The Gift Poured Out March 31

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 2 Timothy 1:9-10

 

God has saved us and called us. When we enter into a relationship with God, by receiving Jesus as our Savior, He begins to reveal His call upon our lives. This relationship with God is the most fulfilling, rewarding, and adventurous way to live out our time here on this earth.
 
God calls us to live enveloped in Christ’s grace. We cannot attain anything truly worthwhile in our lives without Christ’s grace. Grace calls us to God, saves us through Christ, and enlivens us through the Holy Spirit, as He lives inside us.
 
Our natural tendency is to strive to become worthy, to become holy, to find our purpose in life. We tend to put all kinds of pressure and conditions on ourselves, when all the time Jesus is whispering, “Let go! Come to me and find rest in my grace, it’s enough.” Spending time with God is how we rest in Christ’s grace every day! As we spend time with God, praying, meditating on His Word, and worshipping Him, He reveals Himself to us in deeper and deeper ways, bringing us close, bringing us into rest.
 

Today’s Verses

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:9-10

 

Praying Scripture

Thank You for saving me and calling me into a relationship with You, Holy God! I am so grateful that there is not a single thing I can do to earn this gift of grace. Show me ways to carve out time to spend with You in meaningful ways so I can truly find the rest that Your grace brings. Continue to reveal Yourself to me deeply and beautifully so I can walk through my day enveloped in Christ’s grace.

 
 


The Gift Poured Out March 30

May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:11-14 (NLT)

God’s plan put into place the greatest rescue in the history of all mankind! Because Jesus died and rose again, we have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son, Jesus!
 
Jesus willingly came to carry out this incredible rescue which enables us to live an abundant life surrounded by the light of His love, and shielded from the evil one. The king of darkness no longer has any hold over our lives whatsoever, he has been defeated!! We are free and our sins are forgiven!
 
Oh! What joy! What peace! We can’t help but lift our hearts, filled with praise and thanksgiving, to our Heavenly Father for The Gift, Jesus Who poured out everything for us.
 
At this point, I have to ask myself, “What am I doing with this wonderful Gift?” This is the driving question of my life. Am I running from The Gift? Am I hiding from The Call of The Gift? Am I being comforted by The Gift, but chasing after people, power, career, stuff & things? Or, am I running to The Gift, embracing Him fully?
 
Only I can answer these questions for myself, you for yourself. It’s personal and takes daily honest reflection. Let’s begin this reflection today. It’s far too easy for our focus to be taken up by the, “daily grind,” for our hearts to be captivated by, “earthly treasures,” and for our minds to be distracted by, and bombarded with, “negative thoughts.” We are complex beings, but the way to live the abundant life God has created us to live is not complicated! Stop running away from Jesus. Instead, accept Jesus as your Savior, learn from His Word (The Bible), and walk with Him every day as He teaches you how to become more like Christ. Living fully surrendered to Jesus and His way is the only way to find the peace, deep satisfaction, and abundant life that is our inheritance. When we become God’s children we begin to live in the light and in the freedom of our Savior’s kingdom.
 

As we journey deeper into the life and death of Jesus over the next few weeks, we’re going to be challenged by the humble example Jesus sets for us to follow. As you reflect on Jesus and His humble example, I encourage you to ask God to open your heart and spiritual eyes to see and hear what He has for you to learn from our Humble Gift, Jesus.

 

Today’s Verse

May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:11-14 (NLT)

 

Turning Scripture into Prayer


First of all, thank You Heavenly Father for rescuing me from the kingdom of darkness and transferring me into the Kingdom of Your dear Son, Jesus. Now for the hard part! Show me the truth Faithful Father. Come and open my mind and spiritual eyes to Your truth. How am I living this abundantly free life You’ve given to me? Help me not deceive myself, but deeply listen to You. Am I embracing You fully? Are their areas that I’m hiding from You, or distracted away from You? (pause & listen) Thank You for knocking down the walls, lighting up the shadows, and tearing down the lies that have separated me from You. Thank You for never, ever giving up on me!



The Gift Poured Out 3/29/2019

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:11-12

God has given each one of us The Gift so that we can live with Him forever. God has given every single person He’s created the gift of eternal life. When Jesus died, He blew the doors off of our prison cells that sin had kept us in. Now it’s up to us. There are no barriers, no doors on our prison cell that blocks our way to God. Are you going to walk out of that prison? Or are you going to stay in?
 
“It is finished!” The words Jesus spoke as He slipped into death. He finished the work of providing freedom from sin for us. He finished the work of providing the way for us to live intimately with God forever.
 
The gift of an intimate, eternal life with God is only received through The Gift, Jesus. I love today’s verses, they speak truth so clearly and simply leaving no doubt as to how we receive eternal life with God.
 

Today’s Verses


And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.     1 John 5:11-12

 

Turning Scripture into Prayer


Thank You God for giving me eternal life. Help me walk out of the prison cell of sin and into Your loving arms that are waiting for me. Thank You for writing such clear words to show me the way to eternal life. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for my sins. Please forgive me for my sins. I choose now to live my life for You, in You, and with You. Thank You that I now have the Son, so I now have life!



The Gift Poured Out March 28

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

The love of God is a forever love that perseveres throughout time, within all creation, and pushes into the spiritual realm, fighting for us. When we draw our last breath, God’s love doesn’t draw its last breath, but continues to flow right with us into our death. God’s love is miraculous! We’re safe and secure inside of God’s love through life, and eventually through our death.
 
How do we live inside of God’s love? Attending church? “Hoping” we’ve lived a good enough life to earn God’s love? Nothing we DO will get us into God’s love, which guides us to Heaven, except for one thing. Look at the very last part of today’s verses. “The love of God that is IN Christ Jesus our Lord.”
 
We find God’s love in Jesus. There is no other way, don’t deceive yourself. Jesus is the One who willingly allowed Himself to be sacrificed on the cruel cross of shame so we could have access to God’s miraculous love fully! Receiving Jesus as our Savior, asking Him to forgive us for our sins is the only thing we can do to receive God’s love.
 
  There’s a bit more here. The love of God is in Christ Jesus our LORD. After receiving Jesus into our hearts, we choose to place Him as Lord over our lives. We are able to continually live in God’s love deeply as we walk with Jesus as our Lord and Savior, allowing His ways to become our ways. Listening for His voice through the Word, telling us how He created us to live, and actively pursuing His way of living while we’re here on this earth. Do you want to find God’s love? Do you want to go deeper into God’s love? Simply ask Him to show you how, I know He will.
 

Today’s Verse

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
 

Turning Scripture into Prayer

God, Thank You for Your miraculous and never ending love. Come close to my heart today and fill me up to overflowing with Your beautiful love. I never want to be separated from Your love. Thank You for providing the way for me to live in Your love through Christ’s death and resurrection. Help me make Jesus the Lord of my life so I can continue to fall deeper and deeper into Your love for me as I walk through my life and into my death.


The Gift Poured Out March 27

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Romans 8:31-32 (NIV)
 
God is for you, not against you. At times, I am bombarded by the lie that God is not pleased with me, and He isn’t looking out for my good in this life. I have, at different times throughout my life, began to listen to this lie. Believing the lie puts up walls between God and me which then puts me into a downward spiral of self-doubt, negative thoughts and feelings toward myself. But God is so very faithful! He does not let me stay in this place for long!! Instead, He comes in and tears down the lies and kicks down the walls, again and again, through the truth found in His Word, He sets me free! I am so grateful for truth! The truth is that God is for each one of us. Today’s verse is one of many verses that proves this to be true. Take it in right now, don’t push the truth away. Here it is: Our gracious God did not spare Jesus, but gave Him up – bankrupted Heaven – to die on the cross for you and for me. This does not sound like God is against us, does it? No! He says, “I am for you, not against you.” Then, He follows up His Words with an action to prove that His Words are true. God actively proves He is for us because He gave Jesus up to die on the cross for us.
Today’s verses then go on to say that since God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also graciously give us all things? Such astounding promises, backed up by astonishing actions! How can we ignore this? God is not only for us in that He provided the way to be saved from our sin and hell, He is for us in the way that He desires to be gracious to us during this life by pouring out His gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, encouragement, wisdom, perseverance, and so many more, into our lives right now. He wants to, “graciously give us all things.” Wow! Take in the truth that God’s determined love is chasing you down right now, right where you are in order to give you His gracious gifts.
 

Today’s Verse

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:31-32 (NIV)

 

Turning Scripture into Prayer

Oh God! Open my heart, kick down my walls, shine Your holy light to expose the lies that I’m believing. Help me see, know, believe, and live into the truth of Who You really are. Thank You for not sparing Your own, beloved Son! Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross so I can receive forgiveness for my sins. Thank You that You are for me, not against me. You see me and know me, You know what I need. I invite You into my heart, again. I need Your gracious gifts! Come and pour out Your love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, encouragement, wisdom, perseverance into my heart right now. Thank You for Your presence that is filling up my heart to overflowing in this moment. Walk with me today. Help me think of You often.


The Gift Poured Out – March 26

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)    
 
Powerless, ungodly sinners who are hopelessly separated from God. We have nothing to make God love us. While we are God’s enemies, running from Him, selfishly living our lives, this is when God demonstrates His own love for us by sending The Gift to die, to die FOR US.
 
God is not like the lies that are spread around about Him. Many times we fall for the lies, “God’s love has conditions. I have to earn God’s love. I’m not good enough for God’s love, I’ve done too many bad things in my life. I’m too far gone, it’s too late for me. I’ve messed up so many times, God couldn’t still love me.
 
