Genesis, origins, the beginning is the story of God, not just history, and it’s not just their story, the origins of Israel, it’s our story. John Walton says, “It expresses God’s love for the people he created and his intention to bless them in spite of rebellion and sin. The picture of love, mercy, and compassion thus portrayed by means of blessing stands in stark contrast to the self-protection and self-promotion that characterized the gods of the ancient world (and ourselves). The theology of Genesis thereby leads us to an understanding and appreciation of grace as an expression of God’s character that reaches far beyond our own personal experience of redemption.”

How are you looking for ways that God wants to create or bring life anew in your lives, naming the failure when we do move in self-protection or self-promotion or control or fear or shame, as well as seeing the ways God is desiring to redeem us.

Are you moving towards the things of God or away?

Are you living a life pleasing or unpleasing towards him?

Are we living in the blessing of his relationship or wanting to take advantage of the blessing and use God?

Assess your relationships with God, others, and yourself. Choose one area to intentionally pursue healing and health.

We can uncover the message of Genesis by focusing on the picture of God that it offers. The church is desperately in need of recovering the view of God offered by Genesis.
Deuteronomy 4:32-35, 39- 32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other…. 39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.

What does this passage mean for you? Mean for your next steps in faith?

Take a moment with this new song and reflect on the power of the lyrics. God You're So Good

 

Notice how God steps into the life of Abram, eventually Abraham and how he starts anew with similar promises of Creation.

Read Genesis 12:1-3- The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

What do we see? What are key words that stand out to you?

God creates a new covenant, a new relationship with humanity. It starts with Abraham, which will eventually be the people of Israel, but his desire is to go throughout the world and be what? A blessing, blessing represents God’s favor.

John Walton shares it this way. “God revealed himself through the covenant. The promises given to Abraham were both a means for God to reveal his attributes (power, love, mercy,
justice, etc.) as well as a benefit to him and his family, conditional on their cooperation and participation.”

Was Abraham perfect in it? Oh no, we will see his failures, the ways he tries to take things into his own hands, he fears, and his lack of trust. But God continues to pursue and redeem.
We see the blessing continue to Abraham’s grandson Jacob, even though he was the younger son, he was blessed by God. Even though Jacob was a deceiver and followed in his father’s footsteps of taking things into his own hand. God pursues him, to bless and give him a new life.

Genesis 32:24-30- 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

What do we see? What are key words that stand out to you?

Again, we see new identity, new relationship, and we see blessing. God is continuing his pursuit of creation (giving life), failure, redemption (grace/blessing) repeat.

The final story we see this in and the incorporation of an entire nation is with the story of
Joseph and the infamous line he shares after all that he went through.

Genesis 50:21-22- 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.”

What do we see? What are key words that stand out to you?

Even in the pain, hardship, challenges we see that God kept his promise and is a blessing, through Joseph and to the nation.

Take a moment and journal around these thoughts or questions:
Journal about a time when you failed but God extended grace and redemption. How does remembering this help you trust Him now?
Transformation often comes through struggle, and blessing sometimes leaves us marked. God doesn't always remove our wrestling; sometimes He meets us in it. The very act of holding onto God through the night, refusing to release Him despite pain, demonstrates the faith He honors. What are you wrestling with today?

 

The talking snake slithers onto the scene and starts up a deceiving conversation with Eve and then Adam.

Read Genesis 3:6-11- 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

What do we see? What are key words that stand out to you?

We see the fall, failure, sin which leads to running away from God and running away from one another, hiding, and shame. Scot McKnight in his God’s Story Commentary shares it this way. “That harmony was fractured by their rebellion against God, and thus they forfeited a blessed existence. No longer was their relationship with God or with each other or even themselves harmonious.”

Which is where God could have finished the story. He could have said, well, that was quick. It didn’t take long for humanity to walk away from the blessing.

But he didn’t. He pursued us, but it came at a cost. There was consequences to the brokenness, there was judgement that needed to be had to make things right. It was out of grace, that God pursues redemption.

If you jump down to Genesis 3:21-23- 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one ofus, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

What do we see? What are key words that stand out to you?

We see our first sacrifice, blood covering the wrongs of another, but it was grace that God covered Adam and Eve.

Again, we will get into this more throughout our time. But this is the pattern that we need to see throughout Genesis and the rest of the story. God creates, gives life, blessing, we fall, fail, sin, God redeems, extends grace, redefines our relationship anew, and this is on repeat.

Take a moment to journal around these questions:

Adam and Eve wanted to decide for themselves what was good and evil. In what areas are you tempted to define good and evil by your own standards rather than God's?

What are the consequences you've experienced when you've chosen your way over God's way?

Write down areas where you're trying to define good and evil for yourself. Pray and ask God to reveal His perspective on these areas

 

The purpose of Genesis is to remember the beginning of who God is and his activity- creation, fall, redemption, repeat. We see this in Genesis, as the micro-story, but we also see this throughout the Bible. In Genesis we will see it through different words or key ideas; life, blessing (creation), failure (fall), redemption, and covenant (new relationship or commitment).

What I want to do for the rest of the week is illustrate those key words as God and his activity is revealed to us throughout the book of Genesis. Then in the months to come we will unpack it more dynamically.

Let’s start with the first few verses of Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:1-2- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
What do you notice? What gets your attention?

Right off the bat, we should stop and see, “In the beginning God…” The focus is God, the attention is God.

Then we see God creating and interacting with creation. We see that he brings order out of chaos (darkness and formless). Which right there is a testament to intelligent design.

Because the Second Law of Thermodynamics says you can’t create order out of chaos. We see disorder, which cannot create order. Unless there is an energy or force or God behind such order. Which is where we see the Spirit, God’s ruach- breath, wind, energy that was hovering over the waters.

John Walton invites us to see God this way. “He is Yahweh, the Creator, patient with sinfulness, planning reconciliation; in his plan of history he intends to reveal himself to his fallen creatures. He is the covenant maker and the faithful promise keeper. This is a God-centered approach to the book.”

Jump to the end of Genesis 1:27-28, 2:7- 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” … 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

What do we see? What are key words that stand out to you?

Life, we are created in the image of God, we have received the breath of life, which is a receiving God’s Spirit, ruach. We see blessing, that God desires to give us goodness. We see blessing as a vibrant, healthy relationship with him, with each other, and with the world which we live.

That was God’s starting point, God’s beginning with humanity. To create us, to give us life, to have His Spirit within us and to bless us. Which is what we see at the end of Genesis 2, where is says, that “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”

Which simply means there was trust, vulnerability, God’s protection, no shame or guilt or fear. The beginning, the origin was perfect relationship between God and humanity and with humanity itself.

