The Process

 Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Verse 2 says that "The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface." This doesn't seem like the most promising way for Him to begin a great work. The materials on hand don't offer much; a formless mass cloaked in darkness, but the key is not in the ingredients. It's in the hands and heart of the One who hovered over it all.

Author and pastor Dutch Sheets said that "The process of God always involves night." You may be in the midst of His process right now. It's a process He means to lead all who are His through. Despite what you see, what you feel, can you dare to believe that He is covering all of what is happening around you, to you, and in you? One translation of these verses says that He "hovered over the chaos." Sometimes, chaos seems to be the main trait of our lives. Can you dare to trust that out of the darkness and chaos of what you're experiencing, He will bring light and beauty?

Verse 3 says, "Let there be light, and there was light, and God saw that it was good." We cannot even begin to fathom all the power that is in His words. In them is the power to create. What He speaks comes into being. He spoke into the formless darkness, into the chaos, and what He spoke brought light, and it was good. He then separated the light from the darkness. He broke the power of the darkness, As the Psalms promise, He burst through the darkness with His marvelous light. In the darkness, He creates, and what He creates will always be good. His process, His work, will always involve night. Don't fear it or run from it, but trust in the sure coming of HIm who is perfect light. He will come, and His timing will be perfect. 

If you're walking through the chaos and darkness of your circumstances and need today, know that He is with you. Know that He is working. Don't depend upon what you're seeing or feeling. Depend on His words. Out of the seemingly impossible, He makes all things possible. He will create from what seems to be nothing, wonders and beauty. In the process, He will shape, stretch, and grow you, and you can be sure that what He is doing in you is good. 

Blessings,
Pastor O

Tables

 "My house shall be called a house of prayer." Matthew 21:13....."God's house, after the gift of the Spirit, is the heart of the believer....And as His house, we are the house of prayer." Chris Tiegreen

When we read this passage from Matthew 21, I think we tend to think that Jesus' main outrage was directed at the lack of reverence and awe given to the Temple of God. To a degree, there is truth in that, and because of that, we tend to see His "house" as being the buildings we worship in. This has led to us making our church buildings holy places. There's not anything wrong with this. I believe we should show deep reverence for Him whenever we enter into His sanctuary. However, as Tiegreen points out, neither Jesus nor any of the authors of the New Testament, ever refer to a building as being His house. His house is always found in the heart of a believer. How are you and I tending His house? In what kind of condition is it?

Scripture says that "zeal for His Father's house consumed Him." Jesus was offended by the presence of the moneylenders in the Temple, as well as all the other things He saw as obstacles to worshipping the Father. So much so that He overturned their tables and drove them out. They were hindering people's ability to commune with their God. He was determined to rid His house of every hindrance to that communion. He still is. What are the "tables" that He sees in our hearts? Tables that hinder and block our communion and intimacy with God? Do we dare to think that so great is His zeal for our relationship with Him that He will overturn those tables and drive out every blockage in our hearts that comes between Him and us?

Could it be that a lot of the turmoil in our lives that we attribute to the activities of the enemy are instead the result of His "overturning tables" in our hearts? So focused is He on our relationship with Him that He will not hesitate to do so, even when it causes us pain and seeming loss. Overturned tables have no place in our heart, but we can so easily come to cherish them. So deep is His love for us that He will not cease to overturn them all and "drive out" everything that comes between His heart and ours.

What tables might He be overturning right now? What tables are we holding onto that He seeks to overturn? Where is our true treasure found? In Him....or the tables?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Taming God

 I believe it was Time magazine that, back in the 60's, had a cover that proclaimed, "God Is Dead!" They thought they had managed to "kill" Him, but they hadn't, as the rise of the Jesus Movement less than a decade later proved. Even so, there's a quote from pastor and writer Mark Buchanan who said, "We haven't killed God, we've just domesticated Him." At least we think we have.

We like a tame God. He relates to us in the ways we want Him to. He's polite, He's on board with most, if not all of our desires. He co-operates with our agenda. He's very laid back and very tolerant. He'd like us to be more serious about our faith, but He doesn't get in our face about it. He's the permissive "parent" we've always wanted. He exists to satisfy our needs, and our happiness is foremost in His agenda for us. In short, He's a God we find very easy to live with. Our great problem here is that this God doesn't exist. He never has. In our minds we've tamed Him...but in reality, He's Almighty God, wild and free.

