life you have known.

A stranger walks into town. The old people recognize him, but you have never seen him before. This man says God spoke to him from a burning bush. This God says he has heard the prayers of His people and He intends to rescue them from slavery and from Egypt.

Your prayers are answered. God heard. He intends to rescue you.

Would you believe or would you have doubts? Maybe even doubts abut if you really wanted to leave. It is the only life you have ever known.

I am studying the Exodus from the point of view of the average person who was seeing the plagues and the King’s anger impacting their lives. What would I have thought? How would I have reacted?

Fear Shines a Light

Fear shines a light on those areas of our lives where we have not given up everything to Christ. Think about the Rich Young Man. When Jesus asked him to sell everything and to follow him, the young man went away sad.

There a secret areas of our heart where we fear God’s plan may not be our plan.

Think about Job. He jumped through hoops and performed religious acts almost in a superstitious manner to make sure God did not take what matter most to him.

A few years back, God took me on a long bible study of fear and faith. Every service I attended, every book I read and the studies I did on my own seemed to be focused on fear.

One pastor said Idols worshiped by people of old were physical representations of what they feared most. We do the same thing.

We pray to God asking Him to answer our prayers. When God’s answer seems to be no, we grab it back and say, I will handle this. We equate hard times and loss of someone we love or something important to us as being God not answering.

We place it before God when we think he is our only answer but as long as we think we can handle the issue we keep it in our control. Why? Because we fear God might say no.

Where there is fear we do not trust God to be in control and that if He says no in that area of our life than it is for His higher purpose. A purpose we may never understand.

Doer verses Hearer

I have an idea for challenge for anyone who wants to take it with me. I am thinking of posting a bible verse each day for a week with no comments. The idea will be to read the verse, pray about the verse, meditate during the day on the verse and with God’s guidance act on the verse that day.

James 1:22New International Version (NIV)
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Persevere: Found a Card in my Bible

I found a laminated card in my bible today.  I have no idea where I found it or who gave it to me.  It contained verses on Perseverance and then a prayer.  I thought I would share.

I looked up the word being translated perseverance here and in some translations it is patient.

Here is what I gleaned from Strongs:

in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings

 

Philippians 4:6-7

Dear Lord, In this time of trial, help me not be anxious.  In everything I come to you in prayer, petition and with thanksgiving to present my request for _________________ to you.

James 5:11

Lord, blessed are those who persevere.  I praise you for blessing me.

James 1:2-3

Dear Lord, help me to consider it pure joy whenever I face trails of any kind.  I know that the testing of my faith develops perseverance.  Help me to persevere in this time of trial.

1 Peter 4:12

Heavenly Father, I rejoice that I am participating in suffering, just like Christ, so that I may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Romans 5:3-4

Dear Father, Lead me with rejoicing through my suffering because I know that this suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character and character produces hope.

 

1 Peter 1:67

Dear Lord, as I suffer grief in all kinds of trials I greatly rejoice.  This trial has come so that my faith that is of greater worth than gold can be refunded and be proven genuine to result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Church: Have It Your Way

A friends blog recently put a germ of a thought in my head.  She discussed types of church and which was best.

This got me thinking,  I know scary.  First, I searched the verses and wonder what God said about the churches.  Then, my focus changed to what do I like in a church.

1) Bible Studies   (I love bible studies)

2) I prefer a teaching preacher to fire and brimstone preacher

3) A church should have outreach

4) A church should love

Then, God convicted my heart.  What if it’s not about me?  At least not what I get out of the church.

At one time,  I belonged to a church that was falling apart.  The preacher had a nervous breakdown, the music leader left, the youth leader left, the children’s minister left. I was a Sunday School teacher and we were moving in a few months.  I thought it would be great to move to a more together church for those few months.  Go to bible studies and have a consistent environment.  I prayed and prayed.  Each and every time I asked God what I should do, He told me to stay and shore up the church.  Today that church is one of the Mega Churches with a well known pastor.

Another time, I belonged to a church as close to what I believe a church should be.  And from this church, God called me out and sent me to a dysfunctional church.  I went kicking and screaming.

There I meet a woman who is the Pied Piper of bringing kids to church.  She is a  proper lady, very conservative, but she loves everyone.  She cared for the single moms, their kids,  the drug addict and the person struggling.  Not in some abstract make a donation way.  She gave her money, but she also brought the individuals with her to church.  She picked them up if they needed a ride.  God sent me to help her with the kids. He wanted me to serve.  He wanted me to be her helper.

Which reminds me of Brother Craven, I have been talking about the people who influenced my early life.  This man every Sunday drove an old school bus through the town picking up kids.  I rode that bus. My mom would have taken me if the bus had not, but those Sunday mornings were special.  We drove through town singing together picking up kids who would not have had a way to church.  This man served.  This man gave to the church without any real recognition or acclaim.  Church was about how he could serve not how he could be served.  And I thank him for picking me up every Sunday.