Take a moment and journal around:

What does it mean that humans are created "in God's image"?

How does God's "breath of life" (ruach/spirit) within us change how we view ourselves?

Where have you experienced His presence bringing life?

You can also reflect around this song- Nobody Like You

 

We are kicking off our new series: Genesis- Back to the Beginning.

For those of you who were with us when we went through Mark, this will be similar. Don’t worry, it won’t be as long . But what I want to invite you to do is take your time through Genesis. Even if you have another reading plan, go ahead and add this to the list. We are going to take our time going through Genesis and today, I hope you walk away with the encouragement as to why it will be important.

Because let’s be honest, the book of Genesis is not an easy book to read. Granted, it probably feels a touch better than Leviticus or Numbers. But Genesis is hard. Sure, we know it is a story about creation and the fall and the flood and then a bunch of names that are important to the overall story.

But then there are questions like, were the patriarchs real flesh and blood or were they literary-cultural constructs whose legends grew up to embody the cultural heritage of a small but influential ethic group? Did God really have conversations with these people? Are the many diverse languages of the earth the result of God’s judgement? Was there a worldwide flood? Did Ad and Eve actually exist, and di all people come from them? Was there a garden with such marvelous trees? Did the serpent really talk? Did God create in seven twenty-four days? Where do the dinosaur fossils fit in? (We may or may not be answering all those questions.)

Which then can lead us to the question, how does a book, which took place thousands of years ago apply to our life?

To answer that question, let’s open our Bibles. You would assume, a study on Genesis we would start in Genesis. But we are actually going to start after the resurrection, yup, fitting isn’t it a week after Easter, we are going to go to Luke 24 and Jesus is actually going to answer that question for us.

I preached through this story a few years ago and referenced it a few weeks ago, but I absolutely love the uniqueness of this story. It was just after Jesus was raised from the dead. Luke 24:13-19a, 26-27- 13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” ... Jesus then explained .... 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Notice how Jesus draws the attention of the purpose of Moses, in some translations it says the Law of Moses, the Prophets, essentially saying, the entire Old Testament explained what was said about himself, about Jesus.

The Law of Moses is also referred to as the Torah or the Pentateuch, which represents the first five books of the Old Testament. It was actually not referred to as books, as it was the scroll of Torah; which we have Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Torah actually means teaching or instruction. And Moses was one who compiled much of the Torah, which is why it is referred to as the Law of Moses. Many believe that he wrote some, but not all, minimally complied much of what we have with the Torah.

Jesus is saying, the Law of Moses and the rest of Scriptures points to him. Which means, there is an overarching story, one big story in the bible, but all the other little books help communicate that one big story.

The individual book of Genesis means origins or the Greek word, beginnings. Which tells us, this is the origin or the beginning of the overarching larger story of the Bible. Which means, we are going back to the beginning because the book of Genesis informs our understanding of God, ourselves and the world.

What is the story that God is uncovering for us in Genesis?

To answer that question, take a look at this great overview video by the Bible Project guys. Overview of Genesis

What stands out to you about Genesis and the smaller story within the larger story? Do you think you will see the things of Jesus, even in Genesis? What is one goal or application you want to take from this new journey in Genesis?

Because of his great love, our lives should look different. When Jesus spent the last night with his disciples, he washed their feet before the Passover meal and before everything
went “amuck”, even though it was for our good. Jesus gives us a new command in John 17. Notice how Peter Briscoe shares it,

“Man-made religion and legalism would soon be nullified by the sacrificial death of Jesus “because God so loved the world…” Love is the new standard. But this new command, is it just a new thing we must do? A new burden to carry? Not if you look at the context and Jesus’ prayer that follows: I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. (John 17:26) At the very end of the discourse, Jesus says that it will be His love in us that will distinguish us as His disciples. He is in you, and it’s His love that fulfills this new command to love others.”

Because of his great love, our lives should change, they should not just be the illusion of love, but they should be loving. Loving in gentleness and loving in strength.

What would it look like if you lived out this passage? Sit with it for the day and notice the power through the Spirit, in Christ, with His love. May His love fill you and flow through you.

Ephesians 3:16-21- 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

May this be your prayer as well. God of Love, the Son showed me the Father’s love on the cross. Your love is real, and you have placed it in me. Let it flow, Jesus!

The spoken word that was shared on Sunday and then again with the Daily Faith Challenge on Monday was written by our very own Holly Vogel and read by Josh and Emilie Dahm.
We started and ended the reading with the most popular verse in all of Scripture. John 3:16- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave us his son. Why did Jesus die? Because of his great love.

But, it is also deeper than that. This passage would be referred to as a Gospel passage. Gospel simply means good news. Jesus came to bring good news. But here’s the challenge with good news. In order to understand that it is good news, you need to know what the bad news is.

That was the crux of the spoken word earlier, God’s great love. It was a parable, a dialogue between God and humanity, the struggle that faced God’s love and our separation. Notice this section, “The connection of the two were never meant to be separated. But a great tragedy- the two were torn apart. Such a distance they could never close. The distance was great, but greater was the love the one had for the other. There was unimaginable turmoil as a result of the separation, suffering hardship, violence, destruction, pain and death.”
That is our reality, that is the bad news. Jesus took on the bad news.

Notice, “Eventually, the piece of the great love that was sent to the others side was taken, tortured, mocked, beaten, and hung. The piece of the great love took on all the pain and suffering the great separation had caused. He took it all on Himself – and died.”

We are familiar with John 3:16, but notice John 3:17- For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. According to God’s way, he sent Jesus into our world, to save your world, which is you and all that is in it.

Let me summarize Genesis to revelation with one passage in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22- 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Because of sin, that is the tragedy that separates us all. But because of the sinless Jesus, who took on the sin of the world, it is through his resurrection that we can live and live life to the fullest.

Sure, we can ask the why questions and we can wait for all the right answers. But the questions asked at the resurrection are the ones you need to embrace and trust. Who is it that you are looking for? Why do you look for the living among the dead?

This is about receiving God’s answer to the greatest question, why did Jesus die? Because of his great love. Trust in receiving God’s great love.

I appreciate Pete Briscoe’s quote. “To be saved by faith is not just accepting the gift of eternal life. It is trusting Jesus Christ enough to follow Him and obey even when we don’t understand where He is taking us and why the journey is so hard.”

Folks, there are some of you today that need to accept that invitation of his great love. No matter your questions, no matter how far gone you think you are. That’s part of the reason I love the events of Jesus’ last days. When he was on the cross and after his death, there were two people that never should have believed, but they did. They didn’t have all their questions answered and didn’t even see the love that Jesus truly had for them, but yet they believed.