Scripture says that He is "consuming fire." This Scripture causes me to see Him as a wildfire. A wildfire that is always completely under His own control. He burns where He will and what He will. He turns the world upside down to accomplish His purposes. He'll turn our world upside down to accomplish them in us. He cannot be tamed or controlled, though we certainly try to do so. The best evidence of this is seen in most every Sunday church service. We've "scripted" things so closely that the Holy Spirit's breaking in and out would likely be seen as an intrusion. We've put a lot of work into picking our songs and preparing our sermons. They need to be sung and preached, and we expect God to understand and cooperate with it all.

It's the same in our day to day living. We have goals, agendas, and purposes. We may have prayed about them, but rarely in a yielded and surrendered attitude. We've told Him what we want and now we expect Him to act to give us what we want. We say we know we exist to live out His will and purpose, but most often, we live like He exists to carry out ours. We've become very comfortable with this version of Him that we've created. Someone said that we don't try to keep Him in a box, just in a leather-bound Bible with gilded pages. I believe He is shattering this fallacy wherever His people are found. It's His way. It always has been.

I once read a wonderful book titled "Jesus, Mean and Wild." It shattered the image we have of Jesus being the kindly shepherd who walks along seashores looking for chances to do nice things. In reality, He's a Lion. An untamed Lion. As C.S. Lewis said in the Narnia series, "He's not safe, but He's good." May we, all of us, rid ourselves of the tame, safe, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we've created, and follow Him in all of His rugged and wild glory. He is indeed a wildfire, a wildfire that will take us to heights we never dreamed possible, burning off all our dross in the process. There will be plenty of danger, but we can rest in Him. He's Almighty God. He's not safe, but He's good.

Blessings,
Pastor O

The Jar

 Mark 14 and Matthew 26 both tell the story of the woman who brought an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume to Jesus. She poured it over His head. It was her intention to honor Him with this gift, but those looking on had varying states of response, from bewilderment to outrage. No one could understand how a poor woman could make such a sacrifice, as the value of the perfume was worth more than a years wages. Even His disciples struggled to understand this. Do His modern day disciples continue to not understand? Are you and I among them?

Anne Graham Lotz asked the question, "What is your alabaster jar? What is your most precious possession?" Unspoken is the deeper question; could we offer that to Him? Could we make such a sacrifice? The woman with the jar made this offering, this sacrifice, willingly, joyfully. To her, it wasn't a sacrifice at all. Those who witnessed her act focused on the cost to her. Her focus was on Jesus, and to her, there wasn't any real cost at all.

Someone made the statement that most of us have a predetermined place of just how far we will go in our following of Jesus Christ. A point we will go to in cost and sacrifice. A point we cannot see ourselves going beyond. Our focus is on what we might lose, what we have to give up. Our focus is on the cost. The cost to us and even the cost to those we love. Jesus understands this. In the Gospels, when people said they wanted to follow Him, He turned many away because they weren't willing to leave all to come after Him. Because of this, they never came to know Him deeply or to be used greatly by Him in the Kingdom. They preferred to follow Him from a safe distance. Many take this path. It's a dangerous thing to follow Him with all your heart. It's also a wonder filled thing, a miraculous thing.

I could write so much more on this, but my question, to both myself and you is, Is there a cost to following Him we're not willing to pay? Is there something more precious to us than Him? As we see our world spinning ever more out of control, this may be a question we're confronted with much sooner than we may think. If it does come, I want to believe that I'll go on with Him no matter what. After all He died to give me, and to give to you, how can we do any less? We owe a debt we can never repay but that debt has been paid by Him. May the song on our lips be the song on our hearts. "All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give." May it be our testimony. May it be our legacy.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Reach

 I've always loved the image of the Jesus who comes to us. It's who He is. Wherever we're at and in whatever circumstances, He comes. A powerful picture of His love. Love that is active and always reaching out to us. What we tend to overlook in this picture is our response to Him as He reaches for us.

