CreationPower

The same creative power that was at work in Creation is today re-creating us in Christ’s image, making us sanctified and holy in God’s sight.

Pastor Phillips affirmed a wonderful truth Sunday: the same Spirit that hovered over the formless, dark, empty chaos at the beginning of time is the same Spirit who brooded over your life and mine before our life in Christ began. Darkness covered the depths of our hearts and minds. And into that darkness, the same voice that spoke at creation spoke to you and I individually, “Let there be light.”

That was Day One, the first stage of our spiritual journey. Our eyes were opened. The darkness of doubt was pierced, and the Light ruled the new day.

On the Second Day, the heavens were separated from the earth. Two worlds were defined, just as they gradually become clearer to us after we give our life to Christ. Earth is not all there is; in fact, it is simply a preparation-ground for heaven, and we are pilgrims, called to set our hearts on things above.

On Day Three, the seas made place for dry ground, and we got our spiritual footing. Soon new growth appeared, like branches from a Vine, and the potential for fruit was created.

Day Four, the moon and stars were created and organized. Discipline and order was being established, just as it is when the Spirit opens God’s Word to the developing Christian and helps him or her to establish regular rhythms of worship and study and self-examination.

Day Five: life began to take root everywhere. The silent skies filled with birds; the empty seas teemed with fish. So in us, places that were achingly empty and lifeless begin to come alive. There is the sound of singing in previously vacant areas of our inner beings, and a living Presence in the lonely places of our hearts.

On Day Six, God is moving to the fulfillment of His highest goal – the creation of someone in His image. He works up to it gradually... first wild animals, then domesticated livestock… and finally the crowning achievement –man and woman, made from clay yet bearing the very breath of God within.

So it is God’s intention all along to take our bodies of clay and breathe His Spirit into us, until we stand to take possession of all He’s prepared for us. To do the work for which He made us. To enjoy an intimate relationship with Him every day in the inner garden of our hearts.

Creation… re-creation… both are a process involving the very same God, the very same power, and the very same Voice which continually encourages our progress, saying with deep divine pleasure,

“It is good.”

Where’s the Power?

Power.

Gigantic earthmovers, mowing down boulders and trees and small mountains that stand in the path of progress. Space shuttles boiling huge clouds of exhaust in liftoffs that shake the earth for miles around. Prizefighters whose knockout punches instantly drop their opponent and send awestruck crowds into frenzied cheering.

Power is loud, we’re convinced. It’s in your face. It commands respect and it gets results. We bow to power. We step aside for it. We don’t argue with it. We stand back, impressed, and watch it work.

That’s why we Christians aren’t so sure we have it. Very few fireworks result from our prayers. Seldom are mountains moved by our service. Rarely are onlookers stunned by what’s happening in and through our lives. Yet Paul seemed so certain:

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know… his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:18-21 NIV).

But we’re not looking for the power that raised Christ; we’re looking for the power of his death – the sky turning black, the ground shaking, the dead coming back to life. In strange contrast, Resurrection power didn’t make any mountains tremble – it merely rolled a stone from a door, with only a few soldiers as an audience. It didn’t flatten any buildings; it stepped effortlessly through locked doors. It didn’t send fireworks blazing across the night sky; it rose without fanfare into the clouds and returned to the Father.

That’s the Resurrection power that’s in us. Power that’s amazingly, astonishingly effortless and often deceptively low-profile. Power that doesn’t comand attention and parade its full capabilities. Power that works under the radar and behind the scenes. Still, it tramples down evil and gets the job done.

That’s why we can pray tonight and instantly, as soon as the words are out of our mouth, encourage believers in a Chinese underground meeting halfway around the world. That’s why we can listen to a distraught friend for an hour, and respond with one word, one sentence… and it is the word that sets them free, that opens their eyes to a truth they desperately needed to see. That’s why we can set a foot into the dark and dangerous unknowns that lie ahead, and watch the waters part and the way become clear and the obstacles fall left and right as though a Hand is parting them for us…

Resurrection power. It is at work in us who believe, although we’re often looking for something different. May the eyes of our heart be opened to see the power of the reigning Christ working in us and flowing from us this day, by the Spirit of the Risen One.

Passion Week

If I had a meat thermometer and could plunge it in your heart to test your devotion to Christ, would it register a cold heart… a lukewarm heart like those Laodiceans of Revelation 3 ... or a heart on fire?

This was the question thrown out to our congregation Sunday morning, and it’s an appropriate question to ask at the outset of Holy Week. After all, this week is also termed “Passion Week,” and as it progresses we see the thermometer plunged deep into the heart of Christ.

