I am in Him and He is in me 2/26/2017

I tend to raise my girls a little bit differently. We don’t really like to refer to them as princesses. Truth be known that is PJ’s number one thing she hates about Disney is being referred to as Princess. We raise our girls rough and tough, not touchy feely. Partly because that is how we are, and partly because well that is how they are. PJ and Brae both would consider a night a success if there is atleast 20-30 minutes of wrestling involved. Well, what about other children. Think about it this way, I was sitting on the couch one day at my house. Our house used to be an open house with teens passing through at all hours, sometimes we didn’t even know half of the teens that came. But we welcomed them all the same. Well, this particular day my little cousin stopped by with a couple of his friends. He sat there and played video games with me and his friends raided our fridge like any good teen would do. Well, they got ready to go and his mom was on her way to pick them up so we finished up the video game and they were preparing to leave when it happened. He reached across and punched me in the gut, his friends unsure of what to do jumped in and next thing I know I have 3 13 year old boys attempting to drag me to the ground. I was getting pulled and tugged and hit and kicked from every angle all the while we were all laughing hysterically. My little cousin knew my love for him and his love for me, and well that is just how we roll in our family. PJ and Brae both consider any night that involves some wrestling is a success. Those two attack me constantly. Well, my little cousin was perfectly comfortable attacking me and catching me off guard what totally shocked and surprised me was how quickly his friends joined in and helped him as if they knew me well enough to join in. My little cousins comfort and oneness with me, spread right into his friends and they didn’t hesitate one bit. John 14:20-21 In that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. There are three critical truths in these passages. 1 – Jesus is in his father 2 – we are in Jesus 3 – Jesus is in us We are included in everything, everything that Jesus is doing and has done. We are not outsiders waiting for our chance to come in, we are insiders being loved and cared from day one. Thomas Merton said, “He is closer to us than we are to ourselves, that is why we often times do not notice Him.” This thought process, these truths leave us with options. First, we can sit outside and work our tails off. Do all of the things that we think are needed to gain His acceptance. We can go to church, read our Bibles, pray, give, serve our community, raise good children, love our spouses the list goes on and on and on. We can do all of those things hoping to earn something that is freely given from eternity to eternity. Or, we can accept the freedom from exhaustion and just sit in His love. Think about our verses, “On that day, you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” In my illustration of being attacked by my little cousins. I am God, I know Tara it’s a bit of a stretch, but let’s put our imaginations to the test. lol. I am God, my little cousin lil Geoff well he is Jesus and those other two boys those are us. You and me. There is a story of Baxter Kluger traveling to speak at a big conference. He was picked up by a young man from the church he would be speaking at. The young boy looked at him and told him he planned to go to seminary. To be a missionary? Baxter asked, no a pastor the young man exclaimed. As they rode along they passed farm land after farm land. As a large tractor pulled in front of them and they followed along slowly down a long narrow road Baxter asked a question. He said, have you ever thought about how Jesus relates to farmers and their families? The young man said no, not really. That farmer and his family work 60-70 hours a week on the farm. It’s what they do with just about all of their time. More than likely you will pastor a church with farmers in it. So it’s an important question isn’t it? When you get back to your house tonight and you sit down to eat dinner what will you do before you take your first bite? I will thank God. Thank him for what Baxter said. For the food that I am about to eat. Of course you will but why? Why are you thanking God for something that the farmer and his family grew? Why not thank the farmer and his family? Well, I guess I should thank the farmer, but are you saying that I should not thank God at all. No, ofcourse not, Baxter said. I am only trying to help you see that you already know how Jesus relates to the farmer’s life and work. You don’t have a theology that allows you to see what your prayer already knows. Think about it, you thank God for food that the farmer grew. Now what does that tell you about the farmer. It tells you that he is part of the way that God provides for us. So are teachers, garbage men, mechanics, day care workers, construction workers, police men, fire men and paremedics. Waitresses, waiters, hair stylists and truck drivers. They are all part of God providing for our needs. Jesus doesn’t need the farmers. Jesus doesn’t need any of the people that he uses to meet our needs. John 2:1-11 Jesus turns water into wine, and I don’t want to spend all morning breaking down why he did it, how he did it or what the purpose of it was. I want to focus on the part that often gets over looked. 6 stone jars each holding from 20-30 gallons. Let’s say they all held 30 gallons, that is 180 gallons of water. Now water weighs about 8.5 pounds per gallon. 1,530 pounds of water. Not to mention how much the stone jars must have weighed. Now, we all know that Jesus is all powerful. We all know that Jesus conquered death, bore our sins on the cross. But, why the heck didn’t He just create the wine instead of having them go fill all of the jars and then turn it into wine? The same reason He uses the church to change the world. The same reason He doesn’t just meet every need of those in our community, He provides us with the resources and sits back and waits for us to make the impact.

