the C3AK conversation blog

The World...

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:22:00 +0000

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

John 3:16 (NASB)

This is the Good News. There is hope for the broken and salvation for the lost. We can all agree this life-giving declaration is a light in the darkness for a world mired in sin and despair.

Unfortunately, too many in the church today have subscribed to a "post-John 3:16" Christianity. As those saved by Christ and walking in God's kingdom, John 3:16 no longer applies to us. We've moved past it. The truth, however, is that while we may not be "of this world", we are still part of the mass of mankind referred to in this verse as "the world". Saved or not, kingdom dwelling or not, we are still part of the world that God so loved. We are still in need of his light, his love, his guidance, his blessing and his mercy. And his willingness to provide all of that through the sacrifice of his son is not dependent on our value or worth, goodness or badness. It's based on his love for us.

I have a REALLY old Winnie the Pooh. Not the really nice, plush, trademark registered Pooh of today. This is a bear from the early 70s that's only recognizable as a Pooh because he's yellow. And he's not even really yellow anymore. He's a grayish shade of off yellow. He's cock-eyed,half of his felt smile is gone and he no longer has his little red Winnie the Pooh shirt.

For a long time, he lay dormant in a box of junk in various garages and closets. Then, eight years ago, he returned to the light of day. When my boys came home from the hospital the first time, he was there to spend the first night with them in their bassinet. Since then, he's been drooled on and spit up on. He's had his arms and legs pulled and his nose and ears chewed on. All things considered, he's pretty decrepit.

And I wouldn't trade him for anything. God willing, he'll be there to welcome one or more of my grandchildren home from the hospital.

You see, his value is not determined by his condition, his usefulness or his appearance. Because he belongs to me, I determine his worth.

As does God with us.

Regardless of our talents, treasures or accomplishments. Whether favored child or lost sheep. We have all been assigned value by the one to whom we belong. If we were wearing price tags, they would all read "John 3:16".

Pastor Jason

For God...

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:29:00 +0000

This week are contemplating the person of God. There are a million ideas about who God is, what God is like and how God has been revealed to us.

For Christians there is only one standard we can point to; The Holy Bible.

Even as we believe that God continues to reveal Himself to us today, we also submit that He will not reveal things that are contrary to or contradict what He has revealed before. For instance, since He told us in the ten commandments that we should not lie, God will not today decide that lying is just fine. With that in mind we can take what he DID say in His word to be just as true today as it has ever been.

I've really been captured by the first four words we find in the Bible. "In the beginning God..."

We are sort of hopelessly connected to the idea of time. We are over-scheduled, minutely planned and anxiously clock aware. God does not have this problem.

Whatever God did after the "beginning" (and it was a great deal) we learn something HUGELY profound about God in these four little words.

If you ever wonder if God is really capable to care for you, or whether He even knows what he's doing then hear this: Before TIME, GOD WAS. Forever. Pre-extistent. Do you know anyone else who has a resume like that? God himself asks Isaiah, "Who can compare to Me?"

That's what we call a rhetorical question.

Of course there is no one. And doesn't that make God supremely qualified to direct the course of your life?

That's another rhetorical question.

The Most Famous Conversation in the BIble

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:34:00 +0000

Jesus has a very revealing talk with Nicodemus in John chapter three. For me, one of the most amazing elements about it is that its the same conversation He eventually has with everyone who considers becoming a believer.

We ask a question, such as "how can I be saved?". Or we simply approach Him wanting to know who He really is. And as he always does, he opens the doors of life. And, thankfully, it is an arrestingly simple doorway.

Believe and receive. Period.

As with Nicodemus, God (Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) is willing to detail the why's and what for's of our conversation. But the boiled down message is truly simple.

There is nothing you can do to add to the offer. Your best efforts will always fall short of making it any more amazing than it already is. There is no physical event you can add on to the spiritual gift that will cause His acceptance of you to be any more complete. While Grace is not opposed to effort, it is equally not in need of it either.

God is able and willing to complete his rescue of you on His own terms.

Believe and receive.

But do me one favor. Believe with an eye toward the future. The days to come will not be about what you can do, but what God can do IN you and THROUGH you in the power of the Holy Spirit. There is an old saying that says God loves you just the way you are. That's good as far as it goes but I have found it to be incomplete.

It's true that God loves you just the way you are. But He loves you too much to leave you that way.

