Unite(D)
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he made some profound statements on unity, especially considering the division between people. This statement stood out to me, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase ...” and he was pointing to faith in the Lord as the first step to unity between a broken and divided people. MLK Jr. knew our relationship with the Lord changes everything, especially our relationships with other people. It really is amazing that by faith we step into this new reality, new life and new relationships. God gives newness to those who believe.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians helps us understand why we can take the first step in unity. In Ephesians 1:7-10 we see the work God does to provide unity for us. First Jesus gives redemption and forgiveness. (v. 7) He fully changes us through His life, death and resurrection! He does this out of His amazing grace. (v. 7-8) He knows what we need, and He gives it at the right time. This is how he reveals his good plan of redemption to us. (v. 8-9)
That part that might be hard for us because unity will come in His timing. (v. 10) That is why the first step of the staircase, faith, can be hard to take. We want unity done immediately and in the way we want it, or at least I do, can you relate at all? Maybe you have had thoughts like these: if people would stop doing this, if they could just understand that, or if they would just listen to? Those questions often make putting faith in God’s plan and timing a little more difficult. That is why we need to pause and reflect on what God has done for us, like Paul did in verse 7. When we pause and look to Him, taking the first step becomes a lot easier.
Will you pause with me and thank God for a few things in prayer? I will leave some spaces blank for you to tell God what each thing He did means to you.
God, thank you for sending Jesus it shows me _______.
Thank you for redeeming me through Jesus it shows me _______.
Thank you for your grace its shows me _______.
Thank you for your plan it shows me _______.
Please help me take steps towards unity with the people you put in my life.
Amen.
Jeremy Johnson
Men’s Ministries Director
Am I Really #Blessed?
Do you ever read a Bible verse and think, “Does that really apply to me?” I mean am I really blessed with every spiritual blessing? Did God really choose me to be holy and blameless?
Aren’t there times when we don’t feel blessed or holy? Maybe you were off for the holidays and are having a hard time readjusting to work or school. You no longer feel #blessed — it’s more like #stressed. Or the blessing of giving has turned into the guilt of overspending. Or maybe you’re worrying about next month’s rent or the taxes you know will need to be paid, or the medical issue begging for attention. So, when Paul mentions feeling blessed you feel, well, stressed.
What could Paul possibly mean with these two emphatic state- ments about being blessed and blameless? When I was younger, I wrestled with these types of passages until I noticed the qualify- ing phrases “in Christ,” “in him” and “before him.”
While God certainly can bless us here on earth, the real blessing is the one “in Christ” and specifically its “spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Having the Holy Spirit living in us and guiding us truly is a blessing. We can trust that He is working out the stressful situations in our lives for good, as he promises in Romans 8:28. That spiritual blessing helps us move our eyes off of our problems here on earth and onto the ultimate Problem-solver in the heavenly places.
And what about being “holy and blameless before him”?
The New Living Translation explains it this way ... Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
God knew us before he even created the world. And he knew that we would need the salvation of Christ’s death on the cross. Through that sacrifice, we have been chosen “in Christ” and when God looks upon us, he does so through the blood of Christ so we can be “holy and without fault in his eyes.”
To me, Paul’s letter culminates in Ephesians 2:8-10. As verse 10 (NLT) says ... For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Now that’s a blessing!
Cyndie Claypool de Neve
Senior Creative Director
One Mighty Sentence
In Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul gives us a single sentence (in the Greek) that comes in at a surprising length of 257 words, almost exactly the length of the entire Gettysburg Address. There is so much packed into this “one sentence” that the English translation had to divide it into several sentences to make it understandable for us. It made me think of the times that our sons were so excited about something that happened at school or one of their baseball games, that they didn’t take a breath before every detail of the happy event had been poured out without pause. Have you ever had someone relay a story or information without seemingly taking a breath—maybe because they didn’t want to be interrupted or lose their train of thought? How about someone really into football who just watched a bowl game and are so fired up about a bad call by a ref that just changed the whole trajectory of the game—"and if he had called that right, then this would have happened, and did you see that pass interference on so and so that wasn’t even called," etc. So many words, so much passion without a pause, comma, question mark or period.
Paul passionately and energetically describes the spiritual blessings that we all have in knowing and accepting Jesus. He wants everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike, to know that as a community of Jesus believers we were chosen by God to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be redeemed or made new, forgiven of all sins, and all for his glory and praise. He gives us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee or deposit of the inheritance we received and became when we were adopted as God’s very own children. We started a whole new story—a whole new adventure and life with him.
