Return From Down South

I’ve just returned from a trip down south to visit our friends in Bethel and Trohilo Nicaragua. Every time I visit with these folks I am so blessed and I inevitably return with my “cup overflowing”. I am also painfully reminded of how spoiled the church in the United States has become. I realize that’s not a flattering way to talk about brothers and sisters in the Lord, but it’s true. While we were in Nicaragua, the entire village closed down to go to a fresh water spring for a baptismal. The students were excused from school and the day was spent in fellowship in a very public place. Directly adjacent to the area where the outdoor worship service was held was an open bar. But the fact that non-church people were present had no bearing on the folks willingness to sing and praise the Lord. They weren't Pharisaical about their faith either, but showed genuine love for the people there. Following the church service, the people mingled together, making new friends and inviting those who were not a part of the church to join them for food. As I watched all this occur, I was struck with the difference in the way most of us do “church”. And that’s the problem… we do “church” instead of be the “Church”. Think about it… How many times have we moved our worship service outside during the heat of summer to minister to those who don’t come to church? Unfortunately, I think we would rather stay inside in the air conditioning of our  “sanctuaries” than go outside and tell others about God’s love. If it’s hot outside, we’d rather not go thru all the hard work of moving sound systems and speakers, would we? And what about sharing the love of Christ thru acts of benevolence or feeding the homeless, hungry people in the city? I have to say that we’re really good at having “pot-luck” suppers and “covered dish” lunches, but those are usually for the “members”. It’s a lot easier for us to stay inside our “white-washed” walls and talk about how much better we are than those who are on the outside. But Jesus wasn’t like that… He was outside, with the people, ministering to the needs of those who wouldn’t be welcomed in most temples of the day. I think we need to put down our “how-to booklets” for church growth and slick sales programming for raising funds and get back to what Christ intended for the church. As I recall, the church in Acts was started with an outdoor service when Peter preached in the street after the coming of the Holy Spirit. That day, 3000 were added to the church… and I don’t think there were cushioned pews and high-tech sound systems in place either. That kind of stuff has a place, but we can’t allow the lack there of to prevent us from doing what God has commissioned us to do… GO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS. 

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The Bread Of Life

We’ve been continuing in a series at Mountain View that I’ve adapted from Ed Young Jr’s messages entitled “The Table”. (Thanks for the packet Ed) What a fresh new way to look at the church! It’s a table where we gather to experience the “Bread of Life” – Jesus. When we gather around this table, believers receive spiritual nourishment that gives them strength for service, and seekers are introduced to the source of eternal life. I believe that God arranges all of life to point us to the need we have for a relationship with Him. In fact, until we meet Him, we cannot discover the reason for which we were created. Of course, many would argue that we determine our own course in life, therefore we create the reason we exist, but the Bible tells us something different. Paul writes that “we are His creation—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” Therefore, until we come to know God thru a relationship with Christ Jesus, we do not know the works He has prepared for our lives. God’s desire is for us to discover that purpose too. So, He uses every incident and ever circumstance of life to point us to the fact that our lives are incomplete without Him. I even think that hunger pangs point us to the need we have for Christ. Hunger is a very real and ongoing part of life. When we eat, the hunger pangs go away – at least for a while. But they come back when our bodies have used up all the nutrients and calories. In order to keep living, we have to keep eating. So physical food is not sufficient to completely take away the hunger pangs we feel. In the same way, we have a spiritual hunger that nothing in life can satisfy. In order to quench our spiritual hunger, we have to “eat” the “Bread of Life”. Jesus called Himself the “Bread of Life”. What does it mean to “eat” the “Bread of Life”? It’s interesting that in the Bible, the word eat gives the same picture as believing. So we must believe – digest – take internally in a spiritual manner, the “Bread of Life”. But it’s more than an intellectual appreciation. It’s also more than a ritualistic confession of faith. It’s not memorizing facts or flippantly acknowledging God or outwardly recognizing Jesus as the Son of God. To believe on Jesus Christ means to receive Him within you just as you would receive food. But unlike food, when Jesus enters your life, He completely quenches your spiritual hunger for eternal life; it’s a one time thing. And at that moment, you discover that your life has been made complete. And ultimately, you’ll never be lacking again. And the wonderful part is that He offers the “Bread of Life” to all who will believe. It’s an act of grace. Anyone who will come to the table, will find that a place has been set for them – there is always room for more. And you’ll find that what you’ve been yearning for, the significance you’ve always wanted in your life, that void in your life that you’ve never been able to fill, can only be satisfied thru a relationship with Christ Jesus. Have you met Him? Have you digested Him? Has He become a part of who you are, or is He some distant figure that you pay homage to every now and then? If so, you haven’t really met Him. But you can. There is a place at the table for you. If you’d like to know Him, I encourage you to call 1-800-NEEDHIM 1-800-633-3446 today.

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Diet and Exercise

Hey folks, what a tremendous response Sunday to the new sermon series. I don’t have the words to communicate how excited I am about what God will do as we refocus the thrust of our ministry to the spiritually starving people wandering the streets outside our doors. As I said this past week, we Christians have sat at the Lord’s banquet table far too long, gorging ourselves on the nourishment of His promises and truth. It’s time we pushed back from the table, got up out of our chairs, left the air-conditioned surroundings of our church buildings, and exercised our faith. It’s sort of like our physical health and conditioning. If we want to stay healthy, two components are necessary: a balanced diet and exercise. The same is true in a spiritual sense. James tells us not to just be hearers of the word, but to be doers of the word as well. (James 1:22) The is no doubt that God wants us to grow as we dig deeply into the rich nourishment of the word, but His desire is that we put into practice the things we have learned. As we continue in this series about the dining table of the Lord, let’s keep in mind that we have been fed so that we can serve others and lead them to the table of the Lord. Whom have you invited to the table this week?

Today I didn't dine at a table for lunch. I went to the grocery store deli and grabbed a sandwich "on the fly". While I was there, I noticed that the deli manager had put out all these little sample trays of different varieties of cheese that were on sale. As I tasted the samples, I immediately knew which ones I would purchase and which ones I didn’t care for... Some of the cheeses I didn't even have to taste. The smell was enough to turn me away.  As I made my way from tray to tray, I thought, "This is how believers are in the world. Just like these samples of cheese, we are living samples of our faith. Our attitudes, our actions, our words and our deeds show others whether or not our faith is attractive to them." The question we must ask ourselves is this: “Does our sample attract others to the Lord’s table, or do we cause them to hold their noses and turn away?”

Put feet to your faith and live the life you profess to possess in Christ. Diet and exercise… profitable for life physically, but more so spiritually…

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