choice 6 – repairing relationships

Guest Blogger:   Michelle Chastain on “Life’s Healing Choices“

This week’s choice leaves me the following thought:  Repairing relationships – yuck!  Can’t I just leave all of this repair business to Jesus and let Him handle the parts of my life I’d rather not deal with?  The answer is a resounding, “No”.  Jesus showed His mercy to me when I didn’t deserve it and, as an expression of my gratitude for Him and what He has done in my life; I am to show His mercy to others. 

This means I’ll have to let go of the resentment and anger that I have harbored for a long time and have come to recognize as my traveling companions in life.  What will I do if I let go of the bitterness in me.  Who will I be?  How will I act?  This behavior is me is deep seated . . .

I am reminded of the words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippian church: 
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.  Do everything without complaining and arguing so that no one can criticize you.  Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”  (Philippians 2:13-15)

Wow.  God tells me in His word that He is working in me and giving me power!  I don’t have to repair anything in my own strength; He is with me.  And He offers me instruction on how to allow Him to work in me:  without complaining and arguing while I live a clean and innocent life.  He even goes so far as to tell me why:  so that no one can criticize me (for His sake) and He tells me who I will be as I do these things:  a bright light in a perverse world. 

As I begin to go about repairing relationships I praise God that I can walk in His strength and His might.  He will take my human attempts and with His divine power, make them glorious, as He is glorious.  I am already anticipating the healing that is headed my way!

my prayer for you

Please watch this video below.  This is my prayer for you as we begin the first week of our spiritual growth campaign, “Life’s Healing Choices here at SCC.”

Has anyone seen that Nunn with my 2nd life lesson point?

July 23, 2009

Before I begin to share today, I wanted to remind everyone that this Sunday is the deadline to bring school supplies for our School House Rock Outreach Project. We still need more writing paper, child size scissors and construction paper. Thank you for supporting teachers and children at Austin Rd. Elementary!

Well I told you on Tuesday’s post that I was going to tell you another lesson that I learn from the Nunn, but to be honest with you I can’t remember what the second thing I was thinking about was. I didn’t write down what I was thinking, so it is gone. If the thought returns I will share i… and no I am not OLD, I just have a very good forgetter.

I know there’s a lot of debate going on about government controlling health care on the news and there are many opinions about it. So I thought I would share with you my thoughts for what they are worth. I don’t have a political opinion, I have a practical one. The one positive thing this has done is started conversation over a big problem… and it is health care in our county and it’s cost. I think this is a big issue and we have to solve it the right way and the only way to do that is by having conversations about it.

I don’t think having a government take over is the answer. For one reason it never helps the poor. Last week while on vacation, we drove to Cleveland, Ohio to have a picnic on the shore of Lake Erie. I needed gas so I pulled off the interstate and ended up in the projects or government funded neighborhood. So many people had looks of hopelessness and rejection. It seems everything the government “runs” is not good… outside of the army.

Every time you take a person’s need to work and earn away from them, you rob them of their will. You destroy their life because you tell them, if they will live here we will provide everything for you. It kills the human spirit.

A life lesson I have had to learn as a parent and as a pastor is that you can’t do life for people. You must let them fail and not bail them out but offer a way out..

That’s why God gave the church to the world, it is to restore the human spirit by introducing them to God through his son, Jesus. The bible tells us over and over to help the poor, we are instructed not to give a hand out but a hand up. I think it starts by teaching people this one lesson of Lordship that Jesus said in  Matthew 6:24 (NIV) “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and Money. We are instructed by God to listen to him and tell money what to do, but the problem is our culture is listening to money (money talks) and trying to tell God what to do.

hijacked blog

Guest Blogger:  Chesnee Dorsey

Since Pastor Jeff is out of town, I am hijacking his blog to pursue my own agenda….well, at least to tell you about some great things in children’s ministry.  I got this letter from one of our elementary students.  I have to admit it was a project they were working on in the Academy this summer, but nevertheless very touching.  It says:

Dear Ms. Chesnee

Thank you for teaching other people about God.  Thank you for having fun with us when we come to church.  Thank you for telling us stories from the Bible.  Thank you for listening to us when we talk.

