Connecting Points

Monday, January 18, 2010

Today’s Topic: Goodness

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:5-8  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;

Last Thursday we started our study of the building blocks we are given to construct a mature life that rests on the foundation of faith. The first building block we are handed is goodness. Stick with me here for a moment while we study this word. You will see an application soon.

The Greek word translated goodness in the NIV means virtue. According to the Greek dictionary it means to pursue any virtuous course of thought, feeling, or action and to have moral excellence. It comes from another Greek word which is the word for a man, or the word male. At its root is the Greek verb airo, which means to raise, elevate, and lift up.

Okay, enough grammar. What does it mean to us now? Well, here’s what I glean from the word study this morning. Goodness means that we are becoming morally excellent people who work with the strength of a man to lift heavy loads in the lives of others. Goodness involves the investment of our energy into the good of others, not just self. In fact, true goodness sacrifices the good of self for the good of others. Anything less than that could not be called virtuous. That means not only do the actions appear good, but the thoughts and feelings match the activity. From the depth of our hearts we are to add goodness to our faith as the first building block of maturity.

I am so very proud of my daughter, her husband, and his family. They are all Packer fans. I’m proud of the fan part of that fact. Let me explain what I mean by that.

My six year old grandson has decided that in the middle of this Packer family he wants to be a Viking fan. He made that choice on his own. No, I did not try to persuade him. Just ask his dad. But now that he has chosen, I have filled his room with Viking stuff. He calls me at least once during every game to tell me what he saw. He really understands the game of football.

Anyway, back to the Packer fans. Yesterday during the game against Dallas, Caleb called me. After telling me the score, he told me that every member of the Packer family wore purple and was cheering for the Vikings. One aunt even dressed her little girl in purple. His other grandpa and grandma rooted for the Vikings. Even mom and dad wore purple. WOW! What a statement of what goodness is.

I called my daughter after the game. I told her how proud I was of her for modeling true sportsmanship. But I told her more. I said that she was modeling for her son what goodness is. She had put the feelings and excitement of the other person ahead of her own feelings. Her husband’s family had modeled to Caleb what it means to sacrifice personal preferences for the sake of sharing in the excitement of another person’s choices. I told her that her activity was proof that goodness has been added to faith.

In Romans 12:15 we are told to rejoice with those who rejoice. If goodness has been added to faith this won’t have to be an act or something we pretend for the sake of appearing good. If we understand that goodness means to pursue virtue with every ounce of strength we have so we can elevate another person and lift them up, then we will become people who will sacrifice our own thoughts and feelings and act in such a way that supports others. You see, we must be fans of people first, not teams or dreams. My daughter and her husband’s family demonstrated that.

Every day we make choices to put our goals, ambitions, and dreams ahead of others. We give in very easily to the temptation to raise ourselves up ahead of others. But the Holy Spirit made no mistake when the very first building block He gave was goodness. He knows the heart of God. He knows the character of Christ. He is at work in us to produce the character of Christ. He has given us the power to put others ahead of ourselves and live virtuous lives of goodness. He has equipped us to care more about others than ourselves. He has filled us with the prospect of rejoicing when others rejoice, even when that rejoicing is contradictory to what we wanted to happen.

So no matter where you believe you are in the construction process of spiritual maturity, go back and dust off this building block. It’s easy to find. It’s the one right above the Cornerstone.

Pastor Josh

Connecting Points

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Today’s Topic: Building Blocks

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:5-8  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I am a builder. Liam is a destroyer. He has destroyed every single wood block tower I have ever tried to build with him. I am sure that at his age of 16 months I was also a destroyer. It’s a phase we all go through. Liam’s older brother Aidan has moved past the destroyer stage and is now a builder. Anytime Aidan wants to build something with blocks or train tracks, he asks if Liam can be removed from the room. He knows if he isn’t, that Liam will come and destroy anything he has built. Not in anger, but to him it is about as much fun as anything else he can do. It won’t be long and he will begin to find more pleasure in building than he does destroying.

This next point comes with a HUGE disclaimer that my grandson is NOT to be personally compared to the Enemy of our souls. But the spiritual analogy of building and destroying is appropriate. When we came to Christ for salvation, God made each of us builders. Satan is the destroyer. Every attempt we make to add another building block of spiritual character to our lives is met with a charge of the Enemy from across the room to knock us over. From the very conception of Christ in us at our conversion by faith, the roaring lion is on the prowl seeking to destroy us.

When Liam seeks to destroy a tower of blocks, he does it for fun. There is nothing funny about what Satan does. He is not playing a game. He is avenging his loss experienced at the cross. He is out to intentionally discourage, defeat, and destroy each and every person who has dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ.

His tactics are not always obvious. He will attack us mostly at the point of past weakness or failure. He will find the point of your tower of character that has one block slightly off center and he will work there to de-stabilize the whole thing.

Maybe he is attacking your goodness so that you’re more concerned with self than others.

Maybe he’s pushing on the block of knowledge, so that you stop growing in your understanding of who God is and His plan for your life.

Maybe he’s adding emotional stress to the current overload of life you are experiencing so he can make you lose self-control.

It’s possible that he has convinced you to give up and not persevere. Satan would love to get you to that point so that you surrender to self-serving sin and forfeit your godliness.

It’s absolutely a certainty that the Enemy wants to stop the spread of love, and he will do that by shaking the tower of your character to the point of collapse so that you take your life back into your own hands and start building on a different foundation than faith.

But there is hope. Back in verse 3 we were given a promise of power to be able to build without fear of destruction. The power of God to make us stand is greater than the power of Satan to destroy. We have been guilty of not removing the Enemy from the territory of our tower. We have let him into the room where we are building.

We let him in through a variety of holes in our armor. We watch the wrong kinds of movies and television shows that let Satan influence our thinking and our world view, putting fleshly lusts ahead of godliness. We listen to music that bombards our minds with false philosophies and worldly pursuits. We surrender to the influence of friends so we can feel accepted when we should be the ones influencing them to be accepted in God’s family. We build treasures on this earth which will eventually perish when we could be building treasures in heaven that will be there waiting for us when we arrive.

Let the images of the terrible and tragic destruction of Haiti be a reminder to you that Satan is attempting to knock down everything God is building in your life. But also remember that we serve a God who builds and rebuilds even after destruction. When the tower falls, no matter how hard and how far, the foundation of faith can never be destroyed. Get busy rebuilding.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Today’s Topic: Wii and Mii

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:5-8  For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

My wife and I were surprised at Christmas when we opened up the gift our children had bought for us. It was a Wii (pronounced “we”)video game system. Immediately the kids began telling us everything it would do. We were especially excited about the internet connectivity option that allows us to play video games with them and the grandkids from their homes. I can actually play golf and tennis and baseball and bowling against my grandson in real time while he is at his home in Sun Prairie. It’s amazing.

But there are lots of things to be added before that can happen. First it had to be hooked up to the television. Then we each had to create a Mii (pronounced “me”). That’s what the game calls your identity. My oldest grandson helped me create mine. As we began he informed me we could skip one step because I didn’t need hair. After the Mii is created, there are training exercises for each of the games to learn the controls. Finally it was time to play. Each time a game is completed, the computer grades the outcome of that game and adds or subtracts from your skill level. The higher your skill level, the better you become at competing against others.

Last night I got my bowling skill level into the pro category for the first time. As a result, my Mii got a shiny new bowling ball. I talked to my grandson on the phone last night and his dad is supposed to be sending me the instructions to get hooked up to the family network. I’m ready to start playing against Caleb on line. I think he will beat me.

God has given each of us an incredible gift – the gift of faith. With this gift we are able to get connected to His spiritual network. By faith each one of us has become a part of God’s “WE”. We are His family. Yet each one of us is still a “ME”. Each “ME” is responsible to increase their individual skill level so they can be effective and productive in their knowledge of God and enhance the “WE”. We are each in various stages of training and experience, but we are each to be increasing in all of the skills necessary to make the “WE” most effective and productive.

Take some personal “ME” time today and really study what Peter says in the Scripture above. Here’s a couple of points to ponder:

• Notice that faith was a gift from God, not something we did for ourselves.
• Notice that it is our responsibility to add to our faith, and that it takes effort.
• Everything we are to add is readily available from the Holy Spirit. We must choose to appropriate the fruit He is trying to produce.
• Each quality that is added is interconnected with all the rest and they must be accepted as a whole. We cannot pick and choose which qualities we want. They are all to be added.
• Nothing is said about ever reaching a state of saturation. No matter how long you have walked in faith, each quality is to be increasing in your life. None of us ever reaches perfection in any area, so keep building your skill level.

Now excuse me while I go increase the skill level of Mii so I can be a more productive part of the Wii.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Today’s Topic: Follow Your Nature

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:4  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The more I study God’s Word, and the more I experience of earthly life, the more I understand that everything depends upon faith. The significance of the verse in Hebrews that says “Without faith it is impossible to please God” increases every day. Those who walk by sight, in human reason and understanding, are growing more and more miserable, while those who walk by faith in God’s promises are escaping the corruption of the world.

Unfortunately, for most of us, there are days when we feel captured by corruption. We get mauled by misery. We feel discouraged because we are discontent and filled with unfulfilled desires. We appear more dead than divine. How depressing!

We should not expect more from a sinful nature. The fact is that everything in God’s magnificent creation follows its nature. Plant seeds of corn and you will get corn plants and corn cobs. Put a bull and a cow in a pen and you’ll get a calf. Put a tiger and a lamb in a pen and you’ll get a full tiger. Everything follows its nature.

When reason is added, mankind can alter nature. People can become imitators and deceivers, covering who they really are with behaviors that mislead the observer. But in essence they are actually only expressing their corrupt nature, which is captivated with the expression and affirmation of self. Man cannot change the nature of anything. He cannot create a new nature.

But God can, and He does for everyone who has faith in His Son Jesus and in His promises. My friends, this is an incredible truth. Let me paraphrase the words of the apostle Peter:

• God has called us to live according to His nature and not ours.
• His call is not because of our glory, but His.
• His call is not based on our goodness, but on His.
• Because of His glory and goodness, He has given us very great and precious promises. Of the 2000 promises in Scripture, here’s my top 5 –

1. The unconditional forgiveness of my sin when I believe on Jesus Christ who died on the cross as my substitute and suffered the full wrath of God against sin. (1 John 1:9; Colossians 2:13-15)
2. The guaranteed gift of eternal life in God’s glorious presence in heaven and that He is coming soon to remove us from this world and take us there. (1 Peter 1:3; John 14:6)
3. The creation of a new nature in me – the nature of Jesus Christ – that allows me to escape the chains of corruption in this evil world. (2 Cor. 5:17; Colossians 1:27)
4. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit who empowers the nature of Jesus to live abundantly in and through me. (Titus 3:4-7)
5. The absolute acceptance of my life by God because of the new nature He has given me. He has qualified me to share His Son’s eternal inheritance. No longer do I need to strive to bring value to my life. No longer do I need to prove my worth or earn my acceptance with anyone. (Colossians 1:12-14)

• When by faith we believe His promises, we may participate in the divine nature of Jesus Christ.

Oh how I pray that you understand this. You have not been given the responsibility to change your nature. You have not been given a new set of rules to try to obey. You have not been made accountable to a group of people to measure up to their standards. In Christ, you have been given the promise of a new divine nature. You have been given the faith to believe God’s promises. By faith you must believe it is true and then live like you believe it.

Peter’s statements agree completely with Paul’s, who wrote, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

In Christ you are a new creation. All the old things have passed away, and all things have been made new. Stop living according to what is dead. You have a new nature. Follow it.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, January 11, 2010

Today’s Topic: Coming of Age

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:3  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 

It’s a big day for young adults in Japan. Today is Coming of Age Day, the national holiday held to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached the age of majority (20 years old) over the past year, and to help them realize that they have become adults. Coming of Age Day means that 20 year olds can vote, drink and marry without parental permission, but at the same time, are also subject to all laws and social responsibilities.

The ages may vary, as will the ceremonies, but every culture has some way of recognizing young people’s passing from childhood into adulthood. Connected to the recognition of maturity is accountability. Accountability is based on one’s ability to be personally responsible for one’s choices and actions.

The Japanese have chosen the age of 20 to recognize that accountability in their citizens. In the United States we recognize different ages for different responsibilities. Young people can drive when their 14, 15 or 16, depending on the state in which they reside. They can vote when they are 18. They can drink when they are 21. And I haven’t yet figured out our judicial system because there’s no consistency in when they are responsible for criminal activity.

Religions also have their age of accountability practices. For many it is between the ages of 10 and 14. It is at this age that they believe that the maturity process reaches a point where a child’s value system is now becoming his or her own and they are now responsible for the choices that accompany that maturity. It is at this stage of emotional and intellectual development that children come of age spiritually.

From the moment of birth a child is completely equipped to be an adult, unless some tragic disease or disorder as altered their genetic ability to mature. Every building block is in place for the child to come of age. The process of moving from infancy to adultery (Sorry, bad humor. Just checking to see if you are really reading carefully.) The process of moving from infancy to adolescence to adult maturity takes a long time, but all of the necessary elements are in place from the moment of conception for that process to be completed. The only thing lacking is knowledge – knowledge of the system and people to whom they are accountable.

The same is true of any person who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation. From the moment of their spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit conceives in them everything they need for life and godliness. All that is lacking is knowledge – knowledge of the God to whom they are accountable.

There are two points I would like to make to help you connect to this truth.

• First, you have everything you need right now to live a godly life. The Holy Spirit has granted to you the complete spiritual DNA of Jesus Christ. Unlike physical conception and birth, there has never been nor can there ever be a genetic failure in the realm of spiritual birth. The Holy Spirit perfectly completes the born again experience in the life of every believer who repents of their sin and confesses Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The maturity process may vary in each person, but the building blocks are all there equally in everyone.
• Second, we spend far too much time praying for what we already possess and not doing what is necessary to fully mature. I find only one thing in Scripture in relationship to our maturity that we are to ask for – wisdom. (James 1:5) Wisdom is the practical application of knowledge. If we already possess all of the spiritual building blocks to live godly lives, then it seems clear that the request we should be making to God is for more knowledge of Him, so that we can ask for more wisdom to apply that knowledge to the areas of our life that are already receptive to the maturity that knowledge will bring. Your spiritual DNA is already in place. It just needs to be set free to accomplish the growth God built into it.

I wish I had more time and space to develop that thought, but I don’t want to overload you. Take some time to deeply reflect on that last point. The power of God has already given you everything you need for a life that honors Him. Stop asking for patience. Stop begging for peace. Don’t cry out to God for the things He has already given you. Instead, recognize that the cisterns to hold the Living Water are already in place in your life. The Living Water has been delivered. All that’s lacking is the growing knowledge of God so that the water can bubble out of your life onto others. Ask God to increase your knowledge of Him – specifically of His love and grace. You will be excited to see that you are coming of age.

Pastor John

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Today’s Topic: Grow and Show

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:2  May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 

The more you know the more you grow.

The more you grow the more you show.

The more you show the more you stow.

The more you stow the more you overflow.

The more you overflow the more you bestow.

The more you bestow the more you sow.

The more you sow the more others grow.

May you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord, so that you overflow with grace and peace, causing others to grow.

Pastor John

P.S. Since we woke up this morning to more winter precipitation, I can’t resist one more rhyme…Now. let’s go throw snow.

Connecting Points

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Today’s Topic: Precious Faith

Today’s Text: 2 Peter 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: (NIV) or, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours: (ESV)

There are times when we wonder if our faith would be stronger if only we had been able to walk with Jesus on the earth. There may even be an element of envy that arises in our hearts when we consider the faith experiences of others compared to our own. On occasion we even succumb to the temptation to believe that some people in the family of God are more blessed than others. This may cause us to question our value. We may begin to wonder if we are all that precious.

The Apostle Peter makes an incredible statement in the opening verse of his second letter to the Christians of the first century. You remember Peter. He walked and talked with Jesus. He was a first-hand witness of His resurrection. While at a public breakfast meeting on a beach he was appointed by Jesus to feed and care for His other followers. He was tempestuous. He had to be rebuked. He was courageous. He had to be slowed down. He was scared of what people thought of Him. He denied knowing Christ. He was forgiven.

Most of us would tend to place guys like Peter, along with John and Paul, on a different plane of faith than ourselves. When we mention anything about all of the heroes of the faith listed in Hebrews chapter 11 we immediately put them in the same unreachable category as Peter. It’s easy for us to fall into the comparison game. It’s even easier for Satan to capitalize on such comparisons and bring our credibility into question. Some of you may be suffering from such symptoms even today.

But Peter, the guy we put on the pedestal, says this – you have received a faith as precious as mine. You have equal standing before the Lord with me. I hope I’m not unique here, because I want you all to enjoy the splendor of that thought. My first reaction was to shout WOW! I hope that was yours also. But then I thought of those of you who are so overloaded with credibility questions that you immediately doubted the reality and truth of what Peter said. I understand, because I’ve been there myself. But there is freedom from that competitive comparison bondage.

