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Tag: hope (Page 1 of 3)

Signs Of A Real Church

October 23, 2023 / / 0 Comments

I spend a lot of time with many people talking about church stuff. From pastors discussing how they do worship and lead programs to church members about getting involved in serving or studying the Bible to people who want nothing to do with church, I see them all. And each of them come with their own set of benefits and challenges.

Recently I talked about a book of the Bible, 1 Thessalonians. Ok I know weird name but we have some doozies in states around the country as well!

Thessalonians is a letter that was written to a very young church in parts of Europe around the year 50 AD. The church was just getting started after a man named Paul came and started sharing what he believed about Jesus and the whole death and resurrection bit. He talked about how lives should look different if we actually believed this all to be true.

Well his stay in this bustling town didn’t last very long because some people were threatened by a message that wasn’t theirs. So they ran him off. Fleeing to a neighboring city he wrote a letter to those that remained as part of this fledgling church. His letter is packed with encouragement and thankfulness. But woven into the first few verses are three things Paul highlights that I believe are marks of a true, real, authentic and spirit filled church.

Work of Faith

The first thing Paul mentions is this idea of a work of faith. Now we have to make sure to get this right. This is not a work that leads to faith or earns some favor with God. This is a work done because of faith. You believe something so deeply that it changes who you are and how you live.

There’s another verse in the bible that says faith without works is dead. This means a person can’t say they believe and then have nothing in their lives change! If you really believe it then it has to shape who you are and how you live. This little church start known as Thessalonians had just that – a powerful faith in Jesus that led them to live a totally different kind of life. Turns out that these new Christians didn’t just say they believed in Jesus, but they actually let it change how they lived as husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves. Just about every aspect of their lives was lived out in faithful obedience to God’s word. Pretty cool huh!

Labor of Love

The idea of something being a labor means it’s work, often hard work that’s not all that pleasant at the time. When you have to labor through something it often means pain, or at least discomfort. It means some bit of self sacrifice to make this happen.

Paul tells this little church that their love for people (people like them and not like them) was something to take note of! They loved their neighbors, even their enemies and it was obvious to just about everyone. The Bible tells us that the world will know that we are followers of Jesus, not by how we lead our worship services or what hymns we sing. Nope they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

This group of new followers of Jesus got the love part down cold. Not some roses and candy kind of love either. This was a love that was able to welcome the person no one wanted to be around. It was going out of their way to help widows and orphans. It was serving the poor at their own expense. This love was strong, powerful and super evident to the world around them.

Steadfastness of Hope

The idea of being steadfast is to endure or stand the test. The third mark of the true church that Paul here highlights is about hope that can withstand some pretty crappy stuff. This church was started under duress. Paul was there only for a few weeks preaching and teaching. Then he was run out of own by people who didn’t want anything to do with him.

It was under these conditions that this church came into existence. It was under these conditions that this little group of followers was forged in character of hope. If you can have hope in the power of Christ through these types of scenarios, then hope has become part of your DNA.

So there are probably more things that we could say about marks of the church. The whole preaching of the gospel and rightly administering the sacraments are hugely important. But here in 1 Thessalonians, Paul doesn’t use those as examples. He does however say he knows they are real followers of God because of their working faith, laboring love, and enduring hope.

This is what we should all attain to as Christians. Just imagine how different life would be if we had these three markers in all we do.

A Message of Hope This Year

December 22, 2021 / / 0 Comments
Hope is often found in unlikely places.

It’s no secret at all. The last two years have been harder than many of us could have imagined. We have dealt with trials that we only thought existed in books. It’s felt at times in these past 22 months like we’re living in some alternate, sci-fi reality world. No matter what field you’re in, this has not be easy and many are giving up hope. I wanted to share with you a little bit about how we can remain hopeful when it seems all hope is lost.

Now admittedly the idea for this post came from an article I read but the content included is my own. So credit for the idea goes elsewhere. Thank you to whomever wrote the article and I don’t even remember where I read it!

In the book of 2 Corinthians in the Bible, Paul writes about navigating times of challenge and trial. And while this passage does not directly apply to our current situation is does speak to the reality in which we are living. Here’s the passage:

We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 CSB

Pressed but not crushed

I know the feeling of being pressed down fairly hard. Circumstances of life can really weigh a person down. This year is probably one of the hardest many of us have experienced. The weight of the holidays combined with the pressures of how different people react to illness and vaccines is really causing trouble in so many places.

But the passage tells us that as followers of Jesus, we should expect to be pressed but know that the pressing will not crush us. I think of it like pressing grapes or squeezing an orange. The good stuff of grapes and oranges is found on the inside. And without the external pressures of hardship and squeezing, we’d never have great things like orange juice or even wine. Could God be doing the same thing for you?

It’s not fun to think about being pressed by any means, but when you realize the pressing is to bring about something even better it makes things more manageable. Your hope is found in that while pressed you will not be crushed.

