Renewed By God’s Spirit and Power

“I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate . . . But . . . God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life and faith is a response to God’s power, not some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.” – 1 Corinthians 2:2-5 (The Message)

We all get into situations that we feel unprepared for, too tired to do, totally unfocused to accomplish, or a number of other reasons we could fail at a task that is set before us. When we find ourselves in a situation like that we have two choices. We can either dig deep and rely on our own strength and wisdom or we can submit to God our inadequacies and weaknesses and rely on the Holy Spirit.

Sheltering Families

“Reverence for the Lord gives a man deep strength; his children have a place of refuge and security.” – Proverbs 14:26

While some days are 72 degrees and sunny, most of us experience some pretty severe storms in life, storms that threaten to wash us away. Things don’t always go as planned. And in those tough times we need a place of shelter. We need a place of protection, stability, security.

Sacrificial Giving Strengthens Faith

“Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, `Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ Then Jesus said to him, `Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’” – Luke 19: 8-10 (NRSV)

If we merely give out of our excess we don’t give God the opportunity to prove his faithfulness. That’s like lifting a very light weight. It won’t strengthen your muscles. But when we give sacrificially, when we give to the point of it hurting a bit, we exercise our faith…we learn to trust in God by giving him a chance to prove himself trustworthy.

Genuinely Generous Giving

As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” – Luke 21:1-4

Far too many Christians imagine that they’ll be more generous if and when they become rich, but the amount of money we have doesn’t matter. Generosity has more to do with the proportion we give than it does with the actual amount we give…no matter how much we actually own

Free To Give

“Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:7

People give for lots of different reasons, but not all giving accomplishes what God wants to accomplish in our lives. We don’t give for God’s sake; we give because we need to…we give because God wants to do something in our lives through our giving.

Protecting the Unity of the Church

Jesus prayed for his present and future disciples on the day before his crucifixion “that they may all be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us that the world may believe that you have sent me.” – John 17:21

I believe in the 10 to 1 rule in the body of Christ. For every critical thing we need to lovingly say to one another, we need to say 10 affirming things. That’s a good rule for home, work and church. Who can you encourage this week? Who can you thank? Who can you praise? Who can you write a note to that says, “I think you’re the best.”

Maintaining Unity in Christ

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”. – Romans 12:4-5

The real key to our unity is that it is grounded in Jesus. There’s unity in the body of Christ because we all belong to Jesus through our baptism. We are one in Christ. And because we’re one in Christ, we share a common mission, a common purpose, a common sense of direction.

Unity in the Body of Christ

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called– one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:3-6

The Church is very much like a symphony orchestra. It is incredibly diverse, but has an essential unity because we have a Great Conductor, a common score to follow, and a clear destination. And when the Church plays the symphony of God’s music with passion and grace it is a delight to the heart of a broken world.

Freeing Truth

“First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will be scoffers who will laugh at the truth and do every evil thing they desire.” – 2 Peter 3:3

I’ve heard it said that truth is relative. I have to agree. Truth is a relative. He’s my brother and his name is Jesus. When you see Jesus, you see and know the truth that sets you free to live life abundantly.

Amazing Rescue

“[Christ Jesus] …did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!” – Philippians 2:6-8

Buried under a load of sin and death Jesus risked it all, leaving the safety of heaven and descending into human flesh to rescue us. Jesus didn’t just risk his life for us; he intentionally sacrificed himself.