Love Remains by Joey Kincheloe

Love Remains

 

The passion was gone when he walked out. There was nothing left to keep him there.

 

When she closed the door for the last time, the fire had died. She was off to pursue the next thing.

 

It’s kinda like the day or the week after Valentine’s Day. The chocolate has been eaten, the flowers have wilted and the shiny new necklace has already become just another part of our wardrobe. As the bling loses its shine and the mundane once again takes over, what’s left?

 

Love.

Love remains. At least, I hope it does. Love keeps me going when I want to quit. Love keeps me running when I want to stop. It keeps me coming back when all I want is to bail out. When frustration mounts and tension soars, when apathy threatens and hopelessness swallows me - love keeps me going. It remains.

 

 

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

                                      - 1st Corinthians 13:13

 

I love you for who you are. I love you for what you’ve done. I love you, for my life, my history and my future are tangled in you.

 

I love you because you first loved me. I love you because without you, I am hopeless. I love you because you allowed a beautiful life to be extinguished in the most terrible way for me - for all of us.

 

So what happens, Father, when my passion is gone?

What happens, my dear LORD, when the fire has died?

 

Tell me please, so that I may renew my passion for you. Guide me please, so that I may once again live and die for you. Take away my weary spirit and give me wings to fly, to fly to you.

 

 

“I have loved you with an everlasting love - out of faithfulness I have drawn you close.”

                                                - Jeremiah 31:3 (the VOICE)

 

I don’t want to walk away - I want to come close. And as I try to come back to you - back to when I was passionate for you - I thank you that your love remains.

A Note from the Midwest Food Bank-John Whitaker Provided By Tom Holtz

John Whitaker is the director and founder of the Midwest Food Bank.  Unlike Gleaners, we do not have to pay for any food that we receive from them.  With their help, we were able to provide food and assistance to 1753 families and over 7025 family members from babies through elders in their nineties.  We have been with them since 2008.  John was a guest speaker at one of our Men’s Breakfast events last year.  It is a very Christ-centered organization

-Tom Holtz

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (NIV, 1 Peter 1:3)

As we enter our eighth year of operation at the Midwest Indianapolis Division, it is joy to look back at God's faithfulness and His hand of protection on the work to which He has called us. Every year is a new adventure and brings new steps of faith as we reach out to tens of thousands in Indiana who fall into the ranks of the food insecure. In the past seven years, by the grace of God, we have been able to distribute over $100 million of food and relief to our neighbors in their time of need. To break it down further this amounts to about 50 million pounds of food or 25 million tons which is the equivalent of over 35 million meals! Over the years, many have asked, how do you do it? My answer is always the same, we do it by following God's lead day by day, by following His example, and by not withholding the good we have to share with those to whom it is due as outlined in Proverbs 3:27. We do all this so that God may receive glory, honor, and praise, but as a result we, ourselves, are filled with joy as God has promised to those who obey and serve Him (Heb. 12:1-3)!

Every year is different with exciting opportunities for growth in this ministry through our donors, staff, and volunteers.   You are receiving this because you are part of what God is doing at Midwest Food Bank! Without faithfully stepping out to give, serve, and sacrifice for the glory of God, the lives of those we are called to serve would be filled with hopelessness and despair. In giving and serving you are demonstrating an unconditional love for others who through these acts of kindness are being made aware, through our faith-based agencies, of the living hope that only faith in Jesus Christ can give. Our prayer for 2016 is that God might allow us to distribute over $27 million of hope and relief to those in need in our Hoosier communities while growing our reach through new partnerships, and giving more emphasis to the rural and under-served areas of our state. Please pray for us as we seek new opportunities to do the most good!

Many things change from year to year but our hope this coming year is not based on something fading or inconsistent but in a living unchanging God and a lifetime of hope in Jesus Christ our Lord. Our staff, our board, and I wish you a joyful new year full of hope, and thank you again for your prayers, support and encouragement in 2015.

Warmly,
John Whitaker

Do You See What I See by Lesha Colglazier

Do you see what I see?

By Lesha Colglazier

 

As many have shared at various times, how thankful they are to be a part of the Southeastern Family. I, too, share their sentiments. As the body of Christ at 6500 Southeastern Avenue, I have witnessed how this body works as each person or limb/organ functions at whatever level for God’s glory. I have experienced many things myself in my time at Southeastern and observed it as my brothers and sisters are acting great as God’s kids! J

Mike Decamp had asked me a long time ago to write something for the blog and I’ve tried to think of things over time, but nothing came – a writer’s block so to speak. But in the last year or so, as I observed, you, my siblings, on any given Sunday morning these thoughts stirred! “Do you see what I see?” The song often sang at the Christmas holiday came to mind “Do You Hear What I Hear?” which caused even more reflection about my family here. The song references seeing, hearing, knowing and listening on that special night that Jesus was born.

 

What I see –

Families by birth origin and by marriage, but greater still, siblings as God’s children!

A visitor invited to sit with someone more than once.

People I’ve known for all my life.

People I’ve been blessed to cross paths with in the last year.

Best girlfriends sitting together with their babies on their lap, while their husbands serve us in worship.

A son or daughter, whose parent had died, comforting and being concerned with their parent that is still here.

Teen friends sitting together—worshipping, some with parents that are here, some whose parents that aren’t, but still choose to be at Southeastern on their own!

Couples married a short time or a long time holding hands!

Mature couples that have years together in marriage and friendship.

A widow or widower sits with a more recently widowed brother or sister.

An elder becoming emotional in sharing thoughts is comforted by one of his spiritual brothers.

A brother or sister singing that in previous years didn’t sing.

One being comforted who has lost a loved one, by spiritual siblings whether they have experienced this type of loss or not.

Dear brothers and sisters, our siblings, that are worshiping post major surgery and/or with health challenges, cancer, etc.

A parent becoming emotional during worship with concern for their ill adult child, and their spouse reaches to hold their hand or touch them.

A father encouraging a young son, as we learn a new song, to sing along, too!

Children not sitting with their parents, but they are sitting with others that have concern for them.

A brother or sister moves to a different seat to support someone struggling emotionally or with their children.

HUGS!

 

What I hear –

Wonderful praises lifted up to our Father.

Prayers offered with thanksgiving and supplication.

A child—saying Amen at the end of a prayer.

A baby—laughing with joy or cries of sadness.

God’s word read and preached.

Plates being passed sharing communion together and sharing our blessings both here and afar.

Lots of chatter during greeting time and post worship time.

The song by Louie Armstrong, “It a Wonderful World” comes to mind too. “Friends shaking hand saying how do you do?” J

 

What I know –

Many prayers are offered in silence, as we worship, that a heart would be touched or a life would grow closer to the Lord.

We all are gifted differently, yet we are all connected.

Many of your stories--and most haven’t had an easy or perfect path, but to see you journey on in faith inspires others.

Psalm 124 – vs. 1 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side” then the following verses list many things that could overtake us. vs. 6 “Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.” He’s Got Us!

 

Listen to hearts growing toward God in various seasons of life. As we pray for peace everywhere! To coin Greg York, “What does done right look like?” What do you see when we come together? I challenge you to take a good look around; you might be surprised at what you can really see when you look with your heart at your siblings and those visiting. Jesus came to give us goodness and light!

 

The song “The Greatest Command” says it all. I remember being on a mission team in Guatemala and it was taught to the church there in Spanish with four part harmony, not common in Guatemala, just sing loud! As the local members sang in Spanish and the team from the US sang in English – Love one another!!! It was beautiful and truly what He wants for his children (us). So get to know your family here at Southeastern and look around when we gather and while we worship – I know if you do you too will be overwhelmed by God’s amazing love and grace for each of us He saw fit to create in His image! 

Giving Principles by Terry Gardner

Giving Principles
By Terry Gardner

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give.   I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.”  — C.S. Lewis

According to Bob Herndon, a number of years ago, a man asked his wife to
put all of his prized possessions in their attic, so that he could take them
with him when he died. His wife thought his request odd, but she complied.
A few years later he passed on to the next life. After the funeral she found
everything untouched in the attic. “Well!” she exclaimed. “I knew I should
have put it all in the basement!”