I confess, but I don’t think I am alone, when looking for a church I want a place that provides me with those things I like and I want a church that recognizes my talents.  A place where I can write, teach or serve God in some nice way.

But maybe we are called to go into a church that is none of the things we want in a church.  Maybe we join the church that has no love and we love the unloveable.  Maybe we find a church that doesn’t have the funds for janitors and we offer to clean  (this one hurts).  Maybe we offer to help in any way we can.

A woman who was over programs at the first church I mentioned once told me people always have a million suggestions of how to make the church better, but when you suggest they take charge and do it, no one has the time.  Maybe we need to find a church that is looking for someone to do all the things that no one wants to do and join–even if we have to roll up our sleeves and push a mop.  Yikes!!

As I write this, I admit I would rather not.  I want a comfy church.  A place that recognizes my talents and loves on me.  But I think God calls us to serve.  Jesus told us to wash the feet of our brother and sisters.  Jesus told us to not sit in the best seats at the dinner table but to take the lower seat assuming nothing.  We are to be lowly, humble and the servant.  And as much as it goes against our natures, we are to serve without expecting anything in return–not even a thank-you.  Jesus will tell you thank you in person.

And if I think that I am better than all that.  If I believe I should hold a position of power.  Or I should be pampered.  I need to take a second look at Jesus’ life.  He loved and he served.  Do I think I deserve better then my Lord.

 

Third But Not Least Brother Underwood

Continuing my story of the early days of my walk, the Youth director who announced the choir that day taught me several key things.

I view him as the teacher who took me from milk to my first solid food.

He held a bible study one evening a week.  I still remember the first bible verse he had us memorize.

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

He encouraged us to read our bibles.  I started in Matthew and read through Revelations. (It was a number of years before I tackled the old)  I love God’s word.  I appreciate that he exposed me to really digging into scriptures.

He also taught me that Christians belong in the world.  Our choir didn’t just sing in our church.  He took us to  missions, prisons, and even had us sing on Radio.  He never allowed us to stay shielded inside the safety of the Church.

I fall so short of his example, but I still hold him up as a model of how a Christian shares Christ in the world.

Each year the choir competed in Arlington.  After the contest–win or lose–it was Six flags time.

I remember being in line at Six Flags with Brother Ed.  I leaned over the rail as we waited for the roller coaster.  And I heard him talking to the people behind him.  The discussion started with why we were there and ended with him discussing Christ with the people.  There weren’t offended.  It was a casual conversation one person talking with another person about things that matter.

These three people (Polly, Cindy and Brother Underwood)  kicked me off in my walk with Christ.

And I thank them all for being willing to share Christ with me.  They were Christ’s angels in my life.  (angel is a messenger from God–we can all be angels)

Loving Christians as Christ Loved Us

I sometimes think I am the only person who sees the commands of Christ as Three. 

1) We are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. It means nothing comes before God. Hardest lesson I had to learn was to place my kids on the altar before God. He loves them more then I love them which seems impossible. When I fear things, it is me demonstrating that I love something more than I love God or that I don’t trust him. 

The rich man loved money more then God. I have to ask myself if I placed specific people and things into this biblical question how would I react?  Would I be willing to give up what I love most to follow God?

2) We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Which means, we think about everyone and ask how would I want to be treated. Or we think how would I want someone to show love to me in this instance. A perfect example was given to me by a friend this morning.  The before Church crowd is in a McDs and the young clerk is clueless.  The church crowd became frustrated with the kid.  But if we are loving our neighbor as we would want to be loved,  we would show patience and stop worrying if we have to wait.  We love by calming the person and letting them know all will be well.  Maybe cracking a joke or two.  

Most of the time we fail on this one even with our brother and sisters in Christ.  And yet it is the lesser of the two commands to love others.

3) I believe we are called to a higher love for our fellow Christians. The church should love one another like Christ loved us. We are to live out the Acts 2 community. People would want to know our Lord because they see what we have.  Who would need to evangelize? People would clamor for what we have.

The only way to get this type of love is for Christ to love through us. (John 14-15) The only way to love like this is for us to be a branch on the vine and to be willing to be pruned so we bear fruit. Most of us scream bloody murder when God prunes. 

Have you ever seen an example of the third type of love? What did it look like? Inside the church, people loving one another like Christ loved us — willing to sacrifice their desires, wants, power, popularity, feelings for the sake of a brother or sister in Christ.

Please share.

Knowing God’s Will In Your Life

We study God’s word and seek to know His will.  We pray and ask Him to tell us what He desires.

Some decisions are easy.  The word of God says (you fill in the blank)  and we know what is required of us.  What is required is obedience to those words?  For instance, we know Christ called us to show mercy, to love one another as He loved us, to forgive if we wish to be forgiven and to love nothing more than we love God.  We don’t have to ask for specific guidance regarding these.