The criminal on the cross next to him, responded in belief and Jesus accepted him.
The Roman guard, at Jesus’ last breath, responded, “truly, he is the Son of God.”

If they received what Jesus did on the cross, then why not you. Like Jesus did with Mary, he’s calling your name and God is saying, directly to you, “For I so loved your world, that I sent my one and only son.” Folks, this is about trusting and receiving God’s great love for you.

You can do that with a prayer. “God, I know I have more questions and doubts then answers and belief at times. But if you chose to bridge that gap for me, because of your great love. I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’ve lived life separate from you, that my sin deserves death, but you have brought me life. I accept your life for mine.”

Let’s take a brief look at Luke’s account of the resurrection. Luke also wrote the book of Acts. Which based upon word count, Luke wrote more in the NT than any other author. I know Paul wrote more books, Luke just wrote longer books. I share that because Luke gives us great detail with all that he experiences.

Luke 24:1-8- On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words.

Again, as the women discover the empty tomb (another powerful message for another time), they are left with questions, “wondering about this”. But notice the question that was asked of them. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Then they said, remember. Remember what Jesus said. He must be crucified and on the third day be raised again. He is not here, he has risen.

Then they remembered his words and went to tell the others.

I wonder if sometimes we don’t choose to follow or obey until we understand the why of faith? Once we get all our why questions answered and can begin to get our arms around our questions and our doubts, maybe then we can truly believe.

Yet, we will never have all the answers but, like the followers at the empty tomb, their questions began to shift to trust because of what Jesus said and did.

The greatest “why” question that God answers, is why did Jesus die? Because of His great love.

When the angel says, “remember what Jesus said”, it was a call back to all the Jesus said and did. Which is the exclamation point on the resurrection. Because Jesus did what he said he was going to do. We know that everywhere it says God loves you, it is true.

Today, sit with the question, “why are you looking for the living among the dead?” What does that mean for you and the impact of Jesus doing what he said he was going to do?
Also, take some time with this song, Love of God

This week is post Easter week. Yesterday you hopefully were able to experience the writing and reflections of Holly Vogel, our Communications Director. She did a fantastic job of capturing the God’s story and our story.

Today, I want to go after a little bit different perspective, because I think when we spend time around Easter, no matter our faith journey, I think we can struggle through a lot of different questions. And as you know, questions are natural. They start with children.

I love the curiosity of kids and the questions they ask, no matter if their questions are social or defiant, they are looking to understand, looking to know more. But what happens when our “why” questions, as adults, aren’t satisfied by our child-like curiosity? What happens when our “why” questions keep building and building that it stunts our faith or squeezes out our belief? Or what happens when we believe our “why” questions need to be answered before we believe, have faith or even trust?

Why is there evil in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why did God send his son to die? That doesn’t sound very loving. Why did Jesus have to die anyway? Why is there hell? And who is going? Why would a loving God send anyone to hell? Why do I have to believe in one man who lived and died 2,000 years ago in order to experience eternal life or heaven or whatever, if anything, is on the other side?

Hold that thought…. Because in part, when I was preparing for this week’s Easter message, in the middle of my prep, my prayer, and reflection on Friday, I got up from my desk, and I went and sat in your seat. Not every seat, but I sat throughout the sanctuary, sitting where you sit. Praying and reflecting as I sat in your seats.

Wrestling with how do I bring the things in my world, in your world, and in the past world all together? Because that’s what we are doing, right now. My world is intersecting with your world, as we intersect with the world of the past. Coming together to remember and celebrate the death AND resurrection of Jesus.

Our worlds are colliding even if for a moment, even if you don’t want to be here and have already tuned me out. Even if you have more doubts that belief. Our worlds are colliding even if you have more questions than answers or even if you have more hope than you could have ever dreamed. Because you know Easter is about bringing dead things back to life and your life was dead until you met Jesus.

That’s the wonder of Easter. That all of our worlds are colliding, here in this moment and I believe the questions I have had over time and the questions you have, are similar to the questions the people of Jesus’ time had as well. Not only the followers of Jesus, but even the questions Jesus asked.

Let’s look at two different firsthand accounts of the resurrection event. The resurrection is an event, not a story. Not like, “once upon a time, in a land far, far away.”. This is an event in history. His story, God’s story intersecting with our story. The first account I want to look at is from John 20; we will start in verse 1. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

What do you notice right away? Mary Magdelene went to the tomb, but found something very other, something she wasn’t expecting; the stone rolled away and no body. She was distraught, she ran back to Peter and John, asking questions. Where is Jesus’ body?
The next few verses are about foot race to the tomb between Peter and John. John wins and goes in first, then Peter. But then notice what happens after Peter and John go back to tell the other disciples. Notice this interaction that Mary has.

John 20:11-16- 11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

We see the emotion of Mary, but we also see her questions, still looking for Jesus. We also see other questions, “why are you crying “from the angels, but Jesus echoes that same question, “why are you crying”.

I love the power of that interaction. John doesn’t shy away from the questions, the bewilderment, the fact that her life was in misery because all hope was lost, or so she thought.

But then do you notice Jesus’ next question. “Who is it you are looking for?”

Which can be a question we ask today. Who are you looking for? Who are you looking for that will answer all your questions? Who are you looking for that will give you purpose? Give you hope? Give you success? Give you love? Maybe it isn’t a question of who, but a “what”? What are you looking for? What are you looking for that will give you hope? Give you success? Give you love? What are you looking for? Is it the next job? The new ______________? The right retirement plan? The right spouse? All real-world questions and nothing wrong with those questions; who or what are you looking for? But how will you
know it will satisfy? Or has your life been one giant question of searching and you are still left wondering if there is more?

Take a moment with God today and go through the questions that were asked in John. How may he meet you in those questions, for yourself.

 

Yesterday was an incredible time reflecting on Jesus - His coming, His death, His resurrection, and His great love. Let us continue in that reflection this morning, so that the significance of celebrating Jesus’ resurrection is not limited to one day a year, but a joy and gratitude we can live in often.

A poem called “The Blood That Built a Bridge” or “The Great Love” was shared yesterday and gave us the opportunity to see the gospel from a unique lens - a love story.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to have this writing shared, something that came out of me spending time with God one morning, journaling around a dream I had, then this writing coming immediately after. I wrote it, but in reality, I was just providing the pages for God’s pen.

I want to share how this writing came about, then encourage you with the faith challenge that can come with it.

