Grace to do the Work

Before I start this blog, I feel like I should give a short description of myself and my shortcomings. I’m an avid people-pleaser. I have difficulty submitting to authority. I’ve got quite the temper, especially when I’m hungry or tired. I’m a perfectionist and a procrastinator. I wrestle with pride, and I struggle with a severe lack of discipline. I am absolutely and completely human, and I’ve been feeling that truth heavily lately. As Red Hills has journeyed through 1 John, I’ve been reading through Genesis, and it’s been rather shocking to see how these two books coincide. Reading through Genesis, I was confronted with a pattern that sounded all too familiar: 

1. Satan tempted Adam and Eve to believe that God did not know what was best.

2. Eve decided to take matters into her own hands and made decisions that fell outside of God’s will.

3. Adam and Eve felt shame for undercutting God’s authority and hid from Him.

4. Their shame caused further distance from God as they attempted to dress themselves and hide their sin.

Have you ever recognized this pattern in your own life? I certainly have.

 My life has been transitioning very quickly lately. In a little over a year, I’ve gotten married, I’ve graduated, and I’ve made plans to move overseas, leaving everything familiar behind, for two whole years. Everything is one massive whirlwind, and every day I wake up asking God, “seriously, are you sure you know what’s going on?” I wish I could say I’ve clung to God’s Word in prayer and in faithfulness. I want to tell you that I’ve grown deeper and richer in my relationship with the Lord. Unfortunately, my life looks far too much like the pattern I just explained. I’m terrified. I look to my future and I see the one thing that scares me the most: the unknown. I am a planner, through and through. But when God wrote my book, he stamped “TRUST ME” in big red letters on every page, and I have wrestled with Him about that every step of the way.

When I was a child, I felt like God was going to call me into something huge. I just knew that God had created me for big things, and I wanted to be ready for whatever He threw my way. I imagined being this eloquent speaker or an incredible worship leader. I daydreamt about saving orphans then riding off on my trusty steed – because when I was eleven every daydream ended that way. The point is, I believed God would paint me this beautiful life and everything would be easy. And I’d be lying if I told you I don’t still expect that sometimes. An easy, cushy, beautiful, powerful life. But then Red Hills had to start a series on 1 John and crush all of that.

If the beginning of Genesis is about the introduction of sin into the lives of God’s people, 1 John is about the purging of it. Marshall walked us through all five books in 1 John and revealed that the life I dreamt of was going to require the one thing I wanted to hear least: work. Now hear me people, I am not saying works, but WORK. Before you go quoting Ephesians on me, let me explain:

 God does not simply grant His children faith or wisdom or self-control without there being a desire or search for it, first. Faith, wisdom, self-control – those are all available to His children, most certainly. But that does not mean God just instantly gives it to us when we need it. I know this, because I’ve spent years asking God for a variety of spiritual gifts only to find myself lacking in the end. I’ve asked for faith, but I haven’t put in the time it takes to learn to trust God. I’ve asked for discernment, but I’ve refused to be disciplined enough to sit with my God and listen. I’ve begged for self-control, but I ignore the fact that there are still many areas of my life that God has not been allowed to cleanse and renew. So instead, I get angry at God for not doing things my way. I attempt to do things myself and I shove my Heavenly Father to the side while I steer. I crash and burn, but I refuse to let God or anyone else see. So, I pretend to be put-together until I finally just can’t take it anymore, and I start yelling at everyone. Then, I write a blog about it.

 THANKFULLY

(I can’t make that font big or obnoxious enough to symbolize just how thankful I am), God is graceful and merciful beyond measure. God has given me a life that I do not deserve and called me into a field that I will probably never feel ready for. Despite myself and my evil, human heart, God has stuck with His original story and stayed true to His promise. And He will for you too. Whether you are living an early Genesis life or a 1 John life, God is more faithful than any of us deserve. If you find yourself in a place like mine, where you wake up every morning wondering why your temperamental tendencies haven’t just disappeared, ask yourself what kind of work you’ve been putting in. Ten times out of ten, it’s not God’s fault.

“Even to your old age, I am He, and to your gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”

Isaiah 46:4

-Lacey

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Even When It Hurts

Hillsong United

Falling Short

Even though the Bible tells me that all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God, I still have days where I can't wrap that around my stubborn mind. 

I tend to lean towards perfectionism. Becoming a mother has beat a little bit of that out of me. My house isn't perfectly clean. My hair isn't perfectly poised. My body isn't perfectly tone. My memory has basically died. 

I'm sorry what was I saying? (Point made...)

I struggle on the daily with the never ending to do lists. At various times, I write them on paper or have them in my phone, but the majority of them are chants running through my head of all pressing matters for the day. One of them today is, "Write a blog for Red Hills!" playing on repeat all day long. 

So I sat and started reading Genesis again. A story about Noah or Abraham that I studied recently could make a fantastic blog. Share all my thoughts on these faithfully, obedient men! 

...........sigh..........thinking.........aaarrrggggg.....

*beat head against invisible wall*

Nothing. God what is going on?! Why can't I have some divinely inspired post?! Why have I pushed this to the last minute or better yet it is a day late!! Why can't I keep my time schedules straight? Why does this feel like work when it is a blessing to do anything for your kingdom?

These lists of questions can become a long dark road of self contempt. Lead you to places that are not true about the person God created you to be. 

So instead, I walked away from my computer and let those thoughts be still. I sat next to my baby and watched the movie Sing. (Side note: cute movie. Watch it.) 

Once the movie finished, it was as if God dropped this into my mind. We ALL fall short of God's glory. I like how this version reads:

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

‭Romans‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God's glorious standard. It can't be beat or even met! So now what? Let's keep reading:

“Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Now if that doesn't send chills down your spine, I don't know what will. Let it sink in today. Sit on it. God in all his glorious splendor freely makes us right through his son. Fantastic! Walk in that freedom today and when the thoughts of self destruction hit you, punch them in their lying faces with God's truth!

“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.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

-Ashlyn Forstall

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Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (hymn)

Phil Wickham

Community

“You don’t become more spiritual by becoming less human.”

This quote from Sunday’s sermon really resonated with me. Too often we measure our relationship with the Lord and our spiritual maturity based on how often we are praying or studying and learning about who God is. That's not how God called us to live. We know our works don’t save us and yet that is how we measure where we are in our spiritual journey. How does that make sense? That is how we excuse ourselves from being a part of a community and thinking we can do things on our own which is completely contrary to the gospel. We miss out on the benefits of being part of God's kingdom here on earth. 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.” - Matthew 5:3-5

When I read this passage, it reminds me that we have to be broken and low to see who God truly is. The contrast of our humanity allows us to have perspective of how great and magnificent he truly is.  Being poor in spirit means remembering that we are human and have fallen short of God’s glory and mourning is a part of our human experience. These things that remind us of our humanity are also tied to promises from the Lord. If we only focus on “spiritual” things and “deep thinking” and forget about what makes us human, we forget that we need a savior. That’s why community is so important.

Community is something that is offered right here and right now. Community shows us where we fall short and celebrates where we have grown. Community makes us look more like Jesus and simultaneously reminds us that we are human. It keeps us out of the clouds and into relationship. Being human is not easy. We are broken and dirty and messy, but the fact that we are human is what makes the gospel so beautiful. When we realize how low and needy we are, we realize how high and glorious He is. We cannot achieve anything on our own but He has enough grace to use us anyway.

-Kelsey Turner

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Build your kingdom here

Rend collective

True Love

LOVE, this little word has probably been written about, meditated on, and sung about more than any other word or subject since the beginning of time. Throughout history, mankind has been on a quest of sorts to fill the emptiness, that void in the core of his being that we are all born with. Even fairy tales and Disney movies have a central theme of searching for that one, true LOVE. I mean, who doesn’t want to be loved? To be loved and to know how to love is the real hope and dream of everyone, if we are honest with ourselves. The truth is that God created man with a gaping hole in his heart that can only be filled with His Love, the only love that is eternal. God is the real, true LOVE. In Mark 12, Jesus tells us what the two greatest commandments are:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength! This is the 1st commandment. And the 2nd like it is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

1. Love God

2. Love others.

Sounds simple enough.

Sadly, I believe that this word has been thrown around so much that its meaning has become devalued and we are now desensitized to its real message and power. Growing up in the 1960’s, love was a very big deal. This was the era of great social change and cultural movements in our country. I’m talking about the “Love Decade,” which gave us hippies, free love, love-in’s and the love child. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE was everywhere! Apparently, this brand of love was the answer to all the world’s problems. If people, especially the older generation, would chill out, loosen up and stop being so uptight, they could find blissful freedom and happiness. And in turn, the world would be at peace. Iconic pop tunes became the era’s anthems, such as: “Love Makes the World Go Round,” “All You Need is Love,” “What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love.” Sounded good, anyway. But this warped philosophy was just a distorted view of Jesus’ words in Mark 12. Instead of love God, and love others, their version was love ME, and love Me with others. It’s the “if it feels good do it,” theology. It certainly didn’t measure up to the bible’s definition of love in 1 Cor. 13:4-5;

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.”

The world’s love is self-gratifying, temporal and does not last. Nothing has changed really since those radical days of my youth. More than ever people are seeking their own pleasures (masked as their ‘dreams’) and we now have an entire generation labeled as the “Entitlement” generation. So, we’re right back where we started. The quest for true love and many hearts are still empty.

