FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “Fierce Pursuit”

Have you ever stopped to consider just how many different sets of rules you have to deal with each and every day?

There are rules for when you write.  Capitals should be larger than lower case letters.  Change the y to an i and add es.

There are rules for math.  A negative plus a negative is a negative, but a negative times a negative is a positive.

There are rules at school and at work.  There are even rules at the mall!

There are rules when you drive, like which side of the road you need to be on and who goes first at a four-way stop..although no one seems to know that last one.

There are rules when you play sports.  Which change.  Every year.

It’s amazing our brains can keep track of it all!  Of course, these rules are in place to keep us safe and help us all communicate well, but given the quantity of guidelines, you’d think we’d run the risk of putting i before e except before you change lanes.  In fact, sometimes we do forget a rule, and that can land us in a LOT of trouble.

So it’s not a surprise that when some people open the Bible, they get intimidated by what looks like a bunch more rules.  (Seriously—read the book of Leviticus.)  God handed down his Top 10 list to Moses in the commandments, then gave the Israelites other directions on how to live.  Through the centuries, these “rules” has been collated, memorized, and even added to by the religious elite.  They used their knowledge and obedience of the rules not to grow closer to God, but to show how awesome they were and how unimportant other people were.  In fact, that’s exactly what they were trying to do when they asked Jesus what the most important commandment was in Matthew 22:36-40.

Jesus does something wonderfully simple and amazingly awesome in His reply.  Did you catch it?  All of those giant lists of rules that the Pharisees and scribes were famous for knowing, all of the “Thou shalt’s” and “Thou shalt not’s” can be summarized by two commands.

1—Love God with everything you have.

2—Love and care for other people as though they were living in your skin.

isn’t that amazing?!  Everything we aspire to do as Christians is either about loving God more OR about loving and caring for the people around us with the love God has for us.  When we worship, we’re building our love for God.  When we talk about Jesus with a friend, we’re actually loving on them.  This is what God wants us to focus on.  It’s what he wants us to be about—as a body of believers, as people, and as families.

They’re simple commands, but oh, so important.  And easy to overlook.  Spend some time talking about practical ways your family can apply both commands this week.  What can you do together to love God more?  Maybe you’re going to commit to come to Vision Sunday this week.  Or perhaps your family will do some worship time together at home.  What about loving others?  How can your family reach out to someone else this week and show love?  It could be an act of kindness or generosity.  Maybe an offer of friendship or forgiveness.  

Determine what you’re going to do and when—then make it happen!  Let’s let love rule our lives!

Forgiveness is a Four-Letter Word: LOVE.

Dear PoC,

Forgiveness is a Four-Letter Word:  LOVE.  

This coming weekend in our services I want to lead you through a workshop on forgiveness when we will go through the steps needed to forgive others and to ourselves.  Here’s why:

• 

  Forgiveness isn’t something we do only once.  It is a lifestyle and does not always come naturally;
  therefore, it requires lifelong instruction no matter who we are or how much practice we have already had with forgiveness.
• We’re fresh off the heels of our gentleness series.  Often, a lack of gentleness is linked to a lack of forgiveness.
• There are some common myths about forgiveness that we hear from time to time in our culture.  We want to lean to Jesus’ side in our understanding of this important grace.
• This week we celebrate the New Year.  What better way to start 2016 than with a forgiving heart?  Just imagine the freedom of a great heart cleansing!  Exciting.
• On January 10 we start our new evangelism/mission series called “99+1”.  As we’ve learned before, we will be on mission more when we are flooded with the compassion that comes from our daily encounters with Jesus.  The discipline of forgiveness will only help us as we continue to look at others the way that Jesus sees them.

So, here’s what I want you to do:

• Show up and invite:
• Don’t let the theme keep YOU from attending.  Ask the Lord to help you get there and bravely approach this theme with confidence.  FYI, His ways are best.  ☺
• Invite those in your life who have difficulty with forgiveness.  Or, if they aren’t that self-aware, invite those who are having a hard time with bitterness and anger from the way they have been treated in the past.  Be gentle.  ☺
• Join me in praying that the presence and supernatural power of the Lord will lead us into more freedom.
• Anticipate . . . with me.

I’m praying for you.  Let’s keep talking about Jesus,

Pastor Todd

todd@poc.church

PS – I think you’re cool!

FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “What’s That Look Like?”

Supplies: Bible; paper; pencils

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Hand out a piece of paper and a pencil to each person in your family.  Have everyone draw a picture of what they want to be when they grow up.  If you are already “grown-up,” draw a picture of what you wanted to be when you were your child’s age.  When you’re done, fold your paper in half.  Now have one person collect them, mix them up, then take turns trying to guess who drew each picture and what career they’ve chosen.

How’d you do?

When you’re young, it’s fun to think about all the different cool jobs you could do as an adult.  We get pretty enamored by the surface appeal of different careers, but most of the time we don’t know what that job really looks like.  I remember wanting to be an archaeologist when I was in grade school.  Indiana Jones had just hit the theaters, and he made it look…well…awesome!  Thankfully, as I grew, my passion for digging was replaced with a love of writing.  “Children’s author” became my new career goal.  I pictured myself submitting my manuscripts and what it would be like to go on book tours, to see kids reading my amazing stories.  As part of a class assignment, I got to interview a local children’s author and find out what this job looked like.  

Boy, did she burst my bubble!  I’d never thought about the full picture of what being an author meant.  I hadn’t considered how much alone time would be involved.  I’d never thought about what I’d do if I got writer’s block—no ideas = no money.  I had no idea that once I had a manuscript, I’d have to hawk my beloved story to dozens of publishers, most of whom probably wouldn’t like it.  My full picture of “children’s author” changed drastically.  I realized I needed a fall back career choice.  Having grown up as a teacher’s kid, I chose education.  (Turns out I was pretty good at that, too.)  I knew what being a teacher looked like. I had a full understanding of the job and was able to step into that career and embrace it.

READ

Grab your Bible and read Romans 12:9-21.

THINK

When we decide to follow Jesus and enter into the family of God, we get the incredible gift of a new life.  Now we are “disciples,” “children of God,” “ambassadors of Christ,” and “lights of the world.”  That sounds so great, but…man, what does that look like?  I mean, most of us haven’t gotten to see genuine Christ-like love lived out as a lifestyle.  In fact, when you consider the world we’re used to, it’s hard to even imagine what that even might kind of look like.

Thank Heaven for Paul!  He gives such a wonderful picture of what it means to live like Jesus.  Each sentence is a new and practical way I can apply the love of Christ in my day-to-day life.  I just want to take this passage, write it out as bullet points, and tape it to my fridge. 

• Don’t fake it.  Make sure my love comes from a real place in my heart.
• Stay focused on the good that’s around me.  Reject the evil.
• Treat other people better than me.  Make them the priority, whether they deserve it or not.
• Keep my fire for God white hot and serve Him with all I have.
• Because of Jesus, I always have hope that things will get better.  Focus on that, and I’ll be joyful!
• When there are tough times, I need to be patient and let God move at the right time.
• I need to keep praying through every circumstance.
• Be kind to the people who go out of their way to make me miserable.  Do NOT sink to their level.
• No matter what’s going on in my life, I need to be present in the lives of others, celebrating their high points and grieving their losses right along with them.
• Work at keeping positive working relationships with the people around me.
• Remember that I’m no better than anyone else, so I can hang with everyone from superstars to slum dogs.  
• I will encounter evil and unfairness a lot.  It is NOT my job to balance things out.  It is NOT my job to make sure everyone gets what they deserve.  It is NOT my job—it’s God’s job.
• My job is to care for the people God put around me: friends, enemies, and frenemies.
• If I’m committed to live like Jesus, if I stay true to goodness, I will have the power to beat the devil with an ugly stick!

This is something I can use—today!  This really helps me see how I can be a mini-Jesus in the 21st century.  I can apply these at work, at school, with my family, with my friends. How awesome is that!

APPLY

Read through the verses again or take another look at the list above.  If this is what it looks like to live like Jesus, which point(s) are you already living?  Which one(s) describe your life, too?  Which of them not so much?  Prayerfully consider the areas you struggle with the most and challenge yourself to focus on applying one during the next 24 hours.  Maybe instead of focusing on your own demands and to-do’s, you’ll prioritize others and put their needs first.  Perhaps you’ve been stuck in the middle of a difficult season.  For the next day, when you start to feel down, turn your thoughts to the hope you have in Jesus and pray through.  Share your challenge with your family, then make a date to meet again tomorrow and see how it went.  End your time together praying for these steps.

PRAY

Loving Jesus, we are so blessed that You stepped down from the glories of Heaven so that we could have a living, breathing picture of love in action.  Help us as we strive to be like You.  Holy Spirit, transform our hearts!  In Your Name we pray, Jesus.  Amen

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.

FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “Average Love”

Supplies: Bible

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March just came roaring in, and that means students are getting ready for their final quarter of the school year.  (Did you hear that parents—only one quarter left until summer vacation!)  With the third quarter coming to a  close, report cards will be on their way shortly.  Many of you may already know exactly what it’s going to look like.  For others of you, this may be a wonderful surprise, or not.  Actually, though, I don’t want you to talk about what kind of grades you’re going to get.  Instead, I want you to talk about what kind of grades you want to get.  Now, for some of you students, those two things may be one in the same.  And for others of you, they may be…slightly further apart.  So forget reason or logic.  If you could fill in your own report card, if you could choose your own grades, what would you pick?  If you aren’t in school, pick the grades you would have wanted when you were a student.

This is one of those rare times when pretty much everybody had the same answer.  Yeah, yeah, I know those couple of you who said you want D’s.  Guess what?  I don’t believe you any more than your parents do!  That’s because, if there’s no obstacle, we all want the best.  We want A’s.  We want EXCELLENT and SUPER and TOP OF CLASS.  The only thing stopping us is the amount of effort it would take to get there.  It was the same when I was a student, it was the same when I was teaching public school, and it’s the same now that I have students of my own at home: no one wants C’s.  No one wants to be academically average.  Of course, by definition that’s where most people should land—in the “average” category, but we don’t want it to be us. The only time we celebrate C’s is when the content has been exceptionally challenging.  But even then, if we could choose, we would all choose A’s.  

