From the Word

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

– 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Child of God, we are at war.  We are at war against the injustice, evil, and brokenness in the world.  We are at war against the strongholds of sin in the world.  And we are at war with the strongholds of sin in our own hearts.  Don’t ever forget that we live in a broken world full of broken people.  Sin has ensured that things will not go as they are designed to go, both without and within.  We need to be jolted out of our dreary state of blissful ambivalence towards the broken world around us.  Too many of us have grown accustomed to the brokenness.  Too many of us have grown apathetic to the brokenness.  Too many of us have become a contributor to the brokenness.  When our lives as children of the King look eerily similar to the lives of the children of the god of this age, something is drastically wrong.  When our beliefs can meld almost seamlessly into those of the world around us, we’ve lost our way.  When our passions are right in step with a self-gratifying, materialistic, live-only-for-today world, we’ve taken a wrong turn.  God in his grace and mercy has brought us into his kingdom and called us to fight for that kingdom.  He has called us to fight for truth and righteousness and holiness and love and justice and eternity.  And by that same grace and mercy he has given us an incredible weapon for the battle: divine power.  You see it’s not bigger armies that will destroy the violence in the world, it’s divine power.  It’s not more money that will solve poverty, it’s divine power.  It’s not better arguments that will change the heart of the atheist, it’s divine power.  It’s not better strategies that will change a community, it’s divine power.  And much closer to home, what will give you victory in the battle being waged in your own heart for holiness, righteousness, peace, joy, compassion, and faith is also divine power.  All the filters in the world won’t keep you from looking at pornography, but divine power will.  All the budgets in the world will not keep you from overspending, but divine power will.  All the Bible studies in the world will not make you any wiser, but divine power will.  All the parenting books in the world will not keep you from exasperating your children, but divine power will.  All the seminars and conferences in the world won’t make you love the nations, but divine power will.  Don’t get me wrong, filters and budgets and Bibles and books and conferences are all great tools, but in and of themselves they have no real power.  But Christ does.  And child of God, Christ lives in you and you in him.  So as you go today and are faced with a battle far too big for you to ever truly comprehend and far too dangerous for you to ever battle alone, remember the weapon you have been given as a gift of grace and mercy: the divine power of the Holy Spirit who unites you with Christ for the glory of your Father.  And remember the hope given to you: the battle will not rage on forever.  Christ will be victorious.  And because Christ is victorious, so are you.  Fight hard today, but use the right weapon.

From the Word

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

– 2 Corinthians 9:8

Child of God, I absolutely love the way that Paul writes and I absolutely hate the way that Paul writes.  I love that Paul reminds us of the all-suffiency of the grace of God.  I hate that Paul leaves me with no excuse in serving the God of grace, not even a sliver of an excuse.  I’ve come to realize there are times that I have defamed the name of God in my response to opportunities for good works.  You see, at times I’ve found myself saying, “We are a small church with limited resources, so we’ll help as best as we can”.  That statement stands in direct opposition to Paul’s statement in this verse.  Every word of my self-centered, man-focused, faith-hindering statement proclaims to the world, “God is good for a warm fuzzy every once in a while, but when it matters, I’m in control, and I can only do so much”.  Not only do I say that on behalf of the church that serve, I also say it in my personal life.  I’m only one man.  I can only give so much.  Paul reminds me though, that my focus has been squarely placed on the wrong god.  When my focus is on the god-man Andy, of course my resources are limited, of course my sufficiency is lacking, of course I come up short.  I’m not the true God.  And Paul reminds us with absolutely no hyperbole of the character and power of the God who has rescued us and we now serve:

God gives all grace.

The grace God gives abounds.

God’s grace is completely sufficient.

God’s grace is completely sufficient for all things.

God’s grace is completely sufficient for all things all the time.

God’s grace is completely sufficient for all things all the time in every good work.

God’s grace is completely sufficient for all things all the time in order to abound in every good work.

Let me repeat, this is no hyperbole.  Paul is not exaggerating to make a point.  Paul is reminding us of the great God we serve and his desire to abundantly supply everything we need to serve him as he deserves.

As you go today and are faced with the overwhelming needs of the world around you, not the least of which is resurrection from the dead, remember the God you serve.  Remember his promise to you.  And for God’s sake, stop looking at yourself and responding in light of your abilities and strength.  For God’s sake, stand in awe of his all-suffiency in all things at all times, and serve with the strength God provides so that in all things God will be glorified through Christ.  Stop making excuses and start saying with me, “In and of myself, I am small with no resources, but through Christ I serve a big God who is able to make all grace abound”.

