Tolerance vs. Thankfulness

Dear Worshipers,

Last week I had the opportunity to sit under Gary Thomas’ teaching. He is a writer and the founder and director of the Center for Evangelical Spirituality, a ministry that integrates Scripture, church history, and the Christian classics. [If that sounds appealing to you, get one of his books. You will not be disappointed] His speaking was of comparable quality with the reading I had done before hearing him. It was a wonderful time spent considering some truths that I am continuing to absorb, and will be digesting for quite some time.

When I have an experience like this I like to try and distill it down into a couple of thoughts that I desire to allow the Lord to change my life. One thought that I am processing these days is that of tolerance versus thankfulness. Let me explain what I mean.

In a message titled Common Blessings, Familiar Miracles Thomas made a statement that I recorded like this. “Our minds adapt to God’s blessings and we end up tolerating them instead of being thankful for them.” WOW! We all know that because we have experienced it, but hearing him articulate it like that was a powerfully convicting moment for me. [Now you may want to run out and get one of his books all the more.] While this was just one example of things that were shared that were revolutionary, this one really hit me.

He used examples of his home to clarify. What had once been a source of blessing to him, a home he was amazed he could buy, became so common that he longed for more. I have often thought of this as discontentment, but he explained that our minds are prone to become so familiar with some things that we develop a “tolerance” for them. Think about the path home. Sometimes when you pull in your driveway you realize that you can not remember the lat few miles or minutes of your journey because you mind was simply “tolerating” it.

Here comes the rub. What blessings and miracles have you been tolerating? Your home? Your children? Your spouse? Your job? Your church? You name it. Let us be a thankful people. It changes our disposition not only towards the gift, but most importantly toward the Giver.

Psalm 100.4 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving…” As you enter your next time of worship whether later today or tomorrow, enter with thanksgiving, and see if it makes the approach to your Lord different. I welcome your responses.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Plan Your Pause, Place and Purpose

Dear Worshipers,

Sometimes getting to go out of town can be so exhausting you really need the break for which you have been preparing. Sarah and I are heading out of town for a few days to our District Pastors’ and Wives Retreat. This is an annual event that is designed to help ministry couples recharge and refresh.

We have been looking forward to this time since the drive back from the Ohio Amish country last year. This time with each other and the Lord has become very precious to us. Years ago we beganto realize the need to withdraw occasionally from our regular activities and spend some time in reflection and renewal.

I want to encourage you to find some similar opportunity. It does not have to be a big event, or a few days long. Maybe an afternoon walk through the woods, or a few hours spent in quiet with a large cup of java…and the Lord. Pull back and enjoy His presence. This kind of time is important, but one word of caution.

Oswald Chamber’s says somewhere in My Utmost for His Highest that we must be careful about these mountaintop moments. Those special times when escape the normal routine and commune with the Lord are good, but they are insufficient to cultivate our relationship with God. We need regular time spent with Him to “Maintain” our intimacy.

That is exactly what Pastor David was reminding us on Sunday, Do you have a pause…a place…and a purpose that you enjoy with consistency? If not, I want to encourage you again to make a plan for this. If you really want to become like Jesus, a plan for this kind of investment is essential.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

God loved us, so we love each other.

Dear Worshipers,

Happy Valentine’s Day!

On the occasion of this holiday falling on a Tuesday, allow me to encourage you today in the expression of love. You probably are familiar with one or more of the various strains of legend that serve as the foundation of this special day. They revolve around a historical figure by the name of Valentine.

One tradition has it that in defiance to the Roman Emperor, this Christian man, a priest, continued to marry young men and women though marriage had been outlawed for the purpose of filling the ranks of the army. He was sentenced to death. Another vein says that when the Emperor tried to convert him to worship the Roman gods and escape his sentence that Valentine responded by trying to convert the Emperor to Christianity. This sealed his fate.

Another part of the legend says that while awaiting his death Valentine was befriended by the guards’ daughter, who happened to be blind. The guard asked Valentine to heal her, calling on his faith, and apparently God heard his plea and did just that. Before his death, Valentine wrote her a letter signed, “From Your Valentine”, a phrase which is still used today. There are a number of places to get more information, none authoritative but here is a fairly good one. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/10/story_1064_1.html http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/107/11.0.html

Depending on where you look you get a different slant. St. Valentine has almost been forgotten on this day that still bears his name, and little else of his life. Nonetheless, we are reminded in the origins of this holiday, traced to the date of his martyrdom, of his love for God, which was a response to the love of God for him.

So what significance does that have for us today? Just the implication of the Scripture to mark our lives with love, not just today but always. Though the entire chapter is worth considering on this special day, consider I John 4:19. “We love each other as a result of his loving us first.” God loved us, so we love each other.

Is that the impetus behind your expressions of love today? Do you love because he loved you first? If not, then take a few quiet moments right now and set your heart upon his love. Then love from there.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Calling All Intercessors

Dear Worshipers,

The last few weeks we have been examining the vision God has given us as a worship ministry. It is a pretty daunting task, not only within out our lives, but endeavoring to nurture it in the lives of others. It is a task that quickly reminds us of our need to prayer, specifically for God’s enabling.

Over a year ago I sensed God leading me to intensify my pastoral prayer. I have been praying for many of you with regard to a specific area or need. I am agreeing with you in prayer. We have seen some marvelous answers. Let me know how I can pray for you if you have not yet given me that opportunity.

Later in the year I felt God leading me to initiate a small group of men to pray for me, my family, and the worship ministries of the church on a regular basis. I recruited last fall and had positive response from six men. They were asked to pray every day through a short list of requests, then listen to God. They have been praying since last December. Last week I asked them each to pray on one assigned day each week for fifteen minutes for a particular area as well as the list. I am excited to see what God will do through their prayers.

