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Joy Is A Choice

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by Gordy McCoy

I am learning that having joy has so much to do with attitude and that it is a daily choice to live in HIS joy. It’s not dependent on how much money I have, where I live, the job I have, how well I am liked, if life is going well, or not, it’s about HIM and me.

Now I am not ignoring the fact of the impact of lifes’ blows that rock our world. We need time to regain our focus when disaster, turmoil or heartbreak cuts us to the core. I’m talking about day to day life. When the storms come we don’t want the storm to overtake us. We need His stability, His direction, His presence so we don’t feel shipwrecked.

A poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, wrote:

One ship sails east,

One ship sails west,

Regardless of how the wind blows.

It is the set of the sail

And not the gale

That determines the way we go.

Regardless of how severely the winds of adversity may blow, we set our sails toward joy.

If we look at things thru God’s point of view, having confidence in Him, it helps when we are having a bad day. He is at work even when we don’t see it and good can come out of hard situations. We need to look hard, not at our struggles but ……at Him. He has a purpose and in the midst of our troubles we need to fix our thoughts on Him. Sometimes being determined to get to laugh again, realizing it’s a good medicine is healing. It’s much better than whining our way thru life complaining we never got a fair shake. We have the choice.

When the path before us looks easy, we made be tempted to go in our own strength instead of relying on Christ. This is when we are in the greatest danger of stumbling. We need to ask His Spirit to help us as we go each step of the way, never neglecting the privilege and power of this glorious source of strength within us.

Remembering that true joy is not dependent on our circumstances but a a by-product of living in His presence. Therefore, we can experience it whether in a palace or a prison. If we would make problem -solving secondary to the goal of living close to Christ, we can have the peace that doesn’t make any sense to the world.

Some days joy shines brightly on our path, glistening in the Son. Other days, it can be gloomy and foreboding and yet there is the Light shining thru to light our way and remind us of His presence. It is a sharp contrast to the dark trials we face. Joy is still attainable thru the trails. Not the happy ha-ha joy but the thankfulness that He is there and we are happy we belong to Him. Thankfulness takes the sting out of adversity. That is why we are to give thanks for everything. There is an element of mystery in this transaction. We give Him thanks and He gives us joy. That sounds like a fair trade to me.

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Lessons From the Grinch Who Stole Christmas!

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by Martin Schlomer

In 1957, Theodor Seuss Geisel, who was widely known author of children’s books under the pen name Dr. Seuss, published his holiday classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch was an angry, bitter cave-dwelling catlike creature with a heart that was two sizes too small. He lived on the summit of the snowy Mount Crumpit looking over Whoville, home of the joyful and warm-hearted Whos. Jealous of their joy and Christmas spirit, he hatches a plot to steal their Christmas presents, holiday hams and decorations. In doing so, he would “prevent Christmas from coming.” Despite his success, he discovers that Christmas comes to Whoville just the same. Reality dawns on him that Christmas is more than gifts and decorations! He heart grows three sizes larger and he returns all of the gifts, holiday hams and decorations and he is warmly embraced by all of the Whos in Whoville.

In the current economic times, we hear many friends and strangers who—in the midst of struggling to make financial ends meet—mourn over the thought that there may not be any gifts this year. It is not uncommon to hear them say; “There will not be any Christmas this year.” While they may not have the bad attitude of the Grinch, they share the beliefs of the Grinch: Celebrating Christmas requires—or is greatly enhanced by—opening presents. I must be honest, I like giving and receiving presents as much as the next person. However, is the giving and receiving of gifts the place where the joy of Christmas is most experienced? If so, we need to take some steps back and come up with some creative ideas to change this! The place of where we most experience our joy in this incredible season must be found in slowing down and connecting with Jesus along with family and friends. I offer the following ideas.

  • Plan to attend a Christmas Eve Candle Light service. This is a great time to calm our minds, focus our hearts and celebrate the birth of Jesus with family and friends. Elim’s candle light service will be at 7:00. Nursery will be provided for pre-school and under.
  • Participate in community family activities that are inexpensive or free. Check out these ideas: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2013449909_holidayfestivals25.html
  • As a family, spend some time planning your Christmas meal. The Schlomer family has done this the last two years and it was a lot of fun! Every person is responsible for planning and cooking their part of the meal! Afterwards, everyone helps with the clean up!
  • As a family, bake some Christmas cookies and drive around looking at Christmas lights while you eat cookies and drink hot chocolate.
  • Bake a cake on Christmas Eve and celebrate Christ’s birthday the next day.
  • Buy a couple of new family games to play Christmas Day. Invite another family over for dinner and enjoy a great time of family games.

There are more ideas out there waiting to be discovered! Ask your friends and family. If you have family members who were alive during the depression in the 1930s, ask them to share their stories of how they celebrated the holidays and then incorporate those ideas into some new family traditions! If you don’t have family members who were alive during that era, go to a retirement home and visit some of the residents. Listen to their stories and experiences. In doing so, you have no idea how much joy you will give to them. Celebrating the birth of our Lord is much larger than the giving and receiving of gifts! Go forth and CELEBRATE!

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Monday’s Freezing Night

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By Larry Short

I wanted to provide an update on our second “Freezing Nights” project, which took place last Monday evening.

We hosted 26 local homeless guests here in our facility, offering a warm place to sleep, good food, and a listening ear. This ministry is being undertaken in conjunction with the work of the Puyallup Homeless Coalition.

In addition to hosting nearly twice as many guests, there were the following other contrasts to our first event, two weeks’ earlier:

  • Almost twice as many volunteers participated, and we were substantially better organized.
  • We had a more intentional focus on evangelism. Bob Hedge shared pocket New Testaments (courtesy of the Gideons) and sat down and chatted with those guests willing to talk with him about the Bible. Brian Holthe (our new coordinator) shared his testimony during a pre-breakfast devotional. And Bob Walsh and I were privileged to lead our guests in worship in the sanctuary for nearly an hour on Monday evening.
  • Where our first event was pretty quiet and uneventful, this event was quite different due to an altercation that had occurred between some of the guests at one of the pick-up points. Several individuals were seriously inebriated, which created some unique challenges for the evening and late night shifts.

I want to thank all the volunteers and donors whose efforts and prayers made this event possible. (We really felt the impact of your prayers, especially between about 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.!) I don’t have space here to list everyone (and would probably miss someone anyway). But you know who you are … and you are deeply appreciated! I believe the heart of God is pleased by this very rubber-meets-the-road ministry to our community. I have no doubt you will someday hear His “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”

I also want to thank the children of this church, who created beautiful and thoughtful cards for each of our guests. We placed these in lunches. What a great love offering!

So, what’s next? We are debriefing with Freezing Nights leadership (and other churches) next Tuesday on how to help moderate the behavior of some of the more disruptive individuals. We have committed to them that we will host the group one Monday night per month. Our next Freezing Nights is therefore scheduled for two nights after Christmas, on December 27.

Please continue saving warm clothing (especially socks); gently used top sheets, towels, and wash clothes; personal (hotel-sized) toiletries; used Christian books and Bibles; and other items for this ministry, not to mention food. You can bring these items any time during regular office hours to the church office, designated for “Freezing Nights.”

In addition, please pray about joining with us on December 27 to pray for this ministry and serve our guests in whatever way you can, even if by simply “being present” with them and providing a listening ear.

Thank you!

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Uncomfortable

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By Larry Short

If you knew exactly what you could do to make Jesus happy, would you do it?

I think the answer to this question is much clearer, and simpler, than most of us realize. We think: Oh, I know. I need to read the Bible more. Or pray more. Or share Christ with my neighbor more.

All these things are certainly needed. But Matthew 25 gives a very different twist in answer to this question. And I think it’s one that makes us a bit uncomfortable. (At least it makes ME uncomfortable!)

In this chapter, Jesus is telling parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. But suddenly He stops speaking in parables and begins to give a very direct prophecy about a phenomenally significant event that will surely occur at the end of time. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne,” Christ tells His disciples. “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

To the sheep Christ will say: “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

This apparently surprises both the sheep, and the goats. They sheep say, “But Lord? When did we see you hungry and gave you something to eat?”

You know the story. Christ responds: “When you did it to the least of these, my brethren, you did it unto me.”

And, in case you’re wondering … you don’t want to be a goat. You want to be a sheep.

Who are “the least of these?” The question is a little like the rich man’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” The “least of these” are anyone who is vulnerable. Children, for instance. Anyone who suffers injustice, anyone disempowered. Anyone who is poor! Scripture assures us, over and over again, that the poor occupy a special place near God’s heart.

At Elim we are rejoicing because this week this church took a huge step forward in serving the poor, in serving Christ. You probably remember Monday night as a night of wild weather. We listened to the wind howl as we tried to sleep, and many of us experienced hours of power outage. Fortunately, though, we all remained warm — and indoors.

Many here on South Hill aren’t so fortunate. Due to economic and other pressures, we have a growing homeless population in our midst. Imagine spending Monday night out sleeping under a bridge, or under a makeshift tent (with branches coming down all around) near the river?

So, Monday night we were privileged to partner with a local organization known as “Freezing Nights.” Starting November 1, this organization arranges churches who are willing to host homeless guests, under very controlled circumstances. More than a dozen Elim volunteers helped turn our facility into a warm, welcoming and safe environment for local homeless, participating in the program, to spend the night. These volunteers spent time listening to and getting to know these people better, helped them set up and tear down cots, and prepared and served snacks, a hot breakfast, and sack lunches.

Several of these volunteers say that the experience was life-changing, and that they will never look at the poor the same way again.

Our participation with Freezing Nights was a pilot, or a test, and we are currently debriefing with the Outreach Team and with the Puyallup Homeless Coalition to determine whether there will be any ongoing involvement for us. But one thing is clear: Reaching out to and serving the community around us is something that God is calling us to do, here at Elim! Living the Gospel is not simply sending missionaries to the furthest corners of the earth. It is also about making life sacrifices so that we can build relationships with and share Christ’s love with people who need Him, here at home.

I realized how important this relationship-building was when I watched a young man named Greg (and I’m changing his name to protect his identity) interacting with Brian Holthe. Greg was newly homeless, only about two weeks on the streets. A victim of severe depression resulting in a prior suicide attempt, he had been recently cast out by his family and by his fiancee. He was clearly very troubled. Brian, who himself has survived a near miss with homelessness and relational disappointments in his past, sat and listened to Greg’s story, and shared with him the hope that Christ had brought into his own life situation.

It was clearly a divine appointment. What Greg needed was the hope that Brian had. And fortunately, Brian was there! And he was eager to share.

I don’t know whether we will continue to host “freezing nights,” or not. I hope so. But I do know that we need to continue to share Christ’s love and hope with people like Greg. In so doing, in reaching out “to the least of these,” Christ’s brethren — we are in truth doing it unto Christ.

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Mutual Community

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by Brian Sharpe

When I was in College I grew a lot spiritually.  It was not because I went to bible school.  It was because of the relationships I had.  When I graduated high school I was involved in “church” activities, but I was not really growing.  The college pastor and I started a friendship where we talked life and God.  That was the start of my growth.  I also had two friends, Jon and Matt and we pushed each other spiritually.  I know I talk about this a lot, but that is because it is biblical.  We need each other.  We cannot grow spiritually on an island.

Jesus gives us the great commission at the end of his ministry.  Matthew 28:18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus tells the disciples to make disciples and know that He will be with them always.  There is a sense of mutual community.  Jesus in relationship with us will help us make disciples. Matthew 18:20 says that when we as believers gather in Jesus’ name He is with us.  God desires us to live together with one another in mutual community.  As we live in mutual community, God shows up and works in us and through us.

Do you live in mutual community?  Today in the Christian church in America there is an independence.  All I need is me and God.  This is a true statement, but it is an incomplete statement.  If we want to truly grow then we need God and one another.   That is the way God works.  He works in community.  We see that in creation with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We see it in Jesus’ ministry with the 12.  I know I see it in my life.  When I have people I can be real with, I grow spiritually.  Who do you have?  Whose life are you speaking into?  Who is challenging you to grow closer to Jesus?

There are a lot of lonely believers in the Church because we don’t make an effort to take relationships to the next step. Mutual community is hard.  It costs us time and emotional energy.  It forces us to be intentional with our relationships.  Mutual community is all about taking the relationships to the next step.  It is where you are willing to move past the surface of sports and daily routine and willing to ask questions about life and faith.  Are you willing to go to the next level?  Are you willing to live in mutual community?  I know I need it!  I know right now I have mutual community.  My heart is that we will all live in mutual community.

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Is Everything Enough?

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by Dan Amos

I’ve been thinking a lot about life and our American standard of living over the last couple of years. With our economy tanking, people losing jobs and homes, it has made me contemplate what God has promised us. He promises to love us, to forgive us, to make us his own, to give us eternal life, to remember our sins no more. He gave us his son who lived our life, never sinned, died in our place, paid our penalty, rose again, and reigns forever more. That’s everything! Is it enough, enough to be our source of joy?

We are not promised jobs, medical care, homes, family, health, two cars and a dog. In Matthew 5 Jesus sat his disciples down and gave them a counter cultural sermon. He told them to forget what they had been taught about anger and murder, adultery and divorce, keeping their word, revenge and gave them the heart attitude they should have instead.

Continuing into chapter 6 he taught them how to pray–simply and seeking God’s will. Then he continued into living his righteousness, for his kingdom and not here, and to not worry about what life brings. If he cares for the birds of the field, how much more does he care for us? After all, he sent his son to die in our place.

We reject the “health and wealth” doctrine some churches preach. That is, a life lived in Christ results in material blessings. Pastor Mark Driscoll lampoons that false teaching as thinking of God as a cosmic piñata that we can whack and goodies fall out. But, I’ve come to realize in some way I (maybe we?) have embraced the same doctrine, just with a lower threshold. In the last few months as I’ve seen my job become precarious and then canceled, people have encouraged me with the thought I will find another, better job. Well…maybe…maybe not.

But, if I find a job, even a better job, is God good? Yes. If I don’t find a better job and we lose our house and our stuff, is God good? Yes. God never changes and if he is good in the good times, he is good in the difficult times. God is good; he always has been and always will be. And if I have God, if I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, do I have everything that matters? Yes, I do. Is it enough? Is it enough for you, too?

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