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philipians 1:3-6 (NIV)

Prepare the Way

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:07:00 +0000

I have a fear that the church is not living up to its calling. And when i say "church", I mean the BIG church of the worldwide body of Christ as well as our little community at C3AK. We've been through a lot of ups and downs, highs and lows, celebrations and disappointments. But the truth of the matter is that it is time for us to look forward and leave what is behind us well... behind us.

This is a new year and a new day. There is a fresh calling and a fresh anointing on this church and its ministry. In that light let us take on the Spirit that influenced John the Baptist and determine that we are going to "Prepare the Way of the Lord". we are going to be a people of faith, hope and love that reached out to friends, loved ones, co-workers and strangers with the compassion of Christ for ONE PURPOSE: That they will be drawn to Him as we lift Him up.

Commit yourself today to be renewed and strengthened in your walk with Jesus and both seek and act on opportunities to share the good news with others. As we are going to discover in the new Sunday Series: "3:16" the good news is really very simple:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

MAXIM: Let Go & Fear Not

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:01:00 +0000

There are times when it seems that things are cruising along just as they should be. You know what I mean... the job is clicking, friendships are well managed, family is cohesive... And then, at least once in a while, the whole thing comes off the rails. Maybe not completely. Perhaps its only one of the many elements of your life that comes undone. For me the crash usually comes in sets of some kind, never as one thing. It reminds me of the superstition regarding major disasters or celebrity passings: they always come in three's!

I try very hard not to have this fatalistic attitude in my life but sometimes its tough. Experience is a hard task master, after all. Regardless of whether trials come in three's there is no question that they will come. Jesus said so in John 16 verse 33:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

And it's great that in that verse we have not only the warning of trouble to come, but the rescue as well. Jesus had just spoken about some times of trouble, but He told us that at the same time HE is the place we find peace.

What is troubling you? Who is troubling you? While Jesus doesn't promise to remove the trouble He does promise ultimate success. The world will try to smack you down, but HE is the overcomer.

Be at peace.

MAXIM: Just Breathe

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:07:00 +0000

Breathe in. Breathe out. The average person does that around 20,000 times a day. Our breathing is part of the autonomic function of the brain and body. Autonomic functions are things that we don't consciously think about when we're doing them. They just happen. One of the effects of this process can be that we take for granted that the function, like breathing, will just continue to happen in the future just as it has in the past. However, all it takes is an interruption in the process to remind is how important it really is.

Try it. Hold your breath right now for as long as you can...

At some point you have to take a new breath. Doing this little exercise can also have the effect of making you "aware" that you are, in fact, breathing. Thirty seconds ago you weren't thinking about breathing, you were just doing it. But now, when your attention is drawn to it, you find yourself thinking about it.

This is a pretty good parallel to how we sometimes think about the presence of God. We know He is all around us, all the time. And yet, until we find that we really "need" Him, (out of breath) we tend to just bounce along our journey without giving Him and what He may desire for us a second thought.

So, just like you found yourself thinking about breathing a few sentences ago, let me encourage you to turn your thinking to God. Instead of waiting for a crisis or tragedy give Him your full attention at this moment. Consider His goodness, His mercy and His holiness. And ponder what your best response might be.

I would suggest that you breathe deeply.

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

MAXIM: Be Still

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:53:00 +0000

The words of Psalm 46 are some of the most arresting (as I suppose they are intended to be) that I find in scripture. There are various renderings and translations out there but, the two that grab me the most go something like this:

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. (KJV)

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. (NASB)

Be still... Cease striving... Stop fighting... Chill out!

It would appear that there are times when the most effective action to take sounds a lot like taking no action. But don't be fooled. "Be still" is not the same as "do nothing". In fact, it is quite the opposite.

God calls us to a very specific kind of action in this passage, which is to discipline our worried, harried, frightened, overactive selves so that He can direct us and provide for us. And so that we can actually hear that direction, or receive that provision. Instead of flailing around in a manner that is often harmful to ourselves or those around us we are told to stop and look toward the refuge... our tower... the redeemer of our entire life and being. Behold Him and know, way down at the center of your soul, that He is God. He is Good.

Look and see. And be still...

Belief

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:36:00 +0000

It's one thing to say it. It's another thing to do it.

Countless times a day, we speak, act and choose based on what we Believe. What we truly Believe impacts

...how we act.
...what we say.
...how we vote.
...what we buy.