When we think about giving to the work of the Lord, some questions may come
to mind. First, to whom do all things belong? Second, to whom do Christians
belong? Third, what are the basic principles of giving? When we answer these
questions, then we may usefully ponder the example of John Wesley.

The Earth is the Lord’s
The Psalmist reminds us that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness
thereof” (Psalm 24:1) Nothing belongs to us; everything belongs to God. We
brought nothing into this world and we can carry nothing out. (1 Tim 6:7).
We used to sing an old song, “this world is not my home.” Do we believe
that our citizenship is heaven or do we store up treasures on earth that
rust will corrupt and thieves will steal?

Christians belong to God … indeed we are His servants or slaves
We are not our own, if we are Christians. “For you have been bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:20). Like the
Macedonians we should first give ourselves to the Lord (2 Cor 8:5). We may
remember that our Master, Jesus Christ, gave up everything in heaven and on
earth that “through His poverty we might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). Jesus
also teaches us that a servant is not above his master (Matt 10:24). In
our giving we may become like Jesus who, “though he was rich, yet for your
sake He became poor” (2 Cor 8:9).

Basic Principles
Our giving is acceptable based on our ability—“According to what one has,
not according to what he does not have” (2 Cor 8:12). We should not wait to
give until we have more to give, because God in interested in our readiness
to give what we have.

We should seek equality in giving. I do not mean that all should give
equally in either a fixed percentage (as in a “tithe” of 10 percent) or in
absolute dollars, but each Christian should give proportionally as we have
been prospered. If we load ourselves with debt by over consuming, we
demonstrate selfishness and are without excuse for not giving. No matter
the amount of our income we can render ourselves unable to give as we ought
by spending all we receive . . . and sometimes more.
As someone has said, “The trouble is that too many people are spending money
they haven't yet earned for things they don't need to impress people they
don't like.”

Covetousness is the enemy of giving. Paul (2 Cor 9:5) defines
“covetousness” as “idolatry.” The tenth commandment is, “You shall not
covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his
male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that
belongs to your neighbor” (Ex 20:17). Romans 13:9 repeats this commandment
to Christians.

If I give sparingly I will reap sparingly (2 Cor. 9:6) of spiritual
blessings here and in Heaven. Some argue that God distributes to believers
special material blessings, as he did in the Old Testament; but if so, then
why are some of the best givers poor like the widow who gave all she had
(two mites)? Some of the greatest givers are highlighted in Hebrews and
they “went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted,
ill-treated” (Heb 11:37). No one gave more than Jesus but he didn’t even
have a place to lay his head. What small value are material blessings
anyway, since I can’t take them with me?

A gift that costs us nothing is not much of a gift. David refused to give
God something that “cost him nothing” (2 Sam 24:24). How special does
someone think you are if they re-gift you?

John Wesley’s Example of Giving
The New Testament does not provide a specific amount that we are to give,
but it should lead Christians generally to be more generous . . . not less.
We give as we are prospered realizing that we are not our own and that the
earth is the Lord’s.

John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist Church. He was a great
preacher of love but there was one word that he hated. Wesley described
that word as “idle,” “non-sensensical,” “stupid,” “miserable,” “vile,” and
“diabolical.” He said it was “the very essence of hell.” A word that
obviously no Christian should ever speak . . . the exceedingly evil word was
. . . “afford.” “But I can afford it,” replied the Methodists when Wesley
preached against extravagance.

Wesley hated the word “afford” due to an embarrassing experience in his
early life. A poor young woman was cleaning Wesley’s small apartment and
shivering from the cold. Wesley reached into his pocket to give her money
to buy a coat, but he had none. He just framed some prints that were
hanging on the walls and he realized that her coat hung on the wall. Wesley
determined from then on to live only on what he truly needed and to give
everything else away.

