Gossip

Part 1

Why do we gossip you ask? Well we gossip because sometimes when we know more about someone or something that is very confidential we see it as making us powerful; it is information that others don’t have. We think that people will listen to us. If we are jealous of someone and we want what they have, we feel cutting them down helps us. We feed into our self loathing by showing their flaws, their faults, their wrong doings, their imperfections, their judgment for others, their dishonesty, and by doing this we will make them look less important.

If these people have harmed our souls and made us look bad we feel that we have the right to put them down like they did us, that we have the right to get a fair score. We want other people to know why they wronged us and we want other people to pick outside and see that we are the good guy and they are the bad guy. We seem to think when people see us in a good light and see us as superior and when we prove we are right that we gain greater self worth. This is not God, and this not God working in our hearts.

God wants us to love others as ourselves. He does not want us to slander others to gain self worth. He wants us to know that He places us on the earth because He values us, we are have value to Him and to His cause. We are here for Him and for His great good; and in that, to help others. What that means is that we are not on this earth for ourselves. We are not on this earth to find our heart. We are here to find God's heart and help reconcile God's children to Him. Ultimately we learn to love best by observing God's love for us (John 4:19) and when we truly learn God's heart we won’t gossip any more.  Why? Because in His love we will find the worth that God sees in us.

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions (Proverbs 10:12)

By Melissa Brock

"Lost are saved...find their way...at the sound of Your great name
All condemned...feel no shame...at the sound of Your great name
Every fear...has no place...at the sound of Your great name
The enemy...he has to leave...at the sound of Your great name

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name

All the weak...find their strength...at the sound of Your great name
Hungry souls...receive grace...at the sound of Your great name
The fatherless...they find their rest...at the sound of Your great name
Sick are healed...and the dead are raised...at the sound of Your great name

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name

Redeemer, My Healer, Lord Almighty
My savior, Defender, You are My King

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name"

                                                                                        Your Great Name
                                                                                        Natalie Grant

The name of Jesus is powerful and mighty.  How are you using it?

Read the above lyrics.  See if you don't agree.  There is power in Jesus' name. Try worshipping Him this week with this simple phrase, "Jesus is Lord."

No, not as a magic chant that wards off evil, but as a statement of worship and reality.  Let it re-connect you to reality and God Himself when temptation is trying hard to wrench you from Him; when your mind is getting lost to truth and your heart's desire is overwhelming your soul's cry.

Try it when the storms come your way and your life's plan seems to be getting blown away; when the tempests of this life begin to eclipse the promise of the next.  "Jesus is Lord."

Worship Him with it when you need to invite Him into that talk you know you have to have but think isn't going to go well at all. "Jesus is Lord."

Remind yourself with it when the path ahead is dark and the road ahead unseen. "Jesus is Lord."

The name of Jesus is powerful and mighty.  How are you using it?

Pastor Michael,

Leda Pastor

He's a Runner!

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Resist the devil when he's a just glimmer that catches your eye while you're looking at something else...and he'll flee from you.

Resist the devil when you see him off in the distance coming your way (or you find yourself moving his way), and he will flee from you.

Resist the devil when that temptation is looking pretty enticing and you find yourself becoming enthralled, and he'll flee from you.

Resist the devil, even in the throws of temptation; when it seems like you're not even your own person, and he'll flee from you.

Resist the devil even after you've stumbled and he whispers in your ear, "Let's do it again." and he'll flee from you.

Resist the devil, whenever and however you can and...he...will...flee...from you!

Today, go in the power the Bible assures you of, and be the resistance. Discover your true freedom from sin and your life as a new creation. God is working in you. The old has gone, the new has come. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

By Pastor Michael,

Lead Pastor

I'm Just Here For The Dessert

(follow up devotion to Sunday's message: "The House That Stands: The Kitchen")

Ever walked into a restraurant and decided you're just getting dessert? Me too! And here and there it's not big deal, but you can't keep up those eating habits forever.

The thing about desserts is that they're sweet; they generally taste better than everything else so we're drawn to them. But miss too many meals in favor of desserts and you're body will let you know it's unhappy...(and there's a large chance your signficant will too!).

Sometimes, what's easy going down is not always what's best for you. The same is true of our spiritual lives. One of the mistakes we can make is missing "meals" in favor of "desserts". Often we as Christians love to hear words that are sweet to the ears but bristle a bit at the tough stuff, and this can be a problem.

God says what He says for a reason. His word is a balanced "diet".

"I love you...but I also discipline."

"I have mercy for you...but I also judge."

"I am happy to give you Christ's sacrifice...but the cost is your own life."

When we only eat the "desserts" of God's words we limit God to being that Guy that can only say nice things, only talk to us if He is going to say something we want to hear. We effectively make Him into our personal "yes man" entourage.

We'll not only miss a lot of what God is saying like that, but often the very answers to our prayers (which are not magical but often require our cooperation) and the benefits of much of God's intended work in our lives.

Don't be that guy (or girl). Choke down some "vegetables" here and there. Start taking in a balanced diet  and see what that does for your intimacy with God.  The Gospel is "good news" even if it doesn't always taste like it.

By Michael Holmes,

Lead Pastor

This song, "I'll Stand By You" by the Pretenders is my current fave. (I'm also sure God has sung this to me on a number of occasions)

"Oh, why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
'Cause I've seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothin' you confess, could make me love you less
I'll stand by you...

...So, if you're mad, get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?...

...When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
'Cause even if you're wrong
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you...

...Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you

And when, when the night falls on you, baby
You're feelin' all alone
You won't be on your own
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you."

The Pretenders

By Pastor Michael,

Lead Pastor

Fillin Up On Finger Foods

(follow up to"The House That Stands: The Kitchen") 

Do you find your faith unsatisfying? Like maybe it's not really adding anything helpful to your life, or you simply find yourself without energy when life's storms hit? You may be filling up on the finger foods.

Finger foods are good, but they aren't meant to be the meal. The same is true of religion and our religious traditions and functions.

In this series we're relating our lives to a house and trying to picture what our lives would look like as houses.

When building a metaphorical "house that stands" the kitchen's important and what we stock it with is even more important.

One of the mistakes Christians often make is filling up on the finger foods. God invites us to "taste and see that the LORD is good" but for many of us, that's all we take, just a taste. That's like filling up on the chips and salsa before the enchiladas arