Welcome to the Family

They say in every family there's that one person who is, well, kind of out there.  So if you are thinking about your own family,  and can't come up with someone, it must be you.

Christians are called to be a family of believers.  Now most families look good from the outside.

But once you're on the inside, now that's a different story.

There is a difference between friends and family.  Friends are people with whom you share common bond, family you spend time with even when you have little in common.  You pick your friends; you accept your family.  

And that's what makes family so special.  Family loves each other even when there is no other reason.  And we're all in the family of God.

And that is the beauty of grace.  We are accepted to the family with all of our flaws and failures, and in return we accept others.  
There is the old hymn I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God.
Welcome to the family.

Marinating in Grace

Once when going to friends for dinner, we were served a traditional German meal called saurbratten.  It is like pot roast, but the roast marinates in the sauce for several days before cooking.  It's hard to describe how tender and juicy the roast was.  The marinade had soaked in to every bite.

mmmmmm!

What if our lives were so infused with Grace that it permeated us like the marinade in the saurbratten.  What if it was so much a part of us that it was seen in every action, every encounter, every minute of every day.  I know that I'm not there.  I have a hard time believing anyone is, but what a goal.

True grace like this is a journey, not a destination.  We can strive and get better, but we will never get there until we're in heaven.  But it's a journey worth taking.

Filling the Gap

There is an old joke...  What's the difference between God and a Doctor?  God knows he's not a doctor.     I know God really is a THE Great Healer, but the joke is about the doctors and not about God.

There is a gap between God and man.  He's God and we're not.  There is a difference; a fundamental difference.  Even Moses could not even look directly at God.  He took a little peak as God walked by and he ended up glowing as a result.  And that was MOSES.  What about me.  You see, I am no Moses.  Paper covers rock, rock dulls scissors and Moses did more for God than me.  It's just how it is. 

So there is this Gap.  God on one side and me on the other.  and there is nothing that I can do to fill the space.  

It doesn't matter how good I am or how hard I try, I will never get there.  I can get better.  I can do my best. But like building a sandcastle to get to the Moon, my best is not enough.  Not even close.  And that is where Jesus comes in.  Watch this clip from Pastor Mike.

I can't be good enough to get myself to Heaven.  It can't happen.  There is a gap and Jesus is the bridge.

And as Jesus has forgiven me and you, we are called to forgive others.  That's Grace.

Grace is More than a Prayer Before Eating

When we say the word "Grace" many people think of only the short prayer that we say before a meal.  The prayer is called grace because it is by God's grace that we have food and other resources.

Grace is God's unmerited favor.  Grace is the blessings that we receive that we clearly do not deserve.  We don't deserve it, but there it is.  But as we have received God's grace, we are called to extend Grace to others.  And here is where it get's messy.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: - 1 Peter 4:10
They say in every group of people there is a least one messed up person who really needs the grace of the others.  Now if you are looking around and you can't figure out who that is, then it is you.  
There are a lot of messed up people in this world and we are called to accept them as God accepts them, because God loves them as much as he loves me or you.  And Jesus died for them just like he died for me or you.  

Overreacting

It seemed like a big deal at the time.  We have all been in those circumstances.  Tempers flare.  Things are said that shouldn't be said Feelings get hurt.  And later on, when every thing has calmed down, it's hard to see what caused the problems in the first place.

Sometimes we let our emotions take over.  We make bad decisions that have long term consequences.  Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to read others emotions and respond appropriately.  It's a measure of how well we control our emotions, or how well our emotions control us.

Controlling emotions is easier said than done.  After all we are human beings,  And while we don't want to live our lives on an emotional roller coaster, we need to allow ourselves permission to feel.   The trick is to find the balance.  In the balance of our emotions we find the self control that allows the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us. 2 Peter 1:5-9 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

It Is Finished - And It Begins

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. - John 19:30

Jesus is hanging on the cross, nails through his hands and announces "It is Finished."  It's over.  Done.  Call it a wrap.  It is finished.  

So what exactly was finished?

I am sure that many thought it was finished.  The Romans, The Jewish Leaders.  Even the disciples.  Peter's denials weren't born of a bright future.  They all thought it was over and done and the followers of Jesus of Nazareth would disperse and go away.  It is finished.

But Jesus knew what was coming.  He is so confident in victory that He is handing out prizes, sharing the wealth.

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[d]”  Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  - Luke 23:40-43

I am sure that to many seeing this it would have looked like the captain of the Titanic offering to make you co-captain shortly after striking the iceberg.  

He is saying.  You and me, we're in this together.  I'll share my victory with you.  It is finished.

It is finished. The Guilt, The pain, The shame, The hurt. The suffering.  The disgrace,  Death.  It is all finished.

In the temple there was a thick curtain that separated the inner part of the temple from the outer.  The Bible says that as Jesus hung on the cross the temple curtain tore apart.  The separation between man and God was finished as well.

But the finish also brought a new beginning.  It was the start of a new relationship between God and man,  Jesus bridges the gap so that we can have not a set of rules but a real relationship with God.  It all began when it was finished.

Happy Easter Everyone.

Gut Trusting

Ever had that gut feeling?  Trust your gut, or so the saying goes.  But following your gut, much like following your heart is mostly about following your emotions.  It is very easily manipulated.  Whether the Devil made you do it or you did it to yourself, you are heading down the wrong path.

This is a bad road to be on, because not only are you heading the wrong way, but you are ssure that you are not.  There is a trick to not letting yourself become prey to these outside influences.  The trick is to be able to tell  the difference between a feeling in your gut, and the sound of the Holy Spirit.

