Connect, Celebrate, Community!

In that famous scripture, about the Church in Act 2: 40-47, we see connection, celebration and community. I believe, that should be the description and heart of the Church today!

We can connect to God through prayer and His Word.  "Seek me and you will find me, when you seek me with all of your heart."  We also connect with other believers during worship, dinners and care.

We celebrate what God has done and who He is.  It says they praised God.  We are to do the same with our lips, heart and actions!

They of course went to the community to evangelize and service.  In there persecution, though they lived  in the culture, they were not of the culture, rather they (like Christ) lived for the culture.  Jesus said:  "When you have done it to the least of these you have done it to me."

We can be all about;  Connection, Celebration and Community!

⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who gladly^[a] received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church^[b] daily those who were being saved.

When I Was a Kid...

You have heard about the good old days.  That's the time of life that things were good, tougher and  work ethic was the rule of the day.  "We didn't have video games when I was a kid." It's true we were outside playing all the known sports of the world.  Back in our day we also played Army, ("Combat" was on T.V. then). We also put many miles on our bicycles. Mom would have been very upset, if she knew how far off we had gone. Back then was the best of times!  Or was it?

When I was a kid..we had bullies. True they didn't shoot you in a drive by, nor did we have computers where they could use face book saying, someone was weird (Thank goodness), they just beat people up face to face.

There was that Asian war. It was not only fought before our eyes on television and  soldiers crying for help with an IV bottle in there arm, You might have had a brother or cousin fighting in the jungle not knowing who the enemy was for sure.

When I was a kid Kennedy was assassinated.  When I was kid Martin Luther King was assassinated. When I was a kid Bobby Kennedy was assassinated.

Detroit was on fire with riots and nearby Chicago and Gary were smoking hot with violence. The revolution was televised and rated V for violence!

When I was a kid, we had Students for a Democratic Society holding sit ins and maybe throwing a few bombs at the University.  Hippies, Draft Dodgers, Black Panthers, KKK, LSD, and Woodstock ("Don't take the brown acid"). The Chicago Democratic Convention and the National Guard shooting four dead at Kent State.

When I was a kid we heard about War Hawks, Love ins and Napalm.  It was confusing.  And yet "The Beat Goes On." Beatles new record's a gas!  Somewhere in all this we had "The Summer of love."

When I was a kid, we had Blues Mcgoos, The Association, Boxtops, Hendricks, The Doors, Yardbirds, The Byrds, Cream, Joplin, Shadows of night, The Animals, Dylan,
Aretha, Creedence Clearwater, Temptations, the seeds, Cocker, Steppenwolf, James Brown, The Who, The Stones, The zombies, Ten years after, Jefferson Airplane, The Gaithers? (maybe they were later), and of course; John Paul George and Ringo.

So... When I was a kid things were good. We still had "revivals".... "Well anyway... we didn't have cable and video games." (or seatbelts and more died on the roads than in the Viet Nam War).  It's true we were outside playing all the known sports of the world. Back in our day we played Army. We put many miles on our bicycles, my mom would have been very upset, if she knew how far we had gone. Back then was the best of times!  Wasn't it?  We wouldn't have missed it for the world.

DO OVER!?

When you play a game or sport and if their was a mistake foul or miss, and a decision can't be made, we breathe a sigh of relief when we hear "Okay, DO OVER!"  Especially when we know we've messed up. Life happens.

We NOW head toward a new year giving ourselves a clean slate, a fresh start.  "This is going to be my year!" That usually means to me "Do Over." 

 In reality there are no do overs we cannot go back to the 6th grade or as a 12-yr old and start over.  We are at our present age and growing as we speak, with all the debt, joys, marriages, failures, etc. Life happens!

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I'm already praying and educating myself to accomplish more, hitting the ground running January first! I can't "do over" life, but on the First day of next year, if I wake up.... I'm going to focus on consistently reading more books, maybe even write one. I plan to be a good follower in some arenas, as well as a good leader in others.  It's not to late for us to discover a few principles. We can't allow life to live us; we must live life! 

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There was the fall of man, and sin entered the world and mankind broke the relationship and heart of God.  "Do Over" can't be accomplished on our own.  You're not able to turn over a new leaf and act like things are all right.  We do not have that authority.

The Apostle Paul wrote "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through faith in Christ Jesus." That is how the slate is clean and we become justified, even guilt feeling erased.  We then have our faith in Jesus as our only hope to spend eternity with God.   "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whoever BELIEVES IN HIM shall not perish but have eternal life."   It is simply ; By Grace alone, thru Faith alone in Christ alone.  The Bible says:  Old thing are passed away, all things made new.  Then pertaining to our relationship with God it's like a ..."Do Over."

Fear: Kill the spread.

Many times Christians are guided by fear.  The consequences can be long lasting and damaging.  We can experience the appropriate fear of snakes, lions, tigers and bears.  These fears may resemble wisdom, when facing a snake... it might be time for flight rather than fight.

Fear is a God given emotion. I believe God understands when we experience the rise of physical reaction inside our bodies. It's natural to be there. I believe God does not desire we park there.

We might recognize a snake or bear when we see one, but it's the wolves in sheep clothing that capitalize on times of separation. They talk peace and safety as not to stir up the appropriate fear the sheep should have. This results in the division of the flock and the wolves devouring them.