What does it reveal? On Palm Sunday we see a Savior weep over a city who will not be saved. On Monday an Avenger, jealous for His Father’s honor, clears the Temple of merchandise and moneychangers. On Thursday, in Gethsemane’s gathering darkness, a Suffering Sacrifice agonizes as Night approaches. On Friday, the sin-laden Slain Lamb cries for a Father Who is nowhere to be found.

Was there any passion, any depth of devotion in the heart of Christ this Holy Week? He was all about passion, He was a heart on fire with love for us and devotion to the will of His Father. He was throwing every ounce of energy, every bit of heart into His mission; He was leaving it all on the field, for love of us and His Father.

So Holy Week is an excellent time to take our own temperature, and not with one of those pop-up timers that cheerfully announce, “Enough! Well done, time to turn the heat off, take the offering out of the oven and let’r cool!”

No, let’s invite God to do the testing, to plunge His “thermometer” into the depths of our heart, then ask Him to fan the flame of our inner devotion this week until we are a furnace heated seven times hotter… until the streams of living water that flow out from us (Jn. 7:38) become hot springs, healing streams, life-giving refreshment to everyone in our path. Let’s make it our Passion Week, too.

In fact, because every day is Palm Sunday, let's make it Passion Life.

The Declaration of the Downcast

John Stumbo, whom Pastor Dave referred to in the opening words of Sunday’s sermon, pastored a large Alliance church in Oregon before contracting a devastating disease that nearly killed him. Partially recovered, John still cannot swallow and has numerous other limitations, but can drive and work part-time in an associate position at his church.

On his blog, John recently posted his declaration of faith, and encouraged his readers to use it to assert their own faith. “Remember,” he wrote, “this isn't a prayer, but a declaration of faith. Speak it boldly.” Maybe you’ll even want to use it for awhile in your daily devotional time, or start each day by proclaiming it to the Lord:

DECLARATION OF FAITH

In Him we live and move and have our being.

Christ is here. He is with us.
Christ is present. He is among us.

I believe we will be recipients of His grace every day we live. With David I believe that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. With Paul I rejoice that nothing can separate us from God's love. With Mary, I accept His divine plan for our lives and say, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

Christ is here. He is with me.
Christ is present. He is surrounding me.

I believe I will be a recipient of His grace this very day. I don't know if today will bring the grace of physical healing or the grace to have the courage and strength to thrive in my brokenness. But I celebrate that both are acts of grace, both are from His good hand.

Christ is here. He is with us.
Christ is present. He is among us.

I believe that, as we have eyes to see them, we will encounter evidences of His grace today. He has no old mercies. They are ever new. He is never thwarted by evil, but can always bring good out of the worst situations if we let Him. He is the God who can redeem anything.

Christ is here. He is with me.
Christ is present. He is encompassing me.

I believe that His grace will invade my world as I walk it today. I know that as long as I live in this fallen world, I will face hardship. But I also know that I can be of good cheer--I can live with joyful courage--because the One who has overcome the world goes before me.

Christ is here. He is with me.
Christ is present. He envelopes me.

I believe that His grace will be sufficient through all of life. Even when my path takes me to the valley of death, I will have no reason to fear for He is with me. With that being settled, I can more fully embrace all he has for me this day, for I am alive. I am alive in Him.

Indeed, it is in Him that we live and move and have our being.




(For further reflection, here are the Scriptures that are directly or indirectly referenced in the above: Acts 17:28, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5-6, Psalm 23:6, Romans 8:39, Luke 1:38, Genesis 50:20, John 16:33, Psalm 23:4)

Grateful to be on this journey with you,
John

A Carrot in My Ear

When my sisters and I were young, we periodically dredged up that old joke:

“You’ve got a carrot in your ear!”

“What?”

(Louder) “You’ve got a carrot in your ear!”

“What?”

YOU’VE GOT A CARROT IN YOUR EAR!!

“I can’t hear you; I’ve got a carrot in my ear.”

If you fail to see the humor, what can I say – we loved it, which does not mean it was necessarily funny. But the joke does have something to say about our spiritual sense of hearing. We learned Sunday that hearing is the first sense to return when one is regaining consciousness, and the last to leave when one is fading out. And many of us agree that we long to be more conscious of God, but for some reason we just aren’t hearing from Him.

We lament His silence. We yearn for His voice. We remember how thrilling it was the last time He actually said something to us. We pray for Him to speak again. We listen, but hear only silence.

