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And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. Acts 2:44-45
“Where do you go to church?” Unfortunately the answer to this question immediately labels you in some people’s minds. We judge a person’s character, religious beliefs and morals on the name in front of a building!
The greatest period of ‘church growth’ was when it first began. Read about it in the second chapter of Acts. Literally thousands of people were added to the church daily. People who were tired of religion the way it was, people who were struggling in relationships, people who had heard of God but had no idea that He loved them and forgave them of the bad choices in their lives.
The real church isn’t a building, it’s people. If you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, you don’t go to church, you ARE the church! A defining characteristic of the church (the body of Jesus followers) is that they were of one mind. There was only one goal in the early church and that was to tell others of Jesus forgiveness and love. There were no denominations. There was no discussion of the theology behind baptism or scriptural interpretation or worship styles. There was only Jesus.
The method of church growth was simple as well. No fancy programs. No seminars on how to reach other people. No discussion on how to be a seeker church. There was only generosity in the name of Jesus. The motto of the early church could very well have been “All that I have is God’s therefore I will share it with you!”
People didn’t join the church because they were able to jump through a bunch of denominational or doctrinal hoops. They didn’t join because they realized they were hopeless sinners. They joined the church because it was the one group that gave them the love, compassion and physical, emotional and spiritual help they needed. And they found all they needed in Jesus.
If you love Jesus, if you have experienced the healing, comfort and forgiveness only found in relationship with Him, you are a member of the body of Christ, or what we call the church. Don’t go to church; take the church with you into every situation you find yourself in. People may go to a building because you invite them, but they will join the church because you love them and show them Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I pray that you would forgive those of us who claim to follow you for seeing church as a building or an activity. Instill in me, and my fellow disciples, the realization that church is an organism and not an organization. Help us to show Your great, undying love to those around us so that they can become one with us. In your name I pray, Amen.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:8-9
It isn’t during the good times, but the times we wander in the wilderness that we should focus our praise towards God.
That may seem like a strange statement. For it is during our wilderness wanderings that we want to focus more on our pain. It is during those times of loneliness in the desert places that we want to cry out for justice. It is during those times of failure that we tend to allow the feelings of despair to overshadow the fact that we are indeed children of the King. It is during those times when we are treated unfairly that our demands for justice scream loudly.
One of the reasons we tend to turn inward when times are tough is because the enemy wants us to believe that we are in control of our own destiny and that we know what is best for ourselves, our loved ones and our enemies. But the reality is we can only really look back and learn from our mistakes. Looking forward does us no good because at our best we can’t even see one second ahead!
When we are in the wilderness, W When we are alone, beaten up and nursing wounds of our own failures or the attacks of others, or when those we love are being treated unfairly, the only thing that can help is to look to the one constant in life: God. Times change. Circumstances change. Health changes. Relationships change. He is the same today as he was yesterday and He’ll be the same tomorrow.
Not only does our God never change. His love for us never changes either. You may be going through something right now that makes you confused, angry or frustrated. You may doubt God’s ability to work, or your ability to cope. Those are the times He says come to me. Those are the times when He asks us to rest in His love and feel his healing and soothing touch on our lives.
You may be in a wilderness now. You may be too angry, hurt or frustrated to see the wisdom of God’s plan. You may be questioning your ability to go on. That’s okay. He’ll wait for you. Just remember that He is standing nearby waiting for your call.
PRAYER: What an awesome God you are! During this time of hopelessness and wandering I continue to be amazed that you would be so patient with me to love me, comfort me and patiently wait for me to come to you. Forgive me for thinking my way is best and doubting you. Help me to see how you have worked in the past in my life to bring me to you. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to trust you with my today, tomorrow and beyond. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Psalm 37:3
Trust is a learned response. Long before we understand the concept of trust we learn the basis of trust. We can trust the floor to stand on because every floor we happen upon has upheld us. Standing on our favorite ball however results in our falling and perhaps hurting ourselves. Balloons are never to be trusted. They may be bright and colorful. They may be great fun to play with and bat around the room. But we learn early on they are never to be trusted because at any moment they may explode!
