How many times have you heard the phrase, "take it to the next level?" As in, "It's time to take our sales to the next level." Or, "It's time to take our team to the next level?" And sometimes, "It's time to take our relationship to the next level." What does that really mean? Are there buttons on businesses or athletic teams or relationships like an elevator where you get to pick what floor you want to go to next? Does Christianity have a "next level?" Does our faith need to be, "taken to the next level?" I am not sure it is always that clear.
I do know that as I read through the Bible in 2011, it struck me how much Jesus' life and teaching and example are at a heightened state in the week leading up to his death and resurrection. He told his disciples in Luke 18:31, "We are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled." If ever anyone took things to the next level Jesus did that week. Sunday we will begin a series that covers that journey up and the fulfillment of many of the things Jesus accomplished. There will also be a special daily devotional for us to read from now until Easter called, "Up for the Journey." It was written by your fellow Northsiders.
Jesus always leads us upward and forward. There is always another step in the climb, always another place for growth and, I suppose it could be said, always the next level. If we follow, he will take us there. I hope you are up for the journey.
Tim
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Who First Told You About Jesus?
During the children's AWANA program on a Wednesday night not too long ago, one of our workers had a good but sobering experience. The kids were asked to share with their adult leaders who was it that first told them about Jesus. A little girl was asked that question by her leader and the girl replied, "You did."
Several years before, this particular worker had led an Upward Cheerleader team in the fall. This little girl had been a part of it. During those cheerleader practice devotionals, this little girl had heard about Jesus for the first time from this leader. Now they are both spending time in AWANA and sharing and learning more about Jesus. Until a few weeks ago, the leader had no idea that the little girl had first heard of Jesus in those practices on the Upward Field.
When we share Christ with other people, we never know the impact he may have on them. We also rarely know when someone is hearing for the first time. It is good to have different activities to share and to continue to share the message of the love of Jesus with children. When you get involved and stay involved, this is the kind of experience you get to have. You see the impact of the love of God over time.
This coming Sunday, we will study the kind of love we are supposed to share with one another in the church. Of course it is all about the love of Jesus. Whether it is the first time of the 1,000th time, we never can hear it too much. Nor can we share it too much.
For the journey....
Tim
Several years before, this particular worker had led an Upward Cheerleader team in the fall. This little girl had been a part of it. During those cheerleader practice devotionals, this little girl had heard about Jesus for the first time from this leader. Now they are both spending time in AWANA and sharing and learning more about Jesus. Until a few weeks ago, the leader had no idea that the little girl had first heard of Jesus in those practices on the Upward Field.
When we share Christ with other people, we never know the impact he may have on them. We also rarely know when someone is hearing for the first time. It is good to have different activities to share and to continue to share the message of the love of Jesus with children. When you get involved and stay involved, this is the kind of experience you get to have. You see the impact of the love of God over time.
This coming Sunday, we will study the kind of love we are supposed to share with one another in the church. Of course it is all about the love of Jesus. Whether it is the first time of the 1,000th time, we never can hear it too much. Nor can we share it too much.
For the journey....
Tim
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Joy and Sadness
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15
Last week was a challenging week. Two funerals and one wedding in a week will do that, especially if the one of the funerals and the wedding happen on the same day. One of the funerals involved a family originally from Iran. The wedding involved a couple from mainland China. It is interesting to see the cultures that God has brought into our church. The week was not demanding because of the differing cultures; if anything I found that we all mourn in similar ways and we all rejoice in similar ways.
There was great joy at the wedding. A young couple begin their lives together full of promise and hope. There was sadness at the funerals. Two women who had been very full of life are now gone from us. Laughter is a universal language. Crying is the same in any language.
I saw two clear lessons. First, if we have a church family, it fully enables us to rejoice or to mourn. There would be something missing in either of those experiences if it were not experienced in a community of faith. Second, we are not that different. Whether we mourn in Farsi or rejoice in Mandarin, we have many deep similarities. I got just a glimpse of how God sees us all as his children - how He "so loves the world."
It is good to be a part of a church that has all those differing people of differing backgrounds within it. It is a little bit of what heaven will be like. And we realize in weeping or rejoicing we all need the same Jesus. This Sunday, we will come to His table to remember, to weep and to rejoice.
For the journey...
Tim
Last week was a challenging week. Two funerals and one wedding in a week will do that, especially if the one of the funerals and the wedding happen on the same day. One of the funerals involved a family originally from Iran. The wedding involved a couple from mainland China. It is interesting to see the cultures that God has brought into our church. The week was not demanding because of the differing cultures; if anything I found that we all mourn in similar ways and we all rejoice in similar ways.
There was great joy at the wedding. A young couple begin their lives together full of promise and hope. There was sadness at the funerals. Two women who had been very full of life are now gone from us. Laughter is a universal language. Crying is the same in any language.
