Cut it off

Jesus was never afraid to ruffle some feathers. He would deliberately say things that would infuriate some of the most powerful people of his day. Just look at when he told the Pharisees, the religious leaders, that they were of their father the devil. (John 8:44) So we know that Jesus wasn't afraid of saying something radical in order to get people attention.
We find him doing just that in Matthew 5 as part of his famous sermon the mount. In Matthew 5 Jesus is talking about various issues such as anger and hatred and then he comes to the issue of lust, a lengthy subject by itself. Jesus makes the point that just by looking at a woman with lustful intent you are committing adultery with her in your heart. Again a tough thing for many of the people to hear. But then Jesus goes on to make a suggestion on how to deal with this sin problem. In verse 29 and 30 "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."

Now why would Jesus suggest that we should amputate parts of our body? After all I don't need both of my eyes to lust. The issue isn't the eyes or the hands causing the sin, the issue is the heart. The heart is where the longing for sin comes from and put actions to our wrong desires. So should we cut out our hearts? Of course not.

Jesus is obviously taking this to extremes so that they get the point he is trying to make. Sin is a serious issue, and it must be dealt with seriously. That means that at times we may have to cut ourselves off from things that lead us into a sinful lifestyle. A recovering drug addict should not go and be with the people that he used to do drugs with. He is asking for trouble. Instead he should be willing to separate himself. It is the same way in our life.

If sin is such a serious issue that can send us to hell and keep us the life that God has chosen for us then is there any measure that is too much? If cutting off my hand would help solve the issue I just might consider it. But instead there are other things in life that I can  separate myself from in order to live a holy life that is pleasing to God.

So what is it that you need to cut off today? Perhaps it is your T.V., computer, a relationship, a specific place. Whatever it is, find the courage to cut yourself off from those things that are holding you back in your relationship to God

Blessed Are...

There are many times that I look at scripture and have a hard time figuring out exactly what it is that God wants from me. Hopefully I am not the only one that feels this way.

One of the areas that I have felt this was when Jesus talks about the Beatitudes. Those blessed are statements have never seemed to make much sense to me. But as I have studied more and begun to understand more of what Jesus talked about I begin to see a theme to the beatitudes that I previously didn't see there. The Beatitudes start in Matthew chapter 5. 

"And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

As I began to look at these statements i began to notice that they are the opposite of what we try to have in our life. None of us want to be poor in spirit or meek, and most certanly none of us want to mourn. Yet for the people that posses these they are blessed in a variety of ways. So maybe there is something to these.

After studying more I began to notice that Jesus is talking about how things in the Kingdom of God are going to be and how we should be now. We should be poor in spirit because the proud in spirit won't rely on god the way we all should. Those who mourn are mourning over the sin in their own lives and the damage it has done to our relationship with God. The meek don't look proudly on themselves but allow themselves to be humble.Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are never satisfied with where they stand with God, they always want more of him. The pure in heart discipline themselves to see the sinfulness for what it is and separate themselves from it. And those that are persecuted have a conviction that no many can every take away from them.

No wonder those that display these attributes are called blessed by Christ. This is how we all should live. It isn't natural by any means but it puts us in the proper perspective with God. We stop believing the lies about ourselves and how good we are and we are convinced of the goodness of God.

So which of these do you need to work on?

Doing Life

Growing up one of the memories I have and cherish were those few times I woke up early enough to have coffee with my Dad. I would wake up and grab a cup of coffee and go out onto the pourch with him and in the still of the crisp morning air we would drink our coffee together. I don't remember any of the conversations we had and that's ok. Instead I just remember enjoying the time with him. These are the moments where our relationship was built.

It is the same way today. If I am able to sit down with someone and have a cup of coffee or have a meal together with them it builds that relationship. It is living life with another human being. Today we are almost too busy to enjoy time with one another. Many times we don't even have time to have a family meal together. How sad. These moments are crucial in building relationships with one another. 

If you take a look at scripture and the life of Jesus there are many times that we see Him sitting down for a meal. He ate with sinners and prostitutes. He built a relationship with them. He lived life with them while they sat there and talked and ate together. Shouldn't we do the same thing? Shouldn't we be willing to slow down our schedule to allow time to live life together. To build relationships with other human being. To strengthen one another and build each other up while holding each other accountable to the things of God. Not only that but shouldn't we be willing to sit and share a meal or a cup of coffee with an unbeliever? So what if they have a beer and I have a pepsi. The drink doesn't matter, the relationship does.

So why don't we try something different. WHy don't we try to live life together. Have a meal with someone. Share a cup of coffee. Let's see if life together is better than living separate.

Gentleness

When my son was just born and I got to hold him for the first time, besides being incredibly tired from being awake all night, it was incredible to hold someone that was so incredibly small and fragile. In that moment I knew what it meant to be gentle. I was careful with how I handled my son, how I held him making sure his head was supported. Now that he is nearly three I am not nearly as gentle with him. In fact just a few minutes ago I was throwing him up as high in the air as I could to his complete joy. He loved it. In fact he kept asking me to do it again. 

It is the same way with people, especially new Christians. We have to be gentle in the way we handle other people. Sometimes we are too quick to be critical of another persons choices or life styles. Now I am not sugesting that we accept and condone a sinful lifestyle. I am however sugesting that if you have just met a person, you are not in a position to confront the issue. Instead you should handle the person with care just like you would handle a new born. As time will go on and you build a relationship with the individual you will be able to be a little rougher with them and confront them on issues in a loving way. But too often we don't allow for the time and the relationship to build to a point where we have the trust of the other individual and they can trust what we say to be in their best interest.

Faithfulness

Faithfulness. Have you ever thought about what it means to be a faithful person? I am talking about more than being faithful to a spouse, though that is very important. But are you a generally faithful person? Are you reliable?  Are you trustworthy? If I am honest with myself I have to think of the times I have let people down by not doing what I said I would do. That is not being faithful. People begin to lose respect for. The things that you do say don't carry nearly as much weight as they could because you have not proven to be faithful. 

Faithfulness is an important part of being a Christian. People need to trust you if they are going to allow you to speak into their life at all. If they can't trust you to keep your word then why would they trust you when you show them the way to Christ? Not only that but we are supposed to be representatives of Christ himself. If we aren't faithful then people will begin to associate that with the god we serve. How horrible it would be if people believed that God was only as faithful as me? Of course Gods faithfulness does not decrease because mine does, but some people will see it that way.

So... Are you being faithful?

Address to the Church

Dear Church Family

            2013 has been such an incredible year of learning and growing. Earlier this month we were excited to celebrate being here for one year. Both Kathy and I feel that we have finally found a home and a place that we can be for a very long time.

            In the last year we have seen so many people come and become a part of our church family and we thank God for them. We can take none of the credit for this and can only point to God as the one to bring people here. We want to thank each and every one of you for being welcoming and genuine. I can’t tell you how many times people have commented on how loved they feel and how relaxed of an atmosphere the church has. This is because of you. So thank you for being so welcoming.

            There has been so many people that have helped make this year go smoothly and successfully. You all know who you are and I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

            I have had the opportunity to get to know many people within the community by working at the coffee shop, something that God clearly had a hand in. This has allowed me to see where the church can be most effective. God has laid many things on my heart, some of them I am excited to share with you others will have to wait as we continue to prepare for what God has in store.

            We are anxious for the next year and to see what opportunities God brings to us.. As God sends us people to care for and shepherd we will have to change the way we do things in order to better reach our community. Though change is never easy it will be necessary. I hope that you will join with us as some of these changes begin to happen. We are asking that you please join with us both physically and prayerfully as we seek God and his will for the church.

            It has been a privilege to serve you this past year and we look forward to many more years serving as your pastor. We thank God for you and the blessing you are to us.

For His Glory

Chris,  Kathy Russell and family