For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)
Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. Psalms 17:3 (NIV)
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Daniel 1:8 (NIV)
Taken from Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox
I don't know about you, but it's been a tough week. At times I've felt overwhelmed, frustrated, somewhat hopeless, depressed, beaten up, chewed up and spit out. The other morning, I was fumbling through my Bible hoping to find some cure for my blues.
to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry. In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We have faithfully preached the truth. God's power has been working in us. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything".
Can you believe it's December already? Every month I say, 'Can you believe it's (fill in the month)". That great rocker and theologian Steve Miller had it right when he said, "Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin, into the future." Where does the time seem to go?
At Bellwood we are concluding our series on the letter to the Ephesians. Paul saved the best part for last. He concludes by encouraging believers to always put on the armor of God - and closes with a reminder to always pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. He says to stay alert and be persistent in prayer for all believers. And then he asks them to pray for him.
This is Nike's famous motto, but it also describes what Jesus expects of His followers when he says something. Jesus meant what he said and he' s talking to us. Too often we complicate it, though. If Jesus says, "Love your neighbor", we say, "Who is my neighbor? I need to go study about this so I can interpret just what Jesus is talking about".
"How can we worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?"
In his book, "Purpose Driven Life", Rick Warren made a statement that has helped my wife and me many times over. The statement is, "God never wastes a hurt". Stop and think about that. Reflect on it.Everyone of us has had pain in our life and wondered what purpose it serves. Oftentimes in the midst of the pain we cannot see a point, but we are reminded of Romans 8:28 which states: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them". God doesn't do or allow things haphazardly. He has a plan. We may not always see it, but we can be assured that something good will come from it - eventually.
Recently, I was changing our church sign in the pouring rain. The phrase I put up was: "There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm". After the rain stopped, someone snapped this incredible picture!
If you are experiencing pain or a cloud or even a storm right now, be encouraged. God is behind the scenes creating your rainbow. He is wanting to turn your burden into a blessing.
Yesterday I had the privilege of riding in a combine with one of our members. Upon driving out to his field to meet him, he told me that he would be three miles south and one mile west. (all directions are given that way in Nebraska). As I was trying to watch my odometer to see if I was getting close, it wasn't hard to spot him. I looked over to the west and all I could see was a huge cloud of dust moving about 6mph in the field. (It was a bit windy yesterday.) Sure enough, that was my friend. I parked my car and climbed aboard the big rig.
Here at Bellwood, we are encouraged to use our S.H.A.P.E. to glorify God and serve others. (S-spiritual gifts, H-heart, A-abilities, P-personality, E-experiences in life). Pastor Erik Rees has written a book that talks about all of this. Here is a link to a recent article he wrote. If you struggle to know what spiritual gift God has given you, check out this list. http://erikrees.com/archives/126The Mennonite confession of faith states that first and foremost see the church as God's holy nation. "The only Christian nation is the church of Jesus Christ, made up of people from every tribe and nation, called to witness to God's glory."
Because Mennonites put their citizenship and allegiance to God far ahead of citizenship of any earthly nation, they have often been persecuted during times of war when they refuse to join the military. Because we know that God's church is made up of people from every nation, we believe that God blesses each nation and doesn't play favorites. This is why some Mennonites hesitate to sing "God bless America." They want God to bless all nations.
Mennonites began this denomination on the run from the government and many times through the years have found themselves opposed to their earthly government. Sometimes they have had good relations with their host country, but always there is an unease about how long this will last. Often the relationship sours over the issue of conscientious objection to war: when Mennonites weren't given this right, they often moved to another country.
Other parts of this section of the confession of faith talk about the respect due to our governing authorities and how important it is that we pray for them.
Because Mennonites give their primary allegiance to God, some choose to not say the Pledge of Allegiance. They claim the pledge does not allow them to first be citizens of God's kingdom. This issue has been so important to Mennonites over the years that many Mennonite communities built and staffed their own Mennonite schools, so their children did not have to say the pledge. Mennonites have often been persecuted in the United States for refusing to fly the flag.One reason some Mennonites see the flag as a symbol of violence is because a primary purpose of a flag is to identify a nation during war. Back when the Revolutionary War was fought, the flag was created so that it could be carried into battle. As soon as territory is taken over during a war, the nation's flag is raised over it. Our national anthem was a poem written during a battle, glorifying war. That's the reason many Mennonites don't sing it.