We also learn to that over time, we can trust things more. During our first steps we find that our legs are untrustworthy. They seem to let us down (not softly either), they are wobbly, and at times they take us in a direction we had no intention of going. However, if we let our first ‘leg experience’ be the basis of our concept of ‘trust’ then none of us would ever walk. As our legs become more trustworthy we learn not only to walk, but to run, jump and move with confidence.
Trust also requires us to be patient and cautious. Patient because those we love and want to help will (not may) fail us. Trust requires caution because there are those who will intentionally, or otherwise, mislead us and bring us into situations that are harmful for ourselves and/or others.
Trust in relationships is much like learning to trust in the walking experience. It takes time. It takes effort. In relationships we learn, sometimes the hard way that not everyone can be trusted. We experience the heartache and pain of betrayal, hatred, abuse and misunderstanding. Many a relationship has been destroyed because one person misunderstood the motives of another and refused to give another chance. Others have been physically and/or emotionally scarred for life because they never learned that love doesn’t always mean trust.
The Psalmist begins Psalm 37 with a warning. Don’t let evil doers worry you. Soon they will wither away. Eventually the evil motives of evil people will come to a natural end because evil can not stand against faith, hope and love.
True trust, the foundational trust can only be found in relationship with God. Men fail. Women fail. Children and parents fail. We fail by nature because our nature leans towards selfishness and evil.
God never fails. Sometimes we may feel like He does. We pray and He ‘fails’ to answer or give us an answer we don’t like. We go into a relationship we ‘think’ He approves and it blows up like the balloon we played with when we were young. We do good things and they get misread so we get falsely accused. In a moment of weakness we make a stupid decision and our lives are forever changed.
The problem with trust comes when we attach human attributes to a divine being. In our human mindset we see bad things and think that if God were real He could change them. In reality, God can change all the bad things in life. Sometimes God chooses to use the bad things in life to make us stronger. The stumbles during our first steps helped us learn balance. The falls helped us learn to stand. Only God can take a bad thing, a very bad thing and use it to make us stronger.
Trust the only one who can see you through your struggles. People will fail you. YOU will fail you. You will fail others. Sometimes your best efforts will fall short. But God will never ever ever fail you.
Learn to trust Him like you learned to walk. If you knew as an infant that each fall would make you better you wouldn’t enjoy the falls, but they’d be easier to take. In the same way, trusting God is a one-step-at-a-time process.
Trust, true, foundational trust must be built on someone who has proved themselves over time. Our God has never failed and He won’t fail you now.
PRAYER: Holy God. I confess to you that there are many times I’ve gone off on my own. Although I wouldn’t admit it then, in reality those times were times I trusted myself or others and not you. Forgive me for straying, rebelling and wandering. Help me back to my feet. Guide each of my stumbling, wobbly steps until I can walk with confidence in you through faith in Jesus. Amen.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
I love big, juicy, red raspberries. One day I decided I would plant my very own raspberry patch. I took some apple seeds from an apple I’d just eaten and went into my yard. I found a place in my yard that would be nice and convenient for me, right under a large oak tree and close to the house. I threw the seeds down on the ground and went into the house. I made sure there was just enough rain and sunshine for my plants. A few days latter the seeds had begun to grow several nice raspberry plants and in a few weeks I went out to pick my own bucket of fresh, juicy red raspberries.
If you know anything about gardening you know that the story above is pure foolishness. You can’t grow raspberries from apple seeds; you can’t just throw seeds on hard, uncultivated ground and expect them to grow; and most importantly of all, you can’t control the rain or the sunshine.