But sometimes we need the Lord to tell us specific things.    We face a decision in our life and desire to do God’s will, but how do we know His will?  How do we know which church to attend?  How do we know how He wants us to use our talents or gifts?  How do we know the specifics in our lives?  How do we know which way to go; which path to take?

We pray.  We ask.  But how do we silence our will so we can hear HIs will.

One method I think, my life experience is all I have to go on here, is to ask God to open doors and shut doors.

A few years back, we moved into a new neighborhood.  Moves require finding a new church.  We visited all the churches in the area and narrowed down to two.  Now I hate the whole going forward in churches.  I have spoke in front of huge crowds, but the long walk to the front to stand silent in front of a bunch of people is low on my list of things I like to do.    So I prayed to God, if this is the church You want me to join then make it easy for me.  I listened to the sermon and then the time of invitation came.  The pastor started with a call for every person in the church to come forward and sign up for a bible study they were starting.  Hundreds of people started moving forward.  The pastor then said, “If you want to join the church just head down the middle aisle.”  And in the mist of a crowd I made my way forward sure God wanted me there.  I belonged to that church for a few years and I can honestly say it is the perfect example of what a church should be.

A few years later, God called me out of that church.  My daughter felt out of place because no one from her school attended that church.  She wanted to attend a small church close to our home.  I did not want to leave.  So I prayed to God asking him to give me guidance and then I set it up so the answer I would get would be stay.  I told God I would ask two people what I should do.  I would ask the pastor’s wife and my father.  My dad said go.  Well, that was always the iffy one of the two.  But everyone knows a pastor’s wife would tell you to stay.  But she said go where my daughter would be happy.  So I went.

My daughter was baptized in that small church that she wanted to join.

During our years in this small church, the Lord laid on my heart that in parts of Europe, you know the once Christian land, most children could not answer a survey question regarding why Easter was celebrated.  This broke my heart.  I realized America was only a generation away from a similar fate.  A woman who attended the church was like a pied piper.  She loved the kids in her neighborhood and brought them with her to church.  I gradually became the children’s director of this little flock of wonderful kids.  We had so much fun.

God laid it on my heart to teach the kids of our neighborhood that Easter was about the Lord.  I discovered Resurrection Eggs and decided we should have a big event to draw the kids to our church.  People kept asking me how many eggs, and how many hot dogs.  I had no idea.  The answer I gave them was plan for 150 people.  It was an enormous number for this little church and I have no idea why I said it.  But I planned.  I asked the best teacher I knew to do the eggs.  I arranged for petting zoos and camel rides and every other attraction I could think of to draw the kids into the church.

The day came and with it freezing rain and ice.  Every easter egg event in town was canceling.  The zoo and camel canceled.  We had to make a decision.  My heart was broken.  I so wanted the kids to hear the story of Jesus.  We decided to go for it anyway.  We would hunt in the church and tell the story even if it was just for our kids.  As the time approached, crowds arrived.  We hid the eggs under the chairs and on the chairs. It was sort of pitiful really, but the kids loved it.

Then the teacher sat and told the story using the eggs to ask the questions.  One boy said.  “I can’t believe I am having fun in church.”  We had 150 people at our event that day.

The next year we repeated the Easter event and it became our big event for the children in the church.  Before the Easter event, I had the distinct sense God wanted me to leave.  I hated the idea.  I asked God.  I asked Him to tell me yes or no.  I asked Him if I flipped a coin and it was heads it meant he wanted me to stay and tails then go.  I got go as an answer, but I wasn’t convinced.  I didn’t want to go.  I loved working with those kids.  In the next week, a series of people came asking to take over tasks I had been doing with the kids.  God had told me to go and went I hesitated He took it away and gave it to others.  It was always His work not mine.

Another way God has told me His will was also around leaving a work He had given me.  I was a sunday school teacher in a church that was slowly breaking apart.  The pastor left, the youth leader left, the music leader was gone and the children’s leader left.  We were going to be moving in a few months and I figured it would be okay to leave.  I asked God to give me a verse as to what I should do.  Every time I asked, I would open my bible and it would open to the same verse. (the only time my bible opened to this verse was when I asked God this question).    Each time I asked, God gave me Nehemiah to read.  I interpreted this to mean I had to hold my place in the church.  We did move a few months later, but I learned that this church rebuilt to become one of the largest churches in the area.

I have used a multiple of methods to know God’s will.  I have asked for  Him to open doors and shut doors.  I have asked for signs; I have flipped coins asking for a yes or no.  I have opened the bible to look for a verse.  The one thing I know is when I honestly seek to know the will of God He has never failed to direct me.  It is more about my heart.  Am I willing to follow even if I don’t like the answer.  Am I open to the answer no matter what.

God is good.  I love the fact he walks with me and guides me as long as I am willing to follow.