Generations Woodinville Foursquare

The Holy Week Roller Coaster

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:33:59 +0000

This week has been traditionally labeled as Holy Week. I think, not because the days were to be marked as more holy than other days, but that it was the week leading up to the pinnacle achievements of Jesus the Messiah. This is the week we celebrate and focus on observing the Lamb of God laying His life down for our sins and the sins of the whole world, and His glorious and victorious resurrection from the dead. He arose VICTOR over death and hell.

Just like our lives, Holy Week is filled with emotional ups and downs. It begins with what we call “Palm Sunday” which describes the joyous, jubilant, celebrative “triumphal entry” of Christ into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds, and probably Jesus, were on an emotional high.

During the week Jesus becomes more focused and troubled as he approaches, in all His humanness, his ultimate sacrifice. This emotional downer doesn’t even reach its lowest point in the garden where Jesus travails, sweats drops of blood and petitions His Father to find another way. No, it reaches its nadir during his scourging, public spectacle and tortuous crucifixion, squeezing from Him the cry: “FATHER, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

That is how he felt. Forsaken – alone – hurt – full of pain. Been there? But, the glory of the Holy Week Story is that, DESPITE His emotional highs and lows, the gift of life from God has the last and eternally victorious word. In His inner being, at His very core, Jesus knew this to be true. That is how He could “for the JOY set before Him, endure the cross, scorning its shame.”

The message from Jesus to us at Easter time is this…
“In Me, everything I have, you have! My victory is your victory! Because of me, YOU TOO can endure, scorn any shame, and look forward, with great JOY, to the ultimate victory of God in your life. Because of my cross and my resurrection from the dead, I am now seated at the right hand of God – forever. Learn to ride out your emotional ups and downs, no matter how low. You too, are to be seated here with me, for you are mine and I am yours – forever.”

”…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

Well, What IS my “First Love?”

admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 22:35:22 +0000

“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance… You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:2-4, exerpts)

I don’t know about you – but as powerful and motivating as those verses and the verses following them are, I honestly often heard them with a twinge of condemnation – as in: “I know you love me, but not enough. You’re just not cutting it. Love me more intensely.” How wrong!

My beautiful wife, Kathy, and I are reading together “The Five Love Languages,” by Gary Chapman. (By the way – do you and your spouse a HUGE favor and read it.) While reading, I was reminded why I had so often misunderstood the above Revelation passage. I was flashing back to my first couple of years as a believer in, and follower of Christ. Like with most newly forgiven and Spirit-filled believers, these years were naturally accompanied by honeymoon-like, obsessive infatuations. These feelings are normal and good, but they are not yet mature. it is my first experience with this love, but it is NOT my “first love.”

Some pretty good research (Chapman) shows that the “in love” obsession/infatuation phase lasts, on average, two years. This phase, regardless of age, whether a first relationship, first marriage or not, is in reality a not-yet-matured, unrealistic version of love. Typically, the person “in love” can often think of nothing but the object of their passionate desire, living in a dream-like, unrealistic state. Other responsibilities may suffer because of obsessive emotions. Marriages often fail because when this phase passes, individuals focus on the shortcomings instead of only the original attractive characteristics of their mate. They interpret the passing of this phase as, “I no longer love this person and need to find someone new that elicits those same emotions.”

Mature love is a choice which requires focused consistency and discipline to work through the challenges of life because of my commitment to a person. It is in this process of life that I learn mature, unselfish love.

Jesus calls me and you, not back to living in a non-stop “spiritual high.” He calls us back to walk and live in the decision we made when we said, “Yes, Lord! You are the number one love of my life.” In this “first love” relationship, just as in marriage, I commit and recommit to work through encroaching challenges of the things of this world which attempt to move in and crowd out of my life the presence of, the power of, and communication with Jesus.

Additionally, in this verse, Jesus is not calling us to cease from good works. But, He strongly exhorts us to not to allow good works to replace walking with Him as our first love. Ah! Now this understanding of “first love” is consistent with the Jesus I know. The one who calls me into an eternal love relationship, filled with His grace, His easy yoke, His peace, His help, His healing, His comfort and love, His commitment, His faithfulness. He’s saying to us: “If you miss out on this relationship – you’ve missed the whole thing. All your hard work – all your “deeds” are just, well – religion.

Jesus-Yes! Church-Yes!

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:43:22 +0000

The “Jesus-Yes, Church-No” Movement:
Guy: “I love Jesus but can’t dig the organized church. So me & my buddies just meet and wherever we are – that’s church”
Me: “Fair enough. So where do you meet?”
Guy: “Different places – Starbucks – homes, wherever.”
Me: “Cool. Who decides when and where?”
Guy: “We all do.”
Me: “Oh – a church committee decides. Alright.”
Guy: “hmm!”
Me: “is your family involved in your church?”
Guy: “Well, none of us are married yet or have kids.”
Me: “Ok. Have you thought about what you’ll do when that changes?”
Guy: “No – we’ll just roll with it.”
Me: “Nice. Think about it though – will your kids go with you to Starbucks if you’re still doing it.”
Guy: “Probably not.”
Me: “Yeah – I can see that. What will you do with the kids while you meet at Starbucks?”
Guy: “Not sure, but I think I see where you’re going with this.”
Me: “Uh-huh! You’ll have to organize something, right?”
Guy: “Hmmm.”
Guy: “You’re a baby boomer! We want real relationships in our Christianity.”
Me: “I really respect that. Most ‘organized’ churches have a lot to learn from your generation about the value of authentic and real relationships, and not just doing the ‘Sunday’ thing. And we have lots more to learn from you than that, I’m sure.”
Me: “But we were talking about being anti-organization. Can I ask you this? Who pays when you’re at Starbucks?”
Guy: “Well you know man, sometimes someone offers and sometimes we each pay for ourselves.”
Me: “But it’s not ‘free’, right? It costs something for you to meet, gas money, food – expenses.”
Guy: “Right – but it’s not like church where you’re expected to give something, then you do out of guilt or pressure.”
Me: “You’re not expected to help with the expenses?”
Guy: “It’s different. It’s done because we want to, not because it’s an institution and organized.”
Me: “But isn’t that what God asks of us whether we are in a brick structure with a cross, or at Starbucks, to give because we want to, from the heart. Even if we believe in tithing, isn’t it to be done from the heart?”
Guy: “Yeah, but it’s not so many times in the organized church.”
Me: “No doubt sometimes true. But I think what the Lord requires of me is to check my own heart as to why I give, not compare myself to others, and judge why they may or may not be giving. I’ve just been wrong too many times.”
Me: “What do you do when you get together, just talk about whatever? Sports?”
Guy: “No, we study books of the Bible together, then discuss them and usually pray together.”
Me: “Great. Who decides what book?”
Guy: “Well, this one guy was doing it and we just are doing what he was doing.”
Me: “So, is he your ‘leader’?”
Guy: “Well, kind of, I guess. But other times we decide together what book next.”
Me: “So that would be your Bible Study decision committee then?”
Guy: “No – it’s not like that.”
Me: “Hmm!”
Jesus-Yes! Church-Yes!

All the Stuff You’re AGAINST

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:27:57 +0000

And Jesus said: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, by all the stuff you are against.” Right?

To my Christian friends, I encourage political involvement, but please don’t confuse it with representing Jesus to those who need love and forgiveness. And, please, never let it replace that calling. Thank God for America, let’s work to make it a righteous place. But America is not the Kingdom of God, to which you are now called as a citizen and an ambassador

…that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:19-21)

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:5)

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, (Ephesians 2:19)

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Philippians 3:20)

GET YOUR PRAISE ON!

admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:46:38 +0000

I recently read some thoughts on John 4:24 where Jesus tells us that our Father desires those who will worship Him, do so ”in spirit and truth.”

“Worship in truth means worship agrees with His Word – praising the Lord revealed in Scripture. He is the embodiment of holiness and justice as well as love and mercy. He is mighty and transcendent, yet chooses to dwell in intimacy in our hearts, making us the Temple of His Holy Spirit. Worshiping the Lord in spirit means that we praise God with our whole being, taking delight in the opportunity to praise His name.”

Spending time preparing ourselves before we come to church will help us “enter his gates with thanksgiving” in our hearts and into “his courts with praise” (Ps. 100:4). A good night’s sleep doesn’t hurt either. The worship habit of the Jews was always to prepare for the Sabbath on the previous evening.

Look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday,

Fasting Ain’t Easy!

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:06:23 +0000

Fasting isn’t easy, and requires the exercise of discipline. Someone said there are two kinds of pain: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Let’s use this chance to discipline our spirits and bodies for spiritual breakthrough – for ourselves, our families and our new church’s ministry.

Prayer Tips: Being Fully Present with God…Our culture and habits have trained our minds to wander. So… we are left uninspired and wanting because we are not completely present with God when we pray. We thank God for the food we’re about to consume, but our thoughts revert to unfinished work. We ask God to protect our kids while we ponder how to survive until the next paycheck. We sit down to listen to God and our minds wander uncontrollably. Before we’re finished with one mental task, our mind jumps to the next.

Try this: Use a phrase or technique to retrain yourself and “snap” your mind back to that zone where God is always fully present for you. Something like: “God loves me;” or “I need you more than oxygen.” Think of one that is meaningful to you. Being fully present in prayer increases the depth and joy of our prayer lives, allows us to enter the presence of God with awe and excitement, and creates a hunger to come back for more.