I think we've so emphasized the reaching out aspect of His character that we've neglected our part in all of it. He comes, and we receive. That's true, and there isn't anything we can do to make this happen or make ourselves worthy of His coming. It's all pure grace. He comes to us as we are, but there needs to be a response to His coming. A response that flows out of our will. It's a response based on a decision. We see this take place in Mark 3:5.

Jesus has entered a synagogue and notices a man with a deformed hand. He went to Him and said, "Reach out your hand." The passage says that the man "reached out his hand and it became normal again." Jesus had the power to heal and the man certainly needed healing. That's exactly what Jesus offered him, but to receive it, he needed to respond not only with faith, but with action. As Jesus reached to Him, the man needed to reach for Jesus. He did, and he was healed.

Jesus comes to us, to us and to all of our needs. Even the deepest ones. Even our "deformities." He brings healing and wholeness with Him, and He speaks; "Reach out to Me!" Extend the need, the lameness, the deformity. Present it to Him that He may heal it. His commanding invitation requires a decision by us. A decision that requires action. The invitation is to receive what He offers and the action is to place ourselves in the position to receive it.

Wherever you are, Jesus is aware of you and of your deepest need. He comes, He invites, and He calls you to reach out to Him. To extend your need, all of it, to Him. When you do that, you'll receive what He offers...in full. 

Will you do that? I expect the man with the deformed hand was ashamed of it and tried to hide it. He wanted as few people as possible to know of it. Jesus did. He knows the deep need you may be holding in secret today, what you wish was not, but is. Extend it to Him. Reach to Him as He reaches to you. He will transform it. He will transform you.

Blessings,

Pastor O

What If?

 We live in a consumer centered culture. That culture is geared towards seeking to satisfy all of our fleshly desires. We purchase the products that do the best job of appealing to those desires. The culture knows how to appeal to flesh.  Sadly, tragically, so does much of the church.

Jesus made it clear that anyone who would come after Him must, "Take up their cross and follow Me." This is not a message that will get much traction in the modern church in America. Francis Chan makes some deeply challenging statements on this. He said, "Churches are too busy creating what people expect rather than actually pursuing what God commands......What if all the church had to offer was the Bible, the cup, and the bread?" 

"What if" indeed! Why do we think we need so many props and gimmicks? Why do we so willingly pander to the consumer spirit that is rampant in the church today? I get it, we need to minister to people in effective ways and we need to have ministries that are completely built upon Christ to do so. There's no denying that, but why is He seemingly not enough when trying to do so. How have we come to depend so much upon appealing to the senses rather than appealing to the heart, through His Holy Spirit?

The Bible, the cup, and the bread, seem like little to offer until we dwell upon what is involved in the offer. In the Bible, we offer the Living Word of God. Christ is the Living Word. We offer Christ and all that is found in Him. The fullness of His Life. The cup is the offer of His blood and the New Covenant that His blood covers us with. Grace, freedom, victory, and all the power found in His blood. The bread is the food, nourishment, fellowship, and community found only in Him and nowhere else. To have these is to have everything, and if we have everything, why do we think we need all the rest? Why do we feel we must offer Jesus and something else? Why do we think Christ needs additives?

There's a simple but powerful video series on social media that shows a young man sitting down in a sanctuary with an open Bible, ready to worship the Lord. It then cuts to various churches and the means they're using to hold the interest of the congregation. Some are absurd. Some are hilarious. Many border on blasphemy. I would not want to stand in the shoes of those who must give account for them.

The church that bases their appeal on the criteria Chan proposes takes a risk. Yet, is it really a risk if it is based fully upon the Person, Presence, and Power of the Three in One God,? Upon the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?  May we, His church, His Body, dare to take that risk, which is really know risk at all when all we do flows out of Life, Presence, and Fullness. Jesus first, Jesus last, Jesus always.

Blessings,
Pastor O 

Satisfied?

 "Jesus Satisfies" was a popular saying when I first came to know Him in the late 70's. I saw it on bumper stickers and heard it in contemporary Christian songs of that time. The problem was that it didn't seem to be true in the lives of so many who claimed to be His followers....including mine. I don't believe it is so with me now, but I do believe it remains true for so many in the church. Why do so many of us who profess to be followers of the Author of Life live such decidedly unsatisfying lives?