As one of the most successful writers of his time, Wesley eventually earned
the equivalent of nearly $2,000,000 from his published work. In 1776 the
English tax collectors wrote Wesley, “We cannot doubt but you have a silver
dinning set for which you have neglected to report on your tax return.” The
tax collectors assumed that a man of Wesley’s prominence and wealth surely
had silver dinnerware. “I have two silver spoons at London and two at
Bristol,” Wesley replied. “This is all the silverware I have at present,
and I shall not buy any more while so many round me want bread.” Wesley was
giving away almost all of his earned income every year.

If I want grow better in my giving then I need to look to examples of those
who know how to give, like Wesley and the poor widow who gave but two small
coins and yet she gave all she had. I may not ever match them in their
liberality but shouldn’t that kind of giving be our goal?

"Who Are You to Judge Me?" by Frank Black

“WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME?”

 

        Have you been confronted with or read the above question?  I have.  Usually the question concerns some area that is contrary to Biblical teaching – some sin; and someone who chooses to be involved. The question is usually meant to put us Christians on the defensive [implying that “You aren’t perfect either”]. It’s often meant to be a “stopper”; to be a “gotcha” question.  Well, it should not be.

 

        Recently in our church study of Romans the topic of “judging” has come up.  My wife, Lou Ann, and I have done a fairly extensive study of the Biblical use of the word “judge”.  This is because of its use in Romans plus the question this article raises – “Who are you to judge me?”  Before I deal with “judging” further, let me share an analogy - the Biblical use of another word quite familiar to you –-> LOVE.  I imagine you are all familiar with the fact that in the original New Testament (written in Greek) there are several different words for love – all that have distinctly different meanings.  This is in contrast to our limited English where you can ‘love’ everything from pizza, to football, to snow, to your children or parents.  My comparison is that it is the same for the word “judge”.  When you realize this, it may help clear up some of the meanings of “judge” that you read in the New Testament in addition to knowing how to better answer people who “hit you” with the question I’ve raised in the title.

 

         No, I don’t plan to bore you with an exhaustive word study with the specific Greek words and all their meanings.  I’ll simply tell you that my study shows three different Greek words for the verb “to judge”.  [There are other words for a person who is a judge (noun form) and still others for the word “judgment”].  The three verb forms have quite varied meanings.  Some of these meanings are:  to condemn; to sentence; to form an opinion; to conclude; to determine; to think; to examine; to discriminate; to discern; to recognize  ------  If you are following me at all, you can readily see quite a difference in the first two meanings and the others listed.  To give a couple of examples:  “If someone is determined in a court of law to be guilty of murder, they are “condemned” and “sentenced”.  On the other hand; if you are ‘judging’ art work in a contest, you ‘judge’ one to be the winner – you ‘determine’; you ‘form an opinion’; you ‘conclude’; etc.  This has nothing to do with ‘condemning’. 

 

        Now to get back to the question, “Who are you to judge me?”  We need to make it clear that we are NOT condemning or sentencing the person [we know that is not up to us – it’s in
God’s hands].  What we are doing is recognizing, concluding, discerning that, “YES”: they are a _________ or have committed _______.  You can fill in the blanks.  Again, we need to specifically tell people that “NO”; we are not condemning or sentencing them; but “YES”, we recognize what they are or what they’ve done and we do not agree. Further, we should say that, “My Bible tells me that this is wrong.” 

 

        I don’t think that I’m “splitting hairs” here with the quite different meanings of “judge”.  Of course many times the people we’re talking to may not accept what we say and probably have rationalized the Bible’s statements or dismissed them all together.  But don’t let our title’s question put you on the defensive.  I hope this rather erudite article gives you a better insight and understanding of “judging.”

 

Frank Black  [Jan. 2016]

Are You Serious? by Mike DeCamp

Christianity 101-Are You Serious?

 

There are some things in life that simply demand that we face them with more seriousness. Taxes come to mind. Fail to take them seriously, blow them off and you’ll find yourself in trouble with a little group known as the IRS. How about dealing with a major illness? People who are told they have cancer generally buckle down into a very thought-out and careful treatment regimen. Even something as simple as trying to reach a personal goal needs to be faced with seriousness if one is to truly reach beyond themselves.

