Hindsight

Devotion to Jesus Christ was the topic at church Sunday (Acts 2:42.)  I want to highlight two ideas that I really didn’t have enough time to fully develop.  The first idea is the meaning of the word devotion itself.  The early Church devoted itself to 4 goals:

            #1.  Devotion to learning the teaching of Jesus through the Apostles.  All the theology that the early church wrote down for us so we could understand the full impact of who Jesus is.  The fact that He is a part of the Trinity.  That there is a Father, Son and Holy Spirit united in love and mission to reclaim their creation.  That each has specific responsibilities within that relationship.

            #2.  Devotion to the fellowship of all those who claim Christ as their Savior and join together as a family.  The early church had a fellowship that went beyond just gathering on Sunday mornings.  They ate meals together in homes to build relationship.  They gathered sometimes daily to hear scripture read and taught on because they had no Bibles of their own.

            #3.  Devotion to Communion.  The crucifixion of Jesus was so fresh in the minds of new believers because it was just a few weeks previous to their faith.  They could picture in their minds crucifixion because they had personally witnessed, maybe not Jesus crucifixion, but some crucifixion.  You couldn’t live anywhere in the Roman Empire and not have seen at least one crucifixion.

            #4.  Devotion to prayer.  There’s no greater challenge for us fast paced Western Christians than the spiritual discipline of prayer.  Practicing the presence of God so that they prayed without ceasing was the way the early church coped with the stress of living out their faith.  A few years later Paul would write New Testament books where he had to encourage people to pray because the persecution of the Romans drove the church underground.

The second idea I want to discuss is the outworking of the word devotion through the Church of Jesus Christ.  This word devotion is the strongest word for communication in the book of Acts.  It communicates that the early church took responsibility for communicating to their culture the truth and value of Jesus Christ but also His grace and love.  They took time to connect with people.  They took time to include others. 

The number one way people became Christians was through the experience of a worship service where Jesus was made the center of worship and a sermon was given to explain how to connect to people.

It’s always important for everyone to know how to share the gospel.  Every person in church should be able to ask, “If a friend were to ask you how to get to heaven what would you say?” and then tell them how to get to heaven.  

But the early church invited people into churches to experience worship and hear the Apostles teaching.  We can do the same thing today!  Invite people to church, especially those who’ve never been to an energetic, alive church!  Let them experience what it means to see other normal people worship God and interact with the Word of God through sermons. 

What does taking notes during a sermon say to new people?  “Wow, these people take this Bible thing seriously!”

What does engaged singing say to new people?  "Wow, these people take this worship thing seriously!"

This week think about the elements of devotion and practice the presence of God both outside during the week and then inside when we gather in the name of Jesus.

Hindsight

Jeff Link told a story in the Traditional Service at GateWay a couple of Sunday’s ago that stuck with me.  He cited a San Francisco Chronicle newspaper story that included a suicide note from a young man who jumped to his death off the Golden Gate Bridge.  The note was found in his apartment the day after he jumped.  The suicide note said, “If someone notices my distress and talks to me on my walk to the bridge I won’t jump.”  No one noticed and no one talked to him.

This sad story drives home the point I made on Sunday about encouragement.  There are times when all of us need the crutch of encouragement.  There’s pain, discomfort and injury in our lives and we need somebody, anybody to come alongside and prop us up with a little crutch of encouragement.  A kind or thoughtful word is helpful. 

Proverbs 25:11 says, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver (a great combination to make an expensive piece of jewelry), Is a word spoken in right circumstances (a great combination to make an encouraging statement.”

I  like the Irish fable:

         There were four people in the world, Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.  Now, there was a very important task that was Everybody’s job, but Everybody thought that Somebody was going to do it. But Somebody didn’t do it. Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it. Everybody thought that Somebody was going to do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. So, it ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody because Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”

Encouragement is a choice that anybody can make.

Hindsight

Some have asked about the books I recommended on Sunday so here they are:

Hide or Seek by Dr. James Dobson

Parenting with Love and Logic by Dr. Foster Cline

Christian Child Rearing and Personality Development by Dr. Paul Meier

These 3 books have been very significant to me in raising my kids.  I hope they are helpful to you as well.

Parents can feel isolated and embarrassed about issues their kids are dealing with and never confide in another parent about their struggles.  Some parents also feel hesitant about going to a counselor to get some feedback concerning how their parenting is working.  So reading a couple of books is so helpful for gaining the depth of wisdom that comes from professionals who counsel hundreds of parents. 

I’ve found in my own life there can be a fog of understanding when I’m trying to evaluate my life.  I was sitting in a counselors office a couple of years ago talking about some struggles I was having and after about an hour this psychologist said to me, “You know what your problem is?!”  I said, “No, that’s why I’m here!”  He said, “You sound very …!”  I said, “That’s it!”  In one short hour this guy was able to put his finger on the heart of the issue and help summarize my difficulty.  That was really helpful because I could see what I needed to do next to correct the issue.  The fog dissipated and the next steps were clear.

I recommend books because they can be just as helpful as counseling and the cost is a whole lot lower.  You also get advice from people who have seen child rearing patterns and strategies that have consistently worked.  Advice about breaking your own negative parenting patterns are a part of these books as well.

Take action, don’t get discouraged and quit trying or sit in apathetic silence, get a couple of books and try a few new ideas.  Hopefully they’ll pay off in big relationship rewards with your kids.

God bless,

Pastor Ed 

  

Hindsight

Yesterday kicked off Family Month with Dr. Gil Steiglitz challenging us to develop “honor” and “respect” in our relationships, especially in marriage.  If you weren’t here I want to encourage you to go to the GateWay Visalia web site and under resources you can bring up his sermon and listen to it or next Sunday go to the 411 table and get a cd copy of the message for $3.00.

Remember that I Peter 3:7 says that we are to honor wives and women (moms, daughters, etc.) in our lives by granting it to them.  So this week you’re to “add value” to these ladies.

Remember that Ephesians 5:33 says that we are to respect husbands and men (dads, sons, etc.) in our lives by granting it to them. So this week you’re to “acknowledge value” to these men.

The primary purpose of these passages is the husband and wife relationship, but these principles need to be used in other relationships so that we respectfully build others around us. So take advantage of the Bible's role in your life and encourage!

Hindsight

Yesterday I wished I’d had time to develop the difference between real guilt and false guilt or what some psychologists call objective vs. subjective guilt.

Real guilt is when we can name a law, social standard or Biblical teaching that we have specifically violated.

False guilt or subjective guilt: is an uncomfortable feeling or regret, remorse, shame or condemnation that we experience when we have done something that we can’t put our finger on. 

False guilt is this free floating anxiety that can be caused by:  Unrealistic personal expectations, a sense of inferiority, or social pressure.

One of the largest causes of false guilt is poor conscience development as a child.  Dr. Gary Collins in his book Christian Counseling writes, “When the home is warm, predictable and secure, and when there is more emphasis on approval and giving encouragement than on punishment and criticism- then the child knows what it means to experience forgiveness.  But when there are poor parental models, and /or moral training which is punitive, critical, fear-ridden or highly demanding, then the child becomes angry, rigid, critical and burdened by a continuing sense of guilt.”

He finishes his article with this statement, “Remember that two good ways to learn about forgiveness are to practice it and to experience it.”

The first step is always, “Do what you can do!”  Practice forgiving and you’ll get better at accepting forgiveness which will help you eliminate guilt.

Personal counseling for guilt can be extremely helpful if you experience constant guilt from poor moral training with your parents.

Trinity Ministries Inc. here in Visalia has some really helpful counselors that can assist you in conquering the guilt dilemma. 

God bless,

Pastor Ed

Hindsight

I have a friend who is also a Pastor.  He was standing in a line at Starbucks behind a young lady who enjoyed talking, and she chose to talk to him. At one point in the conversation he asked her if she had ever tried church.  
She came a little unhinged and got a little angry and began to recite to him how badly she’d been hurt by the few churches she’d attended and she would have nothing to do with hypocrites like that. 

“You seem very upset,” he said, “and you still seem angry with those people, maybe even a little bitter.”

“I am!” she said.

He, in a very soft kind voice said, “How’s that anger-bitterness thing working for you in the rest of life?”

Her lip quivered and her eyes filled and she said, “Not very well.” 

They sat for an hour at Starbucks and had a long conversation over their coffee!

When you connect with Christ you encounter an inheritance of grace that changes the color of everything! Even at Starbucks.

Hindsight

Genesis 3 is the historical recording of Adam and Eve’s original sin.  From their distrust of God’s word and God’s character to their trust in the serpent’s word and character, sin entered the entire human race!  This story explains the original fall of humanity through which we all inherited the sin and guilt of Adam and Eve!  We all inherit a sin nature and the naturally inherited consequences for sin. 

The strategy of the serpent worked so well in this original scene that he has continued to pursue men and women in exactly the same way-by tempting them to distrust God’s word and God’s character. 

Is this a story of how I can sin and lose my relationship with God and my salvation today?  No. 

While the serpent’s strategy is the same, and my weakness is the same, Jesus’ payment for my sin is sufficient and my relationship with God is secure through Christ. 

Let me ask you, what do you think God’s ultimate plan is? I believe it is to bring as many people as possible into a saving knowledge of His Son’s payment on the cross for our sin? 

The Bible is not primarily a book about how to make bad people good, even though it can do that!  It’s primarily a book about how to make spiritually dead people alive!