 

From the Word

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

– 2 Corinthians 8:1-2

Child of God, I love the church.  And just to be clear, I’m not talking about an organization, a community action group, a service, a building, or a social club.  I love the body of Christ.  I love the family of God.  I love the community of believers.  I love the Father-glorifying, Christ-honoring, Spirit-led, Bible-saturated, self-sacrificing, risk-taking, gospel-picturing, nation-going church.  I love that God in his infinite wisdom knows that I need the church and for some strange reason the church needs me.  I love that God has called me to a particular church with particular (and sometimes peculiar) people with particular gifts and passions.  The picture Paul paints of the church in Macedonia is what the church is to look like.  The church is to be a place with an abundance of joy.  Joy in the sufficiency of Christ in all things, especially in severe tests of affliction.  The church is to be a place overflowing with generosity, especially when that generosity overflows from poverty.  Now I know full well that the church doesn’t always look like this.  The church can to our shame be a place of hurt and selfishness and sorrow and misplaced busyness.  The church can be frustrating and heart-breaking.  The church can be all this, but that’s to our shame, not to Christ’s and not to the Church’s.  By the grace of God, the church can be a place of self-denying, God-centered worship, growth, service, and missions.  By the grace of God we can live with and affectionately love those God has placed in our local church.  By the grace of God the church will make known the manifold wisdom of God in Christ.  By the grace of God we can see beyond the four walls of a building and strive to serve the lost and hurting and broken and ashamed and blind in the world around us. By the grace of God those outside the church will see us living out the gospel and displaying the glory of God in Christ and want to join in.  As you go today, thank God for the church.  Not the services, though encouraging.  Not the organization, though helpful.  Not the ministries, though uplifting.  Thank God for the church; the people, the flock, the family, the body.  Church is hard because people are hard.  But Christ died for the church and one day, hopefully soon, He is coming back for her.

Unbeliever, don’t let your poor church experiences in the past or even the present cloud your vision of Christ.  Don’t let your prejudices against organized religion distract you from the greatness of uniting with Christ and his body.  Don’t let your distaste for TV preachers keep you from tasting and seeing that the Lord is good and so is his Church.  And don’t let your hatred of under-cooked casseroles and over-reaching committees allow you to miss the beauty of who the church is and what the church does.  And most of all, don’t confuse the church for Christ.  Your salvation is not dependent on the church.  Your redemption is not found in the church.  Your forgiveness is not secured by the church.   Your joy is not centered on the church.  All those things are found in Christ and Christ alone.  Turn to Christ and be saved, not the church.  But once you are saved, you will turn in thankfulness to the church for opportunities to give thanks for the rescue.  You don’t need the church for eternal life, but when you’ve been given eternal life, there is no other place you will want to be.

For your worship

Here are the songs from today’s gathering of Rolling Fields Church.  Enjoy them as you worship the Lord this week.

From the Word

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
    so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy height;
    from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to set free those who were doomed to die,
that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
    and in Jerusalem his praise,
when peoples gather together,
    and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

– Psalm 102:18-22

Child of God, stop for a moment and think about what the Lord has done for you.  Think about how he has opened your eyes to your need for salvation.  Think about how he has heard your cry for help.  Think about how he has set you free.  Think about how you were doomed to die.  Think about all the Lord has done for you, all by his grace and mercy.  All by his divine will and purpose.  All by his power and strength.  All for the praise of his name.  When you stop and think even for a moment about all the Lord has done for you, the only response possible is worship and praise.  The only response that truly honors what God has done is worship and praise.  The only response that truly fulfills who you were made to be and what you were made to do is worship and praise.  By his own hand, the Lord has saved you.  Saved you from slavery.  Saved you from death.  Saved you from wrath.  Saved you from separation.  As you go today, fill your heart and mind with thoughts of the greatness of God and the gracious rescue secured by his Son.  And no matter what your day may bring you, your heart will overflow with joy.  For you were made to worship the One, True, and Living God, and now that you have been rescued, you are free to do that very thing.  And nothing will get in your way.

Unbeliever, may the eyes of your heart be opened.  By God’s grace may you see that you are doomed to die.  May you see your helplessness to rescue yourself.  May you see your hopelessness apart from divine intervention.  May you call on the name of the Lord.  May you respond to the call of generation upon generation of those already rescued pleading with you to be reconciled with God.  May God in his infinite wisdom and mercy grant you faith to see and believe.  Cry out to God for help.  Turn from your rebellion.  Rest in the salvation offered in Christ alone.  His life alone can be your righteousness.  His death alone can pay your penalty.  His resurrection alone can give you life.  Your rescue is at hand.  Be saved by the blood of Christ and let the praises begin.

From the Word

For the Lord is good…

– Psalm 100:5

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

– James 1:17

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

– Psalm 16:2

Child of God, I just needed the reminder today and thought you might too.  God is good, does good, and is sufficiently good.  In all things.  In all things God is good, in all things God does good, and in all things God is sufficiently good.  That is all.  That is enough.

From the Word

Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.  But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.