I saw two clear lessons. First, if we have a church family, it fully enables us to rejoice or to mourn. There would be something missing in either of those experiences if it were not experienced in a community of faith. Second, we are not that different. Whether we mourn in Farsi or rejoice in Mandarin, we have many deep similarities. I got just a glimpse of how God sees us all as his children - how He "so loves the world."
It is good to be a part of a church that has all those differing people of differing backgrounds within it. It is a little bit of what heaven will be like. And we realize in weeping or rejoicing we all need the same Jesus. This Sunday, we will come to His table to remember, to weep and to rejoice.
For the journey...
Tim
Friday, January 27, 2012
What Does Your Bible Say About You?
We all know that the Bible speaks to the universal human condition. It says a lot about each one of us but what does your Bible say about you - your actual physical Bible? I have done several funerals including one this week where the family and I went through the deceased person's Bible for some hints about what scriptures were important. It is a very interesting search to go through a person's Bible.
In almost every case I found a Bible that was well worn, that held fascinating markings that were important to the person. You could tell what was meaningful to them, what was precious to them, what they loved and what they valued. Verses well marked often bore marks on that person's life. You could clearly make a connection from the person's Bible to the person's character. In all these experiences it seemed to be very meaningful to the family.
So what does your Bible say about you? Can someone pick it up and find where God was speaking to you? Could a struggling person pick up your Bible and tell where you found direction? Could a grieving family look into it and find help and hope? What does your Bible say about your pilgrimage? Your parenting? Your relationships? Your life?
Next time you pick up your Bible, look at it and ask yourself about what it says about you. One sure thing about Bibles - they don't lie.
Come join me as we look at what reading the Bible does to us this Sunday.
For the journey...
Tim
In almost every case I found a Bible that was well worn, that held fascinating markings that were important to the person. You could tell what was meaningful to them, what was precious to them, what they loved and what they valued. Verses well marked often bore marks on that person's life. You could clearly make a connection from the person's Bible to the person's character. In all these experiences it seemed to be very meaningful to the family.
So what does your Bible say about you? Can someone pick it up and find where God was speaking to you? Could a struggling person pick up your Bible and tell where you found direction? Could a grieving family look into it and find help and hope? What does your Bible say about your pilgrimage? Your parenting? Your relationships? Your life?
Next time you pick up your Bible, look at it and ask yourself about what it says about you. One sure thing about Bibles - they don't lie.
Come join me as we look at what reading the Bible does to us this Sunday.
For the journey...
Tim
Friday, January 20, 2012
Reaping and Sowing in Prayer
Many of you have spent much time recently praying for Caleb Jentsch as he recovers from his traumatic brain injury. The results have been remarkable. Keep up the good work. What you may not know is that this fall Caleb was strategic in praying for another college student who had a head injury.
Caleb served as a counselor at a camp for incoming freshmen this summer. Students are assigned to a small group at the camp and the counselors keep tabs on them through the freshmen year. One student in Caleb's small group that he got especially close to was Pierce. Right before school started Pierce was injured in a skateboarding accident and had a severe head injury. When Caleb got the call from Pierce's dad, Pierce was near death. Caleb organized a prayer meeting for Pierce at his home to pray through the night, over 40 students came. Here are Caleb's words from a letter that he sent out before his skiing accident.
"As everyone was praying I just stopped and realized that in that moment Father was receiving glory by us just meeting with him. It was such a powerful and beautiful time of just meeting with the Lord...About 4 hours later, I received another call from Pierce's Dad saying that the bleeding in Pierce's brain was coming to a stop and he was progressing...The power of prayer works. I told everyone at my house and we were all in awe of Father."
Pierce made a remarkable recovery and had an incredibly successful rehab. He is in classes this spring semester. When Pierce heard of Caleb's accident, he and his father flew to Denver to pray for and visit Caleb. Pierce was one of the over 300 students who met in a prayer meeting for Caleb this past Monday at the Baptist Student Center at Texas A&M. What an incredible irony? Can it even be called that?
The Bible is clear that we will reap what we sow. Is that true in prayer as well? If we have prayed, led people to pray and then stand in need of prayer, do we reap some of what we have sown in prayer? It sure seems so. God is receiving glory in this and as Caleb wrote, "The power of prayer works."
For the journey...
Tim
Caleb served as a counselor at a camp for incoming freshmen this summer. Students are assigned to a small group at the camp and the counselors keep tabs on them through the freshmen year. One student in Caleb's small group that he got especially close to was Pierce. Right before school started Pierce was injured in a skateboarding accident and had a severe head injury. When Caleb got the call from Pierce's dad, Pierce was near death. Caleb organized a prayer meeting for Pierce at his home to pray through the night, over 40 students came. Here are Caleb's words from a letter that he sent out before his skiing accident.