Today’s verse speaks the truth about Who God really is. The truth abolishes all of these lies. The truth is, God loves each one of us unconditionally. Each one of us finds that we are powerless to reach God in our ungodly state of being. That’s why we need The Gift, Who poured out His blood on the cross, to help us reach God.
 

Through The Gift, God demonstrates that His love is unconditional. God looked out over His sons and daughters throughout all of time (He saw you too), and saw the trap we got ourselves into. He wants us to be restored into an intimate relationship with Him, so He gave, out of His great love for you, for me, Himself as the sacrifice so we are able to simply receive The Gift and be with Him forever and ever. I pray The Truth chases away the lies you’ve been believing so you can move in close to God, where you’re supposed to be. Don’t wait! Move into God’s loving arms. He’s waiting to embrace your life, waiting to love you deeply.

Today’s Verse

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

 

Turning Scripture into Prayer

Oh God, Thank You for loving me without any strings attached! Thank You for pouring out Your love for me even when I mess up, even when I turn against You. Thank You for dying on the cross for me. You saw me and knew me in all of my brokenness and sin. Seeing me in my powerless state drove You to the cross. Help me remember always that Your love has no conditions. Protect my heart from the lies about Who You truly are. Thank You for loving me right where I am, unconditionally.


The Gift Poured Out March 25,2019

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9 (NIV)

God sent His Gift, poured out from heaven to live among us, His created ones. Our God is so very generous, patient, and kind in the way that He chooses to love each one of us. How are you responding to His love?

Are you rejecting God’s love for you? It’s ok if you’re in the place of rejection. I’ve been there too, we all have for one reason or another. But, remember that God is generous, patient, and kind in the way He loves us. I’d like to invite you to keep reading these posts, and take a new peek into the Love you’ve been rejecting, so that you fully understand what it is you’re refusing.

Are you holding God’s love away? It’s ok to be in this place too. I’ve been right here with you. I’ve allowed fear, resentment, and trying to be, “strong enough,” to keep me distant from God’s love. Again, His love is so generous, patient, and kind. As we stubbornly hold Him away, He gently whispers, “My love isn’t dependent on where you’re at right now, I’ll wait as you learn to let down your walls and stop hiding from me.” Do you feel Him calling? “Come close, my child.”

Are you embracing God’s love for you? This is the life that is truly life! The abundant life that is meaningful because we’re living right where God intended us to live, fully “embraced” in His love. This is the life that today’s verse is speaking about. Because of His great love, God sent Jesus so that, “We might live through Him.” Jesus is The Gift poured out so we can live embraced in God’s tender love, through the blood sacrifice of Jesus.

Oh! My heart is so full of gratitude to The Gift for bringing me out of the place of rejecting God’s love, out of the place of holding God’s love away, and into the place of receiving The Gift as my Savior, embracing God’s love for me, and in return being embraced by that generous, patient, and kind love.

 

Today’s Verse

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9 (NIV)

 

Turning Today’s Verse into a Prayer


Thank You for showing me Your love by sending Jesus into my world so that I can live through this beautiful Gift. Deepen my understanding of Your love. Take away the lies I’ve been trapped in, replace the lies with the truth that Your love is generous, patient, kind, and that Your love is for me. Help me embrace Your love so I can live embraced by Your love. Thank You for pouring out The Gift, Jesus on the cross for my sins. Thank you for patiently forgiving me every time I sin, generously pouring out Your love into my life, and for kindly shining Your truth into my heart today.



Hope In Grace

How do you weather the storms of this life?  There are lots of things that we do mentally an emotionally to get through them and they amazingly look like the same things that people do when a regular storm is coming.  Lets look at a few.

Evacuation.

Often when a big storm is on the way the authorities tell us to evacuate.  Get out of the path of the storm.  It makes a lot of sense because the storm can’t hurt  you if you are not in its path.  It also makes sense when you consider that stuff is just not as important as your life.  You can rebuild even after a devastating loss of your home and possessions.  Run away is a good battle plan when it comes to dealing with sin, but most of the time evacuation is a bad battle plan in most of life’s difficulties.  You see that is because the things you would abandon are too important.   What would happen if you quit your job every time the boss said something you didn’t like or criticized your work?  How would it work out in any of the key relationships in your life if you bail when the going gets tough?

