Tag: Family

Inauguration Day

Inauguration Day
Hello, Greetings from afar yet truly just down the street from where you are, grace and peace to you. It is my hearts desire to express to you my prayers for you. That you would be bold in your faith and that you would walk humbly with Jesus as He calls you onward and upward; challenging you to walk as He walked.

i spent the day watching the Inauguration of the 45 President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump and in a video conference call about summer camps. Watching the Inauguration  reminded me as the media did the play by play of the days events that although we submit to the government our hope is not in it but in Christ alone. Whether you voted for Trump or not remember that. Looking at the world we really do have a great system of checks and balances and in four years we will go through this again, if the Lord tarries.

However, the power in the Heavenly realm will never change. Jesus is King now and forever. Although, i believe He does look upon our world governments His concern is for the church. It was displayed in His last arrival into Jerusalem when He went to the Temple and not to the governors house. (Matthew 21)

9 Crowds went ahead and crowds followed, all of them calling out, “Hosanna to David’s son!” “Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!” “Hosanna in highest heaven!”

10 As he made his entrance into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken. Unnerved, people were asking, “What’s going on here? Who is this?”

11 The parade crowd answered, “This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee.”

12-14 Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text:

My house was designated a house of prayer;
You have made it a hangout for thieves.

Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them.

My favorite part of this passage is the end, “Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in…” The Church has work to do regardless of who sits in earthly authority We must be busy making room for the less fortunate, the weak, the blind, the crippled, the hopeless and the lost. May we be about the work of the KING!
you are loved,

cj

Infinitely More!

Infinitely More!

The bills piled on the desk in two stacks, need paid, and pay later. The money wasn’t flowing in like it once did and the realization that they were living above their means was becoming more and more apparent; but how to break the cycle wasn’t coming to mind.  Jim and Amanda, had been married for eight years, both once had great paying jobs but when the economy turned down so did their employers. Amanda was laid off first and could only fined part time work in a cafe. Although she loved her job it barely kept food on their table. Jim was a bit more lucky in his employment.

Simon’s, was a local appliance store, Jim sold refrigerators. Although, the business had downsized its employee’s Jim had been spared thus far but sales were down and therefore so was his commission. He brought home enough to pay the mortgage so at least they had a home but the decision was do they keep the heat and electricity or keep the car, the only car they had between the two. Jim mostly drove the car to and from work, Amanda took the bus. The discussion went back and forth, there were times Jim worked a later shift and the buses stopped running at 7. He could walk home but that was 7 miles. He could ask a co worker but there were times he closed the store and would lock up alone. It seemed everything they could think of had its down side and things were only looking worse. Recently, Jim found out that Simon’s would be letting another sales associate go at the end of the month if sales didn’t significantly improve.

Rick lived across the street and had been pretty much unfazed by the down turn in the economy as he was the leading marquee name at the Law Offices of Brown & Marquez. Rick would see Jim and Amanda work in the yard, walking their dog ‘Digger’ and they always seemed friendly and welcoming. He saw them one other place each week and that was church. Faithfully every Sunday, Jim and Amanda sat just in front of Rick. Rick was struck by their joy in worship, even though he knew some of their struggle. Not because Jim and Amanda complained but through conversations of life.

Amanda mentioned one morning when she was out with “Digger” that she had been laid off by the advertising agency where she had worked. However, she was so thankful that Cups was hiring and that they hired her.  He had just had a conversation the night before with Jim’s boss, Mr. Simon’s. Mr. Simon’s shared of the difficult decisions he was faced with when Rick was in buying a new washer and dryer.

On this particular Sunday the Pastor presented a message out of Ephesians on the Church and the provision of God. He read from Chapter 3:14-21:

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

That was when it became clear to Rick that God was going to provide for Jim and Amanda. Jesus, speaking directly to Rick’s heart through His Word. Rick heard Jesus say, “‘Rick, today you will invite Jim and Amanda out to dinner. You will share with them how God has been working in you mightily and how I have directed you in ‘love’ to help them financially.’ Rick,” the Lord continued, “Pay off their car releasing them from that burden allowing them to put their money to better use supplying their needs. Also, offer Amanda the receptionist position you are about to post.”

That day Jesus did more than Jim and Amanda could ever ask or think and Jim felt the mighty hand of God at work in him.

What is the Lord calling you to do? Or how is He calling you to trust Him?

