![]() Last night, we had the privilege of hearing from Pastor Greg Baker in our Midweek Connection. Greg pastors Fellowship Bible Church in Liberty, UT, and some from our group enjoyed the opportunity of visiting his church last summer and serving at an associated Christian camp for a week. Last night, Greg walked us through the history, structure, and messages of Haggai, and then focused his application by encouraging us that in our Christian lives and mission, we are probably "building better than we know." Drawing parallels from Haggai's encouragement to the Israelites, he admonished us to persevere in our labors—to "expect great things from God" and "attempt great things for God" (William Carey). It was an excellent challenge, and you can read his points of application below. You can enjoy more of Greg's Word-centered ministry at his blog, RootedThinking.com. You're building better than you know...
1. ...When your ministry is grounded in the Word of God.
2. ...When your ministry is fueled by the grace of God.
3. ...Because God is the One working.
Concluding Question – What would it mean to attempt big things for God in Indianapolis? We are working our way through a mini-series on strategies for enduring the wilderness wanderings of life, following the example of Caleb who had "a different spirit" in "follow[ing] [God] fully" (Numbers 14:24), even through the 40-year holding pattern he endured. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) STRATEGY 4 — ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE If we would cultivate a different spirit that fully follows God even through the “holding patterns” and wilderness wanderings of life, we must evaluate our perspective, express our burdens in prayer, and endure with patience. Lastly, we must engage with people!
The holding patterns of life often make us feel like moving away from people rather than towards them. I’m not completely sure why that is, but that’s been my experience. When life feels aimless and they feel like they're wandering around in circles, people often start to think that they just need a fresh setting, a clean state, a new start. I can’t help but think that not only is that not the solution, but it’s actually part of the problem. In all of life and ministry, we ought to move towards people and not away, and that’s no different than in the wilderness (Hebrews 10:24-25). 1. Life is ministry, and ministry is people. People are fascinating, people are complex, people are funny, people are unpredictable, and people are needy—people will make your wilderness wandering less aimless! You can wander with purpose and fulfillment, if you’re focused on people. Colossians 1:28-29 can and must still happen in the wilderness. Give yourself to coming alongside other wilderness wanderers! 2. Your church is your family. Remember who we are—we’re not just an organization, we’re an organism; we’re not just buddies, we’re a body; we’re not just friends, we’re family. Starting over somewhere is not the solution to your seeming aimlessness, because your church family is not the source of your seeming aimlessness, but rather the solution. Timothy provides a good example for us in Philippians 2:20-21—“For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” Don’t push your church family away. Don't abandon them. Let them help you. Help them. 3. Be gospel-driven in your departing. It may be that the Lord is using your holding pattern here to land you somewhere else. After all, the life of Christ is one of denying yourself, taking up your cross, following Jesus, and losing your life yet finding it for His sake. So, God may be leading you to move forward, to take risks, to embark on an adventure, to leave behind the wilderness for the Wild of Christian mission. However, you need to evaluate your motive in moving on. If you do move on, do so “for the sake of the gospel” (Matthew 10:37-39; Mark 8:34-37), not for the sake of your own escape—for after all, what does it profit to gain the whole world and lose your soul! CONCLUSION A 40-year wilderness wandering, the consequence of others’ sin, was what God had ordained for Caleb. And yet, he weathered it well, for after all, he had a different spirit in fully following His God. And 40-years later, the sun broke through the clouds, and God led Caleb out of the wilderness into the victory of the Promised Land. Dear brother and sister, wilderness wanderings are real, holding patterns are common, and feelings of aimlessness are not uncommon. Most likely, friend, this season will pass, but God intends for you to engage in the kind of spiritual warfare that He will use to make it pass. So, evaluate your perspective and humble yourself under the sovereign hand of God; express in prayer to God and accountability with others your burdens and cares and find the grace God provides; endure with patience this time, keeping your eyes fixed on the kind face of Christ who lovingly endured for