Love,  Nathaniel

I love that.

Psalm 127:3  Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

 

speak a blessing

Yesterday I finished my sermon prep for Sunday.  We are doing a series called, “Man 2 Man.”  At the end of my notes I ask the question of every man, “If you don’t like what you are getting from your wife, then you must ask, ‘what am I giving her?’”  I think every man wants to give his wife the best, I just think most men are like me and think that women want what I as man want.  Boy did I ever get this wrong.  After almost 22 years of marriage, I am continuing to learn what makes my wife tick.

I want to tell you a mistake that most of us make with our families, male or female.  We often talk our spouse or children into being what we don’t want them to be.  Let me explain.  When we see a behavior or attitude in our husband, wife, or children we don’t like, most of us say things like this, “You’re a nag.   You’re a big mouth.  You’re a lazy butt. You’re not romantic.  You’re a spending freak.  You’re not an affectionate person.”   When we keep telling someone that you are a _____________,  then we become a prophet.  Most of the time people will become what they are constantly told they are.

So, why don’t you try something called, the power of the blessing?  Instead of beating them down with sarcasm, and by the way, how is that working for you?  Build them up with a blessing by saying, “thank you for speaking to me in a nice tone.  You are a sexy woman. You are a very romantic man.”

I am just saying if you are going to speak the future over you family, why not let it be  the one you would like to see instead of encouraging the bad behavior that is already present?

Proverbs 18:21 (NIV)   The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

One question. Does your word bring life or death?  Remember you have to eat the fruit of what you encourage.

how to overcome evil

I finished writing the notes for the message Sunday and I wanted to give you a sneak peak into the sermon.  I want you to feel empowered and not overwhelmed with what is going on in the world today.  So, I will be sharing how to push back the darkness.  We are not to just sit around and do nothing about the evil in the world, we are to overcome it.  The Bible says Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. 

1 John 3:8 (NLT)   But when people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil.

As Christians and followers of Christ, that is our mission as well.  You might ask how we do that.  The Bible gives us a very practical way.

Romans 12:21 (NIV)   Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Every time you and I choose to do good, we are driving out evil and darkness around us. 

I know now in our nation it seems to be somewhat dark, but I want you to be encouraged because the darker the world gets the brighter our light for Christ becomes. 

The world needs your faith to be seen and displayed now more than ever before.  So, don’t allow yourself to feel pressured into keeping quiet about evil or standing up for injustice.  Draw a line in the sand and stand with God for good.

Matthew 5:16 (NLT)   In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Speak up

Today I feel so burdened for our nation.  I see us as a nation drifting further and further from God and his principles.  I guess what has brought on my feelings is watching Miss California get slammed for answering the question on how she feels about same sex marriage.  She gave a biblical response that it is not right and is sinful in the sight of God. Now she has been persecuted because the world is pulling up every piece of dirt on her so they can say, “Who are you to judge?”  Well, the great news for Miss California is that she is not the one judging, she is only quoting the one who is the Judge and that is God Himself.

 

I am so thrilled that when asked a question about an issue of morality that she said what was true even though it would cost her the Miss America crown.  You know as Christian, we are to speak the truth in love and not try to pick fights with people.  But let us all learn a lesson from Miss California, when a moral question is asked and the Bible is very clear, speak up. 

 

Ephesians 4:15 (TEV)   By speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head.

 

Combating Brokenness

Yesterday was a day I witnessed brokenness all day in those around me.  When I went into my office, the first note I received was a note that someone’s family member had passed away. That family is broken because of the loved one dying.

 

I went to my first appointment and it was with a Pastor who had a moral failure over a year ago and he has been trying to keep his family together.  Now, he wants to start over as a pastor and feels no one will give him a chance because he had this failure.  He was broken because of guilt and shame.

 

On the way home from that meeting, I talked with another pastor on the phone who was broken because he had been at his church for nine years and built a new church building. Now, because of the economy and a situation out of his control, the bank is going to foreclose on the church.  He may be forced to move his family to a place that he doesn’t want to go, just to survive.  My heart was broken as I listened to him literally cry for 45 minutes and ask, “Why?”  He was saying over and over again, “ministry is not supposed to be this hard.”  He was broken.

