Sunday morning retuning: Remember who you are. Remind yourself of this regularly. You are a child of the King, if you have indeed resigned yourself to this marvelous truth. May the Spirit you remind you often of His plans and purposes for you, but first of all His love for you.
How often we believe and allow our minds to be shaped by the things that speak to ourselves when we are simply repeating what others have said, what we imagined they have said, or worse yet, what the enemy has caused us to believe they have said? Should we not be more apt to believe the things that God, our Maker, has said? Unfortunately, too often, and not often enough respectively.
I read this quote in the book Humility by C. J. Mahaney we are reading as a staff then shared it on Facebook a few weeks ago.
"Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?" Martin Lloyd-Jones in Spiritual Depression
Something Pastor Myron said near the end of his message reminded me of this statement and I wanted to mention in this context as well.
So what’s the difference between listening and talking when you are doing it all? I think what Lloyd-Jones is trying to say is that we need to be active in this and not passive. Do not just listen to what you might easily believe, but rather work to diligently remind yourself of the things that you might even struggle to believe at times.
So how’s you memory? Do you more often remember the truth of what God has said about and remind yourself of those things or believe the lies you have listened to for far too long? Here are some things God has said about you…
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness. Jeremiah 31:3b
Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1b
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
Jesus, help us to remember and embrace all you have said to us. Help us to remind ourselves often of these truths so we may come to really believe them and live from that position for your glory.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Enough
Sunday morning retuning: Our big idea from Sunday’s message was one that can easily seem too familiar. “Jesus is all I need.” I already know that you might be tempted to say. But as I have reflected on that the last couple of days some other things have come to mind. Read on…
You see this is another simple statement with huge ramifications. There is on the one side the indisputable reality of it. Jesus really is all that I need. You have heard if said, “If I have the whole world but not Jesus, then I have nothing. But if I have nothing in the world but Jesus, I have everything.” Jesus is all I need. Let’s call this the positional dimension. That is, my position is that Jesus is all I need.
Then there is what I will call the experiential dimension. In my living, or experience, can the same be said. Though Jesus remains all that I need positional, I sometimes live, experientially, like this is not the case. That is, sometimes I live like Jesus [and this other thing that is really important to me at the moment] is [are] all I need.
I would rather that were not the case. I want my experience and my desire to line up with my position, but it does not always work that way. I wonder if you are willing to be honest and admit the same is true of you.
I am tempted at this point to develop a treatise on the flesh and why we have this internal struggle, but I would like for you to wrestle with some of the things I have been wrestling with this the last couple of days. Names withheld for anonymity and application.
We say, “Jesus is all I need”, but what do we say then…
…to the little girl whose daddy just told her mom he is leaving and not coming back.
…to that family who to a person is more excited about their vacation than they have been about anything in a long time.
…to the “30 something” wife who has recently been attending church without her husband because of his recent illness, and may be doing so for the rest of her life.
…to the one who believes yet has nagging doubts and fears
…to the young man addicted to pornography sitting there in church Sunday morning feeling even more defeated than ever.
Needless to say, what we say to them will not be q quick fix. Rather we need to love them and live with them through this. And that may take a long time, but I believe as never before that Jesus is and will be enough, even all they need.
Jesus, all of You is more than enough for all of me, for every thirst and every need. You satisfy us with Your love and all we have in You is more than enough. [Chorus from “Enough” by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio, choir anthem for this Sunday]
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
You see this is another simple statement with huge ramifications. There is on the one side the indisputable reality of it. Jesus really is all that I need. You have heard if said, “If I have the whole world but not Jesus, then I have nothing. But if I have nothing in the world but Jesus, I have everything.” Jesus is all I need. Let’s call this the positional dimension. That is, my position is that Jesus is all I need.
Then there is what I will call the experiential dimension. In my living, or experience, can the same be said. Though Jesus remains all that I need positional, I sometimes live, experientially, like this is not the case. That is, sometimes I live like Jesus [and this other thing that is really important to me at the moment] is [are] all I need.
I would rather that were not the case. I want my experience and my desire to line up with my position, but it does not always work that way. I wonder if you are willing to be honest and admit the same is true of you.
