I sometimes read things in the Bible and think that was pretty harsh. As I read about Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 and their instantaneous death because they lied about what they were giving to God, it makes me shudder.
Peter tells them this land was yours to keep or sell. After you sold it the money was yours to keep or give. But you come traipsing into church, wanting everyone to think how generous you are as you give your money, but you are a liar. Why didn't you just say I'm going to keep some and give some? Why did you want everyone to think you were making such a big sacrifice when you knew what you were giving was not what you really got for he land? Boom! Dead! Both of them.
Acts 5:11 says "And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things." It puts a little fear in me too when I remember times I've said God if you will just...then I will... Maybe I did and maybe I didn't uphold my vow. But then I also remember that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
No condemnation brings great comfort and peace but the big word in that sentence is not condemnation but IN. You must be IN Christ to get the benefits. Too many people in churches today are relying on their good looking clothes and pretending everything is great and doing lots of stuff to justify them before God rather than knowing Jesus.
When Samuel annointed David king, God told Samuel, "...man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus says that on "that day", the day of judgement, many will be cast out. Even though they did lots of stuff, even in Jesus' name, Jesus will say, "I never knew you." (Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 25:31-46).
Knowing Jesus is more than the things we do or the place we go on Sunday or how we dress. Jesus showed us how to serve, how to love, how to give. As His followers we should do the things He did. But being IN Christ is about being "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17, Galations 6:15). And that new creation comes when one is "born again...of the Spirit..." (John 3:3-8)
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Witnesses
When we think about being eye witnesses to the works of Jesus Christ, many of us think too far back in time. We want to go all the way back to the time when Jesus walked on the earth. We think of the twelve who went everywhere with Jesus and saw all the miraculous things He did.
In Acts 4, Peter and John have been arrested and brought before the Council because they healed, in the name of Jesus, a man who had been lame from birth. This man was begging for money but Peter and John had none of that. They had something much better...the power to speak healing into this man's feeble legs and feet. And that annoyed the religious leaders.
When Peter and John came before them, the leaders saw that these were very ordinary, theologically uneducated men - just like us - but "they recognized that they had been with Jesus." (vs 13 ESV) They commanded Peter and John to stop talking about Jesus and particularly the the resurrection. "But Peter and John replied, 'Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard'." (vs 19 NLT)
We don't have to go all the way back there because the same should be true of us. If nothing else, we should tell everyone how Jesus raised us from the dead! "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins..." (Ephesians 2:1) Everyone of us - even if you never lived a life of debauchery - was DEAD before meeting Jesus. When we surrendered our lives to Christ, we were resurrected from the dead. "But God, being rich in mercy...made us alive together in Christ..." (Ephesians 2:4-5) That is something amazing that we witnessed and should tell people about.
I have seen the addicted set free from alcohol and drugs, homosexuals set free from same sex attractions, marriages and families restored, teenagers and unmarried adults living lives of sexual purity, and 1000's saying YES to Jesus as Savior and Lord! I MUST be a witness. I cannot stop talking about the amazing things I see Jesus doing in the lives of people I know and people I hear about.
Jesus is very much alive and still performing miracles! Tell everybody!!
"You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He...I am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior." (Isaiah 43:10-11 ESV)
In Acts 4, Peter and John have been arrested and brought before the Council because they healed, in the name of Jesus, a man who had been lame from birth. This man was begging for money but Peter and John had none of that. They had something much better...the power to speak healing into this man's feeble legs and feet. And that annoyed the religious leaders.
When Peter and John came before them, the leaders saw that these were very ordinary, theologically uneducated men - just like us - but "they recognized that they had been with Jesus." (vs 13 ESV) They commanded Peter and John to stop talking about Jesus and particularly the the resurrection. "But Peter and John replied, 'Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard'." (vs 19 NLT)
We don't have to go all the way back there because the same should be true of us. If nothing else, we should tell everyone how Jesus raised us from the dead! "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins..." (Ephesians 2:1) Everyone of us - even if you never lived a life of debauchery - was DEAD before meeting Jesus. When we surrendered our lives to Christ, we were resurrected from the dead. "But God, being rich in mercy...made us alive together in Christ..." (Ephesians 2:4-5) That is something amazing that we witnessed and should tell people about.
I have seen the addicted set free from alcohol and drugs, homosexuals set free from same sex attractions, marriages and families restored, teenagers and unmarried adults living lives of sexual purity, and 1000's saying YES to Jesus as Savior and Lord! I MUST be a witness. I cannot stop talking about the amazing things I see Jesus doing in the lives of people I know and people I hear about.
Jesus is very much alive and still performing miracles! Tell everybody!!
"You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He...I am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior." (Isaiah 43:10-11 ESV)
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Next Steps
Sometimes I think at this stage of my life I should be able to sort of coast through life. I've paid my dues in work and volunteering and service. Some days I just get tired. Some days I just want to have responsibility for only me. But the Bible teaches that is not the way to live a life pleasing to God. I am always to be looking for the next step God wants me to take.
God gave next steps to Abraham and Moses when they were in their 70s and 80s, old by today's standards but maybe not so old when people lived well into their 100s. Nevertheless, God doesn't shut me down just because I get a little age on me. The key is to not get so comfortable doing what I'm doing that I don't hear or listen to the voice of God.
I am about to take a next step in my volunteer life at NewSpring Church. I have served with Sunday production/media for almost 20 years. This has always been so exciting as I've run cameras or operated computers or did whatever was necessary, including live TV at my previous church, to make the presentation of the Sunday service available to those in attendance. Although I believe this is a "front lines" effort in the presentation of the Gospel, the people who serve are generally out of sight behind doors and curtains and rather isolated from the rest of the Church in attendance.
Now God is moving me out of my passion for the last 17-20 years and sending me in a new direction. This Sunday will be my first with Guest Services, starting as a Greeter. I don't know what God is up to in my life or how new responsibilities will develop in this area but I do know this is definitely not a behind the scenes area of ministry.
For the past 10 months I have been caring for the Production Team without any weekly hands on responsibility. I have been responsible for scheduling, 1st serves, training, and generally encouraging the team. At first I was not sure I wanted to give up sitting in a chair and making things happen but I see now how God was using that time to prepare me for this transition to Guest Services.
I may be caring for a team there as well but more than that I may be caring for first time visitors. That is becoming my new passion; helping new people connect with NewSpring and know that we really are glad they are with us for the day. Another passion that is growing is actually being part of the 6pm service each week. Last Sunday night I got to do that and had the opportunity to pray with Linda who stood when the guest preacher asked for those struggling through a time of silence from God to stand and then asked those nearby to go pray for them.
I don't always know what God is up to in my life but I do know that I want to be obedient to every next step He puts before me.
God gave next steps to Abraham and Moses when they were in their 70s and 80s, old by today's standards but maybe not so old when people lived well into their 100s. Nevertheless, God doesn't shut me down just because I get a little age on me. The key is to not get so comfortable doing what I'm doing that I don't hear or listen to the voice of God.
I am about to take a next step in my volunteer life at NewSpring Church. I have served with Sunday production/media for almost 20 years. This has always been so exciting as I've run cameras or operated computers or did whatever was necessary, including live TV at my previous church, to make the presentation of the Sunday service available to those in attendance. Although I believe this is a "front lines" effort in the presentation of the Gospel, the people who serve are generally out of sight behind doors and curtains and rather isolated from the rest of the Church in attendance.
Now God is moving me out of my passion for the last 17-20 years and sending me in a new direction. This Sunday will be my first with Guest Services, starting as a Greeter. I don't know what God is up to in my life or how new responsibilities will develop in this area but I do know this is definitely not a behind the scenes area of ministry.
For the past 10 months I have been caring for the Production Team without any weekly hands on responsibility. I have been responsible for scheduling, 1st serves, training, and generally encouraging the team. At first I was not sure I wanted to give up sitting in a chair and making things happen but I see now how God was using that time to prepare me for this transition to Guest Services.
I may be caring for a team there as well but more than that I may be caring for first time visitors. That is becoming my new passion; helping new people connect with NewSpring and know that we really are glad they are with us for the day. Another passion that is growing is actually being part of the 6pm service each week. Last Sunday night I got to do that and had the opportunity to pray with Linda who stood when the guest preacher asked for those struggling through a time of silence from God to stand and then asked those nearby to go pray for them.
I don't always know what God is up to in my life but I do know that I want to be obedient to every next step He puts before me.
Monday, May 20, 2013
God Is Faithful
Over the weekend I had the privilege of joining up with 2000 or so owners of NewSpring Church from all over the state as we converged on the main campus in Anderson, SC for an event called Launch.
Our pastor shared the history of NewSpring as well as vision for the future. The very first thing he wanted us to understand was the faithfulness of God. He told us how God gave him the vision to start NewSpring in 1996. He showed us a picture of the living room where 15 people began to meet in 1999. As he shared the details of the uncertainty and fears that sometimes plagued him and the leadership, God was always faithful.
The statistics that amaze me the most are the growth. From those 15 original people God has done miraculous things. On Sunday, August 11, 2002, 506 people were at church at NewSpring. On successive Sundays the numbers were 970, 1096, 1247, 1505, 1548 and 1600. In six weeks the church tripled in size with no advertising, no social media, and no website to speak of. This was purely a God thing!
And God is still doing the miraculous. We now have eight campuses with plans for more. Why? Because God is bringing people who are far from Him and setting them free through faith in Jesus. And when they meet Jesus they begin to take their next steps. They get baptized, they join small groups, they serve others as volunteers, some eventually end up on staff.
The campus I attend is 50 miles from the home church in a community with a church on just about every block. Many church people don't like us and the way we do things, yet we have seen 910 people confess "Jesus is Lord" in the 15-16 months we have been here. God is faithful! He WILL do what only He can do when we submit to His leadership!
Our pastor shared the history of NewSpring as well as vision for the future. The very first thing he wanted us to understand was the faithfulness of God. He told us how God gave him the vision to start NewSpring in 1996. He showed us a picture of the living room where 15 people began to meet in 1999. As he shared the details of the uncertainty and fears that sometimes plagued him and the leadership, God was always faithful.
The statistics that amaze me the most are the growth. From those 15 original people God has done miraculous things. On Sunday, August 11, 2002, 506 people were at church at NewSpring. On successive Sundays the numbers were 970, 1096, 1247, 1505, 1548 and 1600. In six weeks the church tripled in size with no advertising, no social media, and no website to speak of. This was purely a God thing!
And God is still doing the miraculous. We now have eight campuses with plans for more. Why? Because God is bringing people who are far from Him and setting them free through faith in Jesus. And when they meet Jesus they begin to take their next steps. They get baptized, they join small groups, they serve others as volunteers, some eventually end up on staff.
The campus I attend is 50 miles from the home church in a community with a church on just about every block. Many church people don't like us and the way we do things, yet we have seen 910 people confess "Jesus is Lord" in the 15-16 months we have been here. God is faithful! He WILL do what only He can do when we submit to His leadership!
Friday, May 17, 2013
New Creation
There are many times I find myself thinking about how unworthy I am to live a life so blessed by God. But this morning as I was reading Romans 8 I was reminded again that I am no longer a slave to the sinful life I used to live - even though I may still screw up from time to time - but that I am a child of God and an heir, along with Jesus Christ, to all of God's riches.
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." Romans 8:15-17 (ESV)
To say I am unworthy is to deny the work of Jesus on the cross and the love of God that sent Jesus to the cross to pay for my sins. EVERY person is unworthy! But "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
As a child of God, I am part of the family. Adopted intentionally and made a co-heir with Christ by my Father. Rather than dwell on my unworthiness and past sins, I should be dancing in the streets shouting hallelujah and thank you. How dumb would it have been to tell my earthly daddy I can't eat with you or go on vacation with you or accept this money for college because I once did things that hurt you. Because of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection and my repentance, God chooses to forget all my past sins (Isaiah 43:25) and I am worthy, because of Jesus, to accept every blessing God sends my way.
