Just A Few Steps

Why is it so hard to follow The Great Commission?  In reality, it really isn't that difficult.  So why do we have a hard time with this one? It was the last thing Jesus told his disciples to do before he left, “Go into the world…” and that commandment lives on in our churches today. But it is so difficult sometimes.  What if you knew that by simply walking across a room and saying hello to someone would change that person’s life forever? Would you do it? I remember as a kid going to a retreat called TEC (Teens Encounter Christ).  I thought I had a good attitude about being a Christian, but really I had a “ho-hum” attitude about church and the “Jesus thing” at that point in my growing up. But I remember this leader at TEC, seeing me sitting on the floor as we gathered for personal reflection, getting up and walking over to me and talking with me.  He even prayed with me. It changed the course of the weekend retreat, and ultimately helped lead me in my faith towards Christ. To this day I remember him and what he did. 10,000 steps. That’s roughly the distance we travel from sunrise to sunset each day. Are we using those steps wisely? If we knew those steps could change someone’s life for eternity- well we just might change the way we walk.

Courage

Psalms 31:24 says: “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” As the church, God calls us to something bigger than ourselves, and there are times when we ponder: What if? But the “what ifs” we should be asking ourselves are: What if we stepped into all God has created us to be? What if we stepped into all that God has called us to be as the church? Look, risk is a given. I remember a line in the movie “Grumpy Old Men” that went, “The only regrets you have in life are the risks you don’t take.” There is a ring of truth in that. But we don’t like to take risks in church. We like to play it safe. Pursuing who God has called us to be is essential. Action is required. And here is one thing when taking risks that we can be guaranteed of, we will be tested. And it’s at that point, at the point of being tested, when we all too often begin to count the costs, decide they are too high and retreat or don’t do it. We become sidetracked by legitimate fears and our vision looses momentum. Fear overtakes faith and we give up, resisting the unknown and never knowing what we will have sacrificed on the other side. But Scripture calls us to push through and overcome our fears. Our faith must prevail over our fear if we expect kingdom change to take place. David told Solomon, his son, in 1 Chronicles 28:20, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.” We know we’ve been granted undeserved influence in our communities, and we must now lead the church forward. What if we fully embraced the life to which we’ve been called in ministry? What if we broke free from our fears and stepped into all we were created and called to be? I have no doubt that if we did, He will use us to change the world.

Travel Agents or Tour Guides

Are we travel agents, or are we tour guides? I think there is a big difference between the two. Travel agents are great. They go out and they find you the best deal. They spout off intellectual information in regards to your destination, they hand you some brochures, and they have big smiling faces. At the end of the conversation, they shake your hand, pat you on the back, and say, “Enjoy your trip!” Tour guides are way different. Unlike the travel agent, the tour guide goes with you on the journey. They are the ones that say, “Nice to meet you. Get in. Let’s go!” With tour guides, they know their information, but that’s not why they are in it. They are in it because they love to take the journey with you. They aren’t off in the distance, they are right there with you. Too often, I feel as though many people act as travel agents in the church. We are perfectly ok with handing someone a brochure, bringing them in, and then letting them go, “Have fun! Enjoy your time here!” The truth is, people don’t need travel agents, people need spiritual tour guides. They need someone to go through the process with them. They need someone who is willing to walk with them on the journey. That is the way we build lives, and that is what ministry is about. It’s what you and I as the church are called to do.The apostle Paul writes, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:11-12) Ministry is done so that the body of Christ may be built up. Doesn’t matter how many ministries a congregation has, if we aren’t building up the body of Christ, if we aren’t leading people to Christ, there’s no point in what we are doing.  In Colossians 2:6-7, Paul writes, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Notice the language. The term for built up is a present-tense participle (Wow! My English teacher would be proud...really I had to look that up). This indicated continuous action. The house is always being tweaked. Building lives is active and ongoing. Let’s keep adding additions to God’s house!

Open Door

Here is a question to ponder.  When you come to a closed door, are you focused on the door or what could be behind it.  Revelation 3:8 it says, 'I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.' A lot of times we focus too much on the door that is closed instead of looking at the door that is already open in front of us. This happens a lot in churches when change occurs. It seems too often our churches get stuck focusing on  the door that has just closed instead of focusing on the door that God has opened for us.We do this in our personal life as well.  When a door closes, we feel lost and upset.  We only see what was lost and we tend to try to open the shut door.  I know that there are many times when the door has been shut and I question 'why'?  The focus doesn't go to the other opportunities, but continues to focus how I can pry that door back open.  Our God has already given us an open door to walk through to reach new people with God’s message, the only question left for us is, are we ready to receive the Holy Spirit and walk through that door?

Water...

Water -- a good thing and a dangerous thing.  We need water to survive.  We drink water to hydrate ourselves.  We use water to cook and clean.  Water can be a good thing.  Watching the news, you see areas receiving large amounts of water in short periods of time. Things are underwater and vehicles get stranded. Schools and activities get cancelled all because of water. Then recently we watched as the Tsunami hit Japan.  A wave of water caused so much destruction.  Water can be a dangerous thing!
I think back to the symbol of water in our faith. Martin Luther recognized the importance of recognizing our baptism each and everyday. Remember your baptism when you wash your hands, when you take a shower, when you go swimming. But can water be a dangerous thing in baptism? When we are baptized we all become children of God. Baptism is a new birth. We are members of the body of Christ. We are freed from sin and death to righteousness. And that’s a dangerous thing. We are called to “take up our cross and follow” Christ. That’s not easy. That’s not something to take lightly. It is in a term, dangerous- but in a good way. Jesus tells us in scripture that there will be people who speak bad about you, rebuke you, and sometimes even persecute you on account of His name. Look at the life of Paul- shipwrecked, imprisoned, and almost stoned to death. That’s dangerous stuff! Yes, water can be a good thing (in baptism we are buried with him and are raised from the dead by the glory of the Father), but it call also be a dangerous thing (picking up our cross and following Christ) as well.  Let us not forget in whose name we are baptized and what that means in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ.