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I DO care

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by Dan Amos

If I had written this a couple of weeks ago, I would have titled it “I don’t care.” But that can be discouraging and easily misinterpreted when what I really intend is to confess my actions reveal I can care more. As Pastor Steve encouraged us to find someone who has followed Jesus for a long time and listen to their counsel, several weeks ago I had such a person challenge me with “You don’t care. If you did, you’d do something.” I recognize circumstances and age have conspired against me to give me less time and energy than 10 years ago. But the real question is, What do I do with what remains?

The Transition Team has been an exciting time for me. I’m not saying I enjoy meetings at all. Nobody would believe that. But a large part of the process has been getting these two dozen or so people to dream together of what we believe is the purpose God has for His church on this corner on South Hill. There’s a hunger to be more, to reach out more, to make a difference in the kingdom. It is exciting to see it manifested in so many. The land lies before us.

On Sunday, Pastor Steve encouraged us with Joshua’s last words to the people of Israel. We, like Israel in Joshua 23, are in the process of a leadership change. We are looking at a new era for Elim. The land is plentiful and ready for harvest. We must remain strong and courageous. I see the giants around us, too, but God is bigger, and He goes before us.

Pastor Steve pulled four actions from chapter 23 for a winning strategy to remain faithful or, in other words, to always care about what God cares about:

  1. Imitate people who have walked with God for many years.
  2. Remember God’s faithfulness to you in the past.
  3. Be sensitive to diluting influences.
  4. Resolve to be faithful. 

That statement, “you don’t care,” was not intended to be harsh or even critical. It was a challenge to reflect and evaluate. It’s been running through my head since I heard it, making it really effective. I am vulnerable to diluting influences. I can make different choices with the time and energy I do have. I do resolve to be faithful. I do care, and it matters.

The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God. (Joshua 23:9-11)

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Why Do Kids Hate Medicine?

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by Brian Sharpe

When Ellice was really young, she didn’t like taking medicine (she still doesn’t like to take it).  She would fight us, even though what we were giving her was going to make her feel better.  She would kick and scream and get herself so worked up that she would be drenched in sweat. And sometimes I’m like this with God.

Throughout my life, I have asked God to change me and make me more like Himself.  This prayer was sincere, but it was prayed with the thought that God was going to press a button up in Heaven and when that button was pressed, I would be fixed.

The older I get, the more I realize that this is not how God works.  He allows us to walk through stuff for us to learn to trust and allow Him to work in ways we didn’t even know we needed.  James 1 says that the testing of our faith leads to perseverance, and perseverance leads to maturity.  It is the perseverance that I don’t like.  I am “okay” with the testing of my faith, as along as it leads to maturity, but I am not okay with it leading to perseverance.  The problem is, maturity doesn’t come without perseverance.

Moses is a great example of this.  In Joshua 1, Moses is talked about as a servant of God.  God was with Moses and used Moses.  Moses had to go through a lot in his life, which led to perseverance and, ultimately, maturity.  The same can be said of Job, Peter, Paul, Elijah, and Elisha, to name a few.

We often forget when reading the stories of the Old Testament that time is passing.  These heroes of the faith aren’t instantly heroes; they go through tough stuff, persevere through it, and come out mature. The saying that “God doesn’t waste pain” is such a true one.  God allows stuff in our life, and we can either grow in maturity or let it debilitate us because of fear.  The book of Joshua talks about how the people in the Promised Land were debilitated by fear because they knew that the God who created the universe was on the nation of Israel’s side.  They feared Him because of the stories they had heard about how God had protected His people.  We need to remember the ways the Lord has protected us throughout our life so that when tough times come, we will remember He is with us.

When the nation of Israel was crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land, God stopped the flow of the river so that they could cross on dry land.  Once everyone was across, God had Joshua pick 12 men to grab 12 stones in order to build a monument of remembrance, so that when their children would see the monument and ask what it was from, they could tell the stories of how God was with them.  We need our 12 stone monuments.  We need to remember that God is with us and wants to protect and grow us into mature followers of Himself.  This happens by the testing of our faith, which leads to perseverance and, ultimately, maturity.  Sometimes the very thing we need is the thing we don’t want, but in the end, it will bring us to the place where we want to be.

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In the Bleak Midwinter

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by Brian Waple

As I began reflecting on writing a Last Word for this week, I asked myself, “What would people need to hear?” Do they need to hear how much God loves them? Probably—we all need to be reminded of that. Or perhaps they need to hear about Christ’s substitutionary atonement for their sins. Again, in and of itself that’s good stuff, but not this week. Maybe they need to hear more about Pastor Martin’s new vision for creating a culture of being “disciples who make disciples among those who are not disciples” outside the walls of Elim. He promised we would hear more about that in the weeks to come.

Okay, so what then? I was ruminating on this and looking out the window and watching the rain, and then it dawned on me. As you may or may not know, winters in the Pacific Northwest can be difficult for some people (myself included). There is a bleakness to the winters here that makes us all groan for summer and warmer weather. That’s an interesting word—bleak. Dictionary.com gives this definition: “without hope or encouragement; depressing; dreary.” I have said many times how dreary the winters are here … but hopeless?

There is a wonderful old Christmas hymn that I remember singing as a kid. It’s called In the Bleak Midwinter, and the words of the hymn were written by Christina Rossetti in the late 1800s. The last line of the hymn goes like this:

“What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb; if I were a wise man, I would do my part; yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.” (my italics)

Giving one’s heart means not holding back at all. In the hymn, Rossetti is speaking about what we have to give the Christ child. And even in the midst of our most abject poverty, when we have nothing left to give, we can still give our heart! It is interesting when we reflect on what God gave us. Almighty God could have given in to the desires that spring up from our wildest dreams. But He didn’t; instead, He gave us the most precious thing He had to give: He gave us his Son. He gave us His heart. And with that gift, we are not hopeless.

So, when life seems as bleak as a Pacific Northwest winter, the hope that we who call Jesus Lord and Savior have transcends the bleakness, the dreariness, the hopelessness. And that hope should encourage us to be willing to give our hearts to others. Maybe it’s toward your neighbor; maybe it’s toward a stranger; maybe it’s toward a friend; maybe it’s toward a family member. For many of us, this is all we can give. But it’s the giving of our hearts to others, as God freely did toward us, that helps transform us into the people God created us to be.

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