Even Paul had these acceptance issues as he called himself the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) and a wretched man (Romans 7:18-24). But, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1). So I will choose to live each day in full confidence of my place in God's family.
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." Romans 8:15-17 (ESV)
To say I am unworthy is to deny the work of Jesus on the cross and the love of God that sent Jesus to the cross to pay for my sins. EVERY person is unworthy! But "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
As a child of God, I am part of the family. Adopted intentionally and made a co-heir with Christ by my Father. Rather than dwell on my unworthiness and past sins, I should be dancing in the streets shouting hallelujah and thank you. How dumb would it have been to tell my earthly daddy I can't eat with you or go on vacation with you or accept this money for college because I once did things that hurt you. Because of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection and my repentance, God chooses to forget all my past sins (Isaiah 43:25) and I am worthy, because of Jesus, to accept every blessing God sends my way.
Even Paul had these acceptance issues as he called himself the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) and a wretched man (Romans 7:18-24). But, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1). So I will choose to live each day in full confidence of my place in God's family.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Delayed Obedience Is Disobedience
Sometimes I want to just kick myself for when it is so hard for me to be obedient to God. It always leads to sorrow and regret!
About nine years ago I believed God was going to move me away from my hometown. I stopped seeing the guy I was dating, whom I knew was not God's best for me for a lot of reasons. But then I didn't move. I was sure, at first, that God was leading me away from my church of 20+ years but rather than leave the people I loved so much, I went on staff as an employee of the church.
For two years things were great. The ministry I was serving was growing. The people I served loved me and I loved them and my supervisor was extremely pleased with everything. Then, over a two week period, things began to fall apart. And it was not pretty. I left that church hurt, disillusioned, angry, blaming myself for things I could not control.
Knowing for some time that God wanted me to move, I had visited some surrounding churches just to check them out. Others I watched on TV. But I kept thinking, nope not it. As I allowed God to lead me, I quickly found the church He had been wanting to get me into for years.
It was a church 50 miles from home that I had no knowledge of except I'd heard it was for college kids. When I turned into the driveway, God spoke to my heart to say this is it. So I knew before I ever walked in the door, before I ever heard the preacher preach, before I ever knew the core values, NewSpring was to be my new church home. As I was greeted at my car and walked into the church, as I heard the message and watched the videos, as I participated in musical worship, I was blown away. Within 10 days I was a member and have never regretted a minute of it except that I didn't listen when God first tried to get me out of my comfort zone.
God had been prodding me with, "I'm doing things you're never going to see if you don't leave!" And that was truth directly from God. I have seen my son, grandson, and granddaughter all surrender their lives to Jesus. I have seen my daughter in law confess her addiction to alcohol, for the first time, to Care Room volunteers and seek the help she needed. I have seen 1000s more make the same kinds of decisions.
When I started there was one campus with plans for another (only 30 miles from my home). Now, in just five years, there are 8 campuses across our state with plans for more. We have gone from an average weekly attendance of around 8,000 to almost 25,000. There is now a campus in my community only a few miles from home. In 2013 at the local campus I now attend, we have seen 343 salvations and 292 public professions of faith through baptism. It just blows me away! I read and hear all sorts of things about the demise of the church, but the Church is still the Bride of Christ and His means to reach the world.
Because my previous disobedience ended so badly, I have tried hard to listen for God's direction. And God has chosen to honor me personally in ways I never would have believed when I first walked in the doors of NewSpring. I am so humbled that this grandma would be chosen to do and see the things God has allowed me to do and see. His grace is so marvelous. Obedience is so joyful. If God never, ever blesses me with anything else, He has done enough.
About nine years ago I believed God was going to move me away from my hometown. I stopped seeing the guy I was dating, whom I knew was not God's best for me for a lot of reasons. But then I didn't move. I was sure, at first, that God was leading me away from my church of 20+ years but rather than leave the people I loved so much, I went on staff as an employee of the church.