Contagious Joy 2/19/2017

February 19 2017 Contagious, it’s that word we just really don’t ever give a positive spin to. Your kid gets sick, you take them to the doctor and they give them medicine and they tell you it is extremely contagious. Some of us plan to avoid it and go into hiding, the rest of us just accept the fact that we are next. I hear it, I get my phone out and look at my schedule for the next few weeks and face the fact that I will be next. But, I make a lot of hospital visits and I used to walk the halls with Dr Shelly and he would make a visit and then hit the rest room, now they have hand washing stations everywhere making it easier. He told me he wasn’t concerned for himself, he was worried about carrying it to the next room. Well, Ms Laurie was in the hospital a while back and I went by one day and visited. The next day I went later in the evening. Day three I come up to the door and they have masks and gowns and tell me that you have to cover up because she may be very contagious. I just laughed, because I had been in there the past few days. So if she was contagious well I had it already. Aren’t you glad life doesn’t work that way when sharing God’s love with others. You usually get another shot at it, and you get another chance at trying to make it contagious. And to be honest, if you are trying to make it contagious it won’t be. People are drawn to real people who are walking with Jesus. That is the short version of what we are talking about. Someone who is loving and compassionate and so in love with their Savior that other people begin to want that for themselves. You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. Well, as Christians it is our job to make others thirsty. 4. Contagious Joy, Not Secluded Cliques When I first read these verses in Acts 2:42-47 I saw it as a recipe. A recipe for success in ministry. So you start meeting more, eating together, giving sacrificially and poof you have a booming church. Orrrrr you fall in love with Jesus, you find yourself more grateful every day for God’s grace, love and mercy and you very soon find yourself with a group of people who want that for everyone. “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). All the devotion and affection and compassion became irresistibly contagious. We do not measure our community strictly in numbers, because only God gives the growth, not us (1 Corinthians 3:7). Every single church in the world has a mission statement direct from our Lord himself: “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). God didn’t mean for some of us to make disciples and others to do other kinds of ministry. Every Christian and every Christian community is called to win the lost and build into Christian maturity. God intends to make every genuine expression of true love, joy, and worship contagious. Too many churches have become cliques or country clubs. People go and they post on social media that they were there so that they appear to be good people, they appear to be a part of something big. One of my little cousins went away for college and while he was finishing up school he became a personal trainer. He would go into the homes of really rich people and help them get into shape. Soon, he realized that some of the women were whole heartedly devoted to staying in shape or getting into better shape. And, well some of them were devoted to having the image of someone who was attempting to stay fit. HE said there were even some people who would pay him full price to come to the house and not even train. They just wanted to be able to say they had a personal trainer and give off the appearance of healthy lifestyle. How scary is it that this resembles the life of many Christians today. Many are just putting on an image, and if they are then they become a part of a secluded clique. If, they are living a life full of loving and being loved by Jesus daily then it will be all inclusive and extremely contagious. But, do you know what makes it so contagious? Romans 15:13 If we are totally honest with ourselves there are people in our lives that just make us feel better. You feel better and invigorated after you spend time with them. Talking, eating, exercising it just doesn’t matter. The reason you feel better is not scientifically proven. But I am go out on a limb and tell you it is because of the multiplication of Joy. Happiness is circumstantial, I can be happy today and sad tomorrow. The same things that bring us happiness can some day bring us sorrow, but Joy stands the test of time through all of that. Joy is far greater than happiness and when two people get together who are filled with an abundance of joy