The dream was that I was speaking to a gentleman. He was dressed in dark clothing and, let’s just say, was not in appearance friendly or approachable, but I approached him, stood next to him, and asked, “Why do you like darkness? The darkness hates you - the demons don’t want what’s best for you.” He started telling me how he struggles with anxiousness and depression and an overthinking spirit. I said to him, “Have you ever heard the gospel?”

He said no, but agreed to hear it.

I sat down with him, and as I did, other people started to sit down around us to listen. 

I began saying, “Most of us have heard Jesus died on the cross for our sins - but what does that actually mean? How does that apply to us? I grew up Catholic, so I only knew religion - you do this because you’re supposed to, and you don’t do this because you’re not supposed to. That’s about all the further reasoning I understood.

But the truth is, to really understand what that means for us - that it is good news - we first must know the bad news. From the beginning, what happened in the garden was a decision that came with humanity being separated from God - that’s what sin is, separation from God. That’s the bad news: that every one of us has sinned, lied, stolen, cheated, and there is a separation between us and God - there is nothing we in ourselves can do to close that separation.

This is the good news: Jesus came down to earth, fully God, fully man - He lived a perfect, sinless life and was beaten, whipped, tortured, and given a crown of thorns with thorns over an inch long pressed into His skull, and was crucified, naked. He took the punishment for each and every person’s sins.

What does each living thing need to live? Blood. Blood = life. Sin = death.

Jesus covered our death sentence with His blood, and it is the bridge between us and God - a gap, a separation that Jesus made a bridge over, and the only way to cross the separation is by the cross, through Jesus.

If you put your faith in Jesus and believe in what He did for you - you can live for eternity in heaven with God.

And when you put your faith in Jesus while you’re here on earth - He gives you the Holy Spirit to live in you and help you. He helps you turn from the things that Jesus suffered and died for. That’s good news.”

And the dream ended. Then I began to write, “Your blood is the bridge...”

My Faith Challenge for us today is:

• What does being reminded of the gospel bring up in you?
• If someone were to tell you they have never heard the good news about Jesus before, what would you share with them? Is that an area for growth?
• Read through the writing “The Blood That Built a Bridge/The Great Love” and meditate on the story. Read it slowly, and absorb the message.
  What are you seeing? What are you feeling? What’s standing out to you?
• Whatever comes up for you - thoughts, questions, feelings, or further revelation - the final challenge is I want you to share that with someone. That someone has absolutely no required qualifications of attending service or reading the poem or “understanding” what you will say. Just share it - give yourself and someone else the opportunity to talk about Jesus and the impact He’s had on you.

“So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud ‘No!’ to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.”‭‭ James‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭MSG‬‬

For us to be able to grow our relationship with God we need to make some very distinctive choices. My belief is if we’re NOT able/willing to be honest with ourselves how can we be honest with God and others? Only God knows the true heart posture of everyone of his children. I encourage you to spend time in the book of James which can help show us if we’re willing to see our blindness…. Specifically chapter 4 which talks about us submitting to God.

We can also take a look on the other side of the Bible in the Old Testament specifically when God is sharing with Moses (Leviticus 16 and 23) about the importance of the day of atonement and what needs to take place and why.  I encourage you to jump in and see the original foundation of where we started as people and how detailed and important everything had to be to sacrifice for the Lord in the Old Testament.

On the day of atonement which was the tenth day of the seventh month, the Israelites were told to do no work or fast from working from sun up to sun down. There would also be a blood sacrifice, an atoning for all their sins.

This is so important because this was the foreshadowing of Christ coming and atoning for all of our sins!!!! He was the blood that Was the perfect sacrifice for ALL of us once and for all! His blood purifies us, it wipes our slates clean.  God can now look at us and see us as spotless, blameless and will declare us NOT guilty.  But only when we believe that Jesus died for our sins and that it’s ONLY by His blood that we are saved. The choice is simple: honor His death by living a life of gratitude for all He has done which means we will strive to live a life that reflects His glory and goodness. Laying down our selfish ways, turning from the ways of the world, cleansing ourselves takes humility and honest reflection so God can reveal the ways we are distancing ourselves from Him.  

Will you surrender your fleshly desires and ways and begin living a life that declares He is worthy?

Today, Good Friday, is an incredible day for us to be in remembrance of this and to walk/live it out more fully than ever before.  Can you just sit with this for a time, that Jesus Christ's death, resurrection and ascension was for ME!!!  May you draw closer to Him, today!

I encourage you to spend time around this song as well today!  I am praying that God shows up in incredible ways for you today!

Quiet My Soul (feat. Hannah Brooks) - Hudson Taylor Jones (Unofficial Lyric Video)

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

This passage and context of everything around it is so crazy important!  Take some time today reading through John 6, it starts off with the feeding of the 5000 and then Jesus walking on the water.  

Jesus was doing these incredible miracles that only happen through the supernatural! All of His miracles were continuing to show them the identity of who He was and is, The Son of The Most High God. Yet, they were blind, they were never enough for the people, they always wanted more. The people wanted Jesus only for substance, things of this world, what they could see.  

Are we any different today?

What Jesus is saying here is our need to be completely reliant on Him!  He goes onto teach and share in verses 47-58 about the Last Supper and He is the living bread that has come down from Heaven and if anyone eats and drinks of Him they will live forever in eternity!

Through Christ's death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven we truly live in His authority!  Even today his signs are all around us, are we opening our eyes and hearts to observe them?

These have been some of my favorite verses to go to whenever I fast.  Remembering and rejoicing in who He is and what He did for me/us!  The more we choose Jesus as our bread of Life, He fills us spirituality, emotionally, physically… HE supplies our every need!

I pray over you as you read this and meditate on the words, May God show up in your thoughts to affirm and confirm His love for YOU!

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Each one of us have grown up participating in different traditions within our different cultures, some we understand and some we don’t.  If Jesus is our Lord and Savior, I believe all need to be looked through the lens that Jesus talks about here in Mark 2:18-22, message version.

18 The disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees made a practice of fasting. Some people confronted Jesus: “Why do the followers of John and the Pharisees take on the discipline of fasting, but your followers don’t?”

19-20 Jesus said, “When you’re celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but not now. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. No one throws cold water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come!”

21-22 He went on, “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.”Throughout Jesus’ ministry he and his disciples were under a microscope, in this passage Jesus challenges their understanding and the true purpose for fasting.

In verses 19-20 Jesus shares it as He was already with his disciples, the King was with them, so being in awww, celebrating his mere presence, because there would come a time He would no longer be with them and fasting would be the way to be as intimate with Him as His disciples were being with Him then.

