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

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Years ago my brother and cousin and I toured through Europe.  As we went through different cities, often the most prominent building in the city was the cathedral.  Many of the cathedrals were built centuries ago by master craftsman over the span of 10 plus years.  Intricate artwork was found in the masonry work, the flooring, the stained glass, the furnishings and really everywhere you looked there was a message that came to the person who stepped into the building.  Individuals labored years at their craft to give their best to the building of the dwelling in which the Lord was worshiped.

Yet the sad things was very few people filled the beautiful buildings.  What once was the center of the town’s activity and focus was now an empty shell of craftsmanship and beauty.

To be sure, a building doesn’t define the church or mark the boundaries of the church.  But perhaps the building is reflective of the health of the Church in the world today.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The Church is the gathering of people connected by faith to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Like a master craftsman, the Lord God orchestrated the building of his temple that would be a “dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

I got to thinking, “When a person steps into the middle of a gathering of God’s people, no matter where that gathering is, does that gathering emanate the grandeur and glory of God like the cathedrals of Europe inspire awe and wonder to all who enter them?”

Perhaps not and we need to repent.  Perhaps we should and we need the help of God’s Spirit.

God has brought us together in perfect connection to him and others, not to be an empty shell of his Church, but to be the vibrant living manifestation of his love and grace to the world.  Like one who enters a cathedral and marvels at the pictures in stained glass, or the ornate wood carvings, or the vastness of the nave the Lord orchestrates the people of his church with different gifts, different abilities, different personalities to shine multiple facets of the glory of God into the world around us.

The cathedrals of Europe unfortunately are very empty of worshippers.  One would hope the Church was active in the world around, even if it weren’t in the cathedrals.  Statistics would say this too is waning.  But that doesn’t mean we simply turn the cathedral of God over to the wrecking ball and let it be destroyed, rather just the opposite.  It is the calling of the Church that God has given to be the “salt and light” in our communities; to declare the praise of God to the people around us, and exhibit the beauty of God’s grace all around us.

The world doesn’t need an empty shell of the church, it needs the Spirit of God to be alive and active in the Church to be the influence, the messenger, the servant of God to the people around us and the towns in which we live.

And each of us by God’s grace gets to be a facet of God’s glory, as a member of HIS Church, to the community around us.

 

Apply: What gets in the way of God’s people showing up in a community as a breathtaking “cathedral” for the Lord?

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for failing to exhibit your glory and grace to the people around me.  Enable me by your Spirit to be the part of the Church you have called me to be, displaying your glory and grace at all times.  AMEN.

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

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This week we embark on a new series entitled, “I Love My Church!”  Over the next few weeks, we will get a chance to delve into this gift that God has given to his people called the Church…both the universal body of believers in Jesus (called the Holy Christian Church) and the local community of believers to which you belong. 

We love something we treasure and find valuable.  We invest in it.  We share it.  We want others to experience and find the same value we have. So it is with the Church.

But what is the Church?

By simple definition the Church (with a capital “C”) is the summation of all those who by the Spirit of God have been brought to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God and that by believing in him we have life in his name.  This gathering is known fully by God because he can see into people’s hearts.  It is sometimes for that reason called the “Invisible Church.”  It is not a human invention or built on the back of human beings, it is of divine origin and built on and around Christ and his Word.

Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

We confess this Church in the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

To which Dr. Martin Luther wrote the following explanation:

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.

As individuals are connected by faith to Jesus through his Word it is a natural manifestation for those individuals to gather together in a place to continue to encourage one another, grow in the Word, serve with their gifts and share the love they themselves have been shown.

We call this “the church” (with a little “c”) or a Christian congregation.  Sometimes this is also referred to as the “Visible Church” because we can visibly see who is part of this gathering.

To every Christian and Christian congregation then, God has a purpose: To be HIS Church!

Even as we receive the blessings of being part of his Church (forgiveness of sins and life everlasting), he also calls us to manifest and share those blessings with others.

The Apostle Peter put it this way:

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

So we embark on this series to better appreciate the reality we are part of God’s Church by faith in Jesus and then to be HIS church to live every day of life engaged in his calling.

 

Apply: What do you love about being part of the “Holy Christian Church”?  About being part of a Christian congregation?

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for founding your Church and by your grace including me in it.  Help me in this upcoming series to revel in the blessing of being part of your church and by the power of your Spirit, fully engage in being your Church to the world around me.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on the message: “Overcoming Death” Week 5 of Signs (LISTEN HERE)

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What is your response?

It’s a big deal when you can convince your skeptics and detractors that you are the real deal.  This whole series, “Signs” has been based on the premise that the Apostle John wrote in John 20:30-31, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” 

The journey of miraculous signs that John takes us on is one that screams with clarity that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  There is no doubt in this…even from his detractors.

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the reaction was mixed:

John 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. 

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 

The miraculous signs were real.  How one reacted to them was the difference.  Many of those that came to grieve with Mary and Martha saw Lazarus alive and believed in Jesus…exactly the purpose John outlines for the miraculous signs.  Some however when and told the religious leaders what Jesus had done.  They didn’t deny Jesus raised Lazarus.  They didn’t discount that his work was miraculous.  They didn’t even deny that they were convincing people to believe in him.

Their response?  Kill Jesus.  The religious leaders were more interested in holding on to the power they had and their fear of the Romans than acknowledging that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God as the miraculous signs clearly communicated.

The raising of Lazarus along with every other miracle leaves the skeptic without excuse.  The miracles speak for themselves.  The proverbial “nail in the coffin” was Jesus’ own resurrection a short time later.  The evidence as witnessed by others left no doubt that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.  The only question remained, “Will you allow the evidence to testify clearly or to pretend it never happened?”

The religious leaders couldn’t change the evidence.  They tried at Jesus’ resurrection.  They only could prevent more evidence from being submitted for evidence, so they wanted to get rid of Jesus.

Still today, many want to get rid of Jesus, not deal with him, acknowledge him, or admit he existed.  Why?  Perhaps there are varied reasons, but if I don’t get rid of him, I am left with no other option than to admit he is the Christ, the Son of God.

And if he is the Christ, the Son of God he has fully accomplished his mission from God:

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

All that remains is to get rid of the denial and allow the Spirit of God to work the conviction, based on the evidence, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that only through him, you have eternal life.

I pray this is your response.

 

Apply: What evidence is most compelling?  What do you still question?

Prayer: Lord, send your Spirit to lead me to fully trust that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing I may have life in his name.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on the message: “Overcoming Death” Week 5 of Signs (LISTEN HERE)

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Actions speak louder than words.

Someone can make great claims.  But great claims are meaningless if there is not the great accomplishment to back it up.

Financial guru Dave Ramsey often says, “Don’t take financial advice from your broke relatives.”  His point? If someone is sharing advice on building wealth and they themselves are bankrupt, that is hard to swallow.  However, Dave Ramsey is open about his story of implementing poor financial practices and going bankrupt, only to implement his current “Baby Step” program and now is financially independent and runs a debt-free company.  His actions speak louder than his words.  His actions back up his words.

Even though I have never met Dave Ramsey, I align with his principles because of his story, his teaching and the success of thousands of people getting out of debt.  People have realized the truth of his claim.

In no way am I promoting Dave Ramsey or putting him on the same level as Jesus.

But I am using him as a reality we all face.  We all want to see something to believe it.  And if we can’t see it, we rely on the experience of enough other people to back up the individual’s claim.

As Jesus was at the home of Mary and Martha and the reality of Lazarus’ death, Jesus speaks to Martha and gives this claim:

John 11:21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Martha had already experienced enough interaction to believe that Jesus was the Son of God.  She indicates she believes that he is the resurrection and the life…but as he finishes her response it leave a question in my mind if she really believed Jesus would raise Lazarus.  How about the disciples following Jesus? The friends of Mary and Martha?  