Look back at what Peter said and you will discover the key to unlock your chains. It’s right there in the first part of the verse. Until you discover it, you will continue to think that the value of your faith is based on the validity of your works. Until you get this one thing corrected you will continue to live under the lie that your faith is obtained through your attempts to become righteous. Unless you correct your mind and bring it into conformity with the truth of God’s Word, you will continue to try to out-perform others in an attempt to raise your personal assessment of your worth.

So what’s the key? It’s simple – your faith is based on the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. That makes all of us equal and equally precious. When God looks at your life right now, no matter where you are or what you are doing, He sees the righteousness of Christ in you. You are equally precious in His sight with any and all other believers. You have equal standing with Peter, James, John, and Paul. You are as precious to God as Mary the mother of Jesus. You, with all of your flaws and failures, have been given a faith that lifts you out of the slime of sin and places you at the side of the Savior.

You are so precious that Jesus came from glory to get you. C.S. Lewis says it this way. One may think of a diver first reducing himself to nakedness, then glancing in mid-air, then gone with a splash, vanished, rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water, down through the increasing pressure into the deathlike region of ooze and slime and old decay, and then back up again, back to color and light, his lungs almost bursting until suddenly he breaks the surface again, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing he went down to recover. That dripping, precious thing is you and I, and Jesus is the diver who came down to get us.

You are precious. Your faith is equally precious with every other saint who followed Christ. Conquer your doubts. Renew your mind so you can stop basing your value on your performance and start believing you are already precious. You have been set free by Christ. Don’t choose to go back to your chains. Use the key God has given you to unlock those chains and rejoice that you have been declared righteous. Now, live in that victory every day.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Today’s Topic: Seeking God

Today’s Text: Psalm 105:4  Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his face continually!

There was one more box. It was out of sight in the back of the storage area in the basement. We knew it was there, but there was no urgent need to go through it. But now the last minute had arrived. We would be leaving on our trip right after the rest of the family left our home after Christmas, and we needed to sort through the stuff in the box. Some of it would become keepsakes for my brother whom we would be seeing as we travelled.

We dragged the box out into the family room and sat down. Piece by piece we removed items from the box and checked for colored stickers that would indicate which brother had chosen that item as their own. Memories started to roll. A few tears started to flow. Each item had some significance in the married life of my mom and dad. Each item had a story connected to it.

Some of the items had a hot pink sticker not associated with one of the boys. That color was used to indicate that it didn’t matter who got the item but that it had to stay in the family somewhere. One such pink-stickered item was a small desk plaque made out of marble. On the front of the plaque is a laser-engraved face of Jesus created by Joe Castillo that is formed out of scenes from His life.

The beard is a scene of Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, and an ox in the manger.

The angels heralding His birth form the right side of His face.

Jesus hanging on the cross forms the left side of His face.

His forehead and hairline are created with the scene of Jesus kneeling in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.

One side of His nose and both eyes have highlighted crosses in them.

Underneath the picture these words are engraved – Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually.

I remembered seeing that plaque in my parent’s home, but it wasn’t until that moment that the significance of it really struck me. What strength it took for Him to come to earth and leave the glory of God’s presence.

What strength He displayed when He battled all the temptations of sin and self so that He might save us.

What strength He had to keep His heart and mind focused on God’s purpose for His life so that His eyes were always looking forward to the cross.

What strength He had to so passionately pray through the final temptation to run from God’s will that His sweat turned to blood.

What strength it took for Him to endure the beatings, the thorns, and the nails so that He could intentionally shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins.

I knew right then and there that I wanted that plaque on my desk where I would look at that created face of Jesus every day. Not as an idol, but as a constant reminder of my salvation and the strength that is now mine in Christ Jesus my Lord. Strength to endure temptation. Strength to press on towards the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. Strength to endure any and all hardships for the sake of serving my Savior.

As the writer of Hebrews puts it – let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:1-4)

So if you come to my office you can see this simple little desk plaque. But be prepared. As we talk about it I will most certainly ask you if you are seeking the face of Jesus. I guarantee I will ask you if you are living in His strength or yours.

As for me, I will seek His face continually and stand in His strength confidently.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Current Study: Advent

Today’s Topic:  A Conspiracy of Love

Scripture Reading:  1 John 3:16  This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 

As we brace for a major winter storm that could disrupt lots of our family plans for Christmas, let us not become so worrisome that we forget to celebrate the transcending power of love. Love broke through the farthest boundaries of the universe and stepped into the world in a manger. Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.