In order to have a healthy crop of whatever I want to plant there are some basic rules that need to be followed. Rule number one: plant the right kind of seed. If I want raspberries, plant raspberry seeds! Rule number two: plant my seeds in ground that is prepared for them. Rule number three: wait patiently. Plants don’t mature overnight and fruit can take years to develop. Rule number four: All my preparing, planting and patience will do no good without divine help. God is the one that controls the rain and the sunshine.
The same four rules apply to life. If we want to see positive things in our lives we need to plant positive seeds. Planting seeds of understanding and compassion will eventually produce love. Planting seeds of forgiveness and acceptance will eventually produce trust. Planting seeds of humility will eventually produce respect. Planting seeds of discipline and accountability will eventually produce self-confidence.
Planting positive seeds not only produces good fruit, it keeps disease from attacking us. When we plant positive seeds anger, bitterness, loneliness and hate will have less of an impact on us.
Producing fruit isn’t painless. Imagine the pain the soil must feel when we churn it up and rip out all the dead roots and rocks to make it healthy. Imagine the loneliness of the seed as it lays in the darkness of the ground waiting for growth to begin. Imagine the frustration of the young plant as it anxiously awaits the first buds the signal the beginning of fruitful growth.
None of this will happen of course without rule number four. Healthy fruit in our lives begins with God and ends with God. He is the one that needs to be involved in showing us all the ugly stuff that needs to be removed from our lives for fruit to flourish. He is the one that gives us wisdom and patience in knowing where to plant, when to plant and how to plant positive seeds in the ones around us. He alone can bring fruit in the lives of others and us.
PRAYER: Father God. I want to make a difference in my world. I want to be fruitful in my own life as well as producing fruit in the lives of others. I ask that you would show me the things in my own life that need to be removed in order to produce fruit. Give me patience with others when they don’t ‘grow’ at the rate I was hoping for. Protect as I patiently cultivate the relationships in my life so that they may produce healthy fruit as well. In Jesus name, Amen.
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:16
People get tattoos for a variety of reasons. Some get simple tattoos hidden away in discreet places. Others get large tattoos that are easily seen by everyone they come in contact with.
Tattoos are usually some sort of statement by the person wearing the tattoo. The tattoo is a reminder to that person of another person, place or thing that has great meaning and significance in their lives. There are other times when people get a tattoo for ‘less than well-thought out reasons’. That’s unfortunate because tattoos are painful to receive and almost impossible to completely remove without surgery.
Why all this talk of tattoos? Because God has a tattoo! It’s in a place where He will always remember it. It is a constant reminder throughout His day of something that is extremely precious to Him. Right there on His hand is a tattoo with my name on it!
What we call ‘tattoos’ aren’t really new. People in the mid-east would often engrave things on their hands or fingers to remind them of something very dear to them. It was a permanent reminder of their city, a loved one or some event in their lives.
God says, through the prophet Isaiah, that God has engraved us in the palms of His hands. It was the way He expressed to his people that fact that even though they may be in exile or going through some struggle, their plight was ever before them. They were never forgotten, never unnoticed, never beyond sight of Him.
The same is true today. You may be going through things that are unbearable. You may feel totally forgotten by God. You may be living a lie that says you aren’t good enough for God or that He doesn’t love you. Nothing is further from the truth.
Every time God looks at his hand, there is your name and a reminder to Him of all you mean to him. Just like a tattoo today, the tattoo God bears with your name on it put him in great pain. But that’s okay. To God you are worth it.
One more thing about tattoos. They can never be fully removed. In the same way, nothing you can do will remove your name from God’s hand. You are always and forever in His sight.
As you go through the trials and struggles of the day, as the journey of life leads you into places you never thought you’d be. Remember this: the Creator/God of the universe has your name firmly tattooed in the palm of His hand. He will never forget what you are going through.
PRAYER: Father God. I thank you for your great, undying love for me. I’ve made so many mistakes. There are so many times when I have ignored you or been angry with you. So many times when I feel completely abandoned by you. Thank you for your promise never to forget me or the pain I’m in. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 