Midweek Message from the Mount - August 29, 2012

Let the Word of Christ Dwell in You Richly

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. - Colossians 3:16
 

In the busyness of our day-to-day lives, with all the demands we have on our schedules, with all the options we have to spend our precious free time, how easy is it to let the sanctified encouragement above slip by?

In our world, and maybe if we are soberly honest with ourselves, often even in our own lives, the name of Christ is considered either theological vocabulary or a word used for thoughtless expression.  A word irrelevant to daily life.

Do you let the word of Christ dwell in you richly?  Or is it just something you think about one hour a week, if that?

As blood bought souls of Christ whom he loves dearly, we are called to live on a rich diet of his Word:  in daily prayer, in daily devotion, in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, by being in God’s house regularly.

So how is it for you?  Is the Word of Christ dwelling within you richly?  Or, for the most part, does it dwell among you poorly, perhaps in a long neglected catechism or in a dust covered Bible?  Is Christ a common topic of conversation in your house?  Do days go by without his name on your lips?  Do you lift your heart to him in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, not just on Sunday mornings, but on the commute to work, at the kitchen sink, or as you lay your head down on your pillow?

How much we have to be grateful for.  How much reason we have to praise our God.  Seek his forgiveness for the times you have neglected his Word and know you are fully and freely forgiven.  Make adjustments to your life that you might make his Word a priority.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would use the time you spend in the Word to strengthen you and fill you with his love.

May the Word of Christ dwell in us richly so we may more and more appreciate God’s great love for us!

Prayer:  Father in heaven, give me a love for you that is but a poor reflection of your love for me.  May I be moved to see and experience that love in my heart and in my home as we let the Gospel dwell in us richly.  May your love for me move me to love others.  In my Savior’s name I pray.  Amen.

Midweek Message from the Mount - August 22, 2012

Food that Really Satisifies

“I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  (John 6:48-51)
 

So much of this life revolves around food, doesn’t it?  Shopping for it, preparing it, eating it.  How often don’t we think about food, and when we’ve had a good meal, tell others about it?  When we get together with friends and family, what it almost always present?  Yes, food of some sort.  Cooking shows are all the rage, with a number of television channels dedicated just to food.  So much of our life revolves around food, and we do enjoy it, don’t we?

But how much of your life revolves around the spiritual food that your soul needs? 

Jesus tells us he is bread.  He is bread that doesn’t just sustain life, it gives life.  Andd the life it gives is eternal life.  This is the food that really matters for this life.  How much of your life revolves around this food?  How much do you think about it?   How often do you tell others about some of the spiritual food that you had that was extremely satisfying to you?  How often is the Bread of Life at your gatherings with family and friends?

Jesus longs for you to be filled with what really satisfies.  Not a Snickers bar, not an extra helping of potatoes, not snacks between meals.  But himself.  Feast on the bread of life.  And feast on it often.  Feast on it like your life depended on it.  Because it does.  Don’t spiritually starve yourself.  Don’t go through this life spiritually malnourished.  He gave himself for you, and he longs to give you the fruits of his life, death and rising.  Be filled, dear Christian!  Be filled with the food that satisfies into eternity!  May your life revolve around this heavenly food!

Prayer:  Dear Jesus, the Bread of Life, instill in me a hunger for you and your Word.  May I see my deep need for all that you have done for me and continue to do for me daily.  May I be moved to continually feed on your holy Word daily and to long for the many blessings you assure me of.  Please help me to keep my eyes fixed on the eternal and to know where true peace and happiness come from:  from you alone.  Amen.

Midweek Message from the Mount - August 15, 2012

You Have Beautiful Feet

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  (Romans 10:15)

 

I am sure that you would come up with a whole slew of adjectives to describe your feet before you would pick “beautiful.”  But that’s the adjective that God uses to describe your feet here.  And it’s not because they are attractive and smell nice, it’s not because your toes are all straight and your nails have had a pedicure.  They are beautiful because of what they do.

Paul quotes this verse from Isaiah who says that the feet that are beautiful are of those that go and proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation (Isaiah 52:7).  And that is what you have to share.  Peace with a holy God, knowing your sins are no longer held against you.  Good tidings of a heavenly Father who has proven his love to you in Jesus.  The proclamation of a salvation that comes not from what you do, but based on what has been done for you.  This is good news that is meant for the entire world, including the people right around you:  your neighbor, your co-worker, your friends, your family.