you; and engage with people, God’s antidote at all times for aimless living when you take the gospel and press it into the lives of those around you. There are most likely many more, but these four strategies for enduring the wilderness wanderings of life are a good place to start. May God use them to give us a different spirit in fully following the Lord no matter what landscape He leads us through. Yesterday, we began a mini-series on strategies for enduring the wilderness wanderings of life. We considered the example of Caleb who had "a different spirit" in "follow[ing] [God] fully" (Numbers 14:24), even through the 40-year holding pattern he endured. In these next few posts, we will consider four strategies for cultivating a different spirit that fully follows God even when the path seems to go in circles. STRATEGY 1 — EVALUATE YOUR PERSPECTIVE Ask yourself two questions to help you evaluate how you are viewing your current situation in life:
As you seek to evaluate and adjust your perspective, let me suggest three actions to help you do so. 1. Trust God’s sovereignty (Genesis 50:20). The story of Joseph undoubtedly contained many “holding patterns.” Divine dreams provoked him to anticipate great things in his future…until his brothers sold him into slavery. A rapid rise to unparalleled responsibility mitigated the sting of his past…until his master’s wife lied about his unblemished character and he was thrown into jail. Increased respect and trust from his captors alleviated the shame of being in prison and an interpreted prophecy suggested that his break might come…until the butler forgot all about him and he continued to be confined to the prison. Yet, at the end of it all, consider Joseph’s perspective—“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). Do you believe that, friend? In Psalm 27:13, the psalmist reflects, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” This is where we need to live, friends, when life is no longer the rosy script that we wrote for it! The wilderness wandering may be God’s permanent script for you (Psalm 139:16); or, perhaps He’s using it to grow and teach you (Hebrews 12:5-6); or, maybe He wants to use you in it or prepare you through it. Whatever His purpose—don’t run away! Trust God’s perfect sovereignty and loving goodness into and through the wilderness wandering. This alone is how Jeremiah survived, for he recorded in Lamentations 3:19-24, “Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” 2. Remember your mission (Philippians 3:7-15). Friend, even in the wilderness, you have a heavenly and eternal mission! Don’t forget that! Your mission is to know Christ and make Him known, and there is no situation in life where that mission is insufficient or impossible. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7-15, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings.” The mission of knowing, enjoying, and promoting Christ consumed and drove Paul in every situation—in the palace and in prison, on a journey and in jail, during a church plant and throughout a trial, when prospering and when persecuted, when enjoying fruit and when experiencing futility. You and I have to stop looking to the future to find our purpose and mission. We need to look back (to the cross and empty tomb) and hear again and again the commission of Christ as He left this earth—“As you are going, make disciples” (Matthew 28:19-20)! Friend, even in the wilderness, then, there is much work to do. We don’t have to wait for tomorrow to be something great or do something great. We can know Christ now! We can make Him known now! That is Christ’s very commission to us here in our wilderness wandering. Truth is, if you aren’t fulfilling your mission in the wilderness, then you probably won’t in the jungle or in the city or in the mountains or wherever you would rather be. With Paul, learn to consider as “loss” what you have been counting so dear (e.g., others’ opinions, your agenda, your dreams, etc.), so that Christ might become preeminent (Philippians 3:7-15)! In fact, don’t overlook the unique opportunities that your present situation gives you to engage in your mission. Consider the unique ministry that Caleb enjoyed for 40 years with the next generation. As his peers died off, he and Joshua alone were able to consistently and effectively mentor the next generation, teaching with faith and experience the stories and principles and commandments that the young people needed in order to not repeat the sins of their parents and to inherit the Promised Land. And at the end of the 40 years, Joshua and Caleb had the uniquely customized responsibility of leading the Israelites across Jordan. The 40-year wilderness wandering was undoubtedly challenging, but it afforded Caleb ministry opportunities he would have been prepared for and offered nowhere else. Likewise, your holding pattern is a special situation in which unique opportunities may be enjoyed.
