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Reflection

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By Brian Sharpe, Senior Associate Pastor

Reflection is an interesting thing. Think about it: You can stand in front of a mirror and see an exact replica of yourself. Over the years, mirrors have gotten clearer and clearer. In fact, most of us have never faced a time when we couldn’t see our reflection clearly in a mirror. In Jesus’s time, however, a mirror was not so clear. I read once that mirrors in that day gave you the basic outline of yourself, and it wasn’t very clear.

A mirror is used in many ways. When we wake up, we look in the mirror in order to see how bad our bedhead is (if we have hair). We use a mirror to check to make sure what we are wearing matches. A mirror is used to help guide putting on makeup and make sure nothing is in our teeth. It is extremely helpful.

James 1:22-24 says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.” None of us have a time that we can think of when we didn’t know what we looked like. The thought of that is absurd, but we do have times when we know what the Word of God tells us to do, but we choose to not listen. We go from being an effectual doer of the Word to being passive listeners who are not reflecting the things God wants us to reflect.

I know this is cliché, but we may be the only picture of Christ that people see. The way we live, act, and move reflects something. It can be reflecting selfishness and pride. It could be reflecting Christ. I guess the question I am asking myself is, “Who or what am I reflecting to my wife, my kids, my friends, my family, and my neighbors?” I am reflecting something. Is it what I want to reflect? Is what you are reflecting what you want to reflect?

There was a time when I remembered what I looked like when I was younger and I would forget that it was not what I looked like anymore. It wasn’t until I was willing to really look in the mirror to see what I was like that I could start making the changes in my life that could help me change what I looked like. This can happen to us in a spiritual walk. We all need to understand what we really look like so that we can seek to reflect Christ to those in our life. We all reflect something. Do we like what we are reflecting? Are we honest with what we are reflecting?

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Great Expectations

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By Jeff Foerster

My expected delivery of a short treatise on how the philosophy behind Star Wars has infiltrated the Christian church has been pushed back past its opening date. This coming polemic will simply have to wait, as I myself uncovered, and will here reveal, something simpler and much greater: hope. In this age of Islamic terrorism, economic instability, and frequent natural disaster, hope has by many been relegated to the category of “four-letter word.”

You may not be able to accomplish all that you ever dreamed, but you will be able to accomplish all that God has planned for you! He knows the end from the beginning and knows you better than yourself. He has plans that are greater than you can imagine or could ever craft if you had a thousand years for planning and another thousand to execute; but, do you believe this? Will you trust that being the servant of all here on Earth can lead to greatness for eternity? (Luke 9:48, 22:26-27)

I tell you these words with truth, but true hope does not originate with me; neither does it come from you. This is good news! Being a hope-filled person doesn’t require boundless energy, nor a gregarious personality brimming with enthusiasm. It doesn’t require me to listen daily to talks from motivational speakers or to make lists of happy things. I am not the source. Nor are you. God alone is the source of all hope, for hope requires promise, and promise requires power to fulfill it; He alone is able.

JeffLastWordI have hope because of Jesus. I have hope because our Savior was promised from days of old. I have hope because Jesus lived a life bent not on His own glory, but to seek and to save the lost, declaring the great news of the Father He was sent to deliver. I have hope because Christ despised the cross, but went willingly, becoming a slave to the will of the Father. I have hope because He died, showering the ground with His blood in order to shower me with forgiveness and mercy. I have hope because Messiah rose from the dead so that you and I could have life eternally! I have hope because Jesus is coming back again for all those who love Him. I have hope because heaven and earth will one day become one as God makes His dwelling among men forever and ever, amen!

I wanted to stop writing there. I wanted to end with an exclamation point, and where do we go from here? But “go” we must. Inspiration without action is futility; it is a love song never given voice.

Just as thankfulness is a choice, so too, embracing hope requires the will. Hope requires bending the will to focus on what is not seen (Hebrews 11:1), Living in hope is faithfulness of the heart. It requires an attitude, a pathway of conscious decisions to divide thoughts into two camps, those that please Christ and those that should be crushed, bound, and burned.

How do we “choose” hope? Again, hope is not all butterflies and lollipops and Cheshire smiles. It is lived out among struggles, and difficulties, and sorrows. It requires a firm adherence to the truth, and a reliance upon God to administer it with integrity. Choosing hope announces the unstoppable power of our Creator and affirms the loving-kindness and persistence found in His grace.

It is a choice – a choice to see the day not as a set of circumstances with dictates defining reality, but as a series of opportunities to express thankfulness, trust in His promises, and take action in steps small and large. If you find yourself staring into broken circumstances and listening to voices telling you, “It doesn’t matter …” or, “No one will know …”, or “How many times do I have to …?” At that point recall the words of God, what he has said about you and His promises for you: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17). In addition, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). God has plans for us, for good, and we can demonstrate our faith in Him and hope in these promises.