It’s all those carrots in our ears. Carrots like...

1. Willfulness. We want to hear some kind of guidance from the Spirit, but we’re gonna weigh what He says before committing 100%.
2. Doubt. Although we ask, we’re not sure we can count on an answer. (“That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord” James 1:7 NIV).
3. Busyness. We race around like chickens with our heads cut off, then freeze for five seconds to listen for God’s voice. Nothing yet? Then it’s off to the races again.
4. Fear. We desperately need to hear from God, but we’re petrified of what He might say. What if it’s too hard? What if it’s precisely those words we dread to hear? Might hearing be worse than this silence?
5. Noise. The voice of the Spirit is a gentle whisper. (after all, how many times do we read, “and God shouted…”?) I hope I’m not stealing from next Sunday’s sermon when I say that only after the wind, earthquake and fire had taken a back seat did Elijah hear the still, small voice of the Lord. Any commotion going on in our lives? It’s highly likely we’ll need to steal away to a quiet place where whispers can be heard.

Willfulness. Doubt. Busyness. Fear. Noise. We’d love to hear from God… but we’ve got these carrots in our ears…

Love's Perfect Present Tense

“God’s love is always in the perfect present tense.” That sentence from Sunday’s sermon deserves a resounding, Yes! It most certainly is! And just what would that mean, if you let Webster’s Dictionary, rather than an English grammar teacher, define it?

Perfect! God’s love for you and me is complete in all aspects, without defect or omission, flawless, faultless, and without reserve or qualification. It is utter, pure, sheer, and absolute perfection. It always understands you and me, always decides the right thing, always takes the right course of action. God’s love could never be improved upon and never has its ups and downs. It’s always perfect.

Present! God’s love is not just a vague, warm cosmic feeling; His love is a state that is now existing, an action that is right now in progress, an attention that is fully fixed on each of us this very second. And when the next second comes…next year… next decade… on into the eons of eternity, His love will be ever-present and attentive and active in our lives.

Tense! The root meaning of tense comes from the Latin “to stretch.” God’s love stretches from eternity past to reach into our present and continue on into our future. He planned before creation to rescue us. After man sinned, He kept reaching and reaching into our world – first through the Law and the prophets, then through His Son and His sacrifice. God continues to reach into our world through His Word and through His Holy Spirit. He’s continually stretching out to us, striving to communicate His love and capture ours. He’s wrapping His arms tightly around us. He’s pulling us close to Himself, holding us forever in His intense love.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called His kids!” That we should be loved by Him… in the perfect present tense.

McWorship

“Hello and welcome to McWorship… can I take your order?”

“Ah, yes, I’d like the full meal deal. One sanctuary full of energy and enthusiasm (someone else’s), stuffed with the works – praise band, worship leader, worship team, choir… Layer on a rousing sermon, and throw in some hi-tech touches. And it’s been a hard week, so supersize the whole thing. I’ll eat that right here… And to go, I’d like a McWrap of peace with a hi-carb feeling…”

McWorship. Entering the sanctuary with one thing in mind – getting what we want, conveniently and instantly.

That’s not you? Surely we’re all guilty to some degree. God’s peace is so enjoyable, His music is so inspiring, His Word is so challenging, that it’s tempting to get our eyes off God and focus on those feelings. Soon we’re pulling into the FAC driveway, anticipating not a meeting with Him, but an infusion of good feelings. They’re what we’re hungry for, why we bite eagerly into our Sunday morning McWorship.

We’ve lowered our sights. Once we focus on the feelings, our attention turns inward. Are they serving what I need? Am I being satisfied? Will I leave here with a full spirit – gotten at a discount price?

Good grief, we would never say those things in so many words. But if our “meal” isn’t delivered as ordered, aren’t we a little disgruntled? Searching for someone to blame? Who didn’t flip the burger fast enough to fill our little order? Who withheld our inspiring word from the Lord?

We need to take a good long look at ourselves. For worship is an action verb – our action, not God’s or the pastor’s or anybody else’s. It’s the giving of our attention and intense love and admiration and adoration to God alone. Never fear, the feelings will follow in God’s plan. He is “the giving God” (James 1:5 Amp), and He will not be outgiven by His children.

Such worship is in order 24/7, not just Sunday mornings. Our body is the temple of the Lord. We are always in the sanctuary.

The question is, what are we doing in there? Ordering McWorship? Or giving ourselves to the Creator of the universe and Redeemer of our souls, who is forever to be praised….