In this first example in the message version it talks about the bride and the groom, in other translations it talks about the bridegroom.  Another name for Jesus was the bridegroom as the church (you and I) is considered His bride.  He was and is the example for us to live our lives.  Submitting to God and sacrificing His life for us!  These were blowing up the norms, culturally for that day.  Also, what we as disciples are called into, today.

Jesus then parallels this with two other examples, calling himself “Fine silk cloth” and being sewn on old, faded, torn, unmatched clothing.  The new fabric wont match, it will also be torn away time and time again from the old beaten up clothing that was there for a time and purpose but not anymore.Just as you wouldn’t dare put new wine in an old wine skin.  As the new wine sits it is still in a fermentation state which releases gas and makes it expand which would only break the old wine skin.

Jesus came to bring a new way into the world, and it wouldn’t/couldn’t be confined to the old beaten up and brittle ways/ traditions of doing things.  The same holds true today for us, are there old ways of doing things that are keeping you from healing and maturing in Christ today?

Because He has come to set you free! Even today biblical fasting is going against the grain, this is because we are a fallen and broken world.  I think especially in remembrance of this week and Christ and the price He paid, what an awesome opportunity for you to be intentionally seeking Him and the next step you need to take in surrendering your control and growing more intimately closer with Him!  He will meet YOU!

May you find time today for some quiet time seeking to build your relationship with Jesus!Quiet My Soul (feat. Hannah Brooks) - Hudson Taylor Jones (Unofficial Lyric Video)

Biblical fasting is the act of giving up food for a period of time so that I can draw near to God, as I draw near to God, He draws near to me just as it says in James 4:8 yet check out what it says on either side of the underlined verse.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
This is an incredibly powerful passage, a call for everyone us!  James calls us double minded, do you believe this about yourself?  If you can’t see or believe this for yourself the next step isn’t going to work, because we can't change things that we are not willing/able to see.  It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a christian, how many times you’ve read the bible, or that you’ve done more good things than the next person…  Because of satan, darkness, sin we are all misled, blinded and deaf to the truths of God and His love to varying degrees..
Are you noticing these profound words in this passage: submit, resist, cleanse, purify, mourning,  and humble.  These are actionable words/steps we need to take to draw near God.  We need to be cleansed, purified, cleaned because all of us have been tainted, dirtied by the lies of sin.  The actionable step to this is confessing your sins outloud and repenting or truly turning away from the sins you confess. Yes, we have been washed clean with the blood of Jesus Christ, yet, while here on earth it's up to you and I to continue to choose God's truth over the enemies' ways.  This is the sanctification process, choosing Gods truth over our own….
Through fasting we humbly grow more intimately and dependant on God. Choosing God's ways over our own.  Throughout the Bible people fasted to grow clarity, repent of sin, to mourn and greave, for healing and deliverance.
Fasting is prayer on steroids (earthly terms) or with the power/authority of the Holy Spirit (Truth).  Starving your flesh or the need for food is to be reliant on God which is showing Him your humility and desire to be with Him.  Showing your flesh you have authority over it is of utmost importance.  As you do this the God of the universe draws near you!!!  He is there every time I am willing to draw near, every time I open the door and invite Him in, He shows up!
As we choose to cleanse and purify ourselves we are able to hear and understand God a whole lot more clearly.  Will you choose to take a step in this today?
I encourage you to spend time with this song!Quiet My Soul (feat. Hannah Brooks) - Hudson Taylor Jones (Unofficial Lyric Video)

I’ve been wanting to wake up early and start running, but do you know what happens every morning when the alarm goes off and I wake up.  I have thoughts that run through my head like it’s so comfortable here in bed, you deserve just a couple more minutes of sleep, your body is going to hurt if you do this and on and on the thoughts flood in….  Do you know what I find after going back to bed and listening to the darkness in my mind, shame and embarrassment…..  These thoughts come so frequently in anything and everything when we choose to live in a healthier way.

We have to recognize and understand that the cost of darkness and light are NOT the same.  Darkness costs nothing upfront and entangles us the rest of our lives, and Light costs everything upfront and frees us here on earth and in eternity!  Darkness is a trap while Light is freedom. Darkness hides in the shadows while Light exposes.  Darkness is avoidance, numbness, sin and Light is obedience, feeling and truth.
Darkness is separation from God which leads to shame, guilt, anxiety, embarrassment, fear, etc. while Light is oneness with God which leads pride and dignity, blamelessness, peace, courage in God.

Biblical Fasting exposes what has been chosen or done in the dark, it seems incredibly intimidating, just like waking up early and starting a scary new routine like running.  Your conscience and subconscious (thoughts) will tell you to not do it.  It's too tough, too scary, it's going to hurt….  Christ has already paid it in full on the cross, now its up to us to make the choice.  The more we choose light, the more we will recognize it and trust it is good!

The breakthrough, the growth comes after the struggle, after we choose obedience.  I know how good my spirit feels throughout the day after the run, yet I listen to the small misleading temptations that hold me in contempt, prison.  I know how good it feels to just slow down and spend a little bit of quiet time with God praying. Yet, somehow, I get distracted immediately with thoughts…. These are NOT coincidences….

 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12

I know you have so many questions, bring them to Him, outloud!  He will light YOUR way!

I encourage you to spend time soaking up this beautiful worship song throughout the week!  The answers to your questions get answered when we carve out time here with THE ONE WHO IS THE LIGHT AND LIGHTS THE WAY!

Quiet My Soul (feat. Hannah Brooks) - Hudson Taylor Jones (Unofficial Lyric Video)

Saturday, March 28th

Bonus faith challenge this week.

My final encouragement, in our response to worship is; worship and prayer aren’t about changing our circumstances, even though they may. Worship and prayer are about changing us and those around us.

Notice the power of this passage, especially according to their circumstances.
Acts 16:22-25- 22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

I don’t know about you, but if I was in that situation, I’m not sure if my first response would be to pray or sing hymns? I think I may respond with whining, wondering why God forgot about me, if he loved me I wouldn’t be going through this, maybe even making excuses or blaming others for the circumstances I was in.

Yet, for Paul and Silas, in the midst of their circumstances, they were praying and singing hymns to God and notice what else was happening? It was making a difference to the other prisoners. There is power in our worship, especially when we worship in the midst of chaos.
Your worship, in the midst of your storm, can be a blessing to others. It isn’t lip service, it isn’t just going through the motions. It’s crying out to God, growing in trust and waiting on him.

Then notice what happened during their prayer and worship time. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

Their worship opened the prison doors and broke the chains free. Powerful story, and yes their circumstances changed, but it also led to the salvation of the jailer who was going to
kill himself because he assumed all the prisoners had escaped. Instead, Paul and Silas led the jailer to Christ, not only him, but his entire family (keep reading in Acts 16).