In 2009, I made a personal commitment to ride my bike 100 miles in one day. I made that commitment in the spring, and the plan was to do the ride before the end of the summer. I’m not sure how many of you have ever ridden a bike a hundred miles, but it isn’t easy. It takes training, preparation, planning and commitment. I had to think through how I was going to approach the training, and build up my body’s endurance over time. Additionally, I had to plan a route, work out a support system for drinks and food for the day, and develop a strategy for how I would ride the distance. It took serious thought.

I think as we delve into the subject of Christianity, it is fair to say that we should enter into the topic with a serious mind. Many in the USA today often seem to waltz in and out of church like it was going to the movies. Is it entertaining enough? Is it too stiff or too loose? Are the seats comfortable? Do I like the preacher?

Others seem to think they are Christians by genetics. I was born in America, so I’m a Christian.  I’m not Jewish or Islamic, so I’m a Christian…right?

Whoa! Not so fast, partner. I think maybe we need to take a serious look at Christianity. It isn’t something to take lightly. After all, a person died to get this thing going and many others have died along the way trying to be faithful to the God who gave His Son. Back in the early days of the Way of Christ, folks would be thrown into prison, flogged, fed to lions, used as human torches, or hung on a cross simply for professing a faith in Christ. This was back before a cross was a piece of jewelry. Rather, it was an instrument of a torturous death, capital punishment.

Christianity is serious business.

Maybe you’ve just started looking into this Christianity stuff.  That’s great.  Be serious about it.  Investigate. Look at the details of scripture, and don’t simply take another person’s word for what it says. Study it for yourself. In the Bible, in the Book of Acts, there are a whole group of people from a village called Berea that are called noble because they didn’t take the Apostle Paul’s word for what was true. Rather, they listened to him, and then they researched it for themselves to see if it was true. (Acts 17:10-12) Follow their lead. Don’t take mine or anyone else’s word as gospel. Check out the details for yourself.

If you are a Christian, then my question to you is: Just how seriously do you take your faith?

Is it just another facet of your complicated life? Or, is it your driving force, your source of strength, and your hope for your future? When you read the scriptures, do you allow it to impact you, or does it roll off like some nice sayings from an old book?  Do you read the scriptures?

I wonder what would happen if Christians began to once again take the Bible seriously. What if Christians everywhere began to really love their neighbors as themselves? Or, they began to consider the needs of other people before they considered their own? Hmmm.  Would our culture be changing us or would we be changing our culture?

What about you and me? Can we begin to take a serious look at Bible passages? Are we letting them impact our daily walk?

Let’s take a look at a few verses with our new “serious” perspective. Let’s consider what “serious” looks like in this sampling.

Matthew 6:31-34
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Take a few moments to consider…if we are really serious…what does it look like to seek the kingdom of God FIRST? How would priorities change? How would lifestyles change? Are you doing this already?  Or, would a serious look drive a serious change?

I John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

What would it look like if we as individual Christians stopped talking about loving others and actually began to earnestly do something about it? Bob Harper from the Biggest Loser yelled at a competitor a few seasons ago that she should “Stop talking and just do it!” I think that is what the Apostle John is saying. Stop talking about feeding the hungry, and get them some food. Stop talking about …you name it…and get it done.

What would it look like if we all did that?

Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Is your faith culture-driven or God-driven?  Would a serious look change it?

As I bring this article to a conclusion, let me just say it again. Christianity is serious business. We are talking about things like death, redemption, salvation, and eternity. Sin is a real thing and it has consequences—both now and beyond.  Still, the heart of the story is how God loves us.  It’s all about having a relationship with him.

Will you take a serious look?

LOVE by Clint Davis

LOVE

By Clint Davis

The Pharisees asked Jesus what was the most important commandment and he replied in Matthew 22, “You must Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, and all your mind.  And the second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love is the most powerful force in the entire world.  I Corinthians 13 tells us that if we had enough faith to move a mountain, but do not love others, it means nothing.

I cannot think of a better example of love than the love a parent has for their child.  Someone once said that having a child is like ripping out your heart and letting it walk around on the earth.  They literally are a part of us.  It’s the kind of love that fills our heart and soul and makes us feel their pain.

