Aug 5 2010

Drink Deeply From the Spring of Salvation


One of my fondest childhood memories is our family visits to Uncle Bill Wheeler’s house. He and Aunt Allie lived a simple life, making a living off the land. Fresh, hot out of the oven, cornbread and ice-cold butter milk seemed to always be one part of our visits. I loved that simple treat, and still do.

One of the things I remember most is the water. Uncle Bill and Aunt Allie had spring water running in the kitchen sink 24/7. It was gravity-fed, running from a spring up on the mountain above the house. It was not good to turn the water off because it would increase the chances the pipe would get stopped up. Even running all the time, errant leaves or a frisky spring lizard, would sometimes make it necessary for Uncle Bill to climb the mountain and clear the obstruction so the water could flow.

Water from those mountain springs in western North Carolina was as cold as if it had flowed over ice and had a subtle sweetness. Springs dotted the valleys and almost every home had a bold spring near by. It was of such quality that you didn’t just drink it to satisfy your thirst, you drank deeply and often because it was so good!

The prophet Isaiah promised,

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3)

Then there is Jesus’ words to the woman at the well, and to us.

“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” (John 4:13-15

We who have our trust in Christ have in us the spring of life-giving, living water. It is nothing less than Christ himself. It is He who is our life. We can drink deeply from “the wells of salvation” not because we are thirsty but because it tastes good! Jesus said if you drink of this water you will not be thirsty again, ever! We are not driven to the spring of life to quench a thirst, it is already eternally satisfied. We drink to know fullness of joy! We come to delight in the finished work of Jesus, to experience deep, fulfilling joy in the gospel.

Not only is the spring welling up in us, and results in eternal life, but it overflows to those about us. The evidence of the work of grace in the life of a believer is the refreshing manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s presence in love, patience, kindness, forgiveness, and unique giftedness that is designed to better the lives of our brothers and sisters in the body. The more deeply I drink of the water of life and overflow with the joy of my salvation the more I am equipped to be a source of blessing for others.

Drink deeply from the spring of salvation. Your daily delight in God will spill over into the lives of others to God’s glory.

“And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.” (Revelation 21:6)

God gives this life-giving, thirst quenching, water of life freely, “without payment”. Jesus paid it all! How can I not delight in and find my greatest joy in the work of Jesus that fully satisfied God’s demands on my behalf?

The water is in you, it is fresh and free, you didn’t have to pay for it, it never runs out, drink deeply and often and be refreshed and full of joy.

Agape’

Royce

Aug 3 2010

I worship with these folks…


This is where I worship.  On the pulpit there is an inscription, “It’s not about me”. It really is about the cross.

WFR is a place where you have the absolute freedom to be you. No one needs to put on a front, you know, a “church face” to be accepted and loved. It’s a church that loves people where they are, like they are, with no promised expectation.

This couple is an elder and his wife. They lead our Celebrate Recovery Ministry. Mac and Mary Owen are two of the reasons I love Whites Ferry Road church. They are two ordinary people with an extraordinary passion for helping the down and out find Jesus and abundant life.

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The guy below is an elder too. He is a famous duck hunter, duck call maker and has the number one show on the Outdoor Channel. He is also a guy with a passion to tell as many people as possible that “There is a way out of here alive” as he puts it when he preaches to thousands every year all across America and in foreign countries.Phil Robertson and Mac Owen are two unlikely characters God has chosen to use to get the good news about what Jesus has accomplished to helpless and hopeless sinners. Regular guys, passionate about Jesus, another couple of reasons I love where I worship.

“Two preachers for the price of ….two”. We have two preachers, who are also elders. Alan Robertson and Mike Kellett share the pulpit, sometimes together, and sometimes alone, but always with simple, honest Bible messages. Grace focused, Christ honoring, preaching is what we get every Sunday. They think “ego” is a substitute for eggs at breakfast! Good, down to earth guys, who love the folks and love God.

Well, I could go on for hours, I know and worship with scores of great people! Some as odd as home made soap, but most are sincere followers of Jesus who have learned to love deeply, forgive quickly, and enjoy being Christ’s child on the way to heaven.

At WFR it is entirely possible to embrace our Restoration Movement roots without disliking other Christians who aren’t exactly like us.

On a Sunday morning you will likely see dozens of people surround those who come forward to ask for prayer, confess some sin, to be baptized, or to share a victory. I think of our auditorium as “the family room”.

WFR church is a place where you can be you, the real you, and you will not be rejected if the real you is a flawed, sometimes sinful, person. You will be loved, forgiven, encouraged, and hugged…over and over and over until the light of God’s amazing love comes on in your life.

The stories of God’s redemption are legend. The reach of these usual people is unusual and world wide. Come by for a visit. If you don’t stay you’ll probably wish you could. It’s a grace place with few rules. Love God and love your neighbor and tell someone the good news. That’s about it.

For ten years my wife and I have been loved and supported and have enjoyed one of the most unusual churches in America. We are so blessed to worship at White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ.

Royce

Aug 2 2010

Choose your weapon!


For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

In an age when most churches are focused on sin management Paul’s ancient declaration seems like an idea we can’t begin to comprehend. Some how I have trouble trying to imagine Paul facilitating an anger management group. Is it just me or have we (churches) adopted the same methods of dealing with moral failure as the world?

A few decades ago secular humanists with PHD’s decided that they had discovered an answer for some of the moral failings of mankind, it was “disease”. With that designation for certain moral flaws, personal responsibility and accountability went out the window.

Now, many years later, even more sins have been declared “normal” or are considered a “sickness” or “disease” and the treatment is to “manage” the moral failing (sin). The idea is that with enough  purposeful care, and with the help of others, sin can be managed so that it isn’t as much of a problem.