Worship, giving worth-ship to God, opens closed doors, sets the captives free, gives sight to the blind, and opens the ears to the deaf.

Not only in our song, but in our lives, when we seek worship within our life, we connect, surrender, and respond to the revelation of who God is and what he wants to do in us and through us, it changes things in our job, in our relationship, in our family.

Worship isn’t just us to God or for us and for God. Worship is for God and his kingdom.
Notice this devotional reflection from author Skye Jethani. “Modern Christians tend to unknowingly carry the values of our consumer culture into our faith. Therefore, we can assume that the reason we gather for worship is for our own benefit. We think Sunday is supposed to be a spiritual pep rally that gives us a boost of encouragement before the week starts. We assume it’s a service created by the church’s leaders for its members, and we judge it based on how we feel when it’s over. That’s how consumers think of worship. As the people of Jesus Christ, we stand as the bridge and mediators between God and his world. In that role, we carry the praise, prayers, and pain of the world up to God, and we transmit his presence, healing, and grace back to the world. Too often, we limit this responsibility to a few people on a platform or in a pulpit, when the truth is that we are all called to the world in worship.”

How do you need to step into worship differently? How do you need to grow in worship? Have you seen your worship reframed, if so how? What steps do you need to take?

Friday, March 27th

Worship is connecting, surrendering, and responding to the revelation of who God is and what wants to do in us and through us.

The last observation of worship I want to spend some time on is worship as a response. Specifically, worship is a weapon. An offensive weapon and a defensive weapon. Worship can prepare us and equip us.

Simply put, we were born on a battlefield between good and evil. To the point that even Lucifer, Satan, was a fallen angel who led all the choirs of heaven in praise, but his pride got in the way because he wanted to be like God and when his praise shifted to pride, his sin cast him far from God. It should not surprise us then, the impact and the power of worship.

Notice Psalm 8:2- Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

I love the innocence, yet power of this passage. Did you catch it? It is through the praise of children and infants, worship of our children can come against enemies. Worship can redefine the enemy of our identity, the enemy of our fear, the enemy of our doubt. Worship is a weapon. But the power is, who the worship is in.

Go to 2 Chronicles 20:12-18- Here King Jehoshaphat is preparing for battle because there is an army that is coming against him and the people of Israel. Notice the interaction on this battlefield.

"For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Have you ever been there? “we don’t know what to do?” There is something before me, it feels overpowering, we don’t know what to do. Their response? “but our eyes are on you.”
Then notice the rest of the story in 2 Chronicles 20- 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD. 14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’” 18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD…. 

The Lord fought the battle and their response? Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.

Worship is a weapon, a response, in some ways to prepare us and in others for God to do the fighting on our behalf.

Take a moment today to wrestle with what it means, in our worship, to trust God to fight for us. You can also use this song to connect with it. 

Thursday, March 26th

Today’s emphasis is on surrender.
 
How will you respond to The One who surrendered his life for you?
Read through Revelation 4-5 titled “Worshipping God in heaven”.  
Notice how things are repeated 3 times, it’s to emphasize perfection and completeness. Holy means "set apart” so holy, holy, holy is the expression of God’s perfect “set apart-ness”, His being placed in His rightful position. 4:10 talks about the elders falling down, modeling submission and reverence, laying down their crowns as if to say “we surrender and submit our lives, our being to you God, we deny our will and proclaim that you alone are worthy of our devotion and attention! We celebrate being in your presence and all of your works, everything you do is truly good!”  

What other things do you surrender or give your devotion to?  Work? Your spouse? Your kids? Your 401K?  

All of these things, as good as they can be, will always fall short in comparison to who God is and what He has for us. I invite you to take this time to enter the throne room of heaven as you read.  Come into His presence as you listen to the song “We Fall Down”.

Wednesday, March 25th

How do you define worship?  
What does it mean to you?
We often limit the idea of worship as being solely musical, a reciting of words to a beat with notated melody.  Yet, how easy is it to go through the motions?  We have music playing in the background while we work, we can almost unconsciously sing the lyrics without awareness of the meaning of what we are saying or the intention behind it.  At times it can be nothing more than a mumbling.  

At New Life we refer to baptism as the outward expression of an inward change. Similarly, worship is the outward expression of our adoration and devotion for something that we value; a giving of praise and celebration.
 
When you think of your relationships in your life, how do you rank the level of depth to them?  How do you invest in those relationships?  How do you connect with people in meaningful ways?  You spend time with them, right?  You give your attention and time, you share your heart and thoughts.   Think of a child who sees their dad coming home from work.  They run out the door squealing with excitement and longing, exclaiming “Daddy, I missed you.  I love you! I want to be near you.  To be wrapped in your arms, enveloped in your presence.  I delight in you and want you to be delighted in by YOU!”  There is a desire for connection.

Spiritually, I define worship as an intentional, relational connection to the character, power and presence of God. It is aligning our head and heart into a posture of gratitude and submission to His perfect will and purpose.

It’s a declaration of His worth-ship:  Professing that He has infinite worth to be honored, praised and glorified for. Yet, He demands nothing from us, he allows us the freedom to choose where we will place our devotion. He created us with our own free will. He wouldn’t be kind if he forced us to bow and worship Him. When he said you shall have no other gods before me, he didn’t remove all of the other options of what we could worship. His desire is for us to choose Him, but He will never make us.  Worship is to revere him as worthy through our humble attitude and elevating Him.    

True worship goes beyond singing songs or playing musical notes.  It's the soul's intentional connection and alignment to its creator. Genuine worship magnifies His brilliance that is reflected in the care and purpose of how all things are interwoven together with perfect harmony and unity. We see this in the balance of the earth on its axis, the bending of light to paint brilliant sunrises and sunsets.   The expression of Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

Yet how often do we go through each day with the same mundane routine?! In our pride we selfishly overlook God’s desire to connect with us that is expressed through His creation. Reflect on the power and resilience of seeds germinating in darkness, yet reaching for sunlight to grow and produce flowers and fruits, that we in turn get to experience the pleasure of their many flavors and receive nourishment from. The literal of Psalm 34:8 when it says “Taste and see that the Lord is good..”

To notice the delicate etchings of frost on a window.  The wonder of how every snowflake is completely unique.  Our ability to see color, adding depth and contrast to the world around us. This all exemplifies His infinite mind and purpose, revealing who He is, completely undiluted (lacking nothing and holding nothing back) for us to witness, appreciate and be cared for.