When you have a child that is hurting and you are not able to make the pain go away, it is incredibly difficult for a parent to endure.  Jack Canfield, one of the co-authors of the book Chicken Soup for the Soul relayed the following true story about this kind of love.

There was a 26 year old mother in Phoenix, AZ who woke up one night to the cry of her son.  She went to his bedroom to help soothe her little boy.  She tried everything: Tylenol, ice packs, heating pads, massage, rocking him but nothing worked.  So, distraught at 7:30 the next morning, she took him to the emergency room.  They ran a series of tests only to discover that he had a terminal illness and maybe had three to six months to live.

The mother believed that everybody should have a dream and that everyone should do whatever is possible to make that dream come true. She felt that you should ask people to support you in making your dream come true and not be humbled, embarrassed or ashamed by that because we all have a need to be supported by others.  So she went to her young son named Robert, she called him Bopsy and asked him, “Bopsy, what did you want to be when you grow up, what is your dream?  You are six years old and your time appears short, and it didn’t really cross my mind before, but I wanted to know what you wanted to be.”  Bopsy said, “Mom, more than anything I wanted to be a fireman.”

She went to the Make A Wish foundation and she told them about her son’s dream and they went to the Phoenix Fire Department and they met a guy there named Fireman Bob who had the same name as Bopsy and they asked him if he could help out.  He said, “Sure”.  The mother said, “If you could just give him a ride in the fire truck around the hospital one morning maybe.” He said, “Look lady, we’ll do better than that, with the chief’s permission we are going to make Bopsy a fireman for the whole day.  We make the uniforms right here in Phoenix so we will take his measurements and get a real uniform made and it will have the yellow rain jacket and pants and boots and a real hat with the insignia of the Phoenix Fire Department.”  It turns out that when he checked with the chief, the chief said, “Let’s make him Chief of the Phoenix Fire Department.”

About a week later they picked him up at 6:30 in the morning and put him on the back of one of those hook and ladder trucks where he could steer the wheel on the back with the help of another fireman.  They went down to the station and that day there were three fire calls in Phoenix and Bopsy got to go on all three and he was really excited.  They were not condescending to him in any way; they literally made him chief of the department.  The chief would say’ “Look Bopsy this is what we normally would do, we would bring some fireman over here, and direct the helicopter other there, and cordon off that area over there, but you are the chief, what do you think?”  Bopsy would pause briefly and say “Sounds good. Do it.”

So he got to ride in the fire chief’s car and the different fire trucks, the paramedics van, and even in the police chief’s car that day.  And probably the most exciting part was the camera crews that showed up as they always do for fires and they wondered what this little kid was doing giving directions to everyone.  So they interviewed him and filmed him and he got to see himself later that day on the 5:00 news, and 7:00 news and 10:00 news and 11:00 news.  He was on all the channels and he was very excited.  His dream had come true; he got to be a real fireman.

Well, several months later all of his vital signs did begin to fade as the doctors had predicted.  The hospital believed in the hospice movement where the basic concept is that no-one should ever die alone.  So his mom started calling family members saying, “We don’t think Bopsy is going to make it through the night and we think you ought to come down and be with him by his bedside to transition with him.”  Then she remembered the fire department, so she called up the chief and said “Chief, do you remember Bopsy?”  The chief said “Sure, I remember Bopsy, he’s a great kid.” She said, “Well, we think tonight is the night he’s not going to be with us any longer and he’s going to make his transition and we wondered if you could come down and maybe just send a fireman to be by his bedside in uniform to remind him of that special day he had.”  The chief said, “Look here, we’ll do better than that.  We are going to be there in six of seven minutes.  You are going to here sirens and see flashing lights.  Would you go on the intercom and tell everyone at the hospital that everything is okay and there is no fire because we do not want to scare anyone.  But we want them to know that the fire department is coming to pay final respects to one of its finest members.”