If our plans are able to be realized, I will be on vacation all next week visiting family in the Dakotas. So until I return on Monday, January 4^th, may this Advent poem written by Dave Veerman carry you through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

LEGACY

                                                  Your life is like the morning fog-

Like the fog

  a morning mist

    life flows and ebbs

      until sun kissed

  Of days and years

    at Noels past

      we await

        but done so fast

    Delighted squeals

      and paper torn

        our family’s joy

          each Christmas morn

      So my wonder

        at the tree

          how many yuletides

            left for me

                                             It’s here a while,

Not long ago

  in manger lay

    the Holy One

      a price to pay

  Thirty years

    plus three invested

      the twelve and more

        supremely tested

    Faithfully

      they passed the Word

        loving, serving

          many heard

      We their heirs

        live through the ages

          write our account

             on fresh pages

                                                   then it’s gone (James 4:14, NLT).

Parent, child

  new generation

    sharing Truth

      the Incarnation

  Christmas gift

    amazing story

      grace unfurled

        revealed glory

    This baton

      to hand along

        faith to faith

          the future strong

      Knowing not

        just when I’ll see

          my chapter

            in this legacy

And so soon

  the race is won

    at journey’s end

      I kiss the Son.           Hallelujah!

Connecting Points

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Current Study: Advent

Today’s Topic:  Modern Day Miracle of Love

Scripture Reading:  2 Corinthians 9:8, 10-11   And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Monday morning I received this email – For those of you who don’t know yet, we served 196 people last night!  What an amazing night, and that the Lord multiplied the food so all were served, with some left over!

Several weeks ago in church we learned about a new ministry in our city that is an outreach to the unsaved trapped in the bondage of drugs, alcohol, homelessness and unemployment. The founders of the ministry are truly acting under God’s power and in response to God’s vision. As a congregation, we accepted the challenge to get involved and help them in any way we can.

One of our shepherd groups in our church decided to prepare and serve the weekly meal served at the ministry on Sunday evenings to about 50 people. They recruited additional volunteers from the congregation to help provide food because this would be their Christmas dinner and they should expect up to 100 people. Everything was organized and prepared to meet that need. Little did they know that God had much bigger plans.

Someone decided to promote the event on Facebook. A big story about the ministry appeared in the paper on Sunday. The meal planning team did not consider the effects of such publicity, but they had been praying. One of the members of the planning team put it this way as he wrote about what happened.

We had all been praying about how we were going to serve all the people predicted last night…Since none of us had experience cooking for that number of people, we started discussing the menu, and since B-side has no cooking or storage or cleaning facilities, we had to do everything at home or church and take it there in roasters. We ended up getting about 50 lbs of ribs, six small turkeys, Cheesy Hash Browns, Baked Beans, and buttered dinner rolls. We also managed to get 90 cupcakes and a large sheet cake. One member of our team said she had heard that one pound of turkey could feed two people, so while it might be close, we thought we could feed up to 100. As you may have noticed, there was an article about B-side in the Sunday paper, so I was praying that we would have enough to serve a good meal to MORE than 100. We got setup with extension cords and started tripping circuit breakers everywhere. As we started serving someone came by and said we were up to 165 people and still coming. We all stared at each other, praying for God to provide. HE DID! We had enough to serve over 190 people. It wasn’t quite what Jesus did with 5 loaves and 3 fish, but God provided. What is even more surprising is that only the last 6 plates didn’t get potatoes, and the last 2 didn’t get beans, and the last of the ribs went on the last plate. I saw one of our men putting the last of the turkey in a zip lock bag, and there may have been enough to make 2-3 turkey sandwiches!!!!! God not only provides, He does it in the exact portions needed! We serve an awesome God, and if you are willing to stretch yourselves a little, He will use you to do amazing things!!!! What a blessed night.

Here’s the email we got from Matt and Suzi, the Directors of B-Side Community in Eau Claire:

Hello friends!!
We can’t thank you enough for your serving hearts tonight!!! We never expected that many people and for there to be enough food like there was, was incredible… thank you for all your planning and hard work… I pray through the craziness people were blessed and even though there wasn’t an actual message tonight, that Christ’s love and message through serving and loving people was evident… I know it was powerful for me to watch God tonight… in so many ways! You all were amazing!! Thank you thank you!!! What a blessing!
God Bless you!!!
Love,
Suzie and Matt

It is in giving that God provides the greatest blessing. He has promised to always provide enough for us to give generously. Merry Christmas, and happy giving!

Pastor John