The actual idea is; Though this is a difficult time, It is a great time for ministry and coming to the aid of others, building and encouraging each one, informing them we are praying for/with them! We must not take a step back but lean in.

We must seize the day! This is not the time to be paralyzed by fear but rather mobilized by HIS peace.  We have entered a "New normal."  Today we can call, text, tweet, Facebook, e-mail etc, etc.  Even if situations are short-lived, there are many things we have realized, as the need for and doing the great commandment and of course the great commission, as well as the "golden rule."

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who delights greatly in His commandments.

2 His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5 A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs with discretion.
6 Surely he will never be shaken;
The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112: 1-7

While it is natural to fear, let the church walk in Supernatural courage.

Stand fast. Be of good courage!

                                                                             -Tim 

What have you done for me lately?

                     

We are drawing close to Thanksgiving, and a secular mindset and a humanistic worldview has blown into town. 

May I remind you of Bedford Falls turning into a Potterville.   I didn't demand they put the ten commandments in a courtroom, or Godly references all over Washington D.C. yet they did, while some have had a "change of heart."

We were we so red hot in love with Christ, celebrating His birthday.  Now it's about ...us?    How about the meaning for Christmas on a Charlie Brown Christmas, but now......?    How did the big choir numbers shouting "Hallelujah!" during high school cantata turn into; "If you sing Silent night, we'll sue!?"

 At one time we had our eye on the bigger picture.  We were at one time thankful.  We think we have moved forward.  We didn't have a blow out. It was more like a slow leak.

  There was evolution alright.  We have evolved into people who feel entitled and a generation that asks;  "What have you done for me lately?" I thought evolution was supposed to advance.  We are headed back to the animal stage.

  

Perilous Times and Perilous Men

3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴ traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! -2 Timothy 3:1-5

 

"When you pray..."- Jesus. (not if..)

We wonder why Christians are so anemic and powerless...We don't pray as we should.  Children, teenagers, are not introduced to prayer as a lifestyle.  Resulting in a selfish lifestyle that shorts out like a wire with a break in it.  Jesus instructed us to pray and not quit.  Luke 18:1.

"Pray this way...":  Praying to our father.  Are you a part of the family of God?  (John 3:15-18).  Praying like you know God is in control.  Submitting to His will.  Pray, giving Him the honor and glory not only to receive; bread, milk, and a cool spouse.  Rather the result being God receiving the applause, glory and honor!

Jesus said; while asking, seeking and knocking,  pray like a citizen of His kingdom under His Divine authority and government.  We are to ask for forgiveness- Our spiritual position is much more important than our physical one.

So it's a conversation with God, not a wish list to Santa Clause.   Do not worry He understands;  Swahili, Norwegian, German and Dutch, Spanish, Asian, English. 

You can have confidence in prayer:  Hebrews 4:12-16.
You can have fellowship through prayer.  John 15:1-8.

Paul said for us to be praying always, being watchful (expecting), with all perseverance. That's exciting!

Read: Matthew6:9-13, Psalm 27:7-14.

"HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE IT?!"

You begin to have that sinking feeling when you drive by the price sign for a gas station. The masses around the world are fighting their government because of it's economy, with each one threatening to shut down. The globe is on fire as usual with wars and rumors of wars. People stay home, locked away from the burglaries and attacks on streets of major cities.  Then the scam artist knocks on your locked door, while the hacker unlocks your website.

The future could be fantastic or scary as we face the unknown doom and gloom.  It could very well be the greatest opportunity for ministry and revival in our churches and community. I suppose it is natural for our cultures to ask in fear; "HOW ARE WE EVER GOING TO MAKE IT?!"

We as the church and followers of Christ answer; "God!"  We who believe and trust in Christ can inform the world the correct question is; "What must I do to be saved?"  Instead of shrugging our shoulders we share; "Repent and believe, trust in the birth, life, death, blood and resurrection of Christ"

That conversation progresses into answering the question: "How are we ever going to make it?"
Three ideas:  1.  Contentment in God's presence. 2.  Contentment in Gods protection and 3.  Contentment in God's provision.

You can imagine the blessing in your life as these intertwine, as we run into the new warm seasons ahead with great expectation!

Please take some quiet time today reading the 23rd Psalm.

1.  His Presence- Jesus said; "I am with you always."  The song says; "He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way."  Whether you are in a worship service or washing the dishes or ready for sleep. He comes to you in your fears and says; "It is I. Do not be afraid."  God is involved in your life working all circumstances for your good and His ultimate purposes. You don't have to go alone. The Bible says: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

2.  His Protection- Bible assures us:  "The angels of the Lord encamps all around those that fear Him."  When I/we realize the reality of His presence and protection We don't have to be paralyzed by our fear but mobilized by our peace.  Plainly stated; "If God be for us who could be against us."

3.  His Provision-  I get a little anxious sometime. But when I remember what He has done in the past and in the Bible, I begin to "wait on the Lord."  The Hebrew name, Jehovah-Jireh is the "God that provides" I then rest in "Be still and know that I Am God!"

Church, you have a message of HOPE.  In our society you can shine as lights, seize opportunities and challenges,

to help others in trusting Christ as their only hope to spend eternity with God!