God has blessed us in the “heavenly realms or places” with every (not some) spiritual blessing in Christ. Isn’t that something to be excited or passionate about? The same God who spoke the entire universe into existence with four words, “Let there be light” gave us every spiritual blessing in Christ! And guess what, those four words spoken by God in the beginning are still creating galaxies at the outer edges of the universe. Four words! There is nothing God’s voice cannot say cannot do, and he can do it however he wants. Ephesians 1:9 ... according to the plan and purpose of his will. He is still pursuing, forgiving, and changing people and blessing them with every spiritual blessing. Do you feel blessed? What spiritual blessing have you received lately that energized you or caused you to cry out “Praise you Lord! Thank you so much!”
Deb Hill
Exec. Assistant to Lead Pastor
I Hope You Dance!
This last summer held one of my greatest joys as a mom. Mark, one of my first-born sons married a beautiful, godly, young woman. Everyone in our family had a role in the wedding; my husband performed the ceremony, Mark’s twin brother was his best man, and my other two boys were groomsmen. Me? I looked on with tears and pride, then enjoyed the mother/son dance. When Mark asked me what song I wanted to dance to, without hesitation, I responded, “I Hope You Dance," by Lee Ann Womack. Of my four boys, Mark and I have the most similar personalities; adventurous yet cautious, capable, and controlled. As we danced, I told him I loved him and that I longed for him to live freely as God’s child. The words to the song rang true: “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder ... never fear the mountains in the distance ... when you get the chance to sit it out or dance... dance.” As his mom, my deepest longing for my son is to experience the freedom of living as God created him to be loved, forgiven, chosen, redeemed, blessed, and holy.
My love, hopes, and dreams for my children are not unlike that of most parents. If as imperfect human beings we can have these longings for our kids, how much more does our perfect, holy, Heavenly Father desire for us?
Slowly read through Ephesians 1:3-14, noting the words that God uses to describe YOU, his precious child. What words stand out to you? Do you recognize God’s deep love, his immeasurable grace, and the fact that he chose YOU? Do you live like it?
Verses 11 and 12 in the Message say it this way: “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”
The phrase “in Christ or in him” is used eight times in these 12 verses. We can live freely in Christ as God’s chosen because that is how we were designed to live! What an amazing truth!
Choose one of the words from this passage to focus on this week. Ask God to help you to believe the truth and then live it. He hopes you dance!
Lynette Fuson
Director of Women’s Ministries
Do You Hear What I Hear?
A challenge for modern readers of Scripture is knowing how to read historical narratives, and specifically ones that contain conversations between Jesus and people. I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb to suggest and suspect that two Christians might understand the same passage differently, and that their differences are rooted in their perceptions of who Jesus is.
Take for instance the account of Peter walking on water. (Matthew 14:22-32) I encourage you to go read the text. My question is this – how do you hear Jesus in verse 31? Is he angry? Sad? Irritated? Frustrated? What is his tone? And upon what do you base your answer? Do you root it in how you would respond if you had been Jesus or in how others have responded to you in similar situations when you took a leap of faith and came up short (and which you now project on to Jesus)? Do you base it on a view of a Jesus who is generally cranky and short-tempered? Or do you base it on the Jesus we have been studying this month, and whose birth we celebrated two days ago? How you answer this question and how you perceive Jesus makes all the difference in how you hear him in the pages of Scripture.
Now, you may choose to disagree with me, but it’s my understanding that Jesus’ approach with Peter was tender as he was a man he loved deeply, a man he wanted to see grow and develop in faith, a man he was for and of whom he was a fan! I think Jesus’ words to Peter were like those of a coach who wants one of his star players to understand why he got the play wrong. I think Jesus’ words to Peter were an invitation to process with him (Jesus) what was going on in Peter so that he could learn and grow from the account. I think Jesus was loving, kind and tender with Peter.
But what do you think? Do you hear what I hear?
Scott Smith
Pastor of Discipleship Ministries
From His Fullness
In Psalm 19:1, David tells us, “The heavens declare the glories of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” This is true of all God’s creation. A recent camping trip on the beach provided hours of wonder as I reflected on the vastness of the ocean. There are beautiful shades of blue and green as far as the eye can see. From my limited view, looking off to the horizon, the ocean seems to be limitless. The waves continue to crash on the shore day by day, no matter when I return to enjoy them. Wave after wave comes ashore in endless succession. There is no lack; the supply is inexhaustible.
The seeming limitlessness of the ocean is a beautiful picture for the reality of God’s fullness. He alone is inexhaustible. He alone supplies our every need for grace out of all that He is.