Choose obedience like Abraham did. He was a man who “went forth” from everything known when God called him to do so. Now, God has not called all to travel to unknown lands or to sell all that they own and give to the poor, but He has called each of us to obedience to the clear commands of Scripture. Allow me to engage you in two practical steps:

  1. Pray for God to reveal His commands as you read the Scriptures. Pray for His power to obey those commands He lays upon your heart by your eyes and through your ears.
  2. Refresh your view of the Ten Commandments as Jesus describes them -asking God how you might step out in faith to obey from the heart, honoring God when no one else may know, when you don’t see a reward on the horizon, save for pursuing a closer relationship with the Almighty, even if you’re not sure how obedience and trust work together toward that end.

Embrace obedience for sure, but above all know your Bible and keep your eyes and heart fixed upon our Savior (Hebrews 12:2). May your adoration forever be poured out to the One who loved you before the foundations of the world!

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I’m Gonna Follow You

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By Tom Chase

Jesus called and still calls His disciples with the phrase, “Come follow Me …” (Mark 1:17). Later, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me for whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? As I have been processing this question, several things have come together for me.

First, I am seeing that the Christian life is not intended to be lived out of convenience. We get that from the verse above “denying one’s self” and “take up your cross.” These are not terms of a life lived the way we have been programmed by the world to live. We have been called to the opposite:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Michael Ramsden (with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries) also talks about not living life out of convenience from the story of the Good Samaritan. You might remember the story in Luke 10:29-37, about the man who was beaten, stripped of his clothes, robbed, and left for dead along the road. First a priest and then a Levite came by, but both avoided the injured man. It was not obvious that the injured man was a Jew. If they knew he was a Jew both of these men would have been compelled by the law to help him (Lev 19:17-18).

We might assume that these men were callous or simply too busy (as suggested by VeggieTales.) But they were not simply too busy and they were not callous. This road was notorious for life-threatening danger and robbery. It was given the name “Bloody Pass” as a result. The man lying there could have been the perfect setup to initiate a robbery. The priest and the Levite act in self-preservation; they want to live.

The story continues and finally a Samaritan came by and helped the man. He ignored the dangers, bandaged the injured man’s wounds, put him on his donkey, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day the Samaritan left but gave money to ensure the injured man would be alright. Absolutely none of this was convenient, and his actions went far beyond simple inconvenience. We have heard about the hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. Apparently it went both ways and ran deep like the feuds between the historical Hatfields and McCoys. Because of this hatred, it is interesting to note that there are no Samaritan towns even remotely near this road — only Jewish ones. He takes an injured man (likely a Jew) into a Jewish town. Not only does this Samaritan risk his life by stopping to help, but he probably also risks his life by taking him to the inn. This is absolutely incredible, inconvenient, self-sacrificing, life-endangering stuff here.

Then, following this parable, the words of Jesus to the expert of the law are amazing and alarming: “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37b). This cuts me to the core; when I look in the mirror of my life, I’m not sure the reflection is too appealing.

Second, this call to follow Jesus again hits me between the eyes from a book I have been reading, The 10 Second Rule by Clare De Graaf. I certainly cannot do the book justice in the few words I have here, but it challenges believers to live a life of simple obedience to Jesus. The author was challenged by the words of Jesus in the Gospels that he found “amazing” and “alarming,” like:

“Do good to those who hate you.”

“Deny yourself daily.”

“I came not to be served, but to serve.”

“Whoever wants to be first … must become last.”

“No man can serve two masters.”

De Graaf didn’t know many Christians who lived like that, but he began a journey to pursue a life of following Jesus with the motto he calls “The 10 Second Rule”: “Just do the next thing you’re reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do.” Simple obedience to Jesus is anything but simple. When we look at the standing orders He has given us we understand that life will be anything but sensible. It will not necessarily be safe, but it will be an adventure of walking with Jesus daily! Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10b). I know that just doing the next thing you’re reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do sounds very simplistic at first. It has the benefit of not getting bogged down in the “God’s will for me” debate and allowing one to begin following Jesus today. The 10 Second Rule is in short a way to move me from inaction to action. Many of the things I am reasonably certain Jesus wants me to do I simply do not do because they go against my sensibilities and I can talk myself out of doing them. The book goes on to share some real, practical ways of how to begin and continue walking this radical way of living, which is in fact following Jesus.