"As everyone was praying I just stopped and realized that in that moment Father was receiving glory by us just meeting with him. It was such a powerful and beautiful time of just meeting with the Lord...About 4 hours later, I received another call from Pierce's Dad saying that the bleeding in Pierce's brain was coming to a stop and he was progressing...The power of prayer works. I told everyone at my house and we were all in awe of Father."
Pierce made a remarkable recovery and had an incredibly successful rehab. He is in classes this spring semester. When Pierce heard of Caleb's accident, he and his father flew to Denver to pray for and visit Caleb. Pierce was one of the over 300 students who met in a prayer meeting for Caleb this past Monday at the Baptist Student Center at Texas A&M. What an incredible irony? Can it even be called that?
The Bible is clear that we will reap what we sow. Is that true in prayer as well? If we have prayed, led people to pray and then stand in need of prayer, do we reap some of what we have sown in prayer? It sure seems so. God is receiving glory in this and as Caleb wrote, "The power of prayer works."
For the journey...
Tim
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Prayer - Doing vs. Becoming
I returned last night from a quick visit to Denver to see Caleb Jentsch and his family. You can keep up best with his progress after a very serious head injury at
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/calebjentsch
Very serious head injury hardly describes what is going on, there is so much more. Mainly, there are answers to prayer and needs for more prayer. We have seen Caleb's life spared, yet we do not know what kind of recovery he will have.
At a time like this so many of us (me included) want to "do" something. We feel helpless and we want to help. What the Jentsch's have stressed over and over is that their need in all of this, especially now, is prayer. Too often for us prayer does not qualify as something to "do." We want to take some sort of meaningful, direct, helpful, encouraging, impacting action. What the Jentsch's are saying and I am learning is that prayer is "doing" something, the most needed and important something that we can "do." Answers abound, need also abounds.
Prayer is that real and tangible thing we can "do." But instead of looking at what we can "do" we must look at what God is "doing" and what we are "becoming." Caleb's healing will be a long, demanding process. In some ways, God is remaking him. And in someways God is remaking us. We are becoming something that we were not before.
Will we pray? But most importantly will we grasp the perspective that prayer is "doing" something? In prayer, God causes us to become people who overcome. We become people that we were not before all this happened and God "did" it.
Would you pray for Caleb and his family in ways you may not have done before. Get with others, initiate prayer or join with others who are praying. We will become different people and we will become a different church if we will learn to pray and see what God can "do."
For the journey...
Tim
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/calebjentsch
Very serious head injury hardly describes what is going on, there is so much more. Mainly, there are answers to prayer and needs for more prayer. We have seen Caleb's life spared, yet we do not know what kind of recovery he will have.
At a time like this so many of us (me included) want to "do" something. We feel helpless and we want to help. What the Jentsch's have stressed over and over is that their need in all of this, especially now, is prayer. Too often for us prayer does not qualify as something to "do." We want to take some sort of meaningful, direct, helpful, encouraging, impacting action. What the Jentsch's are saying and I am learning is that prayer is "doing" something, the most needed and important something that we can "do." Answers abound, need also abounds.
Prayer is that real and tangible thing we can "do." But instead of looking at what we can "do" we must look at what God is "doing" and what we are "becoming." Caleb's healing will be a long, demanding process. In some ways, God is remaking him. And in someways God is remaking us. We are becoming something that we were not before.
Will we pray? But most importantly will we grasp the perspective that prayer is "doing" something? In prayer, God causes us to become people who overcome. We become people that we were not before all this happened and God "did" it.
Would you pray for Caleb and his family in ways you may not have done before. Get with others, initiate prayer or join with others who are praying. We will become different people and we will become a different church if we will learn to pray and see what God can "do."
For the journey...
Tim
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Christmas Family
Christ is the kind of person who is not ashamed of sinners—in fact, he even puts them in his family tree! Now if the Lord does that here, so ought we to despise no one … but put ourselves right in the middle of the fight for sinners and help them. Martin Luther
We have looked this advent at how Jesus came into the world to save the world through a family that also needed saving. My family and your family are no different. Everyone and every family needs a savior and Jesus came to be that savior. Today, as you gather with family, plan to be with family or remember your time with family ask the Lord to be the savior of your family the same way he was the savior to his family. No matter what your family situation is, you have hope. Jesus came out of a family that had liars, adulterers, a prostitute, a murderer and many, all in fact, who were sinners. Picture in your mind all the generations together at one time at a family Christmas gathering – pretty scary, huh? He came to die for all the sins of his family. He came to die for the sins of your family so all of us can turn to God and know his forgiveness. When we really grasp that, it becomes - no matter what is going on - the best Christmas ever. We will finish up this series on Christmas morning. I hope to see you there.
Merry Christmas,
Tim
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