In his gospel account, the word that John uses for “fullness” means “the sum of all that is in God”. Twice in his letter to the Colossians, Paul uses the same word.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. (Colossians 1:19, NIV)
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. (Colossians 2:9, NIV)
In the incarnation, we wonder that a helpless baby carried all the fullness of God. We wonder that our limitless God put on the limits of a human body so that we could receive grace upon grace.
This Advent season a trip to the beach might be a perfect reminder of the abundance of God’s grace that washes over us wave after wave, out of all his fullness at every point of need. Take some time to reflect on God’s abundance toward you in all that Jesus has been for you.
All we who believe in Jesus have received an abundant supply of all that our souls need out of the full store that resides in Him for His people. It is from Christ and Christ alone, that all our spiritual wants have been supplied. - J.C. Ryle
Nicole Jiles
Children’s Ministries Director
The Most Precious Gift
As a child, Christmas was a time of tradition. In the weeks prior to Christmas, my family attended the Christmas Cantata at church, visited the giant Christmas tree and lights on 5th St. and went shopping at the El Camino Real mall. At the Christmas Eve service, we would listen to Pastor Joe read the story of Jesus’ birth and then head home to open our Christmas pajamas. After dinner we gathered around the TV to watch the Nutcracker and eat decorated cookies for dessert. We were excited to go to bed so that Santa would come!
Christmas morning started early with opening gifts from my parents, and stock-ings from Santa. The toe of the stocking was always filled with a giant naval or-ange. We then rushed off to Grandma’s house close by for breakfast and more gifts with the cousins. The kids opened their presents first and then my cousin Christie and I played “Santa” for the adults, delivering them their gifts. Christmas evening, we were back at my house with my dad’s side of the family. In many ways it was like a Norman Rock- well Christmas; or at least that’s how I remember it.
As an adult, and a Navy wife, the idea of Christmas traditions has taken on a new meaning. I remember moving into our sixth house, just days before Christmas and thinking, “where in the world will we put a tree... but at least my husband will be home.” His birthday is Christmas Eve so after going to church, we always watch his favorite Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.
One year in North Carolina we spent Christmas Eve with an electrician who stayed until midnight, ensuring that we would have an oven on Christmas Day. Another year, while my husband was in Iraq, I packed up the kids and spent Christmas in California with my recently widowed mom. We maintained traditions like going to Candy Cane Lane and drinking hot chocolate while putting lights on the house, but truly the sweetest part is just getting to be together, whether in person or via Skype. What an amazing thing that now we can see and talk with each other from across the world!
I’ve come to realize that my childhood Christmas experience was probably not the norm. A Norman Rockwell Christmas is nice but there is something precious about experiencing hard things that cause you to focus on what really matters.
Jesus came, born in a stable amidst animals and hay. While this may have not been Mary’s ideal place to give birth, I have a feeling that her surroundings faded when she saw her newborn baby. My prayer today is that God will open our eyes to the beauty of what he has in store. It may not be what we expect, but if we are open, it will be the most precious gift.
Lynette Fuson
Women’s Ministries Director
From Stone to Spirit
God put the first and most important part of his law, the Ten Commandments, on stone and then gave them to Moses to carry down a mountain to present to the people. It was only ten laws, but apparently that was too much information for one stone tablet, so it was split into two. Now, that would have been an interesting thing to see. Did tablets just appear out of thin air? Or did God cause a huge piece of granite to break off the mountain before he shaped it into a tablet? That would have been fun. Then, how were they written on? Did God use a chisel or lasers? Why not lasers? And what does God’s handwriting look like anyway? These are all questions that I will one day ask, however, that isn’t the point. The point is that God’s Law, which was the basis of His covenant with humanity was written on two stones.
Now, the benefit of stone as a medium for the written word is clearly its longevity. If those stones were still around, we could probably still read the writing on them. However, stone tablets have a few big weaknesses. First, they can be broken... and sure enough, that was the fate of the first set as soon as Moses’ anger burned hot (Exodus 32:19 ESV). But secondly, and more importantly, stone might be one of the least efficient methods of communication ever designed. They are large, heavy and quite difficult to duplicate. Stone tablets can’t go viral. It would take a significant amount of effort to spread them around. Instead, a stone tablet is something that is most likely designed to stay in one place.
But God’s message to humanity was not ever supposed to stay in one place. It was supposed to spread. It was supposed to go viral. But they didn’t understand that God’s message was not just the words on the stone. It was the heart of the Person who engraved them... it was the Spirit of the stones. Yes, even those first ten rules were meant to show Yahweh’s love for humanity. That love is a concept that can spread. That love is what can go viral. But not if the focus remained on the stones. God looked forward to a day when his message would find a better medium. He says of that day, I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. (Ezekiel 31:33)
That day occurred through Jesus, and now we proclaim that there is something superior to stone. We have the Spirit of Jesus himself available to each of us. The movement of God throughout history has been a movement from stone to Spirit. So, on this Christmas Eve, will you join me in inviting the Spirit of the living God to chisel Jesus’ law of love on our hearts? Then let’s Invite Jesus to lead us to love those around us, with the hope that God’s grand message of love will go viral and transform hearts of stone to hearts filled with his Spirit.
