The Church Gathers to be Sent

“I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” –John 17:14

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with evangelist David Burton. I love evangelists! They are gifts of the Holy Spirit to the church. David’s passion and intentional mindset to tell the world of the good news message of Jesus is contagious.

I need to hear what evangelists say to encourage me to do the work of an evangelist (IITimothy 4:5). As a local church pastor, I can easily get swept up into the flow of the river of routine, keeping my mind busy on things internal to the church. I need the constant reminder that we the church, the body of Christ, gather to be sent.

We regularly gather to worship Jesus (Hebrews 10:25), we gather to pray (I Timothy 2:8), gather to encourage one another and build one another up (I Thessalonians 5:11), gather to sing, teach, and be taught God’s Word (Colossians3:16), and gather to display the love of God in us in our love for one another (I John 4:7). Yet, we followers of Jesus gather to be sent into the world, not to be sheltered from the world.

Jesus prays in John 17 that the Father sent Jesus into the world, though He was not of the world. He prays that we, His church which is also not of this world, be sent into the world by the Father the same way. Jesus prays that all of His followers are sent into the world. We who identify with Jesus by denying ourselves, picking up our cross daily, and following Him gather in worship and discipleship to be sent into the world as disciple-makers. We have been rescued from darkness by the Light to take this Light back into the darkness to rescue others.

Having given us God’s Word, we are hated in this world for being born again (John 17:14). This can be discouraging, and we could get swept into the current of our routine, turning discipleship solely into an internal thing in our local church rather than gathering to be sent.

We gather and learn Christ’s teachings together that our joy may be full (John 15:11), and by His rich mercies, sends us with His peace the same way the Father sent our Savior (John 20:21), a peace not of this world that we are not discouraged in heart (John 14:27). We gather to learn the Word that our joy may increase, and we are sent with divine peace. Jesus is with us in our being sent into the world, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Let us remember our mission to make disciples of all people to the glory of God. Let us remember each time we gather to worship that we gather to be sent. Let the nations be glad! Christ our Redeemer has rescued us and He now reigns upon the throne! Jesus saves. Jesus still saves.

Heavenly Father, as our Lord prayed we too pray, that You would not take us out of the world, but send us into the world with the Word that set us apart as lights into the darkness. Give us Your joy, peace, and wisdom as You send us Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Grumpiness

“Love is not rude. Love does not insist on its own way. Love is not irritable.” – I Corinthians 13:5

Grumpiness. I hate the feeling. I hate how being grumpy hurts my wife’s feelings. I hate how being grumpy makes me sharp towards others. I hate how being grumpy makes the day seem longer. It seems that on days I am grumpy my memory of the bed I wake from is all I look forward to. Grumpy days are days I want to just end.

The word for “irritable” in this verse means to be provoked. Meaning, love does not respond to provocation with grumpiness, rudeness, and demanding our own way. God is love (I John 4:8), and the desire of the follower of Jesus is to be like God. God is long-suffering; His fuse is long. Not mine. My fuse is short. I get grumpy because I insist on my own way, and I harbor prideful rudeness in my heart when I don’t get my way. When I get tired, or feeling bad, or I’m in a hurry, or I’d rather be doing something else, and I don’t get my way, I get grumpy and rude. 

To fight for joy, we must first be reminded that rudeness and grumpiness is unlovingness that is rooted in prideful sin. Confess your bitter attitude and grumpiness as pride, insisting your own way, as a sin before God. We must ask ourselves what is “our own way” that we are demanding that is making us rude, negative, and grumpy, even if we must stop in the middle of a sentence and take a breather to do it. We must ask what is the way of love found in the Bible? We must repent and walk in the Spirit and bear fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Do I trust that God has the power to deliver me from being grumpy and rude and more like Jesus?

God will finish the good work He began in us (Philippians 1:6), and He is at work in those days when we are grumpy and demand our own way. We must lay aside that selfishness and be a people known by God’s love, a love that is not rude, insisting our own way, and grumpy. Seek the Savior to deliver you from these bonds, knowing the gradual but glorious work to lay aside grumpiness for love is a fight for joy.

Heavenly Father, we confess our pride, wanting our way rather than Your way, wanting our way rather than to love. Forgive us, and through Jesus reconcile us to Yourself and to others we may have harmed in our selfish rudeness and grumpiness. We are clay in the Potter’s hands. Mold us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Some Thoughts After a Long Week

Last week was a long, tough week. I lost a good friend in Paul Mullinix, grieved with his wife and family, and enjoyed a bittersweet day remembering and honoring him with gratitude toward our God at his funeral service. Then, Sunday morning I preached a challenging charge. That night I traveled to Kentucky to preach my little brother’s pastor ordination service. Physically and emotionally, I was exhausted. I took Monday and Tuesday off to be with my family. I had time and quiet to reflect on what Jesus wants of the people He placed me as under-shepherd. I want to share with you a few of those thoughts.

