Discipleship Network Forum

We all can get caught up in the tradition of running around and gift buying, however this year I am more aware of how trivial all of the trappings of the holiday season (especially Christmas) is.

When I think of all the people who do not know the saving grace of Jesus Christ, Christmas takes on an important meaning for me. Oh don't get me wrong, I am still shopping for family and friends, but I am also praying for those who don't know Christ as their personal Saviour.

I attribute this to really living my faith intentionally. I am trying to focus more on others than me and mine and it has paid off spiritually in a big way. I look for God more than He looks for me! Not sure that will make sense to people, but for me this Christmas is more personal and more real than ever. Scripture tells us that we are to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us to all who inquire. Well for me that hope comes from the Christ child's birthday. It is in that birth that we have hope for our future!

With so many without jobs, homeless, and without hope, I aksed God to let me be an instrument of His peace this year and I believe He has granted that wish becasue of His grace and mercy. And it was in that Grace that God came to earth in human form to save His creation!

So it is with the joy of Jesus that I wish all a glorious Christmas Season.

Yours in Love

Rev. Robin W. Barrow

YESHUA looked at the man and said, “How hard it is for people with wealth to enter the Kingdom of GOD! It is easier for a camel to pass through the needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of GOD!” (Lk 18:24,25)

The Scriptures discussed a lot about money and finances and giving and YESHUA especially mentioned it many times in relation to our relationship with GOD. It is not that GOD does not want to prosper his people because the Scriptures is replete with examples of GOD directly blessing His people such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, etc. In fact, they prospered while the people around them were suffering and GOD used them to deliver the people from bondage. A good example would be Isaac who planted during a famine in the land of Gerar and reaped a hundred times more than he had sowed. He grew very rich in flocks, menservants and maidservants because ADONAI blessed him (Gen 26:12-14). The LORD Himself reminded Israel that He is the One who gives them the ability to acquire wealth lest they begin to get enamored at their own power to acquire so much possessions (Deut 8:17,18). For life does not consist of one’s possessions.

The warning is given to people who focus their mind, soul and spirit on the acquisition of material wealth. Everything will be tested with fire, and if it burns, then it is lost forever. So the question is, with what foundation are you building? What are you building? If you are building your kingdom, then your kingdom will perish with you. Everything on earth is finite and has an expiration date. Abraham prospered because no matter how much GOD blessed him, he never grew any roots on earth. In fact, the Scriptures tell us that Abraham was looking for a city with permanent foundations whose builder and architect was El SHADDAI (Gen 11:10).

The fact is, when you are taking care of GOD’s business on earth, GOD will take care of your business. When men live by trust in the LORD YESHUA, GOD will prosper them and they are able to enter the Kingdom of GOD. To men, entering the Kingdom of GOD by whatever earthly means possible is impossible. How can a time-bound, earth-bound person achieve lift off? If he can’t see the invisible, then it’s all foolishness to him. But when a person turns to GOD and trust Him alone, he immediately gets access to GOD’s presence in eternity!

To build with human hands what you want to achieve spiritually is to build in vain. But to lift up empty hands to the LORD YESHUA in complete surrender is to achieve Paradise with GOD!

Build with the right tools…learn from the master Carpenter.

מלאך

400 years of silence. All the promises from God throughout the struggles and upheavals of history now gone cold. Prayers falling on deaf ears. So many generations of lives lived, wars fought, exiles endured, within this immensity of waiting, with no word or sign.

How can we who do not wait, have no capacity of endurance, even fathom living our lives within such waiting? And there was nothing. No word, no glimmer of possibility, simply a wall of silence. Even Abraham, that paragon of patience, had new words of promise as doubt began to invade. And he did not wait well. Not really. Otherwise there would not have been an Ishmael.

Yet, despite how well or poorly people wait, the time is not any longer of shorter. 400 years is 400 years for faithful Jews living thier lives as best they can, for rebels and would be messiahs ending their lives on wooden crosses, for all the rest of the world, groaning in expectation.

