Abdu
Murray is a Christian speaker who works with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
He speaks about Christianity on various college campuses.
At one
major university, a member of the audience took the microphone during the Q and
A time, posing an interesting question. He prefaced the question with his
backstory: “I am a software engineer. Once we’ve designed the software, we test
it for things that bug us about it. Not just glitches, but things about the
software we personally don’t like. If you were to do the same test on the
church, what would bug you about it?”
The
audience nervously laughed as they eagerly awaited Abdu’s answer.
How would
you answer that question?
What bugs
you about the church?
What bugs
you about our own church, Elim EFC?
What needs
to be fixed? What needs to be left the same?
During
August, I am going to give a sermon series called Church Cardiology: Strengthening the Heart of Our Church. We
will be dialing down on Revelation
1–3.
In
chapters 2–3, John the Apostle writes seven letters to seven churches throughout
Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. In these letters, Jesus attempts to debug seven church
situations.
Interestingly
enough, we find Jesus evaluating these seven churches. He addressed them as
unique congregations with unique gifts, skills, contexts and opportunities. He
doesn’t expect them to conform to a cookie-cutter template; His goal is to help
them be the best church Jesus created them to be.
Jesus
wants us to evaluate ourselves so we can be the best Elim can be.
Join us
this August as we listen to the Chief Cardiologist debug our church.
This is going to have to take some
imagination. Close your eyes and think of a very nice house on a couple of acres
with perfectly manicured lawns. It has matured trees and flower beds throughout
the front yard and backyard, with a beautiful water feature in the backyard by
the large deck with seating area. The house has a Northwest cabin feel, with
lots of exposed wood and cedar. This house has the prefect layout and has the
feel of a very comfortable escape. Can you picture that in your mind?
Healthy
plants have good root systems. The better the root system is, the more mature
the plants are. For me, roots have always carried the idea of maturity, until a
couple of weeks ago. Steve preached on the idea of a root of bitterness. This
reminded me of the VeggieTales movie called The Fib from Outer Space. A
little vegetable tells a lie and then has to keep telling a lie, which creates
this monster that gets larger and larger with every lie that he tells. A bitter
root goes deeper and deeper and spreads out of control if not taken care of.
This brings
us back to the beautiful house on acreage. Now imagine that same house but
overgrown and with rooms that are overrun with junk. What could be a beautiful
house is overrun by junk that doesn’t need to be there. The yard that was once so pristine is overrun
with weeds, vines, and blackberry bushes and is just unkept.
When we
allow bitterness to take root as believers, this transformed, beautifully
forgiven body becomes overrun with sin, and it starts to eat us alive. If we
are believers, this should lead us to repentance, but it often leads to further
bitterness, because we are not willing to deal with offenses. This is toxic to
the church and to the individual.
I know in
my life I need to constantly ask God to search me and let me know if there is
bitterness in me (Psalm
139:23-24). The Spirit will convict us of sin (John
16:8); we need to listen and seek to forgive those we have bitterness
against. We also need to go to those who have hurt us and seek to reconcile the
relationship (Matthew
5:23-24). God desires the church to be united, and it is hard to be united
when we have bitterness taking root in our lives (Philippians
2:1-2).
This is my
prayer: “Jesus, where there is bitterness taking root, please convict me. Help
me have the courage to have the conversation that will lead to unity and peace
in the family of God. Amen.”
When I was a young lad, “finding good” meant getting stuff I wanted. Stuff requires money, and I had a plan—buried treasure. My method for uncovering hidden wealth? A metal detector, of course. I had seen models advertised in glossy brochures, and I just knew this was my ticket to a boatload of goodies. All I needed to get started was $129.95!
What
is the world’s method for finding good?
Get
some “me time”—take a vacation, entertain yourself.
Consume
something—go shopping for a new outfit, new kitchen, new car, new you.
Do
what is “nice”—perform correctly in what you say.
This
is Americana, 21st-century style: surface level and two inches deep. No chance
of drowning here, folks.
Well,
enough about that. Let’s move quickly to where we need to be as followers of
Christ. We are sojourners—strangers
and pilgrims passing through this world. How are we to find good? Simply
put, God grounded us on the earth and raised up His Son that we would lift up
our eyes, fixing them on Jesus as we walk this life.
I
urge you, know Him deeply, spend time with Him, and think on His
promises. I’m in the midst of reading the gospels and am reminded of Mary,
mother of Jesus, who heard great prophecy spoken of her Son that He is Savior
and a Light
of Revelation to the Gentiles. Mary treasured these things up in her heart;
she pondered them—bringing them to mind frequently, searching out their meaning,
and looking with hope to their fulfillment.
How
precious a thing. How glorious a tribute. How wonderful to be known by a
practice of finding good. You’ve heard it said in Philippians
4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever
is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if
there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these
things.”
If
you want to be a “good finder,” you’ve got to be a Jesus focuser. Straining to
put on a happy face or pursuing a fake-it-until-you-make-it policy will only
end in exhaustion or self-delusion. The Apostle Paul found a different way:
“I
have learned to be content
in any and every circumstance.”
It
is through this attitude of Paul’s, founded in focus on the person of Jesus
Christ, that we turn to one of the most misused verses in all of Scripture: “I
can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” It’s not a call to
achievement or abundance, but a call to contentment. Not to pursuing more, but
through saying, “Enough.”
But
what about when life just stinks?
There
is time for recollection of difficulty and trauma experienced. There is value
in reflection on one’s being and situation. When those things are brought to
light, bring them to the
Light. Give Jesus the final say on every hurt, every hindrance, every idea,
every stronghold
that stands in opposition to God!
In
line with childish desires, we can spend our days sifting through sands for
nickels, or we can send our eyes skyward, to the Lord of glory and to our
future together. Find good. Not in “good” circumstances that may come, but in
the good Savior, that is now and forever will be!
We’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for almost 18 years, and during
that time I’ve noticed how popular tattoos have become among both Christians
and non-Christians. Now, I don’t have any tattoos, nor do I hold any views
against people who do. My dad did, but being a gunner’s mate in the Coast Guard
in the late 1940s, I guess it was considered kind of a rite of passage. For me,
I’ve never felt the need for a tattoo.
So, what does all of this tattoo talk have to do with pursuing spiritual
purity? Well, there was a brief moment when I flirted with the idea of getting
a tattoo. And it’s what I wanted to get (and why) that is more to the point of
this blog post. More about that later.
Listening to Pastor Steve talk about pursuing spiritual purity this
past Sunday made me realize just how much my mind gets drawn away from
reflecting on God and is instead frequently mired in the mundane, the less
lofty, things that are more worldly. I’m not necessarily talking about impure
thoughts—just thoughts that don’t include God and distract me from being
present to Him and what He’s doing. I notice it primarily during my quiet time,
but I struggle with it often at other times. I find I become captive to
whatever is drawing me in that moment.
I just finished re-reading Brennan Manning’s book The Furious Longing of God. In it,
he describes a scene with Jesus and the apostles (Luke 11:1-4), which characterized Jesus’s remarkable, ongoing
connection with His Father . . . His Abba . . . our Abba. Manning goes on to
talk about how reflecting daily on Abba has been so crucial in his own walk and
how that connection has been beneficial to those with whom he’s come in contact,
of which there have been many. At the end of this particular section, he shares
a practice that helps him stay focused on his Abba:
“Prayerfully consider taking a few
moments every day . . . closing your eyes, upturning your palms, and praying,
‘Abba, I belong to You.’” (page 58)
I have tried using this prayer during my quiet times,
especially when I’ve felt my mind wandering, and I’ve found that it keeps me
focused and present to God.
So, how do we stay focused? How do we remain attentive to our
Abba so as to be pursuing spiritual purity in our Christian walk? Sometimes we
need a daily practice like the Abba prayer above. Or we may need a visual to remind
us of what we should be reflecting on to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. I am
more of a visual person.
Back to the tattoo. The tattoo I was considering would have
been simply “Phil 4:8-9.” Those
verses are a reminder to me of one way I can go about staying focused:
“And now, dear brothers and
sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and
right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are
excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and
received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of
peace will be with you.”
What about you? How are you pursuing spiritual purity? Perhaps
asking the Holy Spirit to help you stay connected to God and remember this
verse (or others) is a good option for you—and a lot less painful than a
tattoo!
