Living on Mission – His Gentleness and Our Salvation

Living on Mission – His Gentleness and Our Salvation

How I need your gentleness, Lord. You must produce it in me because it is not in my nature. My natural tendency is to anger/rage/wrath. You have every reason for anger and wrath and yet you choose gentleness. I’m amazed at your forbearance. You could so easily have chosen to wipe us all out and start over. You would have been perfectly justified in pouring out your wrath; but, your amazing love wouldn’t allow it. No, instead you chose – and continue to choose – to gently save us.

You set this plan in motion while you spread out the heavens. You knew what would need to be done to save us even while you were forming the earth. Before any of us took a breath, you provided for our redemption.

Help us remember. Help us give you the glory you deserve. Help us to live every day in light of your love and mercy. Help us recognize and appreciate this great salvation. Help us see the cross as the ultimate symbol of gentleness and reconciliation. Help us share this Good News with those around us.

Help us practice Living on Mission. Help us become reconcilers in the gentle way of Jesus.

Pastor Angela

pray it: gentle in our time - ephesians 1:3-14

I don't like to actively suffer.

I don't mind suffering nearly as much when I can look back on it, reflect how God came through (whether I knew that's what He was doing at the time or not) and appreciate how this or that wouldn't have happened in the same way if "X" had not occurred.

But in the midst of suffering, with no clear end in sight... well... I don't like it.  I get cranky.  I don't feel gentle. 

When we say yes to Jesus, life doesn't magically become all rainbows and cotton-candy and puppy dogs.  There will still be trials.  However, the difference is, now we have Jesus.  As Paul states in Philippians 4:11-12, "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."

There are a lot of people we can look to in the Bible to see how they responded to suffering.  A lot of the psalmists recognize their suffering and their enemies, yet focus their attentions and energies on God, who will save.  God who will deliver.  God who will provide the rescue.  This is a good idea.  Paul suffered quite a bit... both physically:  shipwrecked... stoned... and emotionally/relationally... see any of his letters where he is pouring out his heart to churches who are not heeding his advice.  Yet he persevered for the sake of the Gospel.  And Jesus... Jesus endured the cross.  For you.  For me.  For everyone.  For your enemy.  For your antagonist.  For your persecutor.  Even that one.  Yep. 

I don't know what you're going through.  But I do know that Jesus knows. 

In our Scripture passage for the week, Paul speaks to the restrained strength exhibited by Jesus on the cross.  Ephesians 1:7-12 in the Message,

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

We can't determine how to pray in our time without looking to Jesus.  It's all about him.  This past week in the prayer blog, we did just that and determined from Matthew 5:44 and Luke 23:34, that we need to be loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us.  Again, this was not some idealistic, starry-eyed suggestion... this was the actual practice of Jesus, who chose to respond in prayer for those who were crucifying him. 

And here's our prayer challenge for the week:  Praying for those who antagonize us from the cross.  Meaning, right now.  While the pain is ongoing.  Don't wait until the story comes full circle and you know how it ends.  Don't decide to pray for them once they're "getting theirs" and up to their ears in consequences from the hurt they have caused.  Pray for them now.  Just like Jesus.

Ask God to help identify two different kind of hurts that are happening in your life right now:

1.)  A local hurt specific to you, that is ongoing right now.  (Example:  an extended family member who is out to ruin your reputation and damage relationships).

2.)  A global hurt, that really gets your attention/bothers you, that is happening right now.  (Example: Planned Parenthood). 

Spend some time reflecting on how you have been responding.  Has it been gentle?  Is God calling you to be gentle?  To trust Him?  To pray more, and speak a little bit less?

Side note:  Just as an example... A quick peruse of social media shows quite the nasty responses that exist with regards to Planned Parenthood, with scathing comments about how this person or that person involved is the spawn of the devil, who should have been aborted themselves. 

Wow.