When the waiting ended, a babe, born in a humble place to lowly parents, heralded by angels and stars, but who of any import saw those? Not what anyone expected. So, many still wait, having missed the point of it all, their expectations still unmet.

If I have the promised Messiah that all of history revolves around living within my heart, why am I still struggling against the waiting, still expecting so much more than I already have in full. Could I have missed the point somehow?

This morning I read the story of Jephthah from Judges. Jephthah is know mostly for his rash vow. Before he attacked the Ammonites, who were raiding Israel's towns, he vowed before the LORD that he would sacrifice as a burnt offering whatever came out of his house first when he returned from battle. He succeeded and upon his return who should come out first but his only daughter, dancing and playing the tambourine in celebration of his success! He was in a quandary. He was obligated to fulfill his vow, but this was his daughter, his only child. It's not entirely clear what happened to the girl. She seems more concerned about the prospect of never marrying than about the prospect of being sacrificed as a burnt offering. It's possible that her father was able to redeem her life by offering a bull or other animal, but she would have to remain devoted to the LORD and could never marry. I'd like to think that was what happened, but the times were brutal, and human sacrifice was occasionally practiced among the people living in Canaan at that time. In any case, Jephthah regarded his vow as binding, even though it had such unexpected consequences.

I can't help wondering how David might have responded in a similar situation. I imagine he would have fasted and prayed, grieved and mourned, and insisted on bearing the penalty for breaking his vow rather than sacrificing his child.

Perhaps Jesus had this story in mind when he told his followers not to make vows. So much of life is beyond our control that it is better not to make vows. Indeed, Jesus seems to be thinking of the kind of cavalier swearing that people use to confirm the truth of what they say or attest to their firmness of purpose. Some believers have taken Jesus' words to mean that his followers should avoid ever swearing to anything. So they refuse to swear in a court of law "to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." For the most part, vows have been supplanted in the modern world by contracts and agreements, where rights and responsibilities are delineated in precise, legal terms and hedged by a nearly impenetrable thicket of jargon, intelligible only to lawyers and judges.

One notable exception is weddings. Not everyone still makes vows at a wedding. Here, too , the legal profession has intruded with prenuptial agreements and marriage contracts. Nevertheless, most people still marry with the expectation of making a lasting commitment to one another. And in Christian wedding ceremonies, they still make vows to love and honor one another until parted by death. The vow serves to signify to seriousness of purpose, but I think it is also intended to compel the vowers to make every effort for the rest of their lives to fulfill their vows.

The other day a friend sent me an email with a link to a YouTube video clip of a flash mob performance. If you've never seen one they are pretty amazing. The link for this one is posted below.

These types of surprise gatherings involve large groups of people who mingle into an open public space to carry out an unexpected performance. This one takes place in a common food court of a mall. One of the best parts of the video is how it catches the faces of onlookers full of surprise and awe.

I've seen some of these flash mob performances before but this one uses the Hallelujah Chorus done in dramatic fashion. It left me with a sense of the divine breaking through into the ordinary. Isn't that the essence of celebrating Christmas? God breaking through into the ordinary?!

Reread the Christmas story in Luke 2. You'll notice words like terrified... amazed... rejoicing... We see the same kind of thing recorded in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit breaks into the ordinary to birth the church ...

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ~ Acts 2:42-43

Since God is everywhere, always... isn't every moment an opportunity for the divine to break through into the ordinary?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!"

In my mind's eye I saw the cross over-shadowing the manger scene. May we be challenged anew to have the same mind of Christ!

As we celebrate God entering our human condition, let the cross of Jesus overshadow us!

Nuke

They'll know we are Christians by our love,
by our love.
They will know we are Christians by our love.

I used to sing those words with my friends back in the seventies when I was a senior in high school, and the Jesus Movement was still in full swing. We really believed that love was the hallmark of a Christian, despite what the culture around us might say. Jesus, of course, said the same thing: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35).