I am tempted at this point to develop a treatise on the flesh and why we have this internal struggle, but I would like for you to wrestle with some of the things I have been wrestling with this the last couple of days. Names withheld for anonymity and application.
We say, “Jesus is all I need”, but what do we say then…
…to the little girl whose daddy just told her mom he is leaving and not coming back.
…to that family who to a person is more excited about their vacation than they have been about anything in a long time.
…to the “30 something” wife who has recently been attending church without her husband because of his recent illness, and may be doing so for the rest of her life.
…to the one who believes yet has nagging doubts and fears
…to the young man addicted to pornography sitting there in church Sunday morning feeling even more defeated than ever.
Needless to say, what we say to them will not be q quick fix. Rather we need to love them and live with them through this. And that may take a long time, but I believe as never before that Jesus is and will be enough, even all they need.
Jesus, all of You is more than enough for all of me, for every thirst and every need. You satisfy us with Your love and all we have in You is more than enough. [Chorus from “Enough” by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio, choir anthem for this Sunday]
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Was the Choir THAT Good?
Sunday morning retuning: Only Jesus can save me! Yet how often am I guilty of trying to save myself. Let us be quick to marvel the cross, and trust in Christ’s finished work there to allow Him to completely to identify with all I face as I try to live surrendered to God.
I received this in a text two weeks ago Sunday. It was in reference to the anthem the choir presented in our services that morning. The short answer in my hear t is “No!” the choir was not that good. God was!
There was clapping and a standing ovation at the end. I understand the standing happened spontaneously part way through the song. Though I can not know people’s hearts, I want to believe they were responding to the way the Lord was revealing Himself in those moments.
Did the choir sound good? Sure. Was the duet well done? Absolutely. Was it a great song to begin with? You bet. But the underlying issue was simply that God choose to show Himself to us in a very clear way in those moments.
God is always present with us. He told us He would never leave us or forsake us. [Deuteronomy 31:6] He told us He would inhabit the praises of His people. [Psalm 22:3] We know He is always with us.
But there are times when we are more aware of His presence. When God revealed Himself at Sinai. [ Exodus 19:18-20] When Solomon dedicated the Temple. [2 Chronicles 7:1] When the Spirit was given at Pentecost. [Acts 2:1-4]
I pray there will be more times when we are clearly aware of the unmistakable, life-changing presence of our God. I firmly believe there will be. But even when we are not as aware collectively of His presence, may we still believe that His power is at work in our midst.
Jesus is only a step ahead of us, though at times we are tempted to go astray and other times we simply doubt He is really there. Stay close and expect to sense Him at every turn in the road, both individually and corporately. I know I am.
Jesus, cause us to be overwhelmed by Your presence sometimes, and in the other times give us faith to trust You are equally present. Our eyes are on You.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
I received this in a text two weeks ago Sunday. It was in reference to the anthem the choir presented in our services that morning. The short answer in my hear t is “No!” the choir was not that good. God was!
There was clapping and a standing ovation at the end. I understand the standing happened spontaneously part way through the song. Though I can not know people’s hearts, I want to believe they were responding to the way the Lord was revealing Himself in those moments.
Did the choir sound good? Sure. Was the duet well done? Absolutely. Was it a great song to begin with? You bet. But the underlying issue was simply that God choose to show Himself to us in a very clear way in those moments.
God is always present with us. He told us He would never leave us or forsake us. [Deuteronomy 31:6] He told us He would inhabit the praises of His people. [Psalm 22:3] We know He is always with us.
But there are times when we are more aware of His presence. When God revealed Himself at Sinai. [ Exodus 19:18-20] When Solomon dedicated the Temple. [2 Chronicles 7:1] When the Spirit was given at Pentecost. [Acts 2:1-4]
I pray there will be more times when we are clearly aware of the unmistakable, life-changing presence of our God. I firmly believe there will be. But even when we are not as aware collectively of His presence, may we still believe that His power is at work in our midst.
Jesus is only a step ahead of us, though at times we are tempted to go astray and other times we simply doubt He is really there. Stay close and expect to sense Him at every turn in the road, both individually and corporately. I know I am.
Jesus, cause us to be overwhelmed by Your presence sometimes, and in the other times give us faith to trust You are equally present. Our eyes are on You.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
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