What if instead of exerting our efforts on condemning those involved with comments that DO NOT honor Jesus, who indeed died on the cross and offers grace and mercy to everyone, we instead whole-heartedly put our efforts into prayer.  By name. For people involved.  I wonder how much more would get accomplished for the Kingdom of God than pointing fingers and wishing they had never been born? 

Prayer for our antagonists, and prayer "from the cross", does not mean we are "okay" with the hurting that is going on.  

Our prayer speaks more about what we think of our Almighty, Grace-and-Mercy-Bestowing, Ever-Present, Saving, Forgiving, Transforming, and Restoring God.

Ask God to help you respond like Jesus, by praying from the position of the cross (praying for those who are antagonizing you while they are hurting you).  Get specific.  Pray by name.  Pray like Jesus.

Dear Jesus,
Please help us identify current hurts in our own life, and in our world, and spend time in earnest prayer for those who are hurting us.  Help us be mindful that we are all God's children.  That Jesus died on the cross for ALL of us.  Amen.

PoC|Coverage is tonight at 6pm.  Join us! 

Pastor Celia

FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “Gentle in Our Time”

One of my mom’s absolute favorite movies is Disney’s Cinderella, and as such, she quotes it somewhat frequently.  One of her most-used lines comes out of the scene when the invitation to the ball arrives.  Hearing that all maidens are demanded to attend, Cinderella asks if she can go too.  Her stepmother replies, “If you get all your work done.  And if you can find something suitable to wear.”  (You know the rest of the story.)  As a teenager, anytime I would ask to do something with my friends, this would be her response.  It became a running gag in our house, and it continues to pop up from time to time.  When she said it way back when, however, she was absolutely serious.  I had to get my chores done and be dressed respectably.  

Now, the second stipulation wasn’t hard for me, especially in the early 90’s when everything was super baggy.  But that first requirement posed some difficulty at times.  Getting all of my homework and chores completed prior to whatever I wanted to do wasn’t always easy, and when I failed, my parents kept their word.  I had to stay home until the jobs were done.  I don’t know if any of you kids have parents who follow through with their promises like that.  It’s funny, because I knew the standard and the consequence ahead of time.  But in those times when I failed to meet the standard, I felt so abused by the consequence.  I knew the rules beforehand, but I thought my parents were giant meanies for actually following through with what they’d said.

Every once in a while, though, I’d come up to the time to leave and I would still have a couple of chores left.  In a moment of compassion, my mom or dad would smile and tell me to go ahead and they’d make sure my last tasks got completed.  I felt so incredibly blessed by their generosity!

Grab a Bible and have someone read Ephesians 1:3-14.

Paul is talking about what Jesus did for us on the cross.  God’s law says that all sin is punishable by death.  You don’t need to get all your work done to get to heaven, you just need to be perfect.  Easy peasy, right?  Because if you’re not perfect, you’ll not only be denied heaven, you’ll be sent to eternal damnation…which is waaaaaay worse than missing out on a movie with your friends.  That’s the standard.  But Jesus—awesome, loving, compassionate Jesus—chose to be gentle with us instead.  He made sure “the task got done” by allowing Himself to die in our place.  “You go ahead and go to Heaven; I already died on the cross for your sins.”  Wow!  How incredible is that!  God has every right to be the firm Father that he is.  And for those who choose not to accept Jesus, those consequences are still real.  But at the same time, God designed a gentle option for his children, whom he loves so much.

What I truly love about these verses is the many ways Paul reminds us that this choice to be gentle wasn’t a last-minute thing.  It wasn’t God just failing to follow through.  It was a part of the plan from the beginning.  Look at these words: “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…”, “he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” “[God’s] plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him.”  He always intended to take care of it for us!  That’s what grace is all about.

What are ways you can be gentle in your family?  How can you be graceful with each other?  Being gentle doesn’t mean we bend the rules all the time.  Rules are a part of life and it’s just as important we learn how to follow them.  But how can grace and gentleness be a part of that?  Talk about ways you can be gentle with someone in advance?