When I was a kid—a Christian kid—I knew quite clearly what the prevailing culture thought of us. Christians were known for what they were against: no movies, no gambling, no drinking. No fun. I knew this caricature to be untrue because I had loads of fun. I enjoyed singing hymns, studying the bible, praying, and listening to sermons. I didn't know why my friends didn't enjoy these activities too. Christians were widely regarded as backwards but otherwise harmless killjoys.

Christians are still known for what we are against. Only now the list is more serious. Christians are anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-sex, and anti-science. And we are still anti-fun.

Of course, we have all kinds of caveats and explanations for anyone who will listen about why we are not anti- this or that, but the fact is the culture regards Christians as narrow-minded, irrational bigots. We are not known for our love. Quite the opposite. We are known for our hatred.

How has this come to pass? Back in the seventies, I expected a revolution. The Jesus Movement was going to transform the church and unite it. That didn't happen. Instead, the Jesus People were seduced by consumerism, transmuting it into a prosperity gospel. Your assets attested to God's blessing; the greater your net worth, the holier you were. The excesses from that era brought down Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and reinforced a cultural stereotype that the only thing churches want is your money. Love lost out again.

Now it seems that Christians are a Republican political action committee. Christians are mobilized to protect their rights, driven by fears that preaching the gospel will come to be regarded as hate speech, that rampant immorality will destroy our country, and that science—particularly evolution—will make the bible unbelievable. Fear is a great motivator. It brings in money for conservative lobbyists. It prompts people to write or call their Senators and Representatives. It moves people to defend themselves. But fear isn't the hallmark of a Christian; love is.

I don't advocate political passivity, nor do I think that Christians can transform the culture just by being sweet, harmless folks who never put up a fight about anything. But we need to recover love as the defining characteristic of those who follow Christ. Jesus' love was not wishy-washy; it was bold and decisive. He proclaimed forgiveness to sinners and upended conventional religious notions about who was righteous and who was not. Jesus was known not for what he was against but for what he was for. He was for the poor, the sick, the oppressed, the outcast, the hopeless. He was for sinners while remaining implacably against sin. He was even for the Pharisees and hypocrites, could they have seen it, because he told them the truth about themselves, and you don't let people you love go on believing a harmful lie. Above all, Jesus' love prompted him to respect the rights of those he loved to make wrong decisions.

We need to recover that kind of love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (I Corinthians 13:4–7)

What if Christians became known for their patience, kindness, and humility? What if they became known for the respect they show others and the way they make others look good even when they themselves don't look so good? What if they became known as peacemakers, forgiving those who have wronged them and not even allowing those wrongs to be mentioned? What if Christians were the ones who always protect, always trust, always hope without ever quitting or giving up? What if they engaged in thoughtful debate without rancor or gave more money than anyone else to relieve suffering around the world? What if they worked tirelessly to end sex trafficking, eradicate hunger, cure diseases, help the poor help themselves, build schools and hospitals, and pursue justice for society's outcasts? What if Christians became known for their love?

This past weekend was the weekend of not-so-proud moments.

It started out with a plan, lots on the schedule but it was going to be manageable. A lot of things, but all good things. A piano recital, a baseball tourney, two basketball practices, decorating the tree and church.

But I blew it on more than one occasion.

I had my first experience of losing self-control in the stands as a parent. After the game, I had to ask forgiveness from the moms for my inappropriate behavior and had to repent to Coach-Husband for my attitude in the stands. This was after he sent an email to all the parents (including me) about maintaining a positive attitude.

The kids seemed to manage the packed in day of Saturday really well... until Sunday morning. Then we had the kind of morning where I actually thought about calling in and saying I couldn't come to church. My heart was not in the right place. I was the parent who didn't handle things well in the morning and felt hypocritical going to church and worshiping God and offering to minister to others.

Yet we went along and as I prayed for Jesus to help me, I remembered something very important I had just read.

I am loved unconditionally and welcomed fully by Him.