Merry Christmas!
Josh Rose
Pastor of Adult Ministries
Out of Alignment
I remember the first time I stepped into a chiropractor's office. It was small, only one doctor, no private rooms, and the sound of popping could be heard clear out in the waiting area. The friend I was with was out of alignment. His back resembled an “S” more than a straight-line. He hurt his back by lifting something too heavy and needed an adjustment to get things to line up so he could walk and work like normal again.
Have you ever been out of alignment spiritually? Maybe your quiet time is a little off, maybe scripture is hard to enjoy when you read it, maybe the words don’t come out right when you pray. Maybe law and grace seem to be in a battle and are causing tension in your life.
The Apostle Paul felt tension and I think he saw it in the lives of the people he ministered to as well. In Romans chapter 7, you can see him talking through sin, law, truth, grace and how they can change our alignment. When they are all present, tension rises in us and puts us out of alignment with the Holy Spirit. Romans 7:14 tells us the law is spiritual and yet we are unspiritual. The Law is good and points out our need for Christ, but sometimes we fall into the tension trap that is sin and shame and the result is misalignment. Paul also knew the solution is Jesus, and he gives Jesus the credit in verses 24-25.
We all desperately need Jesus. He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14) and it is His grace and truth that aligns our hearts and minds. His fullness pours out onto us which allows us to live in alignment with the Father through him (John 1:15). When we are aligned with him, we have everything we need for life.
That’s what Paul was communicating, circumstances can be heavy or messy and cause us to try to do everything on our own.
Then when we can’t; our alignment is in desperate need of an adjustment. The beauty of the Gospel during this season is Jesus in the fullness of grace and truth wants to give us the spiritual adjustment we need. We need to accept what He provides out of His fullness. Will you accept what He wants to give you today?
Jesus, I need you to adjust my attitude, heart, mind, body, soul, etc. Thank you for being there for me, even when I am wrong and out of alignment. Take the blinders off me so I can see your grace and truth today and every day.
Jeremy Johnson
Pastor of Men’s Ministries
Matter Matters
There were two foods I didn’t try until college. My mom spoke badly about both and their names made me assume they were gross. Cheesecake and blue cheese salad dressing were off my list, not interested, no thanks! Then, a friend made a cheesecake from scratch and insisted I try it. I refused. Cheese in a cake? That doesn’t belong there. My friend explained, “Its cream cheese. It’s actually sweet. Please, just take a bite.” That day cheesecake became a favorite dessert. Later I tried blue cheese salad dressing and learned I like it, too.
People can be wrong about things.
Many people have the wrong idea about our flesh, our humanity. God made people and said, they were good. But the fall - sin, brought the knowledge of good and evil, and with that, death and the consequences of God’s curse on earth. Bad became part of the good, and today many of us identify with the bad more than the good.
A few years ago, I was asked by a Biblical counselor, “Are you a good person?” Bear in mind, I had been a pastor serving the Lord for over 15 years at this point and a follower of Jesus for many more. My answer, “No, I’m a sinner.” He challenged me, “Wait, didn’t you say you were a Jesus follower?” Our conversation probably took another 20 minutes with him reminding me of truths from scripture and with me trying to acquiesce, “Well, I’m a sinner saved by grace.” “So, does that make you a good person?” Struggling to say yes, I admitted, “When God looks at me,
because of Jesus’ blood, he sees a saint and not a sinner.” Well, is God looking at you now? Does God ever stop looking at you?
I was safe or comfortable owning the sinner part, the fallen part, the broken part of my flesh. But it was hard for me to believe the truth that God had already redeemed my flesh. Not only was it created good, but it has been restored through Jesus.
Why do believers camp out in being totally depraved but not totally restored? We own our sinfulness as if that equals what humanity is supposed to be. The truth is, sin robs humans of their humanity.
Jesus came in the flesh and his life validates the flesh, validates being human. For centuries, people have been equating the flesh with evil, but Jesus came in the flesh. Speaking about various viewpoints, ideas, or the “truth” vs. “falsehood” in 1 John 4, the apostle writes the verse listed above which lead into:
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world... ...This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (John 1:4, 6b)
Recognize that Jesus came in the flesh, and we are redeemed. Let’s live out that truth.
John Riley
Jr. High Pastor
