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This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).

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“Access denied.”

We all know what it is like to forget a password and realize the account we wanted to access is blocked because we didn’t have the right password.  Maybe even we’ve entered enough bad passwords that the website says, “Your account has been locked for 24 hours.”

We have passed store doors that say “Employees Only.”  We have approached office buildings that have access by security card only.

In many of these situations, we may have a curiosity of what is behind the door that is inaccessible, but really don’t care.  However, if there is a situation where you need to gain access to somewhere for your benefit or the benefit of someone you love, you may experience extreme stress or frustration.

Do you have access to God?

Ever thought about that?

As the saying goes, ‘There’s no atheists in foxholes.”  A person who didn’t care to have access to God in a moment of dire straights WANTS access and hopes they have access, but do they?  Do we?

In the Old Testament construction of the tabernacle and then the temple there was an inner chamber known as the Most Holy Place.  Inside was the Ark of the Covenant and this room would only be entered one day a year during the festival of the Day of Atonement.  Only after a blood sacrifice could the High Priest enter through a thick curtain and approach the presence of the Holy God.

Anyone else who tried…died.

Sinners can’t approach a holy God on their own.

They may try…good works, payments, comparisons, etc., but every time: “Access denied.”

Why try so hard to have access to a Holy God?  Because inside each of us is the desire to be right with God.  Some may struggle with who that God is or create their own God, but the fact remains we are spiritual beings with a soul that is from God and desires a connection to God.

By ourselves, we cannot gain access.

Which is why we all need Jesus.  He was the only one whose blood was shed to remove the barrier of sin and give access to a Holy God by giving us his holiness.  The writer to the Hebrews put it this way:

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 

We can have confidence that the password to God is JESUS!  The password never needs to change or be changed.  We can type our name in for the “login” and type “JESUS” as the password and we have access to God.  Our sins have been washed away and we have full confidence to stand before God as forgiven, children of God.

 

Apply: What does it mean to you to truly have access to God through Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me access to you through the work of your Son, Jesus.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).

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Restaurant or Relationship?

 

We enjoy eating out…perhaps more than we should!

When we do, we subconsciously are rating the ambiance, the service, the food and the overall experience.  My wife enjoys taking pictures of the food when it comes out and posting a review on google for the restaurant.

We rate a restaurant based on our experience with it.  If we love it, we go back and recommend it.  If we don’t, we won’t go back and find another place to enjoy a meal. 

At a restaurant we rate it based on how it served us.  We are the consumer, they are the contributor.  If we don’t like what we consumed, we move on.

Sometimes we can treat church like this.

It is easy to simply evaluate a church experience based on how well it served me.  Perhaps phrases like, “I didn’t get anything out of the sermon.”  “No one said ‘hi’ to me.” “They didn’t have anything for my kids.”

To be sure, as a pastor, I want every guest to have a five-star experience for their visit.  I want them to be greeted and made to feel welcome.  I want the message to communicate Christ in a real and meaningful way.  I want their children to be encouraged in their life of faith as well.

However, if one never moves from a consumer to a contributor, the church remains like a restaurant with a few people serving the masses.

But God didn’t design his church to be like a restaurant, he designed it to be about relationships.  

When I love a person, I don’t rate them with stars.  I don’t discontinue the relationship when there is a challenge.  No, when I love a person based on a relationship, it is a love that is built on deep commitment.  It is a love that is willing to serve more than be served.  It is a love that is willing to invest time, energy, and resources to make it better…because the relationships matter.

That’s what I mean when I say, “I love my church.”  I love my church because of who it is and what it stands for.  It is worth the investment in the people, in the relationships.  I love my church, so I’m not going to leave if the preacher has a bad sermon one Sunday, or another person doesn’t say hello.  Instead, I am going to be a contributor and do all I can, for the sake and love of Jesus to make it better.

It’s just what Christians do when they love their church and the relationships that are part of it.

Here’s what it looks like:

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Apply: What changes for you when you think of church more in terms of relationships to invest in over a restaurant to consume?

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love and grace that brings me into relationship with you and your people.  Empower me by your Spirit to invest in the people of my church to build stronger connections to them and to you.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on the message: “I Love My Church” Week 1 (LISTEN HERE)

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There are different places, locations, buildings that we eventually have to visit in life.

I’m not talking about Disney World, that’s a “want to” visit place. I’m talking about the places we need to go to just because of the course of life: school, for example, or the dentist’s office. Various necessary places will invoke a variety of responses in us. We feel different about going to the mall compared to say going to the dentist. 

Do you love going to the DMV?

Do you love going to the doctor’s office?

Do you love going to the grocery store?

While all of these are a necessary stop at various points in life, they are generally not our favorite to go.  They don’t get rave reviews, right? Some worse than others, but in all three of them you can see that we go to these places in most cases because we have to, not necessarily because we want to.  I would guess your reaction to all of these was NOT “I LOVE to go!”

So what would you say about your church?

Honestly consider these questions. Do we think about church the same way we think about going to the DMV, the doctor’s office, or the grocery store? Is this just a place that we feel we “have” to go to or is there more to it? Think about people who aren’t here with us today or maybe people who haven’t stepped into a church in a long time or ever. I’d be willing to guess that some of them would describe coming to church like we describe going to the DMV, and based on their experiences, they probably wouldn’t be far off from the truth.

Is that what God intended when He created the church? Was that His idea about this community of people? I believe the Bible tells us that no, that was not nor is it God’s plan for HIS church.  The Lord God desires us all to have the attitude of King David who said, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 122:1)

David LOVED to go to the house of the Lord.  He was surround by others who loved to go to church and be with the Lord and each other.  Even though I am sure he loved going by himself (if he ever did), he loved when others invited him to go along.

