“I can’t wait for things to get back to normal.”

I get why people say this. This has been a difficult season for our church, our country, and our world.

Who knew that when we gathered to worship on the first week of March that would be the last time we would be together as a congregation for months!

On the first Sunday of March:

• The global pandemic was just starting to close things down in the United States and the state of Washington was one of the first states to prohibit gatherings of more than 10 people
• George Floyd was still alive
• The protests for Black Lives Matter and for ethical and just policing hadn’t taken place
• The stock market was still on a roll setting market highs
• The unemployment rate in the United States was 2.9%

If we go back to the church we were on the first Sunday of March, it would be a crying shame!

Too much has changed. There is too much pain and discord in our world.

The day will soon come when we will be able to gather to worship. And when we do:

• I pray that you and I are a church that brings healing to a country torn asunder by division
• I pray that you and are part of the solution because in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female for Christ has made all one. The local church that proclaims this pure, unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world!
• I pray that the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace demonstrates the grace of Jesus Christ in such a way that people of all backgrounds, all previous hurts and pains, all past baggage are welcomed and can begin their journey toward healing, wellness, and shalom

This season has provided the church the most fantastic opportunity to be the church and be God’s instrument to establish his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.

The day will come when we will be together again. And if we are to be a part of God’s plan to bring healing to our land, we need to prepare right now.

How do we do that? We must grow and mature in our faith. God has given us everything we need in his word to do that. I challenge you to go into a season of training.

• “Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3)
• “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The key is God’s word. Commit to growing up in your faith by the daily intake of God’s word and by the weekly hearing of God’s word preached.

I can’t wait for the day when we can worship together! I long for a day when we can worship the risen Lord Jesus Christ, the hope of the world! Let us prepare for the day when God will be using congregations ready to be a part of God’s solution to this hurting world.

 

“Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).

We are on our final day looking at the seventh characteristic listed as a fruit of the Spirit: faith. It’s a shame for there is so much more the New Testament can teach us about faith. The word faith, pistis, occurs 243 times in the New Testament. It would be a good study to look at each of the instances of the word faith in the New Testament as it would encourage and inform us about who we are because of who our God is.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

While we will be moving on, I encourage you to do a word study of faith in the New Testament. It would be well worth your time and you will be glad you did it.

Paul closes his first letter to the Corinthians with the following charge: “Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” That’s fantastic advice for July 31, 2020.

• Keep alert – it is too easy to fall into the routine of these days. Days run together so that we even lose track of what day it is! I want you to fight that. Have a daily schedule of reading God’s word, and praying. I mean, we’ve got the time right? Just like we have regular times of eating, schedule a regular time for reading God’s word and praying. Keep alert. We will get through this and God expects us to be growing and thriving during this time. It is impossible to do so without daily reading and prayer.
• Stand firm in your faith – the things we read about in the news are truly astonishing. Imagine reading some of the headlines just ten years ago. Things that are unbelievable are happening in our days. And it can be daunting. Thank God we do not stand alone. We stand firm in the faith that God is at work to bring about his kingdom will here on earth as it is heaven. Stand firm!
• Be courageous, be strong – not in our own strength and abilities. That will get us nowhere. Our strength is in the Lord. Christ is our strength and courage. Lean on the strength of Christ and be courageous!
• Let all you do be done in love – one thing our world lacks in buckets is love. Not human love. The love that springs from God and comes from God. For it’s God’s love that has the power to change us and change the world. We know this because God’s love has changed us. Let all you do be done in the love of Christ!

What fantastic and encouraging words for July 31, 2020!

Thank you, God!

“When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, in terrible distress.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and cure him.’ The Centurion answered, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go’, and he goes, and to another, ‘Come’, and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this’, and the the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith“ (Matthew 8:5-10).

Why do you suppose Jesus was so impressed with the centurion’s faith? What made the centurion’s faith so extraordinary that Jesus was amazed and declared, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith”? All his disciples were present with him and there was a large crowd with him. Yet Jesus singles out a gentile centurion for demonstrating an amazing faith.

What made the centurion’s faith so amazing was that he understood who was in charge. As someone who has authority over others who obey him, and as one who obeys the orders of those who have authority over him, the centurion was declaring that Jesus was one in authority and whatever Jesus promises and declares is reality.

That’s faith. It’s trusting in the one who has authority and having the absolute confidence that the one who is worthy of being trusted.

It is absolutely true that our world is a mess. The division in our country is being played out in our congregation.

• There are those who are sickened by the protests in our country, Seattle, and Portland because of the violence and the disregard for law and authority
• There are those who are sickened by the protests in our country, Seattle, and Portland due to the inequalities and injustice that continues and not enough is being done to correct how the people of color are being mistreated
• There are those who are disturbed by the decisions being made by the Governor Inslee regarding the covid-19 pandemic because they believe that the governor and others in authority have overstepped their legal boundaries
• There are those who are disturbed because there are still those in our state who refuse to believe the serious impact of covid-19 and who continue to disregard the call to curb social gatherings and plea to mask up

God is in control. God is not done working out his will in God’s world to bring about his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. God is the one in authority.

What’s missing even in Christian contexts is the faith of the centurion.

• God is the one in authority
• God is not done working out his will in our country
• God is still on the throne

It is this faith that makes Christians different than all others in this world. Christians too see the messed-up-ness of the world but Christians know God is in control. God is still at work precisely because the world is messed up. Our hope is not in governors or leaders. Our hope is in Christ and Christ alone!

Jesus is what our world needs. That’s what made the centurion’s faith so extraordinary. I pray that the centurion’s faith is what God and our community sees in the people of the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace. For where Christ is present there is healing. Christ is our hope. Christ is the world’s hope.