We worship through interpreting it as the expression of His desire to be intimately connected with us in every possible way. Worship is a coming home, home to perfect intimacy, perfect shalom (wholeness, completeness), an appreciation of His provisions and finding refuge in His presence. Our worship is a gift that can be offered through every thread of our lives. We can worship in the way we care for others, the heart posture of how and why we labor at work, we can worship in the way we view ourselves, believing we are each a masterpiece of God’s workmanship, each unique in how we live, yet unified in purpose and desired to be part of His story of sharing and experiencing His great love.
 
Our purpose is to worship through our willful, intentional connection to a supremely sovereign God. Worshipping through song is one of countless ways to attune to and proclaim His worth. It is our soul's attempt to communicate its desire for something greater than ourselves. It's our soul's hidden language that only we can express because, we alone bear the image of God above all of creation. But, to experience the fullness of what it offers to the ONLY ONE worthy to receive it, it requires all of our intention and conscience.  Not out of duty, but of desire.  

So let us live out Psalm 33:1-4 “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.”  Take some time to listen to this song, "heart of Worship" put it on repeat and allow yourself the space to connect in a meaningful with your Heavenly Father.  Crawl into His lap, bow at His feet, dance for Him, sing at the top of your lungs or simply express gratitude for the breath in your lungs. However, you respond I pray you enter His presence and see the fullness of His love and grace that He offers freely.

You are loved!
-Kate 

Tuesday, March 24th

Worship is connecting, surrendering and responding to the revelation of who God is and what He wants to do in us and through us.

This first aspect of worship I want to pause on today is how worship reveals who God is or worship is the revelation of who God is and what he has done.

Notice how David is inviting the people to worship who God is and what he has done.
1 Chronicles 16:7-36- 7 That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the Lord in this manner:
8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.11 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
12 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,13 you his servants, the descendants of Israel, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
15 He remember his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, 16 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: 18 “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”
19 When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, 20 they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
21 He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: 22 “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. 28 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. 30 Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” 32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! 33 Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

With that passage, who God is and how he worked. Take a moment and worship his revelation with this song, King of Kings

Monday, March 22

Our discussion this week is a unique one, because there are some who absolutely love this, others who don’t mind, but are confused, and others that don’t want to really have anything to do with it.

Think about it. Where else do you experience corporate singing? Singing together in public places?

Sure birthdays? We sing Happy birthday.

Some say karaoke, but I don’t think so because you have a choice.

I think the other obvious place there is corporate singing is at sporting events. Think about it, baseball has “Take me out to the ball game.” Brewers and the Packers have adopted the strange, “Roll out the barrel.”

We see it in those settings, it’s fun, it’s goofy, it’s memorable. But then when we get to church, then it is a little different.

Depending on your background it can be a challenge, because is it more hymns, or is it more repetitive, do you follow the priest, or is there an organ? Then you get to a church like ours or other even more charismatic churches and there are people closing their eyes, being moved to tears, raising one hand, raising two hands, kneeling, dancing.

Which means for some, because it is so foreign and we don’t connect with it in the same way, we may sit there with arms crossed and mouths silent, waiting for the time to pass.
Sure, maybe enjoying the melody or the instrumentation, but to say that worship is essential. You may not go that far, at least not for you.

Whereas others absolutely love worship through song and wish we did it more and had more members on the team. It’s always on in their car or in their home. Worship for them is one of the best ways they connect with God. But even in that, do we keep our worship to just singing?

My desire this week is to share with you more of why worship is essential, but ultimately to reframe how we see worship, so we can shift away from a consumer mindset or an arm’s length mindset and see the presence and the power of worship, not just singing, but in all of life.

The first passage to begin to reframe our worship is Romans 12:1-Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Yes, when we talk about worship, there is the corporate spoken word of worship, but Paul is also saying, worship is with our entire bodies, which means worship is with all of life.

Yes, with song, with word, with hands, as well as with our occupation, our relationships, our coming and our going. What are we talking about when it comes to worship then

Simply, it is giving worth to God. But I would like to give a greater definition and show you with this image, because the definition of worship is cyclical.

Worship is connecting, surrendering and responding to the revelation of who God is and what He wants to do in us and through us.

Yes, we can hear about adoration, giving praise, singing to God’s marvelous character and ways. But worship is also about doing something in us and through us, which we will see more clearly as our time goes on today.

Before you listen to the song for today. I want you to reflect around your own understanding of worship. How have you limited it? How have you consumed it? How do you wrestle with the definition I shared with you? How can you see all of life as worship?
Then take some time with this song, Same God

Friday, March 19th

I gave the summary statement yesterday that the power of serving others is humility in posture and obedience in action. How do you serve those that are close to you? (spouse, friends, parents, siblings).

Husbands, for a moment, let me on you. Ephesians 5 it talks about wives submitting to their husbands. Typically we stop there and say, “yeah, wifey, you need to submit.” Keep reading, Ephesians 5:25- 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… Christ sacrificed for the church, which means if we are to love our wives in the same way, we look to serve our wives through sacrifice. It is a greater call to serve our wives than our wives submitting to us. How can you serve your wife?

How do you serve those who are different than you? Take a moment with Luke 10:25-37, Parable of the Good Samaritan. Two were not willing to serve and one, who was different, was willing to serve.

Where in the church, the body of Christ, can you serve? We read in staff meeting this week, Matthew 9:36-38- 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

We are asking the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into the fields, to send you out to those in our church to serve. If you want to sign up to serve, start here https://newlifeplymouth.com/serve

Christian Philosopher, Peter Kreeft had a cartoon on his door of two turtles. One turtle said: "Sometimes I would like to ask why God allows poverty, famine and injustice when he could do something about it." The other turtle replies: "I am afraid that God might ask me the same question."

We want God to do something about our world, our community, our lives and God is agreeing with you, go and serve. The power of serving others is humility in posture and obedience in action, it starts with you.

May you be encouraged and challenged by this benediction which was written by Richard Halverson, former pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland and also the former chaplain of the United States Senate. It reflects his deep conviction that his church was not only where the congregation met on Sundays, but at each place where they lived and worked through the week.

“Wherever you go, God is sending you. Wherever you are, God has put you there. God has a purpose in your being right where you are. Christ, who indwells you by the power of his Spirit, wants to do something in and through you. Believe this and go in his grace, his love, his power. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen”

Thursday, March 19th

Read 1 Peter 4:10- 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

See that, each of you? Not just those who are paid to serve. Not just those whose gifts are more visible or dynamic. Each of you, whatever your gift is, which was given to you from God, use that power, ability to serve others.

Let me put it all together for you in this way. The power of serving others is humility in posture and obedience in action. That is a faith essential. The power of serving others is humility in posture and obedience in action. So what does that look like?