Six minutes later the fire truck appeared and a ladder extended up to Bopsy’s third floor open window that the chief had asked them to open.  14 firemen and 2 firewomen climbed up that ladder and into that room and with the parent’s permission they picked up this little boy and they started to rock him.  At that moment, Biopsy looked up at the chief and said, “Chief, does this mean I’m a real fireman?”  And the chief looked down and said, “Bopsy, absolutely, you are one of the finest firemen we have ever had.”  And with that, he closed his eyes and made his transition.

My prayer today is for God to touch your heart in 2016 to love others more deeply and to help someone realize their dream.  Praise God for his Love!!

I'm Just Like You and You're Just Like Me by John Wright

I’m Just Like You and You’re Just Like Me

                                                                                                                                                                                                     By John Wright

                When Cornelius met Peter in Acts chapter ten, Cornelius fell at Peters feet in reverence. Peter said to him “get up and stand on your feet for I am only a man. Not one of us is better than the other, and this lesson is clearly demonstrated in God’s word. How can someone read the bible and not see themselves? We are all children of the first family of Adam and Eve. After the flood it reset and we are all decedents of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The story of the human family is very inconsistent. We each have the capacity to dream great dreams, but we always fall short. We all have something wrong with us and the bible is the only place that tells us what it is. It’s sin!

                The depravity of sin is so terrible that it causes the whole world to fall under a curse. The curse is that if we are found to be in sin then we cannot be friends of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved Rom. 8:20-24

Peter told Cornelius in Act 10 that God sent a message of good news to the people of Israel that through Jesus there would be peace. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water.

                I’m just like you and you’re just like me because God loves you and he loves me. The question is this, have you and God become friends? If you have not been reconciled by the blood of Jesus, you are still an enemy of God and a friend of the devil.

The bible says if you are in Christ you are a new creation Romans 5:18-19¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners,so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

I’m just like you and you’re just like me in that God’s grace and mercy has been offered to us all. Like Peter we too are to be witnesses of Christ and willing and ready to tell others about what the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has done for us and in us.

                We all have so much in common, but if you are not in Christ, a believer who has said “I will obey God’s call” then you are not a child of God.

There is nothing in this world that matters if you do not have the gift of eternal life through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Repent your sins Confess Jesus as Lord and savior, be baptized and then live the resurrected life.

I’m just like you and you’re just like me and we are just like Jesus with our sins covered by the blood of his sacrifice.

²⁸ ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Matthew 11:28-29

Advent and Incarnation by Greg York

Advent and Incarnation               

 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way…

–Matthew 1.18a

 

This season is observed in many churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, a season called “Advent,” from the Latin word, adventus, which means “coming.” Adventus, in turn, is a translation of the Greek word parousia, which commonly is used in the New Testament to speak of Christ’s return.

 

So: this season may serve us as a reminder both of the original waiting that was done for the birth of the Messiah as well as our waiting for Christ's return.

 

No, we don’t know the date on which Jesus of Nazareth was born, but what we do know is that the Gospel story for three of the writers begins with the story of that birth and (most importantly) God’s involvement in that birth. In other words, we are invited into the story of Jesus the Messiah at precisely that point of vulnerable humanity. Certainly, then, it is right that we think about and that we thank God for Christ’s first coming to Earth as a baby, his taking on flesh. Surely we thank God for his ongoing presence among us today through the Holy Spirit. If we allow it, this season can sharpen our focus on such things. And, this season can remind us to be in a constant state of preparation and anticipation of Christ’s ultimate arrival at the consummation of all things.

 

You see, just as Israel waited for Christ to come the first time, so we are waiting for him to come again.

 

How do you talk about “incarnation”? The “enfleshment” of the creator of the universe is not something we are equipped to explain, is it? In the incarnation, God is taking us beyond what we think we can know, let alone what we do know. The One who had spoken this world into existence lowered himself to live on this world. Jesus was a human being just like us — God in human form. That’s a rather jarring thought. (As a matter of fact, it always has been. Here’s an interesting irony: the first major heresies in the church were not denials of Jesus’ divinity, but denials of his humanity.)