For two years things were great. The ministry I was serving was growing. The people I served loved me and I loved them and my supervisor was extremely pleased with everything. Then, over a two week period, things began to fall apart. And it was not pretty. I left that church hurt, disillusioned, angry, blaming myself for things I could not control.
Knowing for some time that God wanted me to move, I had visited some surrounding churches just to check them out. Others I watched on TV. But I kept thinking, nope not it. As I allowed God to lead me, I quickly found the church He had been wanting to get me into for years.
It was a church 50 miles from home that I had no knowledge of except I'd heard it was for college kids. When I turned into the driveway, God spoke to my heart to say this is it. So I knew before I ever walked in the door, before I ever heard the preacher preach, before I ever knew the core values, NewSpring was to be my new church home. As I was greeted at my car and walked into the church, as I heard the message and watched the videos, as I participated in musical worship, I was blown away. Within 10 days I was a member and have never regretted a minute of it except that I didn't listen when God first tried to get me out of my comfort zone.
God had been prodding me with, "I'm doing things you're never going to see if you don't leave!" And that was truth directly from God. I have seen my son, grandson, and granddaughter all surrender their lives to Jesus. I have seen my daughter in law confess her addiction to alcohol, for the first time, to Care Room volunteers and seek the help she needed. I have seen 1000s more make the same kinds of decisions.
When I started there was one campus with plans for another (only 30 miles from my home). Now, in just five years, there are 8 campuses across our state with plans for more. We have gone from an average weekly attendance of around 8,000 to almost 25,000. There is now a campus in my community only a few miles from home. In 2013 at the local campus I now attend, we have seen 343 salvations and 292 public professions of faith through baptism. It just blows me away! I read and hear all sorts of things about the demise of the church, but the Church is still the Bride of Christ and His means to reach the world.
Because my previous disobedience ended so badly, I have tried hard to listen for God's direction. And God has chosen to honor me personally in ways I never would have believed when I first walked in the doors of NewSpring. I am so humbled that this grandma would be chosen to do and see the things God has allowed me to do and see. His grace is so marvelous. Obedience is so joyful. If God never, ever blesses me with anything else, He has done enough.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Be Still
Most translations of Psalm 46:10 say, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The NASB says "cease striving".
I'm not sure our modern world knows how to be still, which also brings to my mind solitude and quietness. We have our busy lifestyles with work and kids and church. We are always on the go, eating meals in the car, as we multitask our lives away. We have music or TV or chatter almost non stop. And social media...how many HOURS do we spend on Facebook or twitter or pinterest or LinkedIn or...the list goes on and on.
And how many MINUTES do we use to sit quietly before God so that He might speak to us, so that we might get to know Him and His plans for us?
The "cease striving" speaks to me on two levels. Stop living life at such a fast pace, trying to achieve success in the world's eyes. But I also hear God saying stop trying to do more FOR me and just spend time WITH me. Be still, cease all your activity, turn off everything. Don't even open your Bible. Just sit, asking Me to speak to you. Listen, in the quietness, as I tell you what I want you to know. Make time for Me every day and our journey together through this life of yours will take on a whole new meaning.
I'm not sure our modern world knows how to be still, which also brings to my mind solitude and quietness. We have our busy lifestyles with work and kids and church. We are always on the go, eating meals in the car, as we multitask our lives away. We have music or TV or chatter almost non stop. And social media...how many HOURS do we spend on Facebook or twitter or pinterest or LinkedIn or...the list goes on and on.
And how many MINUTES do we use to sit quietly before God so that He might speak to us, so that we might get to know Him and His plans for us?
The "cease striving" speaks to me on two levels. Stop living life at such a fast pace, trying to achieve success in the world's eyes. But I also hear God saying stop trying to do more FOR me and just spend time WITH me. Be still, cease all your activity, turn off everything. Don't even open your Bible. Just sit, asking Me to speak to you. Listen, in the quietness, as I tell you what I want you to know. Make time for Me every day and our journey together through this life of yours will take on a whole new meaning.
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