You are loved,

cj

Life Lessons on Vacation

Life Lessons on Vacation

Yesterday we visited, Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center, in Homer AK. Let me back up a bit and catch some of you up to speed. The family and i are in Alaska, although we lived here for 8 years from 2005-2013, today we are tourists.  i personally lived in Homer, for 4 of those years and had visited the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center, countless times. i admittedly got burned out and it became a joke, “hey, you guys want to go to the Visitor Center?” to which everyone would respond, loudly and emphatically, “NO!”…yet, it amazes me that i still see or hear something new whenever i do go. Whats even more amazing is that as i walk around now, even though i haven’t been here in at least 4 years, that i can remember, i still remember a ton of information. As we walked and listened, i was able to give information about different stuff that had just been sitting in my memory waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.

These are the thoughts i have about that from a Biblical standpoint. First, we understand the Word of God to be living (Hebrews 4:12). Which means that as we read it over and over, even the same passage everyday for a week for instance, there is always something new to be learned and understood. The passage in Hebrews is mainly talking about the power of the Word to see through us, change us, renew us, but its natural conclusion is its ability to instruct us. For further examples see Psalm 32:8 and 2 Timothy 3:16 and here 1 Corinthians 2:10-12.

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Second, the more we read and understand the more i begin to understand how God through His living Word can speak through me at the right time. If we are soaked in the Word, we begin to emulate and soon the Word just oozes out of us. Some would say that emulate is to powerful a word as within the definition it says, “ones aspiring to become equal or greater than” and they would point out the devil and his fall from grace. Point taken, however, i am not attempting to emulate God in Heaven so much as His Son Jesus on earth. There is a difference even though they are One, simply looking at Jesus own words in John 14:12.

May we be challenged to seek His Word faithfully, may we not get bored of reading the same passage over again, but may it spring to life new every time we read it.

You are Loved,

cj

Hark the Herald Angel Sing

Hark the Herald Angel Sing

Its almost Christmas and i harken back to a time when life was simpler, yet my childhood angst would be aroused with unimaginable anticipation. The house pristinely decorated with Christmas cheer, every room, every hall, my mother would spare no expense or space. It reminds me of the cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and in particular the song, Welcome Christmas (listen to it here). Even now i can see my moms house decorated to the hilt. She as in years past started decorating in October…setting up Harvest scenes that will easily transition into Christmas scenes along with Harvest Trees that have become Christmas Trees. She quite literally took this song for everything its worth…

Trim up the tree with Christmas stuff
Like bingle balls and whofoo fluff
Trim up the town with googoo gums
And bizilbigs and wums

Trim every blessed window and trim every blessed door
Hang up whoboohoo bricks then run out and get some more!
Hang pantookas on the ceilings
Pile panpoonas on the floor
Trim every blessed needle on the blessed Christmas tree
Christmas comes tomorrow. Trim you, trim me!
Trim up your tree with fuzzle fuzz
And fliffer bloofs, and wuzzle wuzz
Trim up your uncle and your aunt
With yards of whoflut flay

i don’t know what any of that means but it is definitely an accurate description of my parents home. My present home, however, is much more modest in its decor. In fact this year even more so; i confess that i have not been very festive this year at all, compared to Christmas’ past anyway.

i sometimes feel guilty that i don’t have all the trimmings up, that is until i remember the modest entrance of the King of kings. This remembrance also caused a stir. The stir began about the same year as this blogs original post date. The significance of our Kings birth is not lost on me, only the way in which we celebrate it. my transition wasn’t easy, i expressed above my mom could be mistaken as Mrs Clause.

Luke 2:4-7
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
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Although, the following verses are marked by an angelic scene in the sky with great significance, the actual place and birth were humble, times ten. i think we can sometimes get lost in the glamor of modern Christmas and miss the simplicity of Jesus’ birth that heralded in the Majesty of the King. To this i say, Merry Christmas my friends, may you think of the humility of God in the birth of His Son, Jesus, Emmanuel. Hark the Herald Angels Sing:
.
Hark the herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled”
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem”
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

 

Christ by highest heav’n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

 

This awakening began with me asking a simple question, why do we celebrate Christmas? Which lead to many, many more questions, why a tree, why greens, why December 25th, why, why, why? None of the answers really answered the question well enough to ease my uneasiness of Christmas all together. So, i began to ask, how did God say to worship Him? How are we to honor Him? This opened up my heart and mind in ways i never expected but am forever grateful for. This Christmas or whenever it is you are reading this, may you begin to ask the question, why? Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.

God bless us, everyone! (Tiny Tim)

You are loved,

cj

P.S.

