After thinking of my own mortality I was reminded that Jesus defeated death.  1 Corinthians 15:54 says, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  Jesus gave His life so that we wouldn’t have to lose ours.  Death seems to be so final and most of the time devastating.  However, for those who have made Jesus Lord of their life death has lost its sting.  Thank you Jesus for defeating death! 

If you knew that you had 30 days to live; how would you spend your time?  Remember focus on the things that matter most because life is short on earth but it is eternal in Christ.

However, many of us spend a lot of time in our lives being fearful.  On the surface it seems that there are so many things to be fearful of; bad health, possibility of rebellious children, broken relationships, lost job, and the big one MONEY.  Over recent years God has taught me to be fearless in so many things, but the one I still struggle with from time to time is the fear that my family (or church) will not have enough money to pay bills.  As a pastor I meet and counsel with so many people that struggle with this same fear…The fear that there is never enough. 

In April of this year I found myself paralyzed with this fear.  My family was running short on money and it seemed that our church was also falling short in finances.  Many of you can relate to how I was feeling, I was scared that there wasn’t going to be enough money to pay the bills and that fear consumed me.  I found myself waking up at night thinking about it and spending the majority of the day trying to figure out a solution to no avail. 

In my fear, I turned to God.  Although, I didn’t understand why I was in this hard financial situation, I knew that God was faithful and He would hear my prayers and answer.  I really poured my heart out to Him.  I was scared, confused, and even a little mad but I was completely focused on God. 

He did answer!  He taught me that fear tells us that there is NEVER ENOUGH, but with God there is always MORE THAN ENOUGH!  Here is the passage I read: 

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” ¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. ¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14:15-21)

The disciples had the same fear; “We have here ONLY five loaves and two fish”.  Do you see their fear?  They thought there was NOT ENOUGH, but with God there is ALWAYS MORE THAN ENOUGH.

I decided to trust God at His word and believe that there was more than enough.  The next week my wife and I received an anonymous check in the mail for $2,500 which was more than enough for my family and our church prospered. 

As I think back on April, I feel kind of silly to think that God wasn’t going to provide.  He always provides!  What about you; are you living in the fear that there is NEVER ENOUGH or are you living in the belief that with God there is ALWAYS MORE THAN ENOUGH?

But here is the tension:
If it is God’s desire that Joy would be “made complete” in our lives, why do so many people live without Joy?  I have experienced times where there is not much joy in my own life.  During those times it feels like I am numb, it is hard to laugh, it is hard to be motivated, and there is definitely no inspiration.  Can you relate?  

Yesterday, at Impact Church, we heard the story of Joshua’s “quest for joy.”  Three months ago Joshua did not have much joy in his life.  From my perspective his lack of joy did not make much sense.  God has done great things for him.  Joshua was Bi-polar and God delivered him from that.  He was actively and openly gay for 10 years and God saved him from that lifestyle.  If there was anyone that should have joy it was Joshua.  However, his life did not reflect joy and by God’s grace Joshua set out in March to find joy.  He decided that he was going to live on the street in Little Rock.  I thought it was a really bad idea and as his pastor I told him so, but Joshua was intent to live on the street. 

Although, I thought it was a bad idea for him to live on the street, I did agree that he needed to make a drastic change in his lifestyle.  He was simply stuck in a rut (we all know what that feels like).  Joshua writes, “But somewhere along the way, I found myself in a rut.  There were sins that had persisted year after year after year.  Sins that I didn’t know how to rid from my life. No amount of prayer, bible study, service, counseling, accountability, discussion, research, mentoring, or pleading with God would free me.  Pride, arrogance, idolatry, lust, apathy, vulgarity, being inhospitable, uncompassionate, loveless.  Even though there were occasional moments otherwise, I realized how very much I cared about my comfort more than loving and serving other people.  I realized how often I placed my desires above God’s infinitely wiser and loving commands.” 

Joshua realized an important truth; Joy had not left him but sin had hi-jacked it.  Joshua understood that for him to experience God-given joy he was going to have to eliminate the lifestyle pattern (sin) that was robbing his joy.  What is robbing your joy?  Bad financial decisions, broken relationships, sexual and substance addictions? 

Joshua went on the street and God used him in amazing ways.  You can read about it at foundrylife.com.  He came back to Impact Church three weeks ago and he is a changed man…THERE IS JOY IN HIS LIFE! 

I was challenged…What changes do I need to make in my own life to reclaim the joy that God wants me to have?  What changes do you need to make?  Let me know…

Now I am a church planter in the midst of a culture that generally responds to church the same way as I did as a kid.  Almost every week I have a conversation in which the person feels compelled to tell me why they were not at church on Sunday (thankfully most of these conversations are with people who attend other churches).  One lady went as far to say that she could not come to church because the bathrooms don’t offer enough privacy and she suffers with irritable bowel syndrome! 

Why?  Why do people go to such great lengths to make excuses for not being more involved in their church?  It would be better if they would just be honest and get to the real reason; church can be boring, irrelevant, and unchanging. 

Over the last year as our team has planned the start of a new church we have perpetually asked what is going to take for Impact Church to be different.  When I read the scripture I don’t see Jesus having the same problem.  Everywhere Jesus went people flocked to Him.  To so many Jesus was irresistible.  They were drawn to Him for so many reasons but mainly because He was the living Son of God.  

Here is the tension.  Isn’t the church supposed to be a reflection of Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16).  So if Jesus was irresistible to so many why is it that many churches are very resistible? 

What would be different if the church would allow the light of Christ to shine…would people flock to church like they flocked to Jesus?

“of course I love people that don’t know God.  I have given my life to full time ministry.  I am a pastor that is focused on leading a congregation to take church to the unchurched.  I consistently preach on evangelism.”

But the more I thought about the question, the more I was reminded and convicted.  Being a pastor, preaching about evangelism, or even leading a church in a missional strategy is completely different than loving lost people.  Loving people far from God requires loving when it is hard to love; it requires loving even when it’s messy.  I have seen it so many times; Christians say they love the lost, but when they are faced with the baggage that comes with a life that is far from God they are offended and usually withdraw.  As I think about this response, I am cut to the heart.  Jesus desires that we truly love and engage the people who need it the most.

Romans 9:2-3 came to mind, Paul writes, “ I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.  For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.”  Paul valued his relationship with Jesus more than anything else, there was nothing more important.  But as an expression of his heart and love for the lost, he admitted that he would give that up (if it were possible) if only his brothers could be saved.

I pray that my life and ministry would be characterized by that kind of sacrificial love for those that are far from God!