 

John 1.1-4, 14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people...  And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

 

Hebrews 4.15-16: …we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

Jesus is approachable precisely because he’s been where we are. Ever feel rejected? Jesus understands. Your family not treat you as you’d like? Jesus understands. People think you’re crazy? Jesus has been there. Feel lonely, like nobody gets it? Jesus has been there. Ever been overcome with grief? Jesus has been there. On and on we could go. It’s the human experience, and Jesus has been there.

 

But here’s something important for us to think about this season: Incarnation does not end with Jesus. Athanasius of Alexandria put it this way: “He became human that we might become divine” (On the Incarnation, 54). I think that’s a great, straightforward, succinct way to summarize why Jesus became flesh. Not so that we’d become “gods” in a “rule-your-own-universe” sense, but so that we would become godly.

 

2 Peter 1.3-4: His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature.

 

2 Corinthians 3.18: …all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

 

The incarnation of the divine did not end with Jesus. Instead, there is a sense in which it began with his life, and continues as our lives are lived in alignment with his.

 

May God grant that this season of recalling the anticipation before Jesus’ birth long ago will remind us to live in anticipation of his return and also remind us that in this waiting time we are to be an ongoing incarnation of God’s presence in this world. Until his return, may the Lord born so humbly continue to be present, “incarnated” in and through us.

 

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

   did not regard equality with God

   as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

   taking the form of a slave,

   being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

   and became obedient to the point of death—

   even death on a cross.

 

…for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

                                                                                —Philippians 2.5-8, 13

Remember by Terry Gardner

Remember

By Terry Gardner

 

 

Man’s nature is such that without effort he will forget what he should remember.  The butler forgot Joseph whom he had promised to remember.  (Gen 40:23).  Jeremiah asked, “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire?  Yet my My people have forgotten Me, Days without number.”  (Jer. 2:32).  The children of Israel were to remember, “that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you.”  (Deut. 15:15).  If Israel would remember their bondage and how and why God had delivered them they would have been a grateful people, but they forgot.

 

Man also remembers what he should forget.  The children of Israel remembered their life as slaves in Egypt in a false light.  The Israelites remembered “the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic.”  (Numbers 11:5).  None of these memories were accurate.  They lived as slaves, beaten and abused, while Pharaoh murdered their children.

 

Paul teaches us to “forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead.”  (Phil. 3:13), and in so doing Paul said that he pressed on toward the “goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (vs. 14).  Human beings are sometimes so haunted by past sins that we fail to move on and be about our Father’s business.  When God forgives our sins they are “blotted out” and God no longer remembers them.  If we understand this fact and make it a part of who we are then we have peace.

 

What drives human memory?  Motivation.  For a TV game show a man memorized the value of pi to the 99th decimal.  Why?  For the monetary reward (gifts and prizes).  Understanding how things are connected also helps us remember what we should remember.  Isolated facts are difficult to remember.  The Feast of the Passover emphasized facts, which helped the children of Israel remember what God had done for them.  These facts included:

 

1.  The children of Israel were to take an “unblemished” lamb and they were not to break any of the lamb’s bones.

                        2.  They were to kill the lamb and put its blood on the two doorposts and                                     on the lintel of their houses.

                        3.  They were eat the lamb, along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.

                        4.  They were to eat in haste.

                        5.  When the LORD passed through to smite the Egyptians, he would see                                     the blood and pass over the door and not allow the destroying death angel                                     to kill the children of the Israelites.

 

The Psalms were written so they would be easy to memorize.  Note especially the 119th Psalm, which was written as an acrostic.  The 119th Psalm is composed of twenty-two sections of eight verses each.  Each eight-verse section is assigned a letter from the Hebrew alphabet and each verse in that section begins with that letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

 

Christians are told to remember the words of the prophets and of Jesus.  Peter tells us to “remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”  (2 Peter 3:2).  “For whatever was written in an earlier time was written for our instruction (learning), that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”  (Rom 15:4).  Jesus told the Apostles that when “their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them.”  (John 16:4).  “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give then to receive.’”

 

All of this said, you can’t remember what you have not studied and been taught.  Are we like the noble minded Bereans who searched the Scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was true?  (Acts 17:11).  They had a passion to remember what God called them to remember and to forget all else.  Is this true of your life?