All determined by what we Believe.

But then there's those other things we "believe". Those things we claim to believe that never really show up in our words or actions.

We "believe" in the importance of friends and family, but our date books say different.
We "believe" God can be trusted with our money, but our checkbooks say different.

Peter believed he would follow Jesus through anything, including death and beyond. When the time came to stand for Jesus, rock-solid
belief turned to jelly-kneed lip service. We can't be too hard on Peter. If we're honest with ourselves, we must admit we're guilty of the same
thing over and over again.

We don't always mean to lie when we profess beliefs which aren't evident in our lives. O.K., sometimes we do. But sometimes we profess
such beliefs because we know we should believe. Other times, it's because we want to be the kind of people who do believe, whether we
do or not. And in most cases, the problem is that we never take the time to examine our hearts to determine what we really Believe and what
we only profess to believe.

Once we identify where our "belief" comes up short, we have to be willing to give those things over to God. Jesus doesn't expect perfection and
he's able to deal with our lack of faith (Mark 9:24), but we must be willing to give it all to Him. To ask for and accept the strength and courage He
offers.

Finally, after we've figured out what we don't really believe and we ask for help with our unbelief, there's only one thing left to do. Do it. Pick one of
those things you've spent so much time thinking about and talking about and avoiding and do it. Start small and work your way up. Success in
small things will embolden you and help you to tackle bigger challenges.

Before you know it, not only will you claim "belief", you really will Believe.

blessings,

Pastor Jason

Wrapping Up the Game

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:58:00 +0000

We've put the wrap on the final weeks of out last series, "Ready, Set... LIFE!", based on the book When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box.

I guess you could say, the game is over... etc.

In the final weeks we examined a few important themes like:

Roll the Dice - Simply put; Life is inherently risky if its going to be interesting at all. Nancy Beach, from Willow Creek Church in Chicago said to me once, "If you're not failing on a regular basis it means you're probably not doing anything very innovative or exciting." This doesn't mean that we should desire an atmosphere of failure. It DOES mean that we weren't created to be bored or apathetic. The very nature of our creation, which reflects the nature of God, reveals that we desire creativity and transformation. Galatians 6:14-16

Collecting the Right Trophies - It's no secret that most of us get caught up in the praise of other people, the pursuit of stuff and money, and frequently thirst to be more important than somone (or anyone) else. Scripture tells us that all of these common desires are not what God wants for us in our lives. As we play through each season of the game we will have the opportunity to win one of two trophies. The kind that lasts a moment and the kind that lasts forever. It seems easy to answer the question of "Which one do you want to be collecting?". But the truth is we have a tendency to hunger for the ones that don't last because they feel good at the time. But God calls us to greater significance and tells us that we can lay away treasure in Heaven that will never fade away." I Peter 1:6-8

The King Has One More Move - It's vital that, while we want to be in the moment, we are aware that the broken nature of the world around us and the enemy who seeks to kill us conspire to make us lose heart and be filled with fear about tomorrow. At the end of the day, or the end of the game God wants us to remember that He has the final move in our existence. Our circumstances may be terrible and eventually our flesh will die. The enemy wants us to fear those things and, if we do we can be crippled in the living out of the the abundant life God wants for us. The troubles of this life will never go away, but the believer has two aspects of hope: in this life you are not left alone; this life is not the end. Romans 8:31-39

Hang in there Gang

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:08:00 +0000

I have been working on the missing weeks and will have something ready this week. Thanks for continuing to come by. If you have any ways to push traffic over here, feel free to use our link. Let us know who is linking to us and we'll give an add back!

Blessings,

Pastor Tracy

Part 5: How the Game is Played - No Regrets

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:58:00 +0000

Ready, Set... Life!

How the Game is Played - No Regrets

In the early 90's Karen and I traveled to Europe. We stayed some time in Munich, saw the sights of Rome, visited my brother and his family in Sicily and spent quite a bit of time in Bavaria, Germany. Neither of us had ever been outside the United States (Canada doesn’t count) and from the moment our adventure began it was clear that our world view had been permanently altered. We saw all of the standard attractions in Rome like the Roman Forum, the Coliseum, St. Peter’s. In Munich we mourned at the Dachau Concentration Camp, and Bavaria we saw Neuschwanstein Castle, Zugspitz Mountain (one location of the Olympics in the 1930’s) and the surrounding towns.