Patriotism means different things to different people, but feelings often run deep and passionate on this topic. Mennonites have widely divergent views usually influenced by their life experiences. The main points in this type of discussion are:
Hughes. The premise is that too often America views itself as being God's, holy, chosen nation. With this type of mentality, it is easy to take an Old Testament approach to how we treat all other countries. Hughes' question is, "How does this square up with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount where he says we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you?".
"The People's History of the United States:1492 - Present" by Howard Zinn. I am typically not a huge fan of history, but I have to say I'm getting into this book. It starts with the horrendous acts that were done to the Native Americans when the Spaniards and Europeans came over to settle. Diaries written at the time of Christopher Columbus detail the sad atrocities that were done to the original inhabitants of this land. It is a 700 page book. I am only about a third of the way through.
New World Disorder" by Richard Horsley. This gives an account of what Rome was like in the days of Jesus. Everything revolved around the empire and its Caesars. Statutes and coins paid homage to the great political and military leaders. In fact, they went so far as to call them "savior" (a term given to Jesus also). I am 1/4 of the way through this but my guess is that Horsley is going to make parallels between the social, political, and cultural parallels of imperial Rome with those of the empirical United States today. If you wish to be challenged intellectually and spiritually, this is a good book to read. If you wish to be disturbed and forced to think, read this book.
“For God so loved the world that He did not send a committee!” Not sure where I heard that…but its true!
#2 – A desperation for God’s power!
Prayer isn’t a good luck charm that is attached at the beginning or at the end of something…people are legitimately desperate for the power of God. They pray Habakkuk 3:2 prayers every day and…
#3 – They believe that greater things are in store.
They don’t just pray big prayers…but they have a sense of anticipation that is contagious! They don’t read Acts 2 and think “those were the good ‘ole days” but rather they think, “that’s where God STARTED this thing…we should be WAY ahead of this!!!”
#4 – They are full of ordinary people.
God always uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Jesus didn’t choose one scribe or Pharisee when He launched the church…and Acts 4:13 talks about how He used ordinary people to absolutely turn the world upside down.
#5 – They leverage technology.
They don’t view technology as of the devil but rather as a tool given by God to reach as many people as possible for Jesus. (Btw…isn’t it funny that some churches are against the use of technology yet all of them rode to their church in a car and their church building has air conditioner?)
#6 – The church is full of passion.
People in the church actually LOVE the church and do not attend because they feel like they have to! (The only reason people get angry with the fact that you love your church is probably because they have no idea what it is like to actually love their church!)
#7 – They take ownership of the great commission.
They REFUSE to be “keepers of the aquarium” and instead embrace the COMMAND of Jesus to reach the world for HIM!
#8 – There is a willingness to change and adapt, even when it means they have to go against the very “innovative” ideas that they themselves once established!
Anyone can change the traditions of the past…but true innovation occurs when we’re willing to change the ideas that we once thought were innovative and ground breaking!
#9 – Generosity is embraced.
The world has never been impacted in a positive way by people that were greedy.
#10 – The people in the church are OWNERS, not merely “members.”
Members have rights, owners have responsibilities. The people in these churches understand that it is not the pastors job to minister to the people but rather the body's job to minister to the body! And as a result people serve Jesus by serving others instead of sitting on their “blessed assurance” and expecting to be waited on hand and foot.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is thinking about granting a posthumous pardon to notorious outlaw, Billy the Kid, who died with his boots on when shot down at the age of 21 by Pat Garrett more than 125 years ago. Richardson's doing this for God knows why.August 2 marks three years since becoming a pastor. I am in the process of doing a pastor-congregational review to gauge how it's going. In three years, one thing I have learned is that pastoring is certainly not for the faint at heart. I have to rely on the verse that says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I definitely cannot do this on my own power (although I forget that sometimes). Here is something I came across last week that describes how pastors oftentimes feel:
"He must generate group enthusiasm as does a cheerleader of a disappointingly slow ballgame.
He feels the pressure to produce a winning team, as does the ball coach.
He is given the responsibility of leading but always from a servant position.
He must give three or more speeches each week to the same general group.
He must not be repetitious or boring. He must have fresh, up to-date materials and data. He must do it without a speechwriter or research team.
He must be approachable at all times regardless of his own personal desire to be left alone.
He must teach from a book studied and read by his students, yet must be fresh and informative.
He is a walking, talking, loving man of God, man of men, man of a family who is called “Pastor.”
He is trained to preach, to pastor, to administrate, but somewhere someone failed to give him the magic word, which changes him into “Captain Marvel.”
He is a man, a good man, but just a man. Without the grace of God his load would be too great and he would break…"
Sometimes the load feels too great, but just like God reminded Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you". Praise God for the power and daily renewal of grace.