We must be a people devoted to prayer. There are many reasons to be a people devoted to prayer, but one thought that struck me this week was how I am not depending on God as I should. I Corinthians1:29-31 reads,

That no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

We are dependent upon God in our thinking, feeling, and doing. Our belief in this is displayed in our prayer life. We must recover a passionate devotion to prayer together and for one another.

We must be a people devoted to evangelism. Statisticians from LifeWay Research and Barna tell us that Christians simply do not tell unbelievers about Jesus. Ed Stetzor put it this way: “The fact is, we seem to have lost our passion for evangelism. Baptists love evangelism as long as somebody else is doing it.” We must recover a heartsickness for those blind to His glory and the trajectory of their eternity. We must recover our passion to tell those who do not worship our glorious Christ all about His saving grace, forgiveness, mercy, and steadfast love. I’m growing tired of seeing our baptistery bone dry. Let’s be determined to proclaim to the world the bad news of sin and the good news of Jesus.

Above all, we must be a people devoted to loving Jesus. We must guard against what Jesus revealed to the church in Ephesus, that they lost their first love (Revelation 2:4). Doing church biblically is right and good, but it must be founded on loving Jesus (Ephesians 3:17–19) with the aim of our ministry being love (I Timothy 1:5).

Together, let’s encourage one another to be a people devoted to prayer, evangelism, and loving Jesus. Let us obey Jesus’ commands with joy as worship to the glory of God.

Heavenly Father, grant us a bold faith to pray, evangelize, and love Jesus. Give us Your sweet mercy to see our weakness and call upon You in faith to worship and obey You. Strengthen our homes and our church to glorify You. Amen.

I Missed You at Church Sunday

“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together…” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

“I missed you at church Sunday.” I know the warmth of the love in these words spoken by Christians to those who skipped worship services. The sweetness is genuine concern for others. We want to stir you to love. We want to stir you to obey God. We want to encourage you.

There are blessings the Lord gives you in the church assembled that you cannot have alone. Skipping church starves your heart and mind from the cravings the Lord has given your new heart and renewing mind. We need our love stirred by other followers of Jesus. We need our hearts stirred to obey the Lord. We need Godly interaction for spiritual growth and delight in the Lord. The command of grace to love one another is tasted and seen as good when we regularly meet together.

God commands us to regularly meet together with the focus on how to meet: to stir our love and good works, to serve one another and bear one another’s burdens. Often, our brokenness inclines our hearts to want to skip church. But a genuine church is genuine people gathering because of Christ’s redeeming work. Can we meet regularly and be authentically broken together?

It is unhealthy for you to miss the worship gathering, but we too miss out on a blessing. You see, we love you personally. If we do not know you yet, we desire to love you personally. We want the real you, to encourage your walk following Jesus. As a church, we are blessed when we obey Jesus’ command to love His disciples. 

Whether you have wandered or are going through a trial or rough season, come to worship services. Your spiritual starvation is a yearning to grow in His grace with us. The gloom of our dense spiritual fog is lifted in the warm communion of the saints gathered to adore Christ together.

Heavenly Father, Your holy Word commands us to love one another. We love with Your love. Fill our hearts with the love of the Father that first loved us, the love that sent our Savior while we were yet sinners. May our genuine fellowship in Your rich mercies stir the hearts of Your people to Your glory. In the precious Name of Christ. Amen.

Be a Light in Darkness

“The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” –Matthew 4:16

God describes the very good world He created that is spun into sin and brokenness and “darkness” and the place of the “shadow of death.” This dark place is home for us. It is familiar to us. We are accustomed its chill, its cold silence, its brokenness. So, the world thinks it normal that the hatred, violence, pride, death, and the splitting humans into categories is a good thing.

Christians are all blind people who have had their vision restored now walking in light (Ephesians5:8). We see the darkness for what it is: evil and blind. With heaviness in our hearts do we traverse this valley of the shadow of death, pushing forward with the Bible as light in the path of this dark world and knowing God is with us.

Our temptation is to yell into the darkness and command the world to stop being broken, or perhaps like our spiritual forefathers, place a king over us like the nations to set things right. King Jesus didn’t tell blind Bartimaeus to open his eyes to see; He healed him. We didn’t come to Jesus with wisdom and a good heart, we came broken, needy, ignorant, and wicked. He forgave us and gave us the eyes of faith.

As God’s people, we now tell those in darkness the excellencies of Jesus, the Great Light (I Peter 2:9). The God who spoke the sun into existence from nothing speaks through our lips when we proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ (IICorinthians 4:6). Yet, we experience the brokenness and death awaiting to be fully healed in the completed Kingdom (Revelation 21:1–8). Our trials and sufferings are used by God to display His majesty as well (I Peter 1:6–7).

Rejoice, O Christian! For our great God has mercies for your journey through this darkness. Possess faith in our Savior and greatly rejoice with a painful, yet hopeful, joy! We have seen the glory of this Great Light, we proclaim Him to all people, and long for His completed Kingdom with great anticipation. Let us be found faithful to display and proclaim the excellencies of Christ until our final breath.

Heavenly Father, we rejoice in the might of Your salvation in Christ! You have given us eyes to see and wisdom by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Strengthen our hearts to repent of pride and open our lips to speak Your gospel of grace. We rejoice in Your goodness and grace. Be glorified in us. Amen.

How God Answered My Prayer Today

The Lord answered my prayer, but not in the manner I expected Him to.
Each week, I look at my large desk calendar (yes, I'm old school) and find a day to take off. It's part of my routine, in keeping with what I was taught by a mentor of mine: your family is your primary ministry. This week, Tuesday was the only possible day. Nothing major was planned. Perhaps a trip to the park. Whatever we will do, it all involves getting dressed. My lovely wife was standing at the bottom of the stairs that leads to our boys' room helping Levi figure out what to wear. It was at this moment our day changed.

Anyone who has ever had a toddler in their home knows toddlers trip all of the time. Selah is no different. Her knees are scraped from falling on the sidewalk. I frequently brush grass or mulch off of her face after face planting outside. It was at this moment Selah tripped, but this time her delicate head struck the sharp corner of the baseboard.

When I saw my wife pick up our baby, our eyes met briefly. I read her face. Then I heard our baby's cry. Something was wrong. She handed Selah to me so she can quickly get ready. I had to simultaneously hold her arms down, press a washcloth on the wound, and comfort her, all while blood dripped onto the floor, my arms, and my clothes.

Levi came down with shock written on his face...and still wasn't wearing shoes. I'd like to tell you that I kept my cool, but I didn't. I yelled, "shoes, Levi!" My panic made me less tender. Elijah quickly got his flip-flops and started the car, even holding doors open. Driving to the hospital, I could see my boys praying for Selah in the rear view mirror.

Seeing my wife comforting our baby in a hospital bed is a frightening image. Triage questions kept us from talking to one another. I saw my bride, the mother of my children, look at me. I love my wife. She is beautiful. She is a precious gift from God to me. After nearly 14 years of marriage, I can see her eyes and read her heart. She looked terrified. My wife is a strong woman who possesses a confidence in most situations of what to do. Her eyes said she was scared for our baby.

I left my wife and baby daughter, taking the boys for an Icee. I knew it was going to be a long, long day. I got to talk to the boys about hospitals and how God is still in control, and they recalled their times at the hospital. It was there, in that moment in Burger King, when I remembered my prayer from the night before.

The night before, I met with our church's deacons. I had the devotion, which I read Galatians 6:9:
"Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
Church leaders are not to give up but rather press on. Part of that pressing on requires rest. Rest causes us to remember our priorities. Rest, which seem counter-productive to our flesh, recalls to mind that our ministry is the Lord's doing, and we are to be dependent upon Him.

I remember my personal prayer later that night. My schedule keeps busying itself. Leading a growing church was taking my time. I prayed that the Lord would remind me of my primary ministry. The next day, He did.
 
Spending several hours in a tiny hospital room has its benefits. For one, my family and I were forced to look at each other. Looking at my lovely, pregnant bride uncomfortably and unselfishly lay in a child's sized hospital bed with our little girl put priorities in perspective for me. Seeing my baby girl endure 10 stitches and an IV, being kept in bed for several hours, had an effect on my mind.

I took the boys for a walk to the gift shop. We talked about everything to glass elevators to watering our garden. A while later, Levi and I went for a walk outside (if you know me well enough, I freeze at warm temperatures). He asked me about tornadoes and whether or not I was strong enough to lift various things he saw around the hospital. My boys look to me for a definition of being a man. More importantly, what it means to be a Godly man.

I'm not a perfect father. When I'm overwhelmed, I panic. I yelled at the boys today. When my day is busy, or stressful, I come home and I don't always give my family the attention I should. My wife doesn't always get my best attention or care. When I'm spent, I'm short with her. Today, I wasn't. Today I listened to my boys. My wife and I spent close moments together. We talked. Looking at Selah's wound and hearing her cry, all of a sudden my job seemed so secondary. Not unimportant, just not as important. 

My heavenly Father doesn't panic. Even when I am annoying, my God listens. He is always good. He is very kind to me, to my family. He is faithful. My Lord has called me to shepherd my family and my church. He has given me joy in both tasks. He has been faithful to not abandon me, even in my unfaithfulness. I have learned that He is a trustworthy and mighty refuge. He is a place of peace. I ran to my Lord, and He answered my prayer today. 

                                       Truly God has listened;
                                                He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

                                       Blessed be God,
                                                because He has not rejected my prayer
                                                or removed His steadfast love from me!

                                                                           (Psalm 66:19-20)