Perspective

Sunday September 25 Dear Mother and Dad: It has been three months since I left for college. I have been remiss in writing and I am very sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but before you read on, please sit down. You are not to read any further unless you are sitting down, okay. Well then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after my arrival are pretty well healed by now. I only spent two weeks in the hospital and now I can see almost normally and only get those headaches once a day. Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory and my jump was witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm, and he was the one who called the Fire Dept. and the ambulance. He also visited me at the hospital and since I had nowhere to live because of the burnt out dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him. It's really a basement room, but it's kind of cute. He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to get married. We haven't set the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show. Yes, mother and dad, I am pregnant. I know how very much you are looking forward to being grandparents and I know you will welcome the baby and give it the same love and devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child. The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing our premarital blood tests and I carelessly caught it from him. This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections I am now taking daily. I know you will welcome him into the family with open arms. He is kind and although not well educated, he is ambitious. Although he is of a different race and religion than ours, I know that your oft-expressed tolerance will not permit you to be bothered by such a minor detail. I am sure you will love him as I do. Now that I have brought you up to date, I want to tell you there was no dormitory fire; I did not have a concussion or a skull fracture; I was not in the hospital; I am not pregnant; I am not engaged. I do not have syphillis, and there is no man in my life at all. However, I am getting a D in sociology and an F in science; and I wanted you to see these marks in proper perspective. Your loving daughter, Perspective – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. This encouragement series based on the verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 has taken us on some major detours. From revenge, to living in peace to warning the idle and the weak to being patient and joyful to praying continually and not we are at give thanks in all circumstances. This verse is all about perspective. Perspective is really important isn’t it. ILL.- One morning after a terrible snowstorm, Susan was outside shoveling her driveway. She stopped to wave hello to her neighbor, and he asked her why her husband wasn’t out there helping her with the chore. She explained that one of them had to stay inside to take care of the children, so they drew straws to see who would go out and shovel. "Sorry about your bad luck," he said. Susan replied, "Don’t be sorry. I won!" Give thanks in all circumstances. ILL.- Dr. Dale Robbins writes, “I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain. Complaining doesn’t change anything or make situations better. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and discord, and can invoke an invitation for the devil to cause havoc with our lives.” Complaining makes us miserable. Psalm 77:3 says, “I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.” I. WE HAVE IT SO GOOD I Tim. 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” EVERYTHING we have comes from God, EVERYTHING. Perspective comes to us when we see life through God’s eyes. It all comes from him and no one and nothing can snatch it away from us. II. WE ENJOY IT SO MUCH Philippians 2:13 “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” This is funny timing because just Wednesday night I was telling our youth to complain a little, but transparent and be real. Because let’s be honest when you are doing well and everything is falling into place for you the odds are it is quite the opposite for most of your friends. But when things are falling apart, and it just isn’t going your way every one can relate to that. Be real, and be transparent but try to do it without complaining all of the time. I race with a guy who said, Jeff why don’t you go complain if you complained it would carry a whole lot more weight. I complain every week and it’s lonely. Think about just how much wisdom there is right there in that statement made in a passing conversation. In which you shine like stars in the universe. How do we shine? By having perspective, how do we get that perspective? By the last two verses we studied. Pray continually and be joyful always. 3- We express it so little ILL.- Some years ago, the cartoon pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy’s dinner on Thanksgiving Day. But it was just his usual dog food in a bowl. Snoopy took one look at the dog food and said, "This isn’t fair. The rest of the world today is eating turkey with all the trimmings and all I get is dog food. Because I’m a dog," he said, "all I get is dog food." He stood there and stared at his dog food for a moment and said, "I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey." Instead of thinking about how little we have, we need to count up what we do have and give thanks! - In Los Angeles a parking citation with a five-dollar bill attached arrived at the traffic-fine bureau. An accompanying note said: “I found this ticket on the sidewalk. Not knowing if the car owner has ever seen it, I would like to make the remittance for him—in gratitude for the occasions when I have parked over the allotted time and not received a ticket.” How’s that for gratitude? I Thess. 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I am Thankful for......... and in………. ....the taxes I pay because it means I’m employed. ....the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat. ....my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine. ....a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home. ....the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking. ....my huge electric bill because it means the A/C works and I am comfortable. ....all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech. ....the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear. ....the piles of laundry because it means my loved ones are nearby. ....the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive. ....the weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive. I truly believe that people with perspective are a whole lot happier. We went to a softball game a few years ago and the faciltiies were amazing. Then a few weeks later we went to another field, the grass was in need of being mowed, there were holes in the outfield, the dugout benches were worn out and splintered. One girl looked at me and said we aren’t ______________ but we sure aren’t this place either lol. I believe life is full of choices, God loves us unconditionally and lets us choose to love Him back. HE also watches us intently, daily. We can be joyful and pray continually and get perspective, or we can complain and grumble all of the time and at some point something bad will happen and we will look back and get that perspective when it is too late to enjoy what we once had.