Take the pause practice and incorporate that into your growth of serving. “God, where and who do you want me to serve today? Where and who do you want me, in humble posture to be obedient to you and use the power/ability you have given me to serve someone else today?”

Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you — inviting you to discern who He may be drawing your attention to, and how you might serve them in that space. Sit quietly for a few minutes before God with an open heart and a listening posture. Write down anything that comes to mind — whether a person, a need, a specific way to serve, or even just a nudge to be more present somewhere.

Wednesday, March 18th

According to Jesus, serving redefines our greatness through humility and redefines our heart posture, under Christ and for others.

Today, let’s look at a parable, story, that Jesus shares with us.

Matthew 25:14-30- 14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came.
‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

There’s a lot going on in this passage. The first thing I want to draw your attention to is verse- 15, it talks about bags of gold 5, 2, and 1. Depending on your translation we miss the power of what this passage is talking about.

Take a look at verse 15- 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. That word ability is the Greek word dynamis. What other word does that look like? Dynamite. Ability is also translated as power or might or strength. Jesus is saying, “I have given you power, might, what are you going to do with the power that I have given you.”

Which is why, when we get to the last servant, who was given one bag of “power”, Jesus shares that the master was firm with him. But why?

Look back at what the servant said. 24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

Who does the servant blame? The master. Essentially saying, “Master, it’s your fault that I didn’t do anything with what you gave me. I don’t trust you because you are hard and so I squandered the power, the ability that you gave me.”

The Master is firm with the servant because in his fear, lack of trust, he wasn’t responsible and didn’t obey what he was given. Which meant, because the servant didn’t want to have anything to do with the master. The master shows him in a physical expression of being separated from him for good.

According to Jesus, serving redefines power through obedience. You have all been given power, strength, ability, gifts. How are you going to use them? How are you going to steward what God has given you? Are you going to take the power, under the posture of Christ and in humility, use it to multiple for the kingdom? Are you going to take what God has given you, be responsible for that power, and obey him kingdom work? Or are you going to waste what God has given you, because you are fearful and don’t trust his ways? The choice is yours. But Jesus is pretty clear with what he desires.

Tuesday, March 17th

Jesus redefines greatness through humility and shows us that at the cross. Serving pushes against pride. But I think serving can be sneaky and should push against those of us who are over responsible. Because there are some of you thinking, I’m already serving people a ton. I hardly have time to take care of myself and now I feel guilty that I’m not doing enough.

Hold that thought. Let’s look at Luke 10:38-42- Before we read it. Notice the story just before this passage?

Good Samaritan. I don’t think it is a coincidence that Luke put it here. Because in all actuality Luke uses a transition statement at the start of vs. 38 that wasn’t about travel proximity. I believe he used it to bridge from one thought/challenge to another.
What’s the purpose of the Good Samaritan story?

“Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good.” Remember, there was a man who was injured, lying half dead on the road and two religious leaders walked past because they didn’t have the time or they didn’t want to be ceremonially unclean. There was only one, in humility that chose to serve the man beaten, the Good Samaritan. Jesus elevates what it means to serve at the expense of time and religious expectation.

Then Luke shares this interaction. The only place it is found in scripture.

Luke 10:38-42- 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

This passage has always kicked my butt, in part because we’ve had ministry folks in the past that would call me Martha. I was always buzzing around, doing, doing, doing. I would tease that I’m recovering from being over-responsible.

But I think there is more to this passage. I don’t think Jesus is just calling out Martha’s busyness. I think he is calling out the posture of her heart.

Martha is really worked up. We don’t know if it is because of her dinner guest, if she has this compulsion to have everything just right, in its place, the perfect meal. To the point that her identity is wrapped up in what she can do for others?

We don’t know if she is taking the customary role of a woman and is actually irritated that Mary isn’t where she belongs, in the kitchen helping. Which sidebar. This is another reason this passage is so revolutionary. Women were not allowed to sit at the feet a teacher, much less a great teacher, one who was to be Son of God. Jesus is redefining cultural norms.

Which I think is another reason why Jesus is correcting Martha, redefining cultural and positional norms.

Back to the irritation that Martha had. What does Jesus speak to? In gentleness, he says, “Martha, Martha, you are unsettled about much, you are worried about much.” It wasn’t that she was serving, it was that her heart was out of alignment, her identity was about other things and Mary was aligning her heart, by sitting with Jesus, seeking his identity for her.
How many times is your “serving” others done out of a frustration, a sense of busyness, maybe out of your over-responsibleness and if you are honest, your serving isn’t coming from a good heart posture. It is actually coming from a place of religion, if I do these things then I will a “good Christian.” Our serving or scurrying around could be coming from a misplaced identity, that my value, my worth is in what I do and how I help.

I came across this article in my studying, and it hit me between the eyes and I think it is a wake-up call for many in the church today. Teresa McBean, director of the National Association for Christian Recovery (NACR), calls codependency "overfunctioning, the seemingly inevitable response of other family members picking up the slack when members are underfunctioning." She acknowledges that codependency can seem like good Christian behavior, but she asks, "Where is our capacity for discernment, if we don't have spiritual practices, boundaries, rest, time for spiritual seeking? It is in this way that God fills us, so that we can actually be helpful, rather than merely do what we think is helpful, or someone else tells us they need." Being truly helpful requires inner strength and care for ourselves and is often counterintuitive. It requires boundaries and a strong sense of what is our work and what is really God's work.

That’s why I believe Jesus was celebrating Mary. She was taking the time to be with Jesus, which I would argue, fueled Mary to do things for Jesus. This isn’t just about sitting at the feet of Jesus and not doing anything. It is about being at the feet of Jesus to fuel what you do for others.

According to Jesus, serving redefines our posture, under Christ for others. Jesus is saying I want your serving to be from a heart posture that is aligned with me first and then for others.

Or let me put it this way. When we are more consumed with the “how” of serving over the “why” of serving it distorts our faith journey and turns it into religious elitism versus disciple of Jesus, people of love. When the how > then the why, we miss what Jesus intended. Like the two religious leaders and Martha, we are so heavenly minded we are no earthly good. It’s taking the time to come under Jesus, and allow our heart posture to molded and challenged by Jesus, so that we are serving from his posture, versus scurrying around in codependent, over responsible, misplaced identity ways and calling it serving.

There are some of you today that really need to wrestle with this passage and the position of your heart when it comes to serving. I think, myself included, that need the heart check of why I do what I do? Not just how do I. Wrestle with God around your posture, spend some time with him and see how he needs to fuel you before you run out of gas with others.