– 1 Samuel 12:23-25

Child of God, my job description as pastor is broad and varied.  Just in the last week I’ve sat and held the hand of a dying woman, I’ve attended a forum on homelessness in my community, I’ve made hundreds of copies, I’ve been on hold for way too long with the phone company, I’ve had people in my home for a meal, I’ve taken the trash out, and I’ve delivered fried chicken.  But of all the things God has called me to do as pastor and of all the joy I get from serving this body of Christ, I have no greater responsibility and no greater joy than to pray and instruct people to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully.  These final words of Samuel before handing the baton to Saul are words that must be engrained in my thinking and in my heart.  Of all the things I am asked to do, and of all the things I volunteer to do, prayer and the Word must be central.  I have no more important tasks than to faithfully and consistently pray for the family of believers whom God has entrusted to me and to boldly and clearly proclaim God’s Word to them.  It’s not simply an oversight to neglect praying for and proclaiming to God’s people, it is a sin.  It is a clear act of rebellion and a clear disobedience to the call on my life.  Though planning and preparing and administrating are important parts of my job, there is no greater use of my time than to pray for and even better pray with a member of my body.  Though meeting with community leaders and creating strategies to reach people in our neighborhood are important parts of my job, there is no greater use of my time than pouring over the Scriptures and instructing my church family to fear and serve the Lord.  I get to do a lot of great things as a pastor, some excruciatingly hard and some excruciatingly simple, but the greatest thing I get to do is pray and proclaim.  As you go today, remember that even though you may not be called into full time ministry, God has still called you to pray and proclaim.  Pray for your children and proclaim to them the good news.  Pray for your co-workers and proclaim to them the hope of the gospel.  Pray for the members of the church and proclaim to them the joy of knowing the Lord.  And please pray for your pastors and encourage them to fear the Lord, serve him wholeheartedly, consider all the great things He has done, and grow in holiness.

For your worship

Here are the songs from this mornings gathering of Rolling Fields Church.  Enjoy them as you worship this week.

From the Word

Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things!

-Psalm 98:1

Child of God, sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done marvelous things, even recently.  God desires (and we desperately need) a ever-fresh and ever-growing awe of God.  God desires (and we desperately need) a relationship with Him that is driven forward by regular and intentional worship through the Word, prayer, fellowship, and service among many others.  And those fresh encounters with God will result in a new song of the marvelous things the Lord is doing.  We need and God deserves new songs from our lips.  My question for you today is, “what radio station is your spiritual dial set to?”  For some of you it’s all oldies all the time.  For some of you, your freshest encounter with God was 15 years ago on a mission trip or 10 years ago at a conference or 5 years ago at an altar.  For some of you, your proclamation of the goodness of God is stuck in a way-back machine and can’t seem to movew forward.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the classics.  The great old song, “I Brought You Out of Egypt” was played over and over again to the people of Israel.  But they needed to hear it.  I know in my own life there are times, dark and dry times, when all I can hold onto are songs of the deeds of God years ago.  And I need to hear them.  But much more often than not, the songs that I sing need to be fresh and current reflecting a growing understanding of God recently.  This is not only true for my sanctification but also for my evangelism.  The lost need to hear that God is an ever-present help in time of need.  The lost need to hear that God is ready to forgive today.  The lost need to hear that God hears our cries right now.  The lost need to to hear you sing a song that reflects God’s growing and deepening love for his children.  As you go today, check the channel your listening to and recommending to others.  Maybe it’s time for a new song.  Maybe it’s time for a fresh encounter.  May it’s time to turn off the radio altogether and start listening.  Maybe you should stop reading this and spend time with the Lord right now and start singing a new song.  Stop reading and go, then sing.

 

From the Word

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

-1 Samuel 7:12

He preserves the lives of his saints…

– Psalm 97:10

Child of God, as a pastor I have the distinct honor, privilege, and responsibility to walk with people during some of the darkest times in their lives.   And right now, I am walking with a lot of people through some very dark places.  The only comfort I can give, the only hope I can provide, the only bit of peace I can even attempt to offer is the words of Samuel:  “Till now the Lord has helped us”.  Till now, God has shown himself faithful.  Till now, God has provided for his children.  Till now, God has shown steadfast love.  Till now, God has been merciful and kind.  Till now, God has given the strength to move forward.  Till now, God has preserved your life.  And till now is what you need.  Tomorrow has trouble enough.  This evening has trouble enough.  An hour from now has trouble enough.  But till now, the Lord has helped.  We serve a God who shows compassion on his children.  And not begrudging, manipulative, stingy compassion.  No, God’s compassion is lavished on his children.  God’s compassion is not contingent on our worth.  God’s compassion is given freely and joyfully.  God’s compassion will never become less and will never run out.  God’s compassion never, never, never fails.  Never.  And how do we know that?  Till now the Lord has helped us.  That’s how.  As you go today, fall into the compassionate arms of a Father who knows you, cares about you, loves you deeply, and longs to show you grace.  Pray for those hurting to rely on the compassionate help of God in each moment.  And even though you may be surrounded by darkness, God stands ready to help you one more time.