It’s a flimsy pretext for me to bust out my favorite genre
of music. Christmas in July, baby!
Even when I was a child, Christmas carols specifically were
among my favorites. Not so much “Jingle Bells” or “Let it Snow,” but more “O
Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “Joy to the World.” I think part of the reason for
that is how (in my musically unschooled opinion) so many carols seem to capture
one particular emotion, one that deeply appeals to me:
Relief.
When Jesus was born into the world, Israel had been
suffering for some time. An unbelievably powerful foreign nation was occupying
Israel; poverty, injustice, and illness were as rampant as they’ve always been;
and worst of all, the voice of God had been silent for about 400 years.
When the One who claims to comfort you in the presence of evil, oppressing
enemies (Isaiah
51:12) doesn’t seem to be comforting in the face of evil, oppressing
enemies, hope can start to feel like one more source of pain. It eats at joy
and vitality, until all that’s left is a subtle awareness of this constant,
biting weariness you can’t seem to shake.
Four hundred years of that.
For some of us, it hasn’t been generations of waiting for an
unfulfilled promise. For some of us, it’s pain that won’t go away. Hips and
knees that hurt and keep us up at night. Or maybe a marriage full of restless
tension and bickering. Maybe you’re like me and can’t shake anxiety and
depression. Whatever it is, I’m betting most of us are familiar with the
longing for some kind of pain to just finally stop.
Oftentimes when we’ve suffered for a long time, we can
forget what relief is even like. The prospect of NOT living with some terrible
affliction just seems impossible.
And that’s why I love Christmas carols so much. When I can’t
even remember that relief is real, the songs of Jesus finally coming into the
world remind me that it’s not simply that God will remove painful
circumstances, but Relief Himself has come for me. He has come to “wipe away
every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away”
(Revelation
21:4).
Transition continues at Elim. The Schlomers have
departed, the McCoys have arrived, and the elders and staff are continuing the
work of moving Elim into a new season. And what about Women’s Ministries, you
may ask? Great question! We are excited to share the answer with you.
Kim Schlomer faithfully led Women’s Ministries for
most of her tenure at Elim. However, over the past couple of years, Kim had
been sensing it was time for changes to be made within this valuable ministry. Her
heart’s desire was to see women growing as passionate disciples of Christ, to
see women connecting with other women in meaningful and transforming ways, and
to see women developed as leaders. God was giving Kim a vision for the future
of women’s ministry. And like Moses, the vision involved her to a certain point,
and then it was time for her to step down and for other leaders to continue
this work.
Building on Kim’s vision, we desire to design and
implement a ministry that invests in, equips, and empowers our women to
minister to women within Elim as well as women in our communities. We deal with
hard life issues and often feel alone or isolated. We long to be connected, to
feel that we belong. We desire to be heard, to feel valued and supported, to
have a place to turn when we need help. With our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author
and Perfecter of our faith, we envision our women continuing to grow as
passionate disciples of Christ, bearing witness to His unfailing love for all,
and living out the gospel as we companion with one another, loving and
encouraging each other as we share life, with all its joys and sorrows. We have
amazing and wonderful women in our Elim community, and we all have something to
offer one another—regardless of one’s age or stage.
That is a big vision and big desire! But our God is
able, and we are trusting Him to provide all that is needed for this to
develop. Our first steps have been to begin praying and discerning not just
good ideas, but God’s ideas, for how this ministry will take shape. We have
connected with a few women who served most recently
on the Women’s Ministries team and/or expressed an interest to Kim to be
involved. We are researching current trends within women’s ministry and are
beginning to talk with women within Elim about their interest and desire to
engage with this ministry.
So, what happens in the meantime? Will there be any
events for women? Yes, there will be, but it will not be a full offering, partially
because of the transition and rebuilding, but also because it is summer. Rebekah
McKenzie hosts a time of connection for all women on Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. at
Cool Bean Espresso. A few other plans are being worked on. Watch the newsletter
for all upcoming opportunities for women.
Are you interested in joining us? If so, please
reach out to one or both of us. We would love to talk with you and hear your
heart and desire for ministering to women. And we would ask all—women and men—to
pray for this ministry and its leaders. We trust God to bring to fruition His
plans and His vision for this important ministry, and we are excited to join Him
in His great work.
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