One place we visited was a town called Oberammergau, nestled in the foothills of the German Alps. It is famous for it’s beauty, history, a presentation of the Easter passion play and, like much of Bavaria, for wood carving. Herein lies one of my few regrets in life.

In one of the shops of this little town was an example of the finest wood carving I had ever seen. The intricacy in the wood working was astounding while the figurines and scenes they depicted practically jumped to life. One of these was a statue of Wagner’s hero Lowengren, mounted on his steed slaying the dragon. It was about 14 inches tall and was carved from this beautiful, dark wood. I am a very visual and tactile oriented person. So while I loved looking at this fine piece of art, I was also excited that it was something I could put my hands on.

There was only one problem. It was really expensive and we had no money. We had a credit card, but not cash. After much internal debate I decided not to buy it. As we boarded the bus that would take us back to our hotel, Karen tried one last time to convince me to go ahead and get it. But I said no and we left the statue behind.

I wish I hadn’t done that. In the big scheme of things it isn’t really a big deal that I don’t have that statue sitting on the new mantel I installed over our fireplace. But it sure would look great. We have scores of pictures from our trip, and the memories which we share far outstrip the value of that chunk of wood. But every time I think about it I kick myself. We’ll likely never travel back there. And even if we did, who is to say I’d be able to find a carving that lives up the image in my memory? I regret that I didn’t buy it when I had the chance.

And there, in the second half of that last sentence, is the truth of the matter. Regret always comes to torment us in the recollection of things we either did or didn’t do… when we had the chance.

But the bible tells us that both regret and sorrow, can be good or bad.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
II Corinthians 7:10

Now, whatever you have in your life that you regret, you’re probably a lot like me. Some things are not very important while others have or had the potential for significant impact, bad or good. In any case, sorrow or regret that we feel over those things can only produce one of two things:

Death – regret that lives in the past and torments over what might have been if we had made a different choice or decision.

Salvation – regret that results in a change of direction or character.

In his book, “When the Game is Over it All Goes Back in the Box”, John Ortberg suggests that godly regret will provoke us to do the following:

Love more deeply, laugh more often, give more generously, live more boldly.

Instead of waiting for a crisis to force us to make a change, wouldn’t it be a great idea to just make a decision now to live life in such a way that we have no regrets?

Part 4: The Game In Your Head

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:49:00 +0000

Ready, Set... Life!

The Game in Your Head

I never liked my name when I was a kid. Let’s face it. There aren’t a lot young men running about with the name “Tracy”, and those of us who are find a lot in common with the Johnny Cash song “A Boy Named Sue”. There is a somewhat apocryphal story in our clan that lays the blame for my name on my sister. She got to choose and somehow “Tracy” was on the top of her short list. I was never upset with her over the choice and hold no ill feelings.

However, one thing the name selection did purchase for me was a large amount of teasing from my peers when I was a child. It’s not hard to guess why, since even my own children asked me if “Tracy” was a girl’s name when they were young. I have a whole stable of responses raised over time to answer that question and I trotted them out for the boys. Truth be told, in our culture and modern day, the answer is “yes”. It is generally a girl’s name.

The payoff from this difficulty when I was a kid is that it made me pretty tough. You have to balance out a name like that or the sharks of the schoolyard playground will circle slowly and eventually rip you to tiny bits. So by the time I was in the 4th grade it was generally considered that, unless you wanted to get messed up, you didn’t tease the kid with the girl’s name about his name! The funniest thing about that turns out to be that I rarely ever engaged in actual fisticuffs. (Never in shoving matches, which I found to be silly and unproductive. This is an idea I’ve passed on to my own sons. If you’re going to get in a throw down, let the other kid push you and then KNOCK THE CRAP OUT OF HIM!) Because I oozed this air of craziness and the willingness to go straight to a hundred miles an hour I enjoyed a kind of long term respite from harassment.

Ultimately this attitude came less from the need for protection than it did from an early sense of my own worth. No matter the judgment of my peers, I was not the sum of my name. I made a conscious decision to master the misgivings in my self that arose from ridicule, both external and internal. I wasn’t a big kid. I had long hair and long eyelashes. I had a girl’s name. There were plenty of opportunities both from other people and from my own thoughts to speak poorly of who and what I was.