EXPLORE IT - Ephesians 1:3-14 - In the Manner of Jesus

Ephesians 1:3-14; Isaiah 53:7

Back in 2007 I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Egypt and Israel with a group of my classmates and a handful of our professors.  Our Old Testament professor and our New Testament professor were among those who joined us.  For two weeks I drank from a firehose of knowledge.  I was so overwhelmed, I would love to go again someday in order to fill in some of the gaps of my memory where my brain stopped working!

One experience I will never forget was on a Saturday afternoon.  Saturday is the Shabbat or Sabbath for Jewish culture.  They are not allowed to work at all on their Sabbath (including using electronics, so the “Shabbat Elevator” stopped on every floor at the hotel so you wouldn’t have to push the button!) so the roads were very secluded as we headed out away from the city to a secluded farming community.  We had been talking about the sacrifice Jesus had made for us during our bus ride and as we arrived, we learned that we would be slaughtering a lamb together and then sharing a meal with our hosts.

As we gathered around, our host family selected a lamb from the flock and silently led it out of the pen.  This gentle lamb too was silent, as if it knew its destiny.  You could feel the tension among my classmates.  Some began to silently weep as we witnessed this sheep silently die.

Whenever I read Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth,” I think of my experience in Israel.  I think about the sacrifice that gentle lamb made so we could eat, but it also leads me to think about a gentle Jesus who sacrificed his life so that I could have eternal life with Him!  In our passage this week, Ephesians 1:3-14, Paul speaks to the fact that through redemption in Jesus blood, our sins are forgiven and our salvation is sealed.  If we accept this gift from a gentle Savior, who “was led like a lamb to the slaughter,” our sins will be forgiven and our salvation will be sealed.

Spend time today reflecting on our gentle Jesus, the one who’s sacrifice on the cross leads to our redemption.  If you haven’t accepted this gift from Jesus, ask Him today!  And then let us know so we can celebrate your new life in Him!!

Blessings,
Pastor Amy

READ IT! - Gentle in Our Time (week 2)

Throughout history, God has been revealing to us the loving and gentle nature of his Spirit even when we haven’t deserved it. Can you see God’s grace at work in his people in these passages from different sections of the Bible? How is God’s grace revealed in his Son Jesus?

When has God shown you grace when you didn’t deserve it? Can we ever deserve grace? How has God’s grace at work in you given you the strength to be gentle with and gracious to others?

Here are seven passages from different sections of the Bible. You can look them up for yourself or you can read them below here.

From the Torah: Genesis 50:15-21 (NIV)

From the Former Prophets: 2 Samuel 16:5-14 (NIV)

From the Latter Prophets: Isaiah 54:4-10 (NIV)

From the Books of Wisdom and Poetry: Psalm 25:1-22 (NIV)

From the Late Books: Lamentations 3:19-33 (NIV)

From the Gospels: John 1:1-18 (NIV)

From the Epistles: 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (NIV)

From the Torah

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:  ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Genesis 50:15-21

From the Former Prophets

As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”

Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”

But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’”

David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

2 Samuel 16:5-14

From the Latter Prophets

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
    Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.
The Lord will call you back
    as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
In a surge of anger
    I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
    I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.

“To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
    never to rebuke you again.
Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:4-10

From the Books of Wisdom and Poetry

In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

I trust in you;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous without cause.

Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
They will spend their days in prosperity,
    and their descendants will inherit the land.
The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.
Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.
See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord, is in you.

Deliver Israel, O God,
    from all their troubles!

Psalm 25:1-22

From the Late Books

I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.

Let him sit alone in silence,
    for the Lord has laid it on him.
Let him bury his face in the dust—
    there may yet be hope.
Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
    and let him be filled with disgrace.

For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.

Lamentations 3:19-33

From the Gospels

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

  

John 1:1-18

From the Epistles

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

1 Timothy 1:12-17