By His grace, it is in these moments when I am at my ugliest, I can return to Him for joy, fullness of hope and restoration. Because He forgives me, I can look my boys in the eye and tell them I'm sorry. Because I know I am deeply loved at my worst, I can go back and worship.

Approaching Christmas, I'm reminded at how amazing it is that Jesus came to save the lost. To reach out and raise up the wretched, most messed up people, just like me.

Thanks be to God.

Remember what the gospel says about us: we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe but we are also more loved and welcomed than we ever dared hope. ~ Elyse Fitzpatrick, Counsel from the Cross

While putting out my decorations the other day, I paused to wonder, “Why am I draping gold beads over these glass ornaments and placing them on the back of my piano? I mean, really, is this necessary? Would life be simpler if I did not go to the trouble of decorating my home?” As I paused a moment and let that question settle, this answer came to mind. I celebrate the most amazing event that occurred thousands of years ago. My life is anchored around a glorious moment in history that forever changed this world. It changed life for everyone I know , those before me and for my descendants to come. A King, a Messiah came without fanfare into a quiet little town and brought hope and healing to the world then and now. I celebrate this month the fact that there is hope for the hopeless and peace for the desperate. There is forgiveness for the aching souls who long to know their past is forgotten. There is a blanket of mercy that wraps around the most callous heart and warms it until it beats again with hope for a new life. This Redeemer, this healer of my soul, this baby, is a King. There is royal blood running through His veins and though the world around Him didn’t know it at the time, I know it now. I know He is deserving of all the praise and adoration I can possibly find within me to express. So, I light up my corner of the world because I am grateful for who He is and what He has done in my life and the lives of those around me. I make my home sparkle with lights because His face is as radiant as the Sun. I drape gold and silver because He deserves every beautiful, rich color I can find to express my wonder at the glorious riches of His love. I lay boughs of evergreen around because His love is never ending. I can count on Him to always, always be with me. No matter the storm, no matter my pain, He is the constant peace that carries me. I light candles because His Word lights my way and warms up my frightened heart with it’s peacefilled promises and encouragement. I plan and prepare feasts of my very best best offerings, the richest and most flavorful foods,as I remember the vast amounts of His blessings to me. He offers bountiful, abundant blessings far beyond what I could ever ask or imagine and lays them out before me because He loves me. Not because I deserve it, but because He longs to lavish His love on me, His child. So, I offer these feasts , these lights , these trimmings of color and sparkle to those I love because I am celebrating this amazing baby, this King, this royal Prince of Peace. He entered our world humbly , but I must never forget the splendor and majesty of who He is. So now, every year, in the midst of the frantic preparations and lists and shopping and busyness, I will stop and remember, as I decorate, why I do what I do. And then, I will sparkle, so all those around me will know that the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, has come to save a lost and hurting world. Emmanuel…God with Us…Joy to the World, the Lord has come!

By Ruth Schick - Pastor's Wife, Mom & Worship Leader at www.ridge.tv

This Little Light of Mine

As a grandmother, you’d expect it from me, I know. To hear me tell you that my grandson was the best, the bravest, the inspiration to us all, does not surpriseanyone. Even our David would rollhis eyes at Gramma’s praise – for what did he really want, but to live, to be aboy, to grow to be a man and yes, to be a Shamash.

Neither David nor I are Jewish, but those of you who are know what a Shamash is - the servant candle of the Menorah – the one that isused to light the others.

I too had heard the story many times – of how the oil was lit to celebrate victory, and the pure oil sufficient to burn a single daylasted eight days. Yet we seldom think about the candle that lit the victoryoil. The Shamash was the one keptready - prepared to light the other candles. His brother Michael was quick to remind me what Davidsaid himself – he was just a man – one who did not want the pain he endured,but one who was willing to search for and find the worth in it – quietly,valiantly.

Whether small and reserved and ready at the right hand, or elevated at the center, the Shamash – the lighting candle on the menorah – reminds me of our David. It gives me courage in our strugglingeconomy and soothes the fears of what may lie ahead for our country, for theworld, for me personally, and for those I care about. It speaks to me of what God has already done, assures me ofthe unexplainable He is capable of doing, and gives me courage to guard my ownlittle flame from the winds of unbelief.