That gut feeling is sometimes a big burrito. It will pass.   It's a little like walking in the woods.  Most people have one leg stronger than the other.  Given a chance they will walk in a circle, curving slightly with each step.  A compass always points north.  Following a compass instead of our instinct will lead us on the correct path.

The Holy Spirit is our magnetic field that will lead our moral compass if we give it a chance.

Life Shaping

A human life is not a static event.  Each of our lives is a work in progress constantly being shaped by the events that take place.  It is easy to look at a particular circumstance and say to ourselves life would be so much better if only...

In the Gospel of John it says "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." - John 3:8

So in some ways our lives are like a sand dune that is being shaped constantly by the winds of time.  

But life is a bit different than a sand dune.  The shapes of our lives are not random but deliberately shaped by our thoughts and choices.  The things we do and the hings that we believe shape our lives now and in the future.

So life is shaped by something.  It can be shaped by random winds or the deliberate act of you and I guided by the Holy Spirit as the sculpture.  The ideas we believe are the hammers and chisels that shape the stone.  If we were making a sculpture, we could randomly chip at a piece of marble and hope for the best, or we could do it with a plan.

Here's an analogy.  There used to be a rock formation in New Hampshire called the Man in the Mountain.  No one planned it.  It just looks like a man, if you look at it correctly. 

 

It's not there anymore.  Time has taken its toll.  However there is another place to find the faces of men on a mountain.  These did not show up as a random fluke of nature, but as the deliberate design of an artist.  

Life is shaped.  the question is how will it be shaped.  

Read the Instructions

Have you ever taken off on a journey without knowing where you are going?  Or have you been working on a project only to discover that just following the instructions would have solved a lot of headaches.

In life we have an instruction book if we seek its wisdom there are many of life's problems that can be avoided.  

John Adams said it like this, "Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the BIBLE for their only law Book,  and every member should  regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited!   Every member would be obliged in conscience,  to temperance, frugality,  and industry;  to justice, kindness,  and charity towards his fellow men;  and to piety,  love,  and reverence toward  Almighty  GOD ...  What a Utopia,  what a Paradise would this region be"

It's a little different than reading instructions.  Some instructions are hard to follow.  I can read instructions on how to pitch a baseball, but that doesn't mean that I will hit the strike zone.  The Bible is different because if it is coupled with prayer, it is more like having a personal coach.  

The writer of the instructions will sit with you and help explain.  Maybe if Nolan Ryan would personally coach me day after day, eventually I would get it over the plate.

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

It's quite a game show.  Adults are asked questions from elementary school to win money.  Each one ends up looking in the camera and declaring that they are in fact not smarter than a 5th grader.  Watching that game show, it's easy to think that I would win it all.  I think on television with a lot of money at stake it's a harder game, but all the same...

So God is smarter than you or I or a 5th grader.  God knows best, but we often pretends that he doesn't.  When we go our own way, not following God's Will, we need to buy into the two lies that we tell ourselves.

1. God doesn't know enough or 2. God doesn't love me enough.

Here, watch Pastor Mike

We all know that God knows more than we do.  We also know that God loves us more than we love ourselves.  The difficult part is living our lives in a way that demonstrates what we know.

What's the Bait?

So what is it?  Everyone has something.

Everyone has a weakness that is hard to control.  So what is it?   Gambling? Alcohol? Gossip? Smoking? Chocolate?  We all have these desires inside of us that are difficult to control.  If you think that you don't, then you're due for a long sit down with the Holy Spirit for a little conviction.

Now there is nothing wrong with chocolate.  Nothing in the Bible saying "Though Shall Not Gamble." It really isn't about the chocolate or gambling or facebook.  It's about you and about me.  What do these things do to us.  How do they control us and pull us away from God's plans for us. 

Here watch what Pastor Mike has to say on the subject.

The image of the fishing lure is a great one.  We nibble at the edges until the hook is set and we are caught.  The mouse doesn't get caught in an empty trap.

The battle against temptation is in each of us and is on going.  So much so that it's part of the Lord's Prayer along with provision and forgiveness.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

It's Called A War

It's called a war, but the enemy is never the people around us.  They are either allies or casualties or both.


In The Screwtape Letters author C.S. Lewis writes from the point of view of a demon explaining to his nephew how to entrap his "client".  In this writing Uncle Screwtape offers the following advise.

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts"

It is a war and most of the battles are not bloody affairs but subtle encounters.  It is more like a game of chess and less like a game of dodgeball.

Keep up the good fight.

Wrestling with Pigs

Raise your hand if you like conflict.  Most people don't like conflict.  All the same there are a lot of bold people in the world.  People are willing to say unbelievable things through facebook or twitter or on a blog post.  The tough thing about facebook is those people are supposed to be our "friends".

 So how do we handle rude people?  There is an old saying, "Don't wrestle with pigs.  You both get dirty and the pig thinks it's fun."  So how do we not get pulled into the mud when someone is throwing it at us from deep in the pen?

The trick is staying out of the mud.  A battle of rudeness is usually decided by who gets in the last word or says the most outrageous thing.  Both people end up feeling wounded as a result.   Don't start down the path.  Don't step into the edge of the pen.

Proverbs 26:4 When arguing with fools, don't answer their foolish arguments, or you will become as foolish as they are.

Walking away from a mud slinger is tough to do.  It is however the best option.  There is a difference between quitting while you are ahead and surrendering the fight.  

In the battle of rude mud slinging, there are not winners, only the dirty.