Churches have bought in 100%. But is it biblical?

The Bible says to the one who is stealing, stop stealing and go to work. (Ephesians 4:29)

To the liar, the Bible says, don’t lie. (Colossians 3:9) Put away falsehood and tell the truth. (Ephesians 4:25)

To the sexually immoral the Bible says don’t do it (1 Thessalonians 4:3), flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18), and don’t associate with those who are involved in it. (1 Corinthians 5:9). Reserve sexual expression for your husband or wife only. (1 Corinthians 7:1-3)

To the drunkard the Bible says don’t get drunk. (Ephesians 5:18)

Of course the Bible addresses many other sins with the same kind of common sense solutions. Just say No! It isn’t that easy is it?

We have tried ridding our people of moral short falls by employing the same methodologies as people who don’t know God, and with little success. Isn’t it about time to try it God’s way?

There is a real war raging, a war between good and evil, between God and his people and the god of this world and his own. We must use the tools afforded by the grace of God. We must stop treating symptoms and cure the cause. We are giving all our attention to the branches when the problem is the root is rotten.

Choose different weapons

In the atonement of Jesus given by God’s amazing grace we have all we need to live lives that please God. (Titus 2:11-13)

The “weapons” we must use to fight the downward pull of sin are not discovered in the class room but are standard equipment for the child of God by the Spirit’s power.

Christ has (past tense) reconciled us to God with His body as a sacrifice. That same power that saved us from the curse of the law and from sure death, is the same power that will present us in the end a pure, holy people.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (Colossians 1:21-23)

Only the atonement of Jesus, only by the blood of his cross, will sin finally be defeated in a real, concrete way in your life and mine. We must be gospel focused, purposefully saying yes to God and no to everything that opposes His will for our lives.

God’s strength, now ours

The good news is that we don’t have to attempt this in the power of our own strength but in His strength. Paul said it this way.

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Colossians 1:28-29)

It is Christ alone who can give us mastery over sin. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is the power that grace affords to root out every sin and every moral flaw in the lives of his people.

Gospel centered, grace driven, and Spirit empowered living is the way of freedom and knowing the peace of God and the fellowship of the Spirit. If I trust myself and my own resourcefulness I am doomed to repeat and repeat again and again those same sins and live a life of virtual defeat. If I lean heavily upon the everlasting arms and refuse to consider anything but His mighty power demonstrated by his shed blood and victorious resurrection I can live a life a victory.

We must admit our sin is really that, sin. We must be quick to repent, and boldly stand on God’s promise of victory using the weapons of grace alone.

Agape’

Royce

Jul 31 2010

What Would Jesus Do?


Not to long ago most church youth groups had 20 somethings in baggy jeans with obligatory holes in the knees, faded t-shirts, unruly hair, at least one ear adorned with a piercing, and a plastic bracelet on one wrist or a leather anklet with beads that had the letters “W W J D”. “Christian” fads come and go like the hula hoop. The “What would Jesus Do” trinkets adorned the shelves of every Christian book store in America for about a decade and you can still see them with regularity.

Some how there is the idea that imitating Jesus in a given situation makes you “cool”, or perhaps even viewed by Jesus in a more favorable way. For some reason I never considered a “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper sticker on a rusty Ford Falcon to be the marker of a mature Christian.

I’m not saying Jesus wasn’t a radical. I mean, he for sure was swimming upstream in his society. The church folks were not very fond of his way of doing things. Both the gospels of Mark and Luke record a snippet of Jesus’ unconventional ministry model.

“And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them,”Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous,but sinners.” (Mark 2:16,17)

“And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them,“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:30-32)

“You claim to be clergy and hang with the dregs of society? Hardly!” The religious people kept missing the point. They just didn’t understand why Jesus didn’t conform to the church going people. Both his message and his audience, his motives and his mission, were completely at odds with conventional wisdom.

Aren’t you glad we are not like the Pharisees? We know who the sinners are and we are going after them. They live on the south side of town in the high crime area. We take food to them once a month and have a ministry to help them shake their addictions and find jobs. And by golly we tell every one of them about Jesus!

That is commendable, good for us! But I have a question. What about that family who shows up at church every Sunday dressed to the nines?  He owns two small businesses, pays a mortgage of $2200 a month on a sprawling rancher, and she volunteers at the homeless shelter twice a month. Are they being made to feel comfortable? Have they been told that if they acknowledge some facts about Jesus, are baptized and work on some behavior modification they will have fellowship with God and get to go to heaven?

Or, have they been warned that their sins have offended a holy God and that they are dead men walking who are the objects of God’s sure wrath against sin? Have we been honest about their critical state and announced the good news that Christ has atoned for their sins and commands them to repent and receive him and live only for him at any cost?

What would Jesus do? Well, he would be honest with people. He would tell people there is a cure for their sickness but he would also tell them they are terminally ill. A driver who doesn’t know the bridge is out up ahead is not likely to slow down. If you care about people you put up a warning sign, “Stop! Bridge out Ahead!”

Christianity is not an alternative lifestyle, it is not a religious experience to make your life happy. The gospel of Jesus is the announcement that you can escape certain death, you don’t have to perish, you don’t have to suffer the wrath of an angry God against sin. The gospel is not good news to anyone who is not aware of the bad news.

What would Jesus do? He would love people enough to tell them the truth. He would warn them to repent from the sham of better morality, church membership, and religious ritual, and trust his saving atonement to make them new, to free them from the bondage of Satan, and to live in freedom as children of the God of heaven, safe and secure in His marvelous grace.

It is good and right to give people the message of John 3:16. But we must press on them the weight of John 3:18 “…but whoever does not believe is condemned already…”. Are there those we shake hands with every week who are condemned and don’t know it?

What would Jesus do?

Royce