Belonging to Him

This week in our study of Romans 8:14-17 we are going to be looking at what it means to be adopted as God's children. This reality is one of the most transformational truths of the Bible. Sadly, experiences with our earthly parents can cloud our understanding and hinder our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Just what does it mean to be adopted by God? What is God like as our Father? Is it even desirable?

How can we experience (not just understand) this truth?

Join us this week as we dive into one of the most exciting passages of the Bible!

Why Be Committed to a Local Church?

I recently had a conversation with someone who doesn't see the need to attend church. He said that he and God were getting along just fine without being a part of "organized religion." He told me that every time he had gotten involved in a church he discovered that there were people that were difficult to get along with and "hypocrites" that didn't live out what they professed.

It's funny, but as I look back over my years attending church and now pastoring a church, I have to say that one of the major benefits of being committed to a local church is the exact thing he didn't like. I have come to recognize that one of God's purposes in having us commit to being a part of the church is the relationship issues that we will be forced to deal with as we seek to follow God together.

• There have been times that I have had to learn to love someone that I wouldn't ordinarily spend time with.
• There have been times that disagreements have forced me to set aside my own opinions to seek God's insight into issues.
  
• There have been times that I have been confronted with my own selfishness.
• There have been times that I have challenged to grow in areas of servanthood and responsibility.
• There have been times that I have needed to lovingly confront someone who wasn't following God.
• There have been times that I have been called to join with others in taking a giant step of faith to see the Kingdom built for God's glory.
  
• There have been times that I have needed to learn what it really means to forgive others.
• There have been times that I have had to learn how to wade into someone's world in order to help them learn how to walk with Christ.
  
• There have been times that I have had to learn how to submit to authority, even when I disagreed with a decision that was being made.
  

Sure, my involvement in the church has allowed me to learn about the Bible, develop friends and have a warm sense of belonging to something. The joy of worshipping together can be amazing. The love expressed to me by others has astonished me. The people that God has used to mentor me and help me grow have almost always been people in a church I was a part of.

These are all good things and should be a part of our church experience.

But I am convinced that one of the most overlooked reasons God calls us to be committed to local church is so that we can knock the rough edges off of one another. This doesn't mean that you have a calling to be the church's sledgehammer. It means that as we seek to follow God together we will at times bump into one another and as we do, God wants to refine our character so we will be more like Christ.

When things start to get dicey, when I feel a relationship start to strain, I'm learning to take a step back and ask God questions like "What are you trying to teach me, God?" and "Lord, what do you want me to say or do here?" or "What is your perspective on this, Jesus?"

As I have done this, I'm finding that my rough edges are being rounded off. I've learned that these moments are times when God wants to do some transforming in our lives. I'm discovering that the Lord is at work. Maybe it is me that is being worked on, maybe it is the other person. Usually it is both.

So the next time someone or something bugs you about your church, let me encourage you to spend some alone time asking God what he is up to. I think you will be amazed by what he shows you!

The Christian Life

Sin is a word that has been dropped from the vocabulary, yet it is something that affects all of us. Sin (willful disobedience to God's will) generates guilt and shame in our lives, and sends us on a downward spiral of running away from God. Sin, according to the Bible, actually has the ability to enslave us.

Freedom is found only through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Most of you who attend Nashwauk Alliance have discovered that Jesus Christ died to take away our guilt and shame. But have you discovered that Jesus can also take away the bondage that sin causes?

Living a truly Christ-like life doesn't happen the way most people imagine. In fact, many people try to live a "Christian" lifestyle and find themselves failing miserably. That's what Romans 7 is all about.

The truly Christian life is one that is lived in relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit. That's what Romans 8 is all about. Paul makes it clear that we are supposed to live "according to the Spirit" and that we are to "set our minds" on the the desires of the Spirit. As we do so, we discover that God has truly provided everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him (2 Peter 1:3).

Join us this week as we continue to explore what it means to "set our minds on the desires of the Holy Spirit." As we do so, we will discover liberation from the bondage of sin and glorious freedom in Christ Jesus!

Following God in the Midst of a Storm

God has called us as a church to a challenging and exciting task: Helping others discover a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Those "others" include our friends, family members, the people down the block, in the next town, in the next county and beyond the borders of our own nation. In fact, when I ponder the call that God has our church, I'm a little overwhelmed. Throw on top of that the national economic uncertainties that we dealing with and I find myself at a loss to see how things are all going to work out.

I'm sure that you've felt the same things, perhaps about the church or your own household.

That's why I am so glad that what the Lord wants me...and us...to do is simply obey him day by day. The cultivating of that close relationship with Jesus so that we can understand what it is he wants us to do today is important. In fact, its the only certain way to navigate in these tumultuous days.

I find myself pondering the words of Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes my lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I want you to notice some of the things that the sheep experiences: green pastures, quiet waters, a prepared table, an overflowing cup. These are things that we all desire, but notice that there is also a valley of the shadow of death, the presence of enemies, and evil. These things come as well. The secret to surviving and even thriving is the shepherd. The sheep's responsibility is simply to stay with the shepherd. The shepherd knows what to do, where to go, and how to cause the sheep to thrive.

What a comfort in these days to know that all we need to do is to stick by the shepherd's side, doing what he wants us to do, and he will see that our needs are met and that we will dwell with Him forever.