Perplexed but not in despair

Perplexed. Such a fun word. It simply means to be baffled or puzzled. Have you felt perplexed the last couple of years? I know that I sure have! Some days I don’t know which way is up. It’s hard to know if your words and actions will make someone happy or if it will thoroughly upset someone.

The idea behind being perplexed is that we are thrown off of our normal. We get confused. In and of itself, being perplexed is not a bad thing. It’s how we deal with the perplexing feelings that makes a difference. All too often the feelings of being perplexed lead to despair. When we don’t know where we are, it’s hard to know where we are going. And as leaders it can easily lead to despair when we aren’t able to know where we’re headed or even where we even are! The hope here is that God promises that being perplexed doesn’t have to lead to despair. When we find our truth and our way in Christ, we can remain hope-filled even in the most perplexing times of life.

Persecuted but not abandoned

This is one I hear far too often here in the USA. We act as if our inconveniences are persecutions. While that is true to a greater or lesser degree, we have to make sure we keep this in context. We are not persecuted when you compare how we have thing to how people are treated around the world.

But even if you happen to be reading this in a part of the world where persecution is real and dangerous and on a scale that much of the world can’t understand this promise is for you too. You can have hope knowing that even if life is dangerous and we are truly being persecuted for our faith, God is present. He is with us through it all. He won’t take away the pressure or persecution but he will be with us through it all. He’ll stand beside us to give us the aide we need to get through the trials of life. We are not abandoned.

So the long and short of the challenges we face is that they are not the end of the world. They are there to point us to how amazing and wonderful God is. He’s faithful. He’s present. He’s protecting us in ways we don’t even see. Stay strong friends. Rely on the power of the ever present God to get you through.

Scars in Heaven

July 12, 2021 / / 0 Comments
Scars in Heaven by Casting Crowns on Amazon Music - Amazon.com

This past weekend I had the opportunity to be with my family as we paid our final respects to my grandparents. The morning was filled with emotion from so many. There were tears shed, memories exchanged and reunions made. I was asked to provide the message, not eulogy or time of memory but the actual funeral message for my grandparents. It was my honor to be able to do this. However, my words likely weren’t what many expected and that’s honestly ok.

You see in my mind, my role as a pastor at a time of a funeral or Christian burial is to remind those gathered (and in this case remind myself) that our final focus in this service needs to be Jesus. Memories of our loved ones will only take us so far. We’ll be torn with happiness and sadness. We’ll remember the fun times but also wallow in the sorrows of the pains they suffered in their final days or the tragedy of losing them. But when our focus is on the one who beat the day, who changed the outcome of that moment before we even arrived there, our whole focus shifts to something transcendent and beyond ourselves.

A song that I’ve listened to recently is by a group that has always been one of my favorites. The group Casting Crowns, for me at least, has been a powerful truth talking group that often gives us a message that might be hard to hear but is very much needed in the moment. And this song is no different.

As we focus on our loved ones at their funeral services, this song reminds us that we have grown vastly shortsighted. If we focus on the accident, the cancer, the pain, the alzheimer’s, the crippling effects of any illness that claimed our loved ones’ lives, then we are left holding onto scars that don’t really matter anymore. Today we listen to a song Scars in Heaven.

The only scars that we’ll find in heaven. They’re not the ones found on you or me. These scars are from the one that died on that forbidden tree. I pray these words give you comfort and hope in whatever you’re facing today.

Keep On Hoping

April 12, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Man, I don’t know about you but it seems like the good days aren’t quite as good lately and the bad days are seemingly a little worse. The distance between those good and bad days is growing shorter. Life just seems to be getting harder than I can remember it being.

How do we keep on going through the mess of life?

One of the most important things in life is to be careful what voices you let in your head. Be careful who you give room to occupy your thoughts. The more worry and fear and sadness take up space in your thinking, the more easily they’ll come out in your words and actions.

With all of the voices vying for space in our thinking we need to remember some pretty key things. Today’s Music Monday can help keep the main thing in the place of priority.

God is still in control. Just because you are out of control, doesn’t mean that God has lost control. Actually the opposite is very true. It’s often when we are totally and completely out of control that we are best positioned to let God do his most powerful work.

God shows up when we need him most. What if the trouble and struggle is meant to help us see when God shows up? What if God is right around the corner? What if the miracle you need right now is just a moment away? Don’t give up now! You’ll miss the best part!

Know where your strength comes from. It’s true. Whether we like it or not the truth is that God gave us life and since he gave us life, we can be certain that he will give us the strength to keep going through the challenges and struggles in life.

Check out today’s MusicMonday. It’s a song about hope. Never give up hope because God is just moments away from showing up in a big way.

Child of Love

February 22, 2021 / / 0 Comments

While digging around on Apple Music, I was able to find a few songs I haven’t heard so far. Today’s Music Monday focuses on the difference that being a follower should make on our lives. It’s far too easy to let Jesus be just another part of our day. It’s easy to compartmentalize our faith from the rest of our lives. But there has to be a better way.

When I listen to this song and read the lyrics, I’m reminded of my children. They aren’t just my children some days, when they want to be. They’re always going to be my children. Even when my one son heads off to the US Army or my other son pursues his dreams in the FBI, they’ll still be my children. No matter where they go or what they do, they will always be my children.

It’s the same way in our relationship with God. We’re His children. Not just on Sundays or when we want something from Him. We’re His children all the time. The world around us will tell us what we want to hear then snatch our dreams from us. There is no one in our lives who’s in our corner and always for us. But our Father is here. He may not agree with what we do. He may correct us or rebuke us or even let punishment come on us, but he never will leave us or forsake us.

My grandpa always used to say If you find yourself far from God, ask yourself who moved. As a child of God we are never going to experience a time when God runs from us. He is with us and for us even when He lets punishment come our way.

When we truly find the difference that comes in knowing Jesus and being known by Him, we’ll find a freedom in life that we’ve never before experienced. We’ll find joy in sadness, peace in conflict, provision in a season of want. Being a child of God makes all the difference. My prayer for you today is that you experience this reality and let it shape your life this week.

Heal Our Land

January 11, 2021 / / 0 Comments

It’s no secret that this world is in a bit of a messy place. From natural disasters to a global pandemic to racial issues to concerns about violence to political betrayals and the list goes on and on. It’s no wonder the world is more divided than ever before! It’s no wonder that everyone is feeling the effects of this past 12 months in some way, shape or form.

But how do we fix it? How do we heal this broken land? How do we right what is wrong and turn this ship around?

This week’s music monday is about the healing that’s needed in our land and an idea for how to move beyond where we are to a place of healing. I’m going to let this song speak for itself. I hope you enjoy.

All I Need For Christmas

December 14, 2020 / / 0 Comments
All I Need For Christmas by TobyMac & Terrian on Amazon Music - Amazon.com

Trying to find newer songs for Christmas isn’t really all that easy, so when I find one I like to highlight it here. This one was brought to my attention recently and I feel it has a pretty good upbeat feel. Add to it a good message and we have a hit!

Today’s MusicMonday is about your Christmas list. What’s on your list? Do you know what you want for Christmas this year? For many our lists contain clothes or additions to our home. Some have electronics on their list while others it’s all about jewelry. Whatever is on your list perhaps there’s something better.

This year has been especially difficult for many people. We’ve all struggled in ways that we weren’t expecting to say the very least. I heard someone talking recently about their Christmas list. And it struck me that their list didn’t contain anything for themselves! They built their list around what they wanted to get everyone else. Wouldn’t it be great if we all thought like that? How much different would the world be if we focused on what we could do for others instead of what we want for ourselves!

This year as you prepare for Christmas, stop for a minute and take inventory of all the amazing things you already have in your life. Think about the many blessings and the tremendous relationships that surround you. These and so many more moments in our lives are all part of what we already have. So essentially everything we need for Christmas, we probably already have!

What Are You Thinking About?

December 1, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Can you believe that it’s almost Christmas? There’s something about this time of year that kind of lifts the spirits a little. I don’t really know exactly what it is. Maybe it’s the lights or the cool decorations? Maybe the tree with all the ornaments perfectly placed around? Whatever the reason, Christmas has a way of filling our minds with unique thoughts.

The famous holiday favorite, Twas The Night Before Christmas includes a line that talks about the things we let rattle around in our minds. The phrase goes while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads. The idea is that when we get ready for Christmas many of us have a tendency to let the spirit of the season take over. Dancing sugar plums? I don’t even really know what a sugar plum is! But the idea of sugar and dancing during the Christmas season brings a little joy to many young faces that’s for sure!

As we near Christmas morning, our minds race to things like getting the perfect gift for that special someone, decorating the house with the lights and pretty colors, and having all of our favorite people over to our homes for those wonderful holiday parties.

What fills your mind this time of year? Not everyone is filled with smiles and happiness as we approach the end of December. Some are missing that loved one for the first time this Christmas. Others are wondering how they’re going to provide for their family since they were let go this year. Still others this year will be either apprehensive, cautious, or even a bit afraid of getting sick with that nasty virus plaguing the world.

But where do you go to find the joy this season? That first Christmas wasn’t really all that joyful, well at least in the preparation stages! Mary was a virgin and she was pregnant. That was a massive NO NO! She wasn’t even married and Joseph was a tad beside himself with the news. The whole situation was just filled with anxiety inducing conditions.

Yet somehow Mary was able to see something pretty spectacular as she prepared for that day. She took all that was promised and she pondered those words. She let the promises of the angel fill her mind. It wasn’t sugar plums dancing but salvation coming to the world that drove her to find joy that first Christmas.

What do you fill your mind with this time of year? I pray this season of preparing for Christmas is full of hope and peace and love and joy.

Whatever May Come

September 14, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Unconditional is a pretty powerful concept. But is it a reality? I mean seriously, just about everything in our lives is conditioned on something or someone else. We let our peace be conditioned on our surroundings. Our success is conditioned upon how hard we apply ourselves. We even let conditions creep their way into our love for those around us.

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