In the wilderness, friend, you are still “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” In your holding pattern, you can still “as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). Brothers and sisters, I know life may have you down, I know your situation may not be what you had hoped, I know your dreams may be unfulfilled—but, never forget, you wilderness wanderer, that you have been given an incredible mission to know Christ and make Him known to others! 3. Accept your situation (Philippians 4:11-13). Writing from prison, more of a “holding cell” than a “holding pattern” but sharing many of its same characteristics, Paul expresses, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Paul had “learned” contentment, a lesson that comes, not from reading books or listening to a teacher, but by yielding to the Spirit as He guides you through His Word. In fact, you have to be put into a situation in which you are tempted to be discontent, in order for you to learn and practice contentment. Dear friend, the wilderness wandering is one such situation, a homework assignment through which God desires to cultivate the foundational virtue of humble contentment. I say this is a foundational virtue, for we can hardly know our identity or mission apart from it. See, friends, we are “servants” of God, we are under authority, we are governed by a Master—we are literally humble “slaves.” Therefore, if our Master has sovereignly ordained this period of seeming aimlessness and if He has commanded us into it, we need surrendered humility to acknowledge, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (Luke 17:7-10). The Bible is filled with unworthy servants who only did their duty through the wilderness wanderings of life. God’s Word is filled with nameless plodders, and Paul’s ministry, for example, was energized by numerous unidentified locals, etc. The American Dream has enlarged us to envision other places and other opportunities. The call of the gospel stirs us to greater things, riskier things. Growing independence energizes us to blaze trails and build cities. But the wilderness may be God’s will for you right now. And if it’s His will, friend, you should embrace it, for there is absolutely nothing better—His will is best. In this day and age of American individualism and adventurism, remember that those are neither biblical requirements nor even biblical realities. Rather, contentment with one’s situation and humility as an obedient servant earn His “well done.” ![]() Last night in Midweek Connection, we continued our "Back to the Basics" series by considering the topic of mission. After working through the topic inductively, we concluded quite simply that the mission of Jesus' followers is, in a word, disciple-making/discipleship (Matthew 28:19-20). We fleshed that out by discovering how discipleship happens: we (1) magnify God’s glory (2) by bringing His salvation to bear upon peoples’ lives (3) so that they do the same. We didn't have time to work through some concerns (and responses) that might be raised against this understanding of our mission, so they have been pasted below for your consideration. CONCERN/RESPONSE #1 Concern: “We live in a fast-paced American society compared to the early church; our lives are so much busier! That mission sounds like it takes some effort!” Response: Yes, it will! But, Hebrews 3-4 reminds the believer that God has promised him rest. But it is not now! Jesus’ expressed His mentality this way, “[Work…for] the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). Therefore, He considers His people to be “fellow-workers” in 1 Corinthians 3:9, laboring with Him in God’s harvest and building project –God expects us to work for and with Him. The New Testament was not secret about this, and it therefore regularly uses terms like “toil,” “labor,” “struggle,” and “strive.” Paul’s mindset with regards to his mission was, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for you” (2 Corinthians 12:15). "Rest is promised, but it is not now." CONCERN/RESPONSE #2 Concern: “I’m afraid that I might get burned and/or burned out if I get involved in people’s lives like that.” Response: Paul was one who knew extreme labor for the church – his list of burdens in 2 Corinthians 6:4-5; 11:23-33 is exhausting (“in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings”). Nonetheless, he would affirm, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed…So then death worketh in us, but life in you…all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:8-17). When the mission of God is undertaken in the might of God, we will experience the mercy of God – “the joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). CONCERN/RESPONSE #3 Concern: “This mission commands more than just Sunday and Wednesday. Really?” Response: The “daily” language was started by Jesus in Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The author of Hebrews encouraged the believers to “exhort one another daily…lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (3:13). We need daily discipleship, fellowship, edification, etc. so that we are not hardened and deceived in regards to our mission (cf. Hebrews 10:24-25). This was modeled by the early church in Acts 2, and it was followed by the Lord adding to their number “daily” (2:47; 16:5)! CONCERN/RESPONSE #4 Concern: “You just sound young and idealistic. Perhaps you should wait until you experience real life.” Response: That concern is certainly valid, which is why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7 that he wished all people might be like himself – free from the responsibilities of spouse and children so that God might be more undistractedly served. Some responsibilities in life do indeed diminish the amount of effort/time that we can put into this mission, but those responsibilities do not negate the mission or our need to engage in it. From Scripture itself, we could indeed preach two different very messages on the topic of singleness: (1) Why you should stay single and follow Jesus — enjoy less distractions to minister the gospel (1 Corinthians 7 and Matthew 10); (2) Why you should get married and follow Jesus — enjoy a gospel partnership and a gospel-picture (Ephesians 5). Whether single or married, our mission remains the same, and there are many ways in which the young adults singles are better equipped by their situation in life to do that. I believe that God’s mission can still turn a city upside-down and light a world on fire, but it won’t unless it’s engaged in with the same commitment and unanimity displayed by the early church. Friends, this is your life!
Brothers and sisters, we must recognize that we are “slaves” of Jesus Christ.