If Jesus would have said this and walked away, would people have put their trust in Jesus?  Probably not.  But when Jesus calls out to Lazarus and they see the man who had been dead four days come out of the tomb.  Now, they had evidence to back Jesus’ claim.

We didn’t see Lazarus come out of the tomb, but we have the testimony of John, Martha, Mary, and many others who were there.

And we have Jesus’ own resurrection just a short time later.

And that’s why Jesus did miracles…not just to show off his power, but to confirm his promises and claims.  He wasn’t just “all talk.”  His talk was backed by his actions.

So there is no question in my mind, even though I haven’t seen Jesus face to face or witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus or his own resurrection that Jesus promise that I too will rise is absolutely true.  Why because his miracles were done to lead me to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing I may have life in his name.

This miracle was no different.

 

Apply: Sometimes it is hard to trust Jesus’ promises.  What promise do you have a challenge believing or living by?  What miracle done in the Bible perhaps gives certainty that what Jesus promises, he is also able to carry out.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your miracles that weren’t necessary, but were helpful to me and many others who love to have evidence to back up one’s claim.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on the message: “Overcoming Death” Week 5 of Signs (LISTEN HERE)

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If only…

Have you caught yourself saying this phrase with a hint of regret to what you didn’t do in the past and now you are dealing with the ramifications in the present?

If only I had finished college…

If only I had listened to my parents…

If only I had not had the last two drinks…

If only…

This phrase is a phrase of regret and disappointment.   We can use it with things in life we wish we could rewind the clock and do differently.  It is also a phrase that we can use to be subtly accusatory to someone else.

If only you had not turned in front of me…

If only you would have been on time…

If only you would have said something different…

It is also a phrase we can use with God with a tinge of question and perhaps a bit of disappointment that God didn’t act in the way that we wanted him to.

God, if only you would have healed my family member…

God, if only you would have led my boss to give me a raise…

God, if only you would have created me with different abilities…

As Jesus came to the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, Lazarus was already dead for four days.

John 11:21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

True enough.  Martha knew that Jesus had the power to heal her brother.  If only Jesus had come sooner.  If only Jesus had been closer.  If only Jesus would have said, “Lazarus be healed.”

But he didn’t…intentionally

And perhaps Martha knew that.  While she was saddened by her brother’s death, she had confidence Jesus COULD have done something.  But she didn’t say, “If only…” with blame or despondency, but it certainly seems that it was with confidence that Jesus had the power to heal her brother.  She wasn’t upset.  She was confident.  She continues: (John 11:22), “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Martha trusted that Jesus was the Son of God and the Father in heaven would give him whatever he asked.  She didn’t know if he would ask or what he would ask for, she was just as confident that if he could have healed her brother, Jesus could do something even now.

What an amazing confidence.  In the midst of loss, disappointment and grief, Martha had the calm confidence that Jesus could have done something, but he didn’t and could do something if he thought it was best.

I don’t know what you are going through today.  But perhaps this couplet of phrases from Martha the Spirit of God preserved to give us a way to express our trust in the Lord.  We can be confident of two things:

1. The Lord is ALWAYS able to do something. He could have healed Lazarus.  He could raise him.  The power of the Lord is always available.
2. The Lord determines when and how to act according to his will and purpose and what is best for each of us or in his wisdom use our situation for the benefit of others.

Jesus was intentional.  He waited and didn’t heal Lazarus because he was setting up the opportunity to convince Mary, Martha, his disciples and others that he was the Son of God and had power over death.  He could be doing similar in your life today!

 

Apply: What do you wish the Lord WOULD have done in the past?  What good has come from the fact he DIDN’T act in the past, but perhaps worked in a different way than initially you wanted him to?

Prayer: Lord thank you for the power to act at any time and any way.  Lead me to always trust with confidence that if and when you act is always what is best for me and your plan of salvation.  AMEN.