For some time now I have been asking you to prayerfully consider involvement in an ongoing prayer ministry. In my previous pastorates, I have seen the benefit of this kind of concerted prayer by a dedicated team of prayer warriors. I could trace the hand of God in some situations as a direct result of their prayers, both private and public.

One time a few of them were praying during a Christmas musical. They came up to me during the intermission with tears in their eyes. They had a strong sense of the moving of the Holy Spirit, as did the rest of us, and they prayed for me and others before returning to their behind-the-scenes ministry. At the close of the musical, many people prayed to receive Christ. Those prayers availed much.

It’s time to for us to pray.

This is the commitment that I am asking you to consider.

1. Praying everyday through a monthly prayer card (3-5 minutes)
2. Waiting on the Lord everyday following this to hear His voice (1-2 minutes)
3. A quarterly “prayer encounter” lasting about 45 minutes
4. Praying during our Sunday morning service on a rotational basis

If this resonates with you, then please prayerfully consider making a commitment to pray. I will add you to my list and we will get going by early March. May God grant us favor as we work and wait for Him.

If you do not feel led to pray, or to make this commitment, that is alright. I trust that the Lord is raising up a team that will not include everyone. Some of you may have the gift of intercession. PLEASE JOIN US. Others may simply feel led to be involved in this way. Others may want to prayer, but not everyday. Find the place God has for you, and flourish there.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

God's Self-Revelations

Dear Worshipers,

Let us continue on our journey through our Worship Ministries Vision Statement and allow it to remind us what it is that we are trying to accomplish through this ministry of worship that we share. We will do that by unpacking the last section of the vision statement for our Music and Worship Ministries. This is what you are committing to by becoming a member of this team. Here is the statement:

Our Worship Ministries exist to nurture worship as a lifestyle
characterized by sincere responses to God’s self-revelations.

Last week we looked at next phrase “characterized by sincere responses”. I shared that to respond means to make a reply or answer. All worship is but a response to God. The response is qualified with the adjective sincere which means to be genuine or authentic. Pastor David challenged us on Sunday with regard to “Getting Real With God” so this territory has been well-covered.

This week we will look at the last few words of the statement and probably the most important. They describe what we are responding to when we worship either gathered or dispersed. It all begins and ends with the Alpha and Omega as we reply “to God’s self-revelations”.

Revelation is simply the unveiling of something hidden, so that it may be seen and known for what it is. That is a very broad definition. Let us consider what we mean by “revelation” in the context of our Worship Ministries.

Henry Blackaby in his Bible Study Experiencing God cited as one of what he called realities that “God speaks by the Holy Spirit through prayer, the Bible, circumstances and the Church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.” This statement has shaped the way I see the Lord and His work since early in my walk with Him. Blackaby is only one source that confirms this activity.

When the Bible speaks of revelation, the thought intended is of God the Creator
actively disclosing to men his power and glory, his nature and character, his
will, ways and plans…God’s disclosures are always made in the context of a
demand for trust in, and obedience to, what is revealed—a response, that is,
which is wholly determined and controlled by the contents of the revelation
itself. In other words, God’s revelation comes to man, not as information
without obligation, but as a mandatory rule of faith and conduct. Man’s
life must be governed, not by private whims and fancies, nor by guesses as to
divine things unrevealed, but by reverent belief of as much as God has told him,
leading to conscientious compliance with as many imperatives as the revelation
proves to contain. (Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our
God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we
may follow all the words of this law.) [From “Revelation” as found in the
New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, InterVarsity Press]

I could not have said it better myself. Partly because I had to read that a couple of times to let it sink in. You might need to as well.

There is another aspect that is difficult to understand as well. There are really two parts of this understanding. First, that God ordered biblical history to reveal Himself. Second, that He inspired writers to record that history. Again, revelation is defined.

The biblical view is that God reveals Himself by both deeds and words; first by
ordering redemptive history, then by inspiring a written explanatory record of
that history to make later generations ‘wise unto salvation’ (cf. 2 Tim.
3:15ff.; 1 Cor. 10:11; Rom. 15:4), and finally by enlightening men in every age
to discern the significance and acknowledge the authority of the revelation thus
given and recorded (cf. Mt. 16:17, 2 Cor. 4:6). [See above]

So we see God acting in our age to enlighten us to the significance and authority of the Scripture. That is God’s self-revelation. It contains “everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3

So that brings us back to living a life that is one substantial, sincere response to Himself, His purposes and His ways. Ephesians 1:17 was one of the key verses that God used to reveal the vision of our Worship Ministries to me. That verse in the NIV says, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” As God answers that prayer by Paul, which I pray for all of you, we get to know him better by seeing, understanding and experiencing His truth.

I really like the way the Eugene Peterson has put this passage (Ephesians 1:16-19 in his translation, The Message. It really describes our response as a way of life beautifully. But I especially like the way it starts, with Paul giving thanks, as I do fro you when I pray.

I couldn't stop thanking God for you--every time I prayed, I'd think of
you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask--ask the God of our Master,
Jesus Christ, the God of glory--to make you intelligent and discerning in
knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly
what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of
life he has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who
trust him--endless energy, boundless strength!

May our eyes be “focused and clear” so that we may “see exactly what it is [God] is calling [us] to do.”

To that end, I want to ask you to continue to memorize our vision statement. I hope you have been working on it the last few weeks. Then as God brings it to mind, pray for the worship life of our church that it will transcend Sunday morning and truly become a through-the-week event as we experience “the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him.”

Assignment for the week: Memorize: “[Our Worship Ministries exist to nurture worship as a lifestyle characterized by sincere responses-last week] to God’s self-revelations.”

In Christ,

Pastor Scott