Some might think David’s faith (and ours) was in vain, for didn’t he suffer, and isn’t he no longer with us? Others know better andcontinually testify as to his flame in their lives and now in others thatcontinues to illuminate their paths and point the way to peace despite life’sturbulence. And isn’t this amiracle too, that one so young completed his calling while even his grandmotherstruggles with obedience and living love restrained only by unselfishmotivation. So what can Ido?

I can listen and then I can speak. Softly, to fan the flame of hope in others who bear similar pain. I can weep. In joy as well as sorrow, I can weepwith others for like-experience brings comfort and living-evidence bringsassurance. That “knowing” like thepurest oil, brings health and strength from within when the clear vision ofvictory and purpose is held aloft. I can accept. Understanding the darkness and unknowing, I can accept others fears anddoubts, relieved no one need depend on me to do what I cannot, yet rejoice thatDavid’s candle has lit my heart so that its flame can spill over onto theirpath. I can give. The knowledge we gained researching hisdisease was for him, and also for others yet to live. The bonding of our heartsis a gift impossible without the mutual journey through deep waters. Thereceptiveness to others’ needs I would not feel as deeply had I not known bothdesolation and the joy of receiving.

Times of hardship are here for some and coming for others. Things will get hoarded and spoil or shared and used up. We may run out of heating fuel or gasfor our cars, power for light or money to purchase those supplies, but theenemy only conquers when hope is gone.

I hoped to carry that flame to our offspring; instead David passed the torch of hope to me. He carried a flamethat ignited the source - creating greater light than by glowing on hisown. Sometimes for me the coldwind of fear accompanies sharing myself, wondering will my light go out? Will my light diminish? Will I have the strength tosurvive? Surprisingly, I continually discover that instead of depending on myown light to guide others, every small selfless act (giving-up and trusting inthe Source of miracles for the strength) begets a flame that is fed by thebreath of life, designed and destined to reignite warmth and hope fromgeneration to generation. Left toitself, my light flickers at every breeze and cringes at every weather report.But God’s eternal light does not fail. Giving in His strength does not fail to give hope to the receiver aswell as to the giver.

Fear of loss outlines our future, for none of us are exempt. Alreadyour pension has been lowered; our bank account is smaller. Greater losses than possessions - ofsomeone dear, of our own health, our freedoms, loom on the horizon. Remembering what God has done throughDavid helps me to know that whatever my experience will be, it can also be aShamash for those in my circle of influence. I can speak the words of eternalhope. I can weep with those whoweep and rejoice with those who rejoice. I can accept fear in others because I too ran to God in weakness andfound that He will be my strength. And whatever I lose in this uncertainfuture, I will still have whatever I gave away.

As Dave shared through his 5 years of trials and pain, his questions always ran the same pattern – What are youdoing, God? What can I learn fromthis? How can I help othersthrough this?

His answers were revealed through his daily life and faith as one kind person wrote that ‘many are watching andwonder’. That example continues toenable me, as a survivor, to continue walking the carefully blazed trail. Eachtime I think of my grandson, and my remaining life, I think here’s to you Dave,may my questions be as unselfish as yours, my life a light of willing service,and above all may others see in me your gift of unexpected hope.

Yesterday, December 8th, 2010, was the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death at the hands of an assassin. Last October 9, 2010, would have been his 70th birthday. I was a fan of the Beatles when they arrived on the pop scene back in the early 60s, but not so much with their later music. As their music evolved it was just not my style although it is easy to see why so many of their fans loved it. John Lennon was perhaps the most interesting Beatle and his popularity continues, possibly due to the nature of his death coupled with the mystique of his life. One feature of his life that continues to provoke discussion and speculation is his struggle with faith and spirituality. Much has been written about it. It seems to me that Lennon's real quest was for truth. He seems to never have come to a resolution regarding this vital issue. Unfortunate. I'm personally so thankful for the Christian resources which are available today to help us discover truth and the confidence and hope for the future which that truth promises in Jesus. Resources which I'm currently using to strengthen my grasp on truth are: The Truth Project,a video series featuring Dr. Del Tackett of the Focus on the Family Institute; Foundations of Apologetics (video course produced by the College of Christian Apologetics at Oxford University), and The Reason for God by Timothy Keller.