There was a peculiar fisherman who was very well prepared. He knew how to fish. He had everything you need to be a good fisherman. He had poles, nets, bait, and even a really nice boat, but this fisherman had a problem. You see, for all his preparation he never caught anything. Not one fish. Not one, not ever. And you know why he never caught a fish? The answers easy: He never went fishing. He had all the knowledge and all the equipment, but he never got into the boat, he never left the dock.

God in his grace has given you this good news and it has changed your life and your eternity.  Use the feet that God has given you to go and to share this with someone else.  It’s a gift you have been told to give away.

It doesn’t matter how ugly your feet actually are.  God thinks they are beautiful.  Because when you share that good news and a sinner repents and comes to faith, there is much rejoicing in heaven.   You have been his instrument to add another soul to his kingdom.  What a privilege we have!  Use the feet you have been given!


Prayer:  Thank you, heavenly Father, for the awesome privilege of using me to share good news with the world.  Give me a heart of confidence and a spirit filled with the desire to share the message of Christ crucified and risen with those you have placed around me in my life.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Midweek Message from the Mount - August 8, 2012

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6) 

I’ve heard it said that there can be union without unity.  If you want proof, just tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline.  

God isn’t just looking for union in our church, he desires unity among us.

In the chapters preceding the verses from Ephesians above, Paul writes of God’s great love for us that has existed from eternity and has now been proven and showered upon us through Christ.  He writes above, that because you have received the call of being declared holy in his sight and a member of his eternal family through Christ, live like it.  Live like a child of God.   Live like someone who has been rescued from sin and death. Live like someone who has experienced the grace and mercy of the almighty God.  Live like a Christian. And a Christian lives a life of humbleness, gentleness, patience, love and peace, doing everything they possibly can to keep unity with their fellow Christians.

Is that the type of life you strive for? To live in love and unity with one another?

Have there been times when you have not lived a life worthy of the calling you have received?  Have there been times when you have not been completely humble and gentle, patient and loving?  Have there been times when you have actually caused division with fellow Christians rather than unity and peace?

If so, cling to Christ and know that he lived an innocent life in your place, being completely humble and gentle, patient and loving in thought, word and deed.  Cling to his cross where he paid the cost for every time you have failed to live as his child.  And be assured that he gives you the strength and the motivation to live in unity with others.

Satan wants nothing more for our church to be divided.  He wants nothing more than for there to be pride and arrogance, impatience and hatred among us.  But when the center of all we do is Christ, when he is the reason we are together, when we realize it’s in him that we are one together, Satan cannot win.  We are one, dear friends.  We are one in Christ.  May we, motivated by Christ’s love for us, make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Midweek Message from the Mount – August 1, 2012

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  (1 Corinthians 12:27)

A psychologist once did a study on how members of the various sections of eleven major symphony orchestras perceived each other. The perceptions that they found were that the percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing, yet fun-loving. String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and unathletic. The orchestra members overwhelmingly chose "loud" as the primary adjective to describe the brass players. Woodwind players seemed to be held in the highest esteem, described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical.  With such widely divergent personalities and perceptions, how could an orchestra ever come together to make such wonderful music? The answer is simple: regardless of how those musicians view each other, they subordinate their feelings and biases to the leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful music.

You see, Christ is our conductor.  When we subordinate our feelings and our biases, we are able to play beautiful music together. 

Paul, in our lessons from Corinthians above, compares the church to a human body with Christ as the head.  It’s the same truth as with Christ as conductor of an orchestra.  Each one of us is a part of Christ’s body.  Some are hands, some are feet.  Some are the mouth, some are the little pinky fingers.  Regardless of what the part, each is vital for the health and the function of the body. Without each part doing its job, the body will suffer.

It doesn’t matter what part of the body you are.  You are important.  And when we subordinate our feelings and biases to the head who controls the body, then the body will function properly.  When we are willing to follow the head and to work together in sync with each other, the body can thrive and it can grow bigger and stronger.

I don’t think there’s a single one of us who does not want the body of Christ to thrive and grow.  So as a member of that body, what will you do to help promote its growth?  How will you do your part to make it thrive and flourish? 

Find forgiveness at the cross, find peace with God and peace with the other members of the body, and find ways to serve the rest of the body. And then watch the body thrive and grow as we work together.  We will grow stronger, more will come to know Christ, and God will be glorified.  May God bless our church and give us the wisdom and the strength to follow our head, Christ.