Their lives were not their own—Christ was their life, so people were their focus. And, what an impact they made! My, how far we have come from that comprehensive and compelling awareness in our comfortable, convenience, complacent, calloused, formal, programatic, American Christianity. Friend, your Master has purchased you and calls you to represent Him. He lived in a fishbowl, immersed in real, raw people-ministry (and He loved that!)—the Lord of Glory, known as the Friend of Sinners, eating with them, sharing life with them, touching them, pressing truth into them. Christian, we have a mission—to magnify God’s glory by bringing His salvation to bear upon peoples’ lives. Let’s get active in that mission of discipleship and may it drive us individually and corporately every day of our lives. TELLING THE STORY ![]() THE SETTING Jesus returns to Capernaum (probably to Peter’s home—cf. Matthew 4:13 and Mark 1:21, 29; important to note that this would have been a relatively small and simple home made with stones with a flat roof that would be frequently used for relaxation, oftentimes with an exterior staircase providing access), and the people discover that He’s back. They gather at the house to hear Jesus teach the Scriptures. The crowd of listeners was so large that people were crammed outside against the house. THE PROBLEM A group of men carrying their crippled friend arrive on the scene, trying to get to Jesus. They were unable to, because of the great crowd. THE INCITING MOMENT The friends, insistent on getting their needy comrade to Jesus, are not ready to give up. They climb up the stairs to the roof, and begin tearing up the clay roof above where Jesus was teaching. When they had created a large enough opening, they lowered their friend down into the house near where Jesus was. This was pretty bizarre considering that this wasn’t their house and considering that teaching below would have been interrupted as debris began falling upon those inside. This would have created quite the scene…embarrassment and social awkwardness. THE RISING ACTION When Jesus saw the faith of these friends (and apparently of the paralytic himself) so clearly demonstrated in their aggression, persistence, and boldness (they weren’t embarrassed) in getting their needy companion to Jesus, He responded by performing an invisible, and yet most important, miracle (more important, in fact, than the physical healing of this man, which was, of course, what these men had desired in brining their fellow to Jesus)—the salvation of his soul. Jesus would later actually respond to his initial request and heal him physically, too. THE CONFLICT When the religious leaders heard Jesus forgive this man’s sins, they were troubled. Their doctrine correctly taught them that only God could forgive sins, but their evaluation of Jesus incorrectly led them to conclude that He was blaspheming. The other valid option—that Jesus was God—was never even considered. I’m not sure that my conclusion would have been any different, especially since I’ve been trained as a good Bible student to live by the book. Yes, a logical conclusion was that this man Jesus was God, even the Messiah, but there was so much practical and convention wisdom that went against that idea. It “made more sense” to be doctrinal and conclude that He was a heretic. Any good pastor would have concluded the same; so, I’m not going to fault the scribes here in verse 7. Jesus, knowing this internal conflict within the scribes, begins to help them understand that the option they so readily dismissed (i.e., He is God) was the truth. He asks them whether it is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” Obviously, it is easier to say the first because it is invisible and cannot be visibly proved. The latter can be verified immediately through physical and visible evidence. So, Jesus now determines to effectively say the latter in order to prove that He had effectively said the former. THE CLIMAX: THE MIRACLE The man “immediately” got up and walked “in the sight of everyone.” THE RESPONSE The people were “amazed” and “glorified God.” They also continued to come and listen to Jesus. At this point, however, I believe that a reproof again the scribes is in order. Jesus had sought to correct their legitimate, but incorrect, conclusion—the physical healing proved the veracity of His claim and power to forgive sins, and should have caused the Scribes to change their conclusion and submit to Him as their God. We know, however, that this was not their response. APPLYING THE STORY PRINCIPLE 1 — Jesus knows and can meet our greatest (and perhaps unknown) needs when we have faith in Him.
This man had faith in Jesus’ ability…this was more than knowledge about Jesus, belief in Jesus’ existence. I believe that this man sincerely and earnestly believed (as revealed in tearing the roof up) that Jesus could meet his needs and fix his problems. However, I don’t think that his faith was fully mature, correctly focused, or fully taught. His faith in Jesus is unquestioned, but it seems that he’s overlooking some things that we would consider integral, like Jesus’ purpose to save people from their sin. However, when he came in confident expectation to Christ to fix the problem, Jesus in His omniscience and grace honored his unwavering faith, by meeting his greatest need. The content of saving faith has changed throughout the ages (e.g., “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness”), but saving faith is always rooted in the ability and promises of God. Today, saving faith is a confident belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and in His ability to completely fulfill His promise to save to the uttermost those that come unto God by Him. This man demonstrated saving faith by unwaveringly and desperately clinging to the truth that if he just got to Jesus, Jesus would know what to do. He didn’t have all his theology worked out; He hadn’t thought through all the details of who Jesus was…but He confidently believed in Jesus’ ability to meet his need. And he discovered that faith in Jesus gets all of Him—Jesus met his physical and spiritual needs. This is grace – He didn’t give them only what they asked for. Faith in Jesus, even though not fully mature (i.e., they believed in His ability to physically heal, but perhaps they hadn’t considered His ability to spiritually heal), was what pleased Jesus and caused Him to respond by meeting the need, not just the request. PRINCIPLE 2 — Christ honors our faith when we bring other people to Him. And, considering that He alone really knows the true needs, He may do more than we ever expected. Had they allowed the circumstances to deter their perseverance to get their friend to the only One who they believed could help him (e.g., embarrassment from the situation), their friend would not only have never walked, but he also would have never experienced salvation. Their faith was in some way catalytic to the spiritual healing of their friend. This would have been one of those sobering “wow” moments, in which they would have been very thankful for God’s grace in overlooking their limited faith and using it to draw this man (and perhaps themselves) to Himself. From the paralytic’s perspective, he had done nothing (except believe). His friends had been tools. God had orchestrated everything (i.e., He had given the crippled man these friends and stirred within them this faith in Jesus’ physical-healing ability). Jesus saw and met the true need though these friends. Comparing Scripture with Scripture, this passage cannot be teaching that a man can be saved by someone else’s faith. However, the passage is emphasizing how influential your faith can be in the salvation of someone else. Application: How can we demonstrate faith by bringing people to Jesus? Not bringing people to Jesus reveals a lack of faith. 1. Bringing the unsaved to Jesus:
PRINCIPLE 3 — I don’t need any other proof from Jesus; I just need to trust Him. Dear church family,
This has been an amazing summer. I have seen God work in so many ways – both in my campers’ hearts and in my own. To God be the glory for all He has done! This past week in Junior Boot Camp was so much fun. I love JBC because you can do things like eat a whole piece of cake in one bite (which I did!) and play “don’t step on the cracks” everywhere you go. One of my campers this week was hilarious. She wrote me her life story, which consisted of the following in messy kid handwriting: “I love pie and bacon and Jesus. I am at the Wilds Christian Camp. The End.” It was so cute! I thoroughly enjoyed JBC and am moving back to teen camp this last week. It was such a blessing to see God save two of my girls! One raised her hand in the service on Monday night saying that she wasn’t saved. I talked to her on Tuesday morning, first asking about her family, and then asking her about salvation. As soon as I brought it up, she clammed up and started crying, saying she wouldn’t talk to me or anyone else about it except her mom or dad. On Thursday, I tried again to talk to her about her salvation, but she wouldn’t budge. On Friday, I told her she didn’t have to talk, but I was just going to show her how she could be saved. Later that night, I asked her if she died where she would go, and she started crying and wanted to talk to me. She trusted Christ as her Savior Friday! It was such an answer to prayer. My God is truly mighty! She was so hard all week and would not open up, but God’s Word is as sharp as a double edged sword and pierced her heart. God has continually been working on my heart this summer to show me my selfishness. Through studying Romans, God has helped reveal to me the ugly sinfulness of my heart and reminded me of the rescue I have in Christ. He has been so good to me in saving me! But it doesn’t stop there, He wants to change me, and when we let Christ change us, we have a purposeful, satisfying, and joyful life! I am so thankful to have watched God work this summer. It has been truly life changing and I can’t wait to get back home to put into practice some of the lessons I’ve learned. To God be the glory for everything He has done! Brittany Dear Church Family,
I got to mix things up a bit this week by being in Junior Boot Camp. It was great! The schedule is different, the games are different, and the kids are different, but the goal is still the same: to point kids to Christ. The beginning of the week was very difficult because I didn't understand where things were and was having a hard time grasping the schedule. I was frustrated and struggling to get where I needed to be at the right time. However, I realized that my need to know everything and have everything go perfect and according to my plan was just pride. Instead of being humble and okay with asking for help, I was determined to try and do everything myself...which never works. God is so gracious to forgive and guide when we mess up! Once I made peace with not having it all together, things went much smoother, we had more fun, and I was able to build more bridges with my campers. Sometimes, you just have to jump in the huge puddles — you can't give up that perfect opportunity! On Monday, I asked each of my campers to write down on a scale of 1 to 10 how sure they were that they would be going to heaven. After seeing their answers, I started praying that a couple of them would be saved or gain understanding and assurance of their standing with God. I was able to get some one-on-one time with one of the girls on Wednesday, who I read had written a 0, while we were walking back to our cabin. She started telling me about her family and I asked her if there was ever a time where she had gotten saved. She responded with a yes and I asked her to explain to me the plan of salvation. Like any kid who grew up in a Christian home, she was able to give me a clear gospel message, but I still wasn't convinced. Finally, I asked her what salvation meant to her, and she got very quiet. After a minute she looked up at me and said, "It's just amazing. God's love is just amazing. I know my parents love my brother and I, and they would do anything for us; I can't believe that God would send His only Son to die for me. I could never earn it and I don't deserve it. It's amazing how much He loves me." What a blessing! This teeny-tiny nine-year-old totally understood the gospel in a very real and moving way. She wasn't too young to understand or apply the gospel to her life. I looked back later at her card, and she had written "10.0," of which I had only seen the last "0." She's definitely saved, but what a great reminder. May the gospel never get old, whether we're nine, nineteen, or seventy-nine. This weekend, I've been meditating on Isaiah 1:18 which says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." I love that Christ washes us completely clean — there's not even evidence that there was ever a stain! It's such a privilege to be here and see kids come to Christ and be washed with the blood of the cross. I so look forward to seeing some of our church family this week. I will be in JBC again, so I don't think I will have any Colonial campers, but I hope to run into as many as I can! Thank you so much for your prayer and support. I am praying for our church family also this week, as I know it will be a week of remembrance, tears, and joy. Brittany Sherrill Keep praying for Hannah Carroll, Bob Rankin, Hillary Rankin, Brittany Sherrill, Becca Spencer, and Courtney Wydo, all of whom are serving in various ministries abroad this summer. Here's a recent note from Hillary.
Dear Single Focus Friends, I am excited for the opportunity to serve at Northland Camp for the fourth time. Through much prayer and planning, the Lord has led me to be a part of this summer’s camp staff and help campers take their next spiritual step. While I worked A/V in other summers, I am enjoying my new job as one of the Camp Office Receptionists. I also serve as an assistant to the Music Coordinator. So, I answer the phone and emails and relay messages to the important folk, as well as putting together song books for the musicians and song PowerPoints. In addition to my responsibilities in the office, I will also be leading a Power Group. These groups are designed for small-group discipleship and study of the summer’s theme passage. The spiritual theme for this camp season is ‘Living Worthy of the Gospel’, based on Philippians 1:27-2:18. My group will be composed of 4 girls who are serving as counselors / op-staff workers, and I have the exciting, but scary opportunity to lead these girls through the passage each week as well as be used in their lives for discipleship and encouragement throughout the summer. I’m thankful that I am able to minister at a place like Northland Camp. I want to be in full time ministry someday, but I have to make money and there are very few places that pay women for ministry. But, Northland has a program called “Laborer’s Together,” which raises money for the staff expenses (like paychecks). (If you would like to know more about donating to this fund, more information can be accessed online athttp://northlandcamp.org/partnering/laborers-together.) While your financial support is appreciated, I would really appreciate if you would come along side me in prayer. I am enjoying the learning curve of a new job as well as new opportunities to be used in the lives of others so I am very excited to see what God will do, but I also recognize my need for His work in my life so that I am able to minister as He has asked me to. So, would you please pray with me? Pray for humility, transparency, and the ability to love with Christ’s love – not selfishly, but out of the love that Christ has shown to me so freely. I am thankful for the grace that I have seen in your life through the Single Focus ministry, and I am looking forward to seeing more of God’s grace in mine during these next few months! ~Hillary And here's Brittany Sherrill's latest update My cabin this week was great. I had seven girls who all came from totally different backgrounds and all colors of personalities. In one-on-one time, I was able to lead one of my campers to salvation - it was amazing! Hearing her cry out to God for forgiveness and seeing her excitement for the rest of the week brought so much joy. It's neat to see how God can break down barriers between people and bind them together with His kind of love. We had lots of fun with improv acting games and epic rock, paper, scissor tournaments, but most importantly, by the end of the week each girl had gotten right with God and we were eager to get in God's Word together. In the past few weeks, I have