“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Your Not Flunking “Prayer”

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:53:53 +0000

Ever feel like you’re not good at prayer? Like you don’t know how to pray right – and when you do pray – you don’t feel like you did it very well? Well – join the rest of us. You’re NOT alone. We ALL flunked the class.

Romans 8:26-27

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

When Paul talks about our “weaknesses” in this text, he is using an economic term. It was the equivalent for our word “bankruptcy,” the inability to pay our debts. It’s so important that we ask and allow the Holy Spirit to help us and lead us as we pray, to catch God’s heart and pray in harmony with Him.

It’s not a shameful thing to admit our need. Remember: “God is not just a big one of us!” “His thoughts are not our thoughts and His words are not our words.” So, to admit that and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in prayer is a joy, a privilege and an exciting journey.

As we fast together this month, let’s enjoy the journey and the excitement of supernatural encounters with the Holy Spirit of God.

Marc

Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Is In

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:37:48 +0000

A song in the 60’s by the First Edition was called: “Just Dropped In to See What Condition My Condition was In.” This is what Jesus did and does. He cares, firstly, about the condition of our hearts.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were meticulous in observing tradition and ritual, including a preoccupation with vigorous scrubbing of hands and utensils. They were observing Jesus carefully to find fault with Him and disciples. When they noticed the disciples not always washing their hands before meals, they confronted Jesus with this “un-religious” behavior. Jesus’ response is recorded in the seventh chapter of Mark’s Gospel:

“Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

Jesus wasn’t saying it’s bad to have clean hands and eating utensils. But what really matters to God is always the condition of our hearts. That’s His first value with us. When keeping our homes, cars, status symbols in top order for others to see, but don’t give attention to a clean heart, then our hearts are far from God.

A heart daily cleansed from sin is open for the flow of His life, and we are able to creatively reveal the compassionate face of God to the world.

The Rock Star with no Guitar!

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:23:33 +0000

He was a rock star with no guitar. No PR man. No manager. No Website. No cell phones. No e-mail. No posters. No airplay. Yet multitudes swarmed to receive His loving energy.

I love the Bible record of Jesus’ life, His words and His stunning acts. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t stay still. I had to get out of the house and find some action of some kind. But, at the age of 17, when my heart was drawn to Jesus, I wanted to stay home and read more about this one of a kind man, hear His words and be with Him as He changed peoples lives. He was the most magnetic man who ever lived.

“a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’” (Matthew 3:7-12)

It was not the great who sought Him. The Bible says: “…the common people heard Him gladly.” The common people were so drawn to him, wanting to get as close as possible to see Him and receive His healing touch. Many are too proud today to even consider coming to Him. In truth, it is the strong who can admit that they, too, need the healing touch of the Son of God! Humbling one’s self is not for the weak, but the strong. “He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty” (Luke 1:53). He is only a whisper away!

NY’s Resolutions and Connecting

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:17:48 +0000

Did you make a New Year’s resolution last week that you were excited about? Are you less excited about it this week than you were last week (smile)? Has it already found itself blended in and kind of lost in the “normalness” of your life-style and habits? Time has a way of wearing down our emotional excitement attached to things that were once new and full of promise.

A resolution to renewed regular workouts and a healthier diet isn’t as exciting when I’m at pushup number 20 on my way to 30, as it was when I was just envisioning the new, healthy me as a product of my resolution. About four days into my new resolution, with muscles aching and a body not wanting to jump up out of bed, the excitement about my resolution has worn off and I have a decision to make. Will I live in this “newness” because it’s exciting or because it’s good and healthy – and will I continue to pay the price for it?

As a follower of Jesus since 1969, I’ve noticed my prayer life is similar. Prayer can be very exciting and renewing – but not always. Sometimes it’s mundane. Prayer has an unusual way of being like my own emotions – up and down. But, it’s ALWAYS good. Why? God doesn’t change – and He’s always there – regardless if I feel Him or not, sense Him or not. He’s sharing life with me and as excited about me talking with Him as I am when my children or, now, even grandchildren call on the phone.

Prayer doesn’t even have to be profound – it’s about relationship. When my two year-old granddaughter, Stella (who is already speaking fluently and clearly in two languages), calls and says: “Gwaaaammmpppaaa?,” I know the conversation isn’t going to be deep, but the smile it brings to my face and heart that she just wants to talk to me about “whatever” is one of the great joys of life. We’re connected.

God doesn’t care if you think you know how to pray or not – whether you are great at prayer or not. Try talking to Him, about “whatever” at any time of day. He is there, and you will bring great joy to His heart by turning to Him and acknowledging that He is there. I start by knowing He loves me. Our grandchildren call us because they know we love them. I promise you, your life will noticeably change (probably not just to you) as you regularly “connect” with Him.

Now I pray, not because I’m always excited about prayer, but because it keeps me connected to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ – and open to the blessings and flow of His Holy Spirit to renew, comfort, even coach me in Life.