Here are some interesting facts concerning the Hymn/Carol of Hark! The Herald Angel Sing from Wikipedia (so take it with a grain of salt?)

 

God’s Power Through Your Prayer

God’s Power Through Your Prayer

i recently challenged the teens of my youth ministry to pray this prayer for others and themselves. The challenge to seek God, who has unlimited resources, to empower us from within through His Spirit. To make our hearts His home as we invite Him in…to grow in God’s love and understanding how awesome He is. The prayer is found in Ephesians 3:14-19…i have included it here:

“When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everyone in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His hove is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:14-19

A simple reminder to continue to pray this prayer…pray it for your family, pray it for me, pray it for yourself…as i pray it for you. Let us wait expectantly for God to move in our lives. It ends with verses 20 and 21

“Now all glory to God, who is able through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen!”

You are loved,

cj

You are Loved

You are Loved

“Tired from his journey, Jesus, sat at the well, it was noon.” A glimpse into the humanity of Jesus. He was tired and sat to rest at a well in the middle of the day. A part of the day when the well should have been void of people, and it was until, a Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. This was completely out of the ordinary…sure i imagine there were times and circumstances where water was drawn in the heat of the day but it was most definitely the exception and not the rule.

How do we know that this wasn’t just one of those exceptions? Well, (pun intended, heres another) we can draw from the conversation (you can pause here and read the whole of the story in John 4 here). i want us to think on this encounter for a moment. This divine encounter where Jesus, meets a woman, no one wanted to associate with (in public) and ‘loves’ her.

We are in advent week two popularly known as the week of LOVE, the advent of love coming to dwell among us. That’s not all, love came to hang out with those no one else wanted to. To meet us right where we are…no change necessary to come to Him where He waits for us. His desire, for us to know Him.

“If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.” Knowing Him and asking Him and receiving from Him…living water, life everlasting. Love so freely offered to a woman trapped in a life of sin. Love.

You are loved,

cj

Don’t Complicate Things

Don’t Complicate Things
In speaking to the teens on Tuesday Night we have been in Colossians 2 and this will be our 3rd week on the following passage. Colossians 2:6-7 i want us this time to look at in the message.

6-7 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

i like this rendering because it is straightforward. He doesn’t mince any words, getting right to the heart of the matter. i don’t feel i need to add much to this accept that he isn’t saying we shouldn’t continue to learn and grow…but what he is saying is that we need to take the knowledge that we do have and begin to live it out in our daily lives. We know what it means to love someone…we don’t need much study on that Luke 6:31-34

Jesus said, “Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.”

Let’s not make it more complicated than we need to.

Die and Live

Die and Live

Colossians 2:6-9 CEB

“So live in Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way as you received Him. Be rooted and built up in Him, be established in faith, and overflow with thanksgiving just as you were taught. See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to the human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ. All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body.”

We are to die and live in Christ. The letter to the Colossians is a great educator to this fact.  Even as much as we are all individuals and our lives are starkly different from each other; our circumstances and history, our influences and struggles, these all differ…it is still true that in the eyes of Christ we are the same. In that He loves us, died for us and calls us to live in Him.

Therefore, although we are different we are all on the same journey and have the ability to speak life into each others lives.  We are the same even with all of our differences. Lets us all have the mind of Christ. Rooted and built up in Him.

You are loved,

cj

Only a Man

Only a Man

There is a part in the telling of Jesus ministry that catches my eye every time i read it. This account is found in Matthew 9:35-38 and reads thusly:
35 Jesus traveled among all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. 38  Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.”

Jesus saw the people and had compassion. His heart was broken for their helpless, and troubled spirits. His desire for them was that they would become part of the harvest. That they would give their hearts to Him completely. His heart is for us too. His desire is for us to be more than a part of the harvest but to be workers in the field. Taking the good news to the world that is wandering, troubled and helpless. To shepherd them to the Great Shepherd.

This song by Jonny Lang is one of my favorites (listen to it here). It is the song of a man who finds himself helpless but returning to Jesus. That is our story too…let us have compassion on those around us…let our heart break for what breaks the heart of the Lord and be workers in a vast field where the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

You are loved,

cj

Life

Life

Life, fleeting moments sown together. Each of these moments, good or bad make up who we are and who we are becoming. Our family, our friends, our surroundings, these influence each moment. Each moment forms our opinions, our feelings, our personality. Who and what we choose to influence us is vitally important. In a day that see’s ever increasing persecution on Christians, even on the act of prayer we must be vigilant in our pursuit of Jesus.

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy…” Philippians 1:3-4

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

You are Loved,

cj