Why?

Because he loved to be in the presence of the God who loved him and with people who loved God.  It was a time to spend with the Lord and with people who loved the Lord.

To be sure, as sinful human beings, we can give people many reasons NOT to love going to church or being at church.  For this we repent.

But the Church that God designed, and God brought us into, and God works through…this Church I too LOVE going to in order to be with the Lord and with others who love the Lord.  I pray these next weeks increase our love for God’s Church…my church!

Apply: What do YOU love about your church?  What don’t you love?  How might you be part of changing it so it doesn’t get in the way of people connecting with Jesus and his people?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for designing the Church and making me part of it.  Forgive me when I don’t love your church or do something to make it not loved by others.  Help me to love spending time with you and with your people.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on the message: “I Love My Church” Week 1 (LISTEN HERE)

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When do you panic?

As a dad when my girls were little, there was always a brief sense of panic when I lost eye contact with them at a store, fair, or other large gathering.  I didn’t want any harm to come their way.

Panic can come in the midst of an emergency when you don’t know much information, not sure how to respond, or what the level of danger threat really is.

Panic can come when you are overcome by a fear such as claustrophobia or agoraphobia.  When you feel closed in by space or overwhelmed by a crowd.

Panic can come when you have to do something for the first time that you are uncomfortable doing.  Perhaps getting on an airplane.  Perhaps giving a presentation at work before upper level management.

Panic sets in when the control of the circumstance is out of your control, or perceived to be out of your control.

What alleviates panic is the calming reality from someone who has experienced what you are fearing, gives guidance through a challenging situation or simply stands by your side to lean on when inside you feel in turmoil.

When I am filled with fear or close to panic, I want someone or something that I can come back to once again bring balance, perspective and direction to my life.

The gift of the Church is just that.  Why? Because it is aligned to Christ as the cornerstone.  Here’s what the Prophet Isaiah has to say about it:

Isaiah 28:16 See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.

When we are aligned to Christ and relying on him, we will “never be stricken with panic.”

How come?

Here’s what I think about.

When faced with an emergency or large difficulty, I don’t have to panic because I know a) Christ has taken care of my biggest problem in life and b) I know his power and presence are always real and with me.

When faced with a fear that leads my heart to beat fast, I know the promises of Christ remind me that I do not have to fear.

Like yesterday’s discussion of the foundation of the Church, having Christ as the Cornerstone allows me to go through life with a deep peace, calm, and assurance.  It’s in his Church that I am strengthened in this conviction and reminded of it.

Don’t panic…Christ is your cornerstone!

 

Apply: When do you sense panic in your life?  What promises of Jesus would help to alleviate the panic when it comes?

 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being the Cornerstone of the Church and giving every reason to have peace instead of panic.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on the message: “I Love My Church” Week 1 (LISTEN HERE)

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The Foundation Matters

Periodically on Facebook, TV or other media sites you will see advertisements for companies that can fix your home’s foundation.  Sometimes the soil on which your house was built shifts causing cracking or settling of the foundation.  As a result the home is crooked at best, unstable at worst.  Of course if you were building your home, you would want to make sure the foundation was built properly so there would be no problems in the future.

A solid foundation matters.  A foundation that doesn’t move matters.  A foundation that doesn’t fail matters.

Especially today.

Culture has come at the foundation of society with massive jack hammers.  Especially anything that has a connection to Christianity seems to be the main things they want to break off or break away…issues of life…sanctity of marriage…gender…morality…and more.

It’s challenging to live on a foundation that moves or is crumbling.  What will be the norm tomorrow?  How am I supposed to show up today?  Honestly if there is no foundation, we all become homeless as a culture, determining our own plot of ground on which to pitch our tent.

Perhaps some like that and do not want the perceived confines of a foundation, but one loses the stability of the foundation, the building built on the foundation and the safety, shelter, and stability that structure provides.

Which is why I love the Church!

The foundation of the Church is the Word of God.  The Apostle Paul put it this way:

Ephesians 2:20 “… built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,…”

This phrase captures all the Word of God, both Old Testament and New, all the individuals who wrote under the promise and reality of inspiration by the Holy Spirit.

Admittedly, culture doesn’t want to live on this foundation.  In fact, they become antagonistic when even from a legal stand point it seems like they are being forced onto a foundation that is informed by the Word of God.  Some people just want to remain homeless.

But God wants the best for us.  Just like Austin, TX spends millions of dollars to provide housing for the homeless, God spent the blood of his Son to give us a home that we didn’t purchase, deserve, or build.  Sadly, there are some who don’t want what the Lord has to offer.

Yet, the Foundation of the Word of God is what gives eternal safety, earthly guidance, and many blessings to the individuals who not only hear and read the Word of God, but put it into practice.  It is a foundation that won’t shift when culture does.  It is not a Foundation that will crack when pressured to do so.  It is not a foundation that is going to crumble even when others try.

The Church, God’s people, is built on this foundation.  Which is why I love the Church.  I’m surrounded by people who find the same safety, security, and blessings as I do from the Word of God.  I have people around me that stand firm in the midst of a changing culture.  I have people who find safety in the truths and promises of God.  I have people around me who find a similar purpose in living out life with our God-given gifts to the glory of God.

All because we have been built on a solid foundation.

And a foundation matters.

 

Apply: What blessings do you receive from being part of a church which is solidly fixed to the foundation of the Word of God?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for laying a solid, immovable, unchanging foundation for your people in your Word.  Help me to always find the safety, security and blessing in it that your promise.  AMEN.