I really do remember making the conscious decision that I would not give in to those belittling words or thoughts. My family and close friends helped me to know who I really was and instilled in me a healthy self-image. It wasn’t arrogance, but it was value of self. That value was unerringly based in learning what God thought of me and how He wanted me to approach the game of life. In doing so they revealed God’s desires for me when making choices, my reaction to circumstances and how to set my mind in particular directions.

As I grew I found a type of pride in the name that I wrestled with when I was a child. I became grateful to my sister because she bestowed me with a name that people remember. It’s uncommon, and served as a key component in forming the person I am today; how I look at life and approach challenges.

If you want to be a master at the game of life, you have to learn how to master the game in your head. Sometimes we sit around wanting someone else to figure it all out for us, or hoping that others will feel sorry for the mess we’re in. In truth, the solution is much closer to home. Read the following passage from the Bible and consider this: Maybe one way to master the inner game is realize that we will not be destroyed by the shifting shadows of life. But if we expect to enjoy the light, sometimes we just need to suck it up and get on with it already.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
II Corinthians 4:7-9

Part 3: Keeping Score - Meditation Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:47:00 +0000

Ready, Set... Life!

Keeping Score

I coach kid’s soccer in the summertime. I love almost every moment of it, too. One summer we had two games out of 16 that didn’t rain and I did not love that so much. But I have been coaching my oldest son’s team which is a group of 8 -10 year olds. I determined some time ago that I couldn’t coach kids younger than 8 because it would drive me crazy. It’s more like cat herding than coaching at that age. I’ve also determined that I probably can’t coach much older than 10 either. Oh, they play really well and even get most of the concepts. It’s the wheezing and coughing from the middle aged, portly coach that makes the kids so darned uncomfortable that’s the trouble.

In the league where I coach, and he plays, we have some rules. The man who runs the program is a friend of mine and he’s been at this for a really long time. He decided when he started the program that it would be a skills based educational soccer league. And while we play real games with referees, boundary markers, actual goal boxes, and even ‘off-sides’, we don’t keep score. In other words, it isn’t a ‘competitive’ league.

Right…

Try telling that to twenty 8 -10 year olds. Not a game goes by that one of my players doesn’t turn to me and say, “Coach, what’s the score?” And I reply in the same fashion every time. “We don’t keep score.”

Right…

Without variation my reply will be followed by a chorus of voices that blurts out the current score. Occasionally they will be incorrect and I will consult the surreptitious hash marks I keep in my roster notebook and, very quietly, correct them. Forget about telling twenty 8 – 10 year olds that ‘we don’t keep score’. This 40 year old coach can’t seem to stop marking down each goal either. It’s like we have something wired into the core of our being that says, “Make sure you know whether you’re winning or sucking wind. Second place is just the first loser to cross the finish line.” Sorry to mix sports metaphors but you know what I mean.

I think God keeps score really by just one thing. You know, in the game of life? There has to be some way for a holy God to determine if you and I are worth the effort it requires for Him to love us, right? I mean, ‘love’ is a ‘verb’ and all that. And let’s face it, ‘verbs’ generally require action. And action usually involves time and energy.

So what’s the one thing? (I suddenly feel like Jack Palance in “City Slickers”)

Love.

Seems simple on the page, but in the practice of the game of life it gets more complicated. But, check this scripture out, and then I’ll let you figure out how it applies to your life.

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. I John 4:19-21 (NIV)

Part 3: Keeping Score - Video Blog of Sunday Message

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:42:00 +0000

Ready, Set... Life!
Keeping Score

Okay... so we had trouble with the audio recording of the sermon on January 27th, so for that week I made a video of the whole thing in front of my fireplace. Here's the video if you would like to view it, and I will try and get the meditation thoughts posted soon. There will also be a video of February 3rd and the followup mediation. As I get into the swing of things I am thinking there will be more video on the site and I may split this blog so I can return to the original posting theme... cheers! and thanks for visiting. (BTW, I LOVE the preview image that Google Video chose for me... I'm like, "WHAT?!?!")

If you’ve missed the previous message you can click HERE to listen

Part 2: What's the Point?

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:41:00 +0000

Ready, Set… Life!
What’s the Point?