I've heard it said that we live in a "culture of dissatisfaction." No matter where we are in our lives, we feel we need more, we need better. Good is not good enough, whether it's a job, marriage, or ministry. It's true that we need to strive for excellence, but this is not a problem of quality, it's a problem of the heart. Our hearts, mine and yours. It's a question of what it is that fills our heart. They're going to be filled with something. Will it be His Life and Spirit or that which is neither? Jesus can't fill a heart that longs for that which isn't of Him and never will be.

We need to hear the words of Isaiah 44:20, "The poor deluded fool feeds on ashes. He's trusting in something that can give Him no help at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to say, 'Is this thing, this idol that I'm holding in my hand a lie?' " What might it be that you hold in your hand today? Holding with all your might.
The perfect job, the great relationship, the perfect marriage and children. A ministry that is noticed and that gets you noticed. If such things fill our hearts then our hearts will never know satisfaction. They weren't designed by Him that they should. They were designed to find their satisfaction and fulfillment in Him alone. To have that means releasing our death-grip on the things we think will. They may bring us into some kind of life, but it will never be His life. We find our freedom when we dare to ask if what we're holding so tightly is really just an idol and a lie. 

It can be so hard to release lies and idols we have cherished for so long. They always hold out the promise of their bringing us the longing we crave, but it's a promise leading only to destruction. It only leads to an ever deepening dissatisfaction. Deeper unrest, deeper disappointment, and finally, total despair. 

What lie might you be holding to today? It may have started as a fresh and wonderful desire, but as time passes, you find it's become an obsession. One leading you further and further from Him. Ever farther away from the true satisfaction of the soul He created you for. He offers it now. He reaches for your hand, but to lay hold of Him you must release the lie you've been holding so tightly. It's a frightening step, I know. Will you do it? Will you let go of the lie?.......Jesus satisfies. Does He satisfy you?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Tomb Life

 John 20 focuses on two things; the resurrection and the tomb. In which do we "live?" Give some thought before you answer, and let's give some thought to the main human character here, Mary.

We first need to picture what her emotional and spiritual state must have been. The chapter opens with her walking in the dark towards the tomb. The tomb that held the body of her beloved Master, Jesus. In her thinking, she'd lost the One who'd set her free. She finds the tomb empty and then runs to tell Peter and John who come back with her. Again, they find the tomb empty. Peter and John leave, but Mary stays at the tomb...alone. She began to weep. I've learned that the Greek words used to describe her weeping are the strongest words for sorrow to be found in the New Testament. She literally unleashed a torrent of sorrow, anguish, perhaps even anger. Her Lord was not only dead, He was gone, and so was her hope. Then she saw something that Peter and John had not and would not; two angels sitting at the head and foot where His body had been. If that weren't wondrous enough, she then saw Jesus, though at first she didn't recognize Him. He was alive, not dead, and risen, not entombed. Her sorrow turned to joy. The death in her soul turned to life. Just as He'd promised.

Just as He'd promised: Verse 9 says that until they saw the empty tomb, they'd forgotten that the Scriptures promised that He would rise from the dead. Today, we need to learn the depth of His words and promises. Jesus Christ will do what He has promised He would. He has given His Word, and nothing, not even the darkest of circumstances, the most frightening of enemies, or the absence of all visible help, will keep Him from fulfilling His Words. Nothing...not even the grave. He said in Luke 24:44, "Everything written about Me....must all come true." It must.

In John 11, Jesus tells Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life. Do you believe this Martha?" Those who believe, who give Him their hearts, are give eternal, resurrected life....now. Not in its fullness, but we are given the power of His resurrected life. He promises it. Do you believe this, or are you still living in the tomb? Maybe today, like Mary, you're walking in the graveyard of this world, in the darkness, and you're feeling that hopelessness and despair closing in on you. He's not in the graveyard, and you needn't be either. He keeps His Word. What He promises to do and give, He does do and give. He gives resurrected life and He offers it to you now. Do you believe this? If you do, He calls you out of the tomb and into His life. Jesus left His tomb more than 2000 years ago. Are you ready to leave yours? 

Blessings,
Pastor O