READ

Even though that’s the goal with grades, it’s often the reverse when it comes to other areas of life, areas where being average is much more acceptable.  Have someone read Matthew 5:43-48 to see one specific example.

THINK

We’re wrapping up our time with Jesus on the mountainside today.  This whole time, Jesus has been calling us to be “above average,” to step up out of a C-lifestyle and find what A-living is all about. He’s hit on some tough areas, but here He really pulls out the common denominator for everyone: dealing with enemies.  

If you have contact with people at all, you will have contact with at least a few unpleasant people.  It’s a given.  And some of them are really excellent at being unpleasant, right?  I mean, A+ work!  These are the people we have no problem hating.  Ok, maybe hate is a little strong for some people.  But we are totally ok disliking being around them.  I mean, we love on our friends and our family members, and we dislike/avoid/complain about/hate on our unpleasant people (insert: enemies).  Isn’t that what everyone else does??

Jesus says, yes it is.  Which is exactly why it needs to change.  He calls us out and tells us that “average” isn’t worthy of the children of the One True God.  God’s “average” is to send the sunshine down on everybody, not just those with sunny dispositions; to pour out rains of renewal on the right and the wrong.  Jesus is asking us to stand up to a new level in our relationships with people, to rewire what’s “average”, what’s “normal” for the Church.  We’re gonna love our neighbors and LOVE our enemies.  We’re gonna lift up in prayer the people who go out of their way to make us miserable.  Hate and spite?  Nope, we’re not settling for that anymore.  LOVE is the new “average”—our new standard response to everyone.  We’re choosing A+ living when we choose to be like God!

APPLY

How does that play out in your life right now?  With all this talk about enemies, there are certainly some names and faces circling around in your head.  Spend time talking as a family about those people in your world.  How can each of you start LOVING those people?  What can you do specifically to make LOVE your average daily response?  At school?  In your house with each other?  In the neighborhood?  How can you help each other be successful at this A+ lifestyle?  Close your time together praying for the people you mentioned (a GREAT way to love them).

PRAY

Jesus, You have turned our perspective upside down.  We’re turning hate into love.  Sometimes it seems like love is too small a response.  Remind us that it was the power of Your love that saved the world!  May that power continue through us!  In Your Name we pray, Amen.

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.

Wednesday Readings

• Luke 7:18-35 (NIV) 

Jesus and John the Baptist 

18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“‘We played the pipe for you, 

and you did not dance; 

we sang a dirge, 

and you did not cry.’ 

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

• Colossians 2: 6-7 (NIV) 

Spiritual Fullness in Christ 

 

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

•  Isaiah 49: 15-16 (NIV) 

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast 

 and have no compassion on the child she has borne? 

Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 

16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; 

 your walls are ever before me.

•  Romans 5: 6-8 (NIV) 

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Thursday Bible Readings

/ / / / / / / / 8

Overarching Principles for Spiritual Vitality

/ 1:	GET PEOPLE MOVING. "So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ."  Colossians 1:28
/ / 2:	EMBED THE BIBLE IN EVERYTHING.  READ MORE OF THE BIBLE THIS WEEK THAN LAST WEEK. "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."  2 Timothy 3:16
/ / / 3:	CREATE OWNERSHIP OF THE MISSION.  START LOCALLY, THINK GLOBALLY. "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."  Ephesians 4:11-13
/ / / / 4:	PASTOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.  EVERY MEMBER IS A MINISTER. "You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden...in the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."  Matthew 5:14,16
/ / / / / 5:	LEAD FROM A CHRIST-CENTERED HEART. "Love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength."  Mark 12:30
/ / / / / / 6:	NOTHING WITHOUT PRAYER.  THE PRAYER SERVICE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SERVICE OF THE WEEK. "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
/ / / / / / / 7:	FUN IS RELEVANT.  IF THE JOURNEY ISN'T FUN, NOBODY WILL WANT TO GO. "I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, they will find pasture (refreshment).  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  But I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."  John 10:9-22  "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 "The joy of the Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."  Psalm 28:7-8
/ / / / / / / /8:	EMPHASIS ON DAILY PRESENCE WITH GOD AND HEALTHY PRESENCE WITH OTHERS. Key study and focus on:      - Luke 15:1-32 (The Prodigal Son)      - John 15:1-11 (I am the Vine)      - John 15:-12-27 (Loving Others)      - Matthew 18:15-20 (Conflict Resolution)      - Matthew 18:1-14, 21-35 (Forgiveness)

Tuesday Bible Readings

• Luke 24:1-12 (NIV)

Jesus Has Risen 
 24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

• Hebrews 2:11 (NIV) 

11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

• John 15:9 (NIV)

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

• Romans 8:11 (NIV) 

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[a] his Spirit who lives in you.