 

When I returned to my office I received an email that revealed more pain of people broken financially.  I walked back down the hallway and met a person who was just worn out from the stress of having a child with a lot of special needs.  She was broken and physically exhausted.

 

I came home and played basketball with my daughter and was having a great time and then I took the long three point shot.  The ball went into the air, the fans went wild as it looked to be the game winning shot. (Of course the only fan was me.)  The ball hit the back board and would you know it, the back board broke. 

 

We all face brokenness all day. We just have to open our eyes and see it in ourselves and in other people.  The Bible says that we are to confess our sin to one another and pray for one another that we may be healed.  Again, confess our brokenness and let prayer be the healing agent of God for our brokenness.

 

James 5:16 (NIV)   Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 

Love Dare Challenge #24

Love dare number 24 “Love versus Lust”

 

What is this thing called lust?  Lust in very simple terms is, desiring something that God’s word says is wrong.  If it is consumed, it can bring damage to your life physically by disease, financially by debt, spiritually by putting a barrier between you and God.

 

Lust is getting your eye on something that is not right according to God’s word, which is the only moral standard in the world. Once you start focusing on something that is wrong, it will consume you until you get it. That is when we would say it has “gone from your eye to your heart.” Once it gets to that point, it moves very quickly to action.  That is when you act on what you have allowed in your heart.  At this point, you are not thinking correctly and you are not listening to anyone who is trying give you advice about your lustful desires. The next phase of lust that follows action is shame and regret.

 

So we can see Lust is in opposition to love.  It means to set your heart and passions on something forbidden.  And for a believer, it’s the first step out of fellowship with God and with others.  That’s because every object of your lust-whether it’s a young coworker or a film actress, or coveting after a half-million dollar house, or a sports car-represents the beginnings of a lie.  The problem keeps coming when we try to meet legitimate needs in illegitimate ways.

 

By the way,  we all have this battle just in different areas.

 

Lust always breeds more lust.  James 4:1 (NIV)   What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your (lustful) desires that battle within you?

 

The only way to fight the lustful desires that are in all of us is to focus on God and keep asking the question, “is this what God would want me to do or have?”  Another simple way would be to remember the initials WWJD. It stands for (What Would Jesus Do.)

 

I never met anyone who has lived by that philosophy and now they’re living in regret or shame.  It always seems they are living in peace and joy.  You get to choose which philosophy you will live by, Lust or Love. Choose love.

 

 

Change We Can Believe In Pt. 3

Sunday I presented a question to our church family at SCC that has not left my mind.  The question was,” what will you change before you are forced to change?”  That is the question that every person must answer and if we procrastinate and do not answer the question and take action, we will have to change the hard way by pain.

 

I have watched my Dad who has diabetes not change his eating habits in spite of knowing his disease.  I remember back in 1995 at the age of 49 when they took him in to an operating room and did open heart surgery because of the damage diabetes had done to his arteries.  I remember hearing the doctors say to him, “Mr. Daws we have done all we can do for you to give you a second chance at life, now the rest is up to you.”  I thought after my Dad had his chest cut open he will get it together.  Well, that has not been the case and it has been one doctor’s visit after another over these last 13 years. 

 

I watch people struggle all the time who know what to do to make life better for themselves or their family but for some reason will not humble themselves to make the changes they need to make.  I think the greatest enemy to “Real Change” is pride.  Before I am willing to change I have to admit that I am wrong, my way is not working.   No wonder Jesus said Matthew 23:12 (NIV)   For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

 

So one of the first steps for real change is to ask yourself, “what am I doing that is not working in the areas of my spiritual life, family life, financial life or physical life?”   You see, you can’t separate those areas because they all make up your life and only you can decide to humble yourself to change them.  Jesus makes us a promise if we humble ourselves and ask what or where do I need to change. If we start acting on the answer, you will be exalted by him.  That means you take the first step and he will meet you and give you the power to have “Real Change.”