Quite frankly, I’m not sure that we Christians have figured it out much better. At least, I’ll speak for myself, for in my life experience, I confess that I’ve spent a good bit of time and effort on the 2nd commandment sometimes more than the 1st. It’s a whole lot easier to busy myself with good works and service than to cultivate my relationship with God or even ‘walk my talk’ when I’m not at church. Consider the wooden cross with its two beams, vertical and horizontal. The vertical beam is the anchor for the 2nd beam. It’s firmly planted in the ground and points upward. (1st commandment). The horizontal beam is worthless without the foundation of the 1st beam. It only functions attached to and supported by the 1st and points outward (2nd commandment).

1. Love God

2. Love others

So, here’s the challenge: Are we doing for God more than we are being with God? Is it possible that many times, we have the commandments out of order? Could it be that somehow we have complicated the simple message of the Gospel with our own agendas, however righteous they seem and missed the mark?

1. Love God

2. Love others

It’s just not that complicated. I’m not suggesting that we abandon the 2nd commandment in constant pursuit of the 1st! But we need the power of the 1st to accomplish the work of the 2nd! That’s the Great Commission! My fervent prayer is that we, the Body of Christ, will rise up, His glorious bride and share the power of HIS LOVE to the world. Quest, at last fulfilled! PRAISE JESUS! Our one and only TRUE LOVE!

 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angles nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come, 39. Nor height nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the Love of God.” Romans 8:38-39

Meditate on the lyrics below to this rich, old hymn: 

The Love of God 

The love of God is greater far than any tongue or pen can say

It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell

The guilty pair bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win

His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin

O LOVE OF GOD, HOW RICH AND PURE HOW MEASURELESS AND STRONG

IT SHALL FOREVERMORE ENDURE, THE SAINTS AND ANGELS SONG

When years of time shall pass away and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall

When men who here refuse to pray on rocks and hills and mountains call

God’s love so sure shall still endure all measureless and strong

Redeeming grace to Adams race the saints and angels song

Amen and amen.

- Linda Walker

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Unstoppable Love

Kim Walker-Smith

 

 

Power for Salvation

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith." 

Romans 1:17-18

“The power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

What an interesting use of the word “power” here by Paul. Typically, when I think of the word power, as in one’s capability or capacity to do something, I apply it to the power of a F-35 jet engine or the power of a nuclear bomb or even the power of the sun. It’s not a word I would use to describe a story (good news) or someone’s life (Jesus). A person’s testimony may be powerful, meaning it can have a deep, impactful meaning or personal application, but it doesn’t necessarily harness a power of its own. For something to have power, it must first have a power source.

But here Paul is saying the Gospel is the power [of God] for salvation and the implications here are enormous.

First, it reveals God’s ultimate plan for this world’s redemption. If you are going to build a car, do you first start with the dashboard or trunk? No, first you design the engine; the power source of the car. Without an engine, a car is just a useless heap of metal and plastic. From the foundation of the world God’s plan (power) to rid sin from this world would be found in the life, death, and resurrection of his son Jesus. This was not some random act of kindness by God in reaction to man’s sin. This was a predetermined process laid out by a loving God to free us from a life of death and bondage.

This also tells us that the power rests is Jesus alone. His life, death, and resurrection IS the power for our salvation. This truth frees us from a life of trying to earn our salvation by works or in our ability to please God. It would be different if Paul worded it like this “your ability to believe the Gospel is the power of God for salvation” but he didn’t. Paul sets the tone for the entire book of Romans in this one sentence. He’s telling us that the Gospel is the power and has the power, not us. When we are free from the pressure of having to earn something, we can better walk out our faith with confidence and a sense of gratification. However, if we work out of guilt or condemnation, we will seem insecure and unsure of our faith. Where’s the abundant life found in that?

Lastly, we see here that “everyone who believes” is a recipient of this power. It’s offered to all, not some or to just the Jews, but all. Through Jesus we all are offered salvation through his cross and the offer is not based on one’s cultural background, education, race, or wealth. Every single person on earth is offered this free gift we didn’t deserve or earn. Salvation is the ultimate prize (earned by Christ), but instead he places his crown (righteousness) on our heads. What a gift indeed!

And our response to all this should be to tell this good news to all the nations. Jesus’ parable to the talents (Matthew 25:13-30) describes three different servants entrusted with talents (money) by their master who was going on a journey. Two of the three servants invest their talent and return a bountiful harvest when their master returns. However, one of the servants hides his talent in the sand, thinking his master will be proud of his efforts. Here is the master’s response:

But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So which of the servants will we be?

-Lyell Walker

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Fullness

Elevation Worship