When I was a kid there was a place behind our neighborhood where I and my friends would play. Although we never owned our house where I grew up, my parents were able to rent the same single family home for over 20 years. The street we lived on was a real neighborhood row tucked between apartment complexes and public assistance housing. My best memories are of those long Alaska summer days when the sun was shining, and the grass was tall.I can remember grabbing a stick and running through the waist high, hay-like grass swishing the stick back and forth. I would pretend it was a machete and I was hacking my way through some dense Amazon jungle.

The truth, of course, what that not only did I bear a stick in the northernmost state of the union, but that stick did very little in the way of clearing the brush. At the end of the day the grass was still there, albeit a little more trampled than it was the morning before. But even that would pass overnight as the dew collected the stalks rebounded, and would stand in anticipation of my next adventure.If I’d been a deep thinker as a child I might have seen the metaphor of life in the futile whipping of the grass with my ill suited sword-stick. But doesn’t life see to imitate that scene sometimes? We get up every day and beat at the grasses of responsibility or duty. And while the grass seems to lay a little lower at the end of the day the truth is, that without the proper tools, we’re just beating it about until it rises again the next morning.We all yearn to know if there is really purpose to life.

In last weeks message I talked about finding what really matters in life. Perhaps it is surprising at first to consider that YOU are what matters! Its pretty simple really… you matter to God, and that makes you valuable.Its in this truth the answer to this week’s question is revealed; the “point”, or the purpose of this life, is to live as one who knows they are valuable to God. With this knowledge comes the realization that if you matter to God so does everyone else. When that truth comes home to your heart, you are ready to discover your purpose in life. Just as learning that God loves you can compel you to love Him back (see I John, Chapter 4), the scripture tells us that receiving God’s love will cause us to love others:

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." I John 4:11

Jesus said it in His own words when He echoed the command in Deuteronomy 6:4-6;36

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40

There’s really no mystery here. People are what really matters. And the purpose of life? Love the people who matter. In doing so, you are loving God. So wherever you are, no matter your occupation or vocation this is THE point of all your life. Love people. Next week I’ll talk about “how”.

If you’ve missed the previous message you can click HERE to listen

Part 1: Finding What Matters Most

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:40:00 +0000

Ready, Set… Life!
Finding What Really Matters

We find ourselves living today in a culture where so many things compete for the position of “top priority” in our lives. The list may include work, family, friends, money, health, status, education or a million other important things. To complicate matters, different seasons of our lives may juggle our list of priorities more often than we’d like. This can make it really difficult to manage our time and the attention we give to other people and other passions in daily life.The following may seem like a contradiction to what we have come to believe about our relationship to God. It most certainly is something that, at first glance, looks as if it panders to exactly the misplaced focus of our western culture and the “ME” generation we live in.

What would you think if I told you that what matters most… is YOU! That’s right. When put in its proper perspective, the value you assess of yourself places life and the things of God in just the right priority order. Now, I’m not speaking here of the kind of self love that makes you stand in front of the bathroom mirror and tell yourself how great you look. I’m also not writing about the self absorption that tells us we’re better than anyone else, or smarter, happier, wealthier, yada, yada, yada. (You know, you can ‘yada, yada, yada’ almost anything…)

On the contrary, the self love I want you to think about is the kind that God tells us about in scripture over and over. One of my favorite places to find this idea is in Isaiah 45:18

“For this is what the LORD says— he who created the heavens, he is God;He who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other.” (NIV – emphasis added)

Isaiah tells us not just his own words, but the words of God who told Isaiah that He formed the world. Not to be a useless space, but to be inhabited. Well… by YOU. God made the earth with the express purpose that you and I, and everyone around us, dwell in it and inhabit its surface. When we know part of God’s purpose in creation, and how it relates to us, we can understand that we are valued by God. Before the great story of Jesus unfolded, before the coming return of the Lord to gather His children to Himself, God was already demonstrating His love for us by creating the earth FOR us. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a great expression of his love to us. And when you love something or someone, you know the true value they carry within themselves.

God is telling us that we matter to him. You are valued. And when you come to know this, you can begin to see how truly special you really are. And you can love yourself. Not in a vain, selfish manner. But as one who finds that they are precious in the sight of God. And that makes you precious indeed.

In his recent song “Everything Glorious”, David Crowder poses the question, “You make everything glorious and I am Yours. What does that make me?”

I hope you know the answer.

If you’ve missed the previous message you can click HERE to listen

welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Christ Community Church, Alaska) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:29:00 +0000