been studying Romans in my devotional time and reading Rand Hummel's book "Gratefully Yours". It has been an awesome study seeing how we've ruined our lives in sin, but God sent Christ so we could live. Seeing the totality of our depravity against God's mercy gives a needed and beloved wake-up call exactly when we need it! I was so nervous coming into the summer, but now I can't imagine spending my summer any other way. God has been so good to me to put me in a place where I am constantly stretched so that I can see my weakness contrasted with His strength. I have many stories about being a city girl out here in the boonies, but I love it! I even bought my first camouflage purchase this weekend (a coffee mug), but don't worry! It was also pink, so I'm still the same Brittany. Thank you for your continued prayer and support, it is a joy to be a part of the Colonial family and I can't wait to get back! ~ Brittany ![]() My cousin, Emily, works in the National Collegiate Office of the Navigators in Colorado Springs, CO. Her recent newsletter update included a transparent testimony that served as a very helpful and needed reminder. I've included it below with her permission. This morning I was listening to the beginning chapters of John and took note when Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does" (5:19). I realized that I often, actually almost always, have the wrong perspective about the work I am doing. When my feet hit the floor in the morning, I cycle through the tasks, meetings, and activities scheduled for the day. And I spend a lot of mental energy determining how to best accomplish my to-do list and get the most out of my day. According the verse above, Jesus emptied himself of his personal desires and plans for each day of his earthly life and surrendered himself to the plan his Father had established. He went so far as to say he couldn't do anything by himself. He imitated his Father's actions each and every moment of his life. I realized I rarely approach a day with the thought that I can't do anything scheduled for that day by myself. Instead, I approach each day with confidence that me, myself, and I can accomplish everything slated for that day. As a follower of Jesus, it is wrong, i.e. sinful, for me to approach each day with this mentality. Jesus is more concerned about who I am becoming, not what I am doing. So tomorrow morning, when my feet hit the floor, instead of going through the day's schedule, I will pray, "Jesus, I surrender my plans for this day to you and admit that I can accomplish nothing of Kingdom value in my own strength. I chose to follow your plans and purposes for my life today." Will you pray this with me? ![]() About a week ago, we considered the mission of the church during our ABF hour. Time didn’t allow me to conclude the way that I had hoped, so I’ll do so here. The New Testament authors all humbly and gratefully identified themselves as “slaves of God.” • Titus 1:1 – “Paul, a slave of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ” (cf. Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1). • James 1:1 – “James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” • 2 Peter 1:1 – “Simon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” Of this humbling, yet honorable term, William Barclay writes: (i) To call the Christian the doulos [slave] of God means that he is inalienably possessed by God. In the ancient world a master possessed his slaves in the same sense as he possessed his tools. A servant can change his master; but a slave cannot. The Christian inalienably belongs to God. (ii) To call the Christian the doulos of God means that he is unqualifiedly at the disposal of God. In the ancient world the master could do what he liked with his slave. He had the same power over his slave as he had over his inanimate possessions. He had the power of life and death over his slave. The Christian belongs to God, for God to send him where He will, and to do with him what He will. The Christian is the man who has no rights of his own, for all his rights are surrendered to God. (iii) To call the Christian the doulos of God means that the Christian owes an unquestioning obedience to God. Ancient law was such that a master’s command was a slave’s only law. Even if a slave was told to do something which actually broke the law, he could not protest, for, as far as he was concerned, his master’s command was the law. In any situation the Christian has but one question to ask: “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” The command of God is his only law. (iv) To call the Christian the doulos of God means that he must be constantly in the service of God. In the ancient world the slave had literally no time of his own, no holidays, no time off, no working-hours settled by agreement, no leisure. All his time belonged to the master.” (The Letters of James and Peter, rev. ed. [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976], 293; emphasis in the original). By way of application, we had considered the following in our series together through Titus: Paul was always driven by the reality of who he had become in Christ. His understanding of the grace of God (I Corinthians 3:10; 15:10; Ephesians 3:7) and of his own unworthiness (I Corinthians 15:9; Ephesians 3:8; I Timothy 1:15) helped him easily claim the responsibility of “commissioned slavery.” How much of a bearing on your daily mindset and pursuits does your position have? What drives your work ethic? What motivates you in the business and ugliness of the work place? What compels your relationships with people? What influences the way you plan for tomorrow and dream about the future? What summarizes your goals for this year? Does the awareness that you are God’s slave and Christ’s ambassador influence your thinking and regulate your interactions and plans? O church, you’re on a mission as a “slave of God”! Fulfill your calling until the rest that awaits. |
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