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting.
It has been found difficult and left untried.”
– G.K. Chesterton

I don’t want to be that guy who has been unwilling to follow Jesus. So I am being challenged to live out this life not just when it is convenient for me but to live in simple obedience to the One I have committed to follow. It is my desire to pursue Jesus with a lot less self-centeredness and a renewed willingness to submit to His direction. I am reminded of an old song, “I’m Gonna Follow You” by Silverwind. I think it expresses some of my heart. If you’re also a bit challenged by all this, maybe this song can be your song to Jesus too!

I never thought that I could ever feel this way
You’ve got me falling more in love with you each day
You made my life matter, like no one could do
So for ever after, I’m following you.
I’m gonna follow you.

Some people tell me that I take a road so rough
They say I’m crazy but I say it’s only love
No it doesn’t matter what people may do
‘Cause forever after I’m following you forever
I’m gonna follow you.

Though the road may be narrow and the road may seem hard
Lord I’m still going to follow and I’ll never turn back and I’ll get through ‘till I do
I’m gonna follow you!

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W.W.J.D.

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by Beau Leaman

When I was in grade school there was a big fad for bracelets that were imprinted with “W.W.J.D.” This, of course, stood for “What would Jesus do?” No matter what kind of kid they were, it was the style to wear bracelets like these, even several at a time in various colors. Some people really took these to heart, while others were just trying to keep up with the new trends. I even owned one myself, but never challenged myself to let the words actually challenge my life. Yet, like most fads, it was a trend, and it did not last long.

Society pushes us to find the next best thing and encourages us to reach out for more and more happiness, changing what’s popular at any given time. We’re programmed to be bored and want more. Why did the W.W.J.D. trend go out of style like the others? It was biblically based, rooted in doing the right thing in whatever situation one encountered. How could this get unpopular? It didn’t seem too difficult, since the person just needed to do what Jesus would have done. We have the scripture to guide us and we have the Holy Spirit literally living inside of us. What else could we ask for? Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” We are already charged as believers to do what Jesus would do, so why not preach this statement to the world? This statement seemed easy at first and very trendy. The trendy folks were the first to take it off once it faded away, and then the folks who wanted to live by it kept it on so all knew whom they represented. Others may have been encouraged to search the scriptures to find out what Jesus would have actually done in certain situations they encountered. Some may have actually lived it out on a daily basis. But what happened to these bracelets? Here is the answer: “Holy knowing does not actually produce holy living.” You need a special ingredient called obedience. Knowing what Jesus would do is only half the battle; the most difficult part is throwing away our desires and running toward obedience.

We are called to be holy as Christ is holy. Elim’s topic this week has been radical living. This radical living requires us to ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” The key to holiness is obedience and the key to obedience is faith. We are saved through faith because of grace, and that grace is everything! I challenge you this week to acknowledge God in all your ways. May our hearts be obedient and may we live our lives faithfully in obedience and steadfast love.

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Not a Big Deal

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By Nate Champneys

The book of Exodus is one of my favorite books in the Bible and I’m constantly going back to it. The reason I love it so much is that I love getting to know God through the intimate relationship He had with Moses. Moses was known as “a friend of God.” Wow. Now that is something I want to understand!

One of my favorite passages in Exodus is chapter 33. The golden calf incident (where the Israelites made and worshiped an idol) has just taken place and God tells Moses to get ready to take the Israelites to the Promised Land. God says He will not be going with them. In verse 12, Moses begins to plead with God and basically says that he doesn’t want to lead the people if God doesn’t go with him. I love God’s response to him in verse 17: “I will do what you have asked, because I am your friend and I am pleased with you.”

Now in the next chapter, God tells Moses to cut two new tablets to replace the ones Moses broke. We don’t know how much time has passed since the last story as it just says, “one day,” but it seems that Moses is reminding God of their previous conversation when he says in verse 9, “Lord, if You are really pleased with me, I pray that You will go with us. It is true that these people are sinful and rebellious, but forgive our sin and let us be Your people.”

And here is God’s response: “I promise to perform miracles for you that have never been seen anywhere on earth. Neighboring nations will stand in fear and know that I was the one who did these marvelous things. I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, BUT YOU MUST DO WHAT I COMMAND.” God tells Moses that He is going to be with him and do amazing things, but Moses just needs to obey.

The crazy thing is that disobedience is exactly the thing that would be Moses’s downfall later in the book of Numbers. It’s almost as though God is telling Moses to obey knowing that Moses would struggle with obedience later on. But it wasn’t obedience in the big things that Moses had trouble with; it was obedience in the little things. In Numbers chapter 20, God commands Moses to speak to a rock to get water for the Israelites, and instead Moses hits the rock with his staff. This “little” disobedience cost Moses the privilege of entering the Promised Land!

We tend to rank sin in terms of severity, but it is clear in Scripture that the sins that we don’t take seriously are just as grievous to God as the “serious” ones. Take a moment to examine your own life. What are the small things in your life that you have written off as, “not a big deal?”

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