Board Up the Windows

Another thing that people often do when a storm is coming is to board up the windows.  This is a good plan in a physical storm because one of the things that happens is that stuff flies around and it can blow right through your windows.   When the windows break then the rain and wind can get right to the interior of your house ruining everything it touches.  Once again, those in a storm in their personal lives often employ this strategy.  They put up boards over any way that people can impact them and they don’t let anyone in.  It does work. It keeps everything out from the vulnerable middle.   No hurts can get in and in isolation feel like you are safe. There is a problem with not letting anything in. Not only is the bad stuff kept out but the good stuff is too. The reality is you are not just protected but you are trapped inside. In addition, no one can see in. So while everything looks normal from the outside usually the storm is raging on the inside.  You don’t have any help and often no one even knows you are in trouble. 

While evacuating and boarding up the windows might be wise when it comes to physical storms,  a completely different strategy is called for in the middle of most of our life difficulties.  Rather than run away or bunker up, we should hold onto hope.  Not just any hope will do either; our hope must be in Christ.  Hope in Christ keeps us in place rather than run away.  We know that every storm can be conquered with Christ.  He is the one who calls to the weary and those without hope and gives us rest.  Hope in Christ speaks to attitudes that can change and forgiveness that can be delivered. In Christ any pain can be healed.  In physical storms there are places you can run away to where the storms are not.  In life storms there is no place like that. The evacuation centers from life storms are usually just band aids disguising as solutions.

 Hope in Christ also keeps us away from the self-defeating strategy of boarding up.  If our hope is in Christ then we don’t have to fear things coming in because our core will be secure no matter what. Yes bad things get in but we can deal with them and we can allow the good things in too.  We also don’t have to fear transparency because in Christ there is no condemnation rather there is forgiveness and restoration.  With our hope in Christ we can let the wind blow.

Peter was writing to a people for whom stroms were coming, and this week we will look at how we can put our hope in the grace of Jesus Christ.

See you at church.

Pastor Chris



Step In – 5-4-2018

Step In

The Jordan River was in spring flood and there was no easy way to get across. God did not tell Joshua to hold up Moses’ staff so they could go across on dry land. Just the opposite, they had to Step In. When they did God worked a miracle and the people of God were able to cross over into the Promised Land. Acting on faith is difficult. We don’t do it out of blind trust but rather the informed trust of relationship. God has demonstrated his faithfulness over and over so we are willing to act in in faith, willing to Step In.

We as a church are being given an incredible opportunity and an incredible responsibility.  God is calling us into a neighborhood where there isn’t a church.  We do not have a reputation there, and we are not known to the vast majority of the folks who live there.  How will they know us?  What is the reputation we will build in this neighborhood?  What impact will we make on their lives?

For us to get to the important task of answering those questions we have to cross over a river in flood to get there.  Gone is the era where the neighbors all come together and raise up a church.  The planning, permits, studies, drawings, and the entire process is complicated and daunting. God is already at work in providing some great friends to walk with us on this journey in the engineering, design, and construction fields.  Praise the Lord!  And when the time comes, it will take a lot of hard work as we will all have a part in digging, building, painting, etc.  But before we can get there we will have to raise the funds.

“Step In” means that we are going forward.  We don’t yet know how we will accomplish it.  We can’t see how God is going to work it all out.  But we are confident that he will not leave us standing in the middle of the Jordan.  This week we launch our capital campaign.  We begin the process of seeking the funds we need to accomplish what God is calling us to. 

God does not have a cash flow problem. Our God has the resources to accomplish this and much more! Our part is to go out and invite people to participate in the blessing of joining in an effort of God.  We are going to make our need known to the community, our friends, and our fellow laborers in the gospel.   Our hope is that people who have a heart for children, a heart for the lost, a heart for a community, a heart for being a neighborhood church will see our heart for these as well and be drawn by the Spirit to join with our efforts.   Is that your heart?  Are you ready to Step In?

See you at church,

Pastor Chris



Outstanding

I will admit it, even though I know it is a country song, camo is my favorite color.   I love camouflage because I love to hunt, and it makes me so much more effective in pursuit of game when they look but can’t see me. I loved camouflage even before I was old enough to hunt. It used to be my modus operandi.  Stay in the background and don’t be noticed.  Hide in plain sight.  Don’t do anything to draw attention to yourself. 

We often like to do that in our lives.  Blend in with everyone else.  When they laugh we laugh, when they are upset we are upset.  We become steeple to our coworkers, our peers, and all of those we allow to influence us.  Blending in is safer.  You don’t get picked on.  You don’t attract criticism or invite comment into your life.  But look out if you start to stand out.

When we have Jesus our lives will stand out.  He changes everything, and everything is changed in our life saving encounter with Him. This change comes about because we are transformed at the core of our identity.   So much so that Jesus describes it as being born again.  Where once our identity was built on things of this world, we are transformed and those elemental and core aspects of our very self become centered on Jesus.  What is at the core of your identity?  Is it made up of things from this world or has it been transformed by Jesus?

In the next few weeks we will look at that very question, and explore how we are being called to be… outstanding.

 

See you at church,

Pastor Chris