It would be interesting to know if John Lennon would have ended his life on a sounder footing had he had these materials available to him. Chapter 18 in the Gospel of John records Jesus' trial before Pontius Pilate. Responding to a question from Pilate, Jesus answered: “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Pilate retorted: “What is truth?” There is no indication that Pilate made any effort to discover the answer to his question. Apparently John Lennon cared about the truth but for whatever reason was never satisfied with the answers he received. As Christmas approaches it is wonderful to know that the truth is available and that God, in His grace and mercy, "...wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I (Paul) was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher...." (1 Timothy 2:4-7) What a wonderful gift.

My life did not flash before my eyes. I was too concerned about how - or if - I was going to make it back tothe beach. Our family trip that day was not supposed to end with me drowning ina riptide.

It was our first day on the beach with our rented boogie boards, and I was the first one in the water.Wanting to catch the waves where they were breaking, I headed away from theshore. By the time I realized they were breaking too far out, the water was overmy head. On the board from the waist up, I started kicking to get back to thebeach. After a couple of minutes I had not made any progress. In fact, I wasfarther away from the beach and farther down the shoreline. The board wasstrapped to my wrist so I let it trail behind me and began to swim. I swamuntil I was exhausted and swallowing water, but I was even farther from shore.No matter what I did or how hard I worked, I could not save myself.

Seeing I was in trouble, my husband grabbed another board, left the safety of the beach and came to myrescue. My three children watched from shore. I could hear the youngest cryingfor me. When Waynereached me, he calmed me down and talked me through riding out the riptide sowe could get back to the beach. Moments later I was reunited with my family.

Just like me in the riptide, spiritually we are “lost” and can do nothing to save ourselves. Our sin has separated usfrom God. “Sin” is disobeying God, or choosing our own way over God’s way. Sinfirst entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, breaking theirintimate relationship with Him. Everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23). This sinbreaks our relationship with God bringing with it the consequence of spiritualdeath (Romans 6:23). This means we are “lost,” separated from God and unable tomend the relationship ourselves. There is a gulf between God and us we cannotcross.

But God loves us and desires to have a relationship with us. He does not want us to perish and spendeternity separated from Him. God responded to our predicament. Since we couldnot save ourselves, God came to our rescue. We celebrate the anniversary ofthis great rescue mission every twenty-fifth of December. Christmas reminds usthat God loves us and sent His Son to save us from our sins. Would you like tolearn more about God’s love for you and His plan for your life?

Find out how to have a relationship with Jesus now.

If you want to find out more about Christianity and how to know God then check out the 12-session Biblestudy “God’s Truth Revealed.” This study takes you on a journey through theBible to show you why you need God and how you can know Him.

This story was excerpted from "God's Truth Revealed" by Kathy Howard

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in Thee; and in the shadow of Thy wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by. I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me. Psalm 57: 1,2.

Often when mired in a deeply emotional trial (something happening with your spouse, children, famiily, or close friends), we find ourselves focused on the issue and the emotional upheaval caused by it. We ride the roller coaster, paying lipservice to Him with our shallow prayers. Fortunately, He intercedes for us in circumstances like these. However, I have found the psalms a great help in expressing the depth of our need to cling to God, worship and praise Him, and be "kept" by Him, under the shadow of His wings; emptying my mind of the issue and reactions, and pouring forth the cries to God Most High, who does accomplish all things for me. Destruction will pass by, and although we may be singed by it, afraid of it, and too focused on the negative possibilities, we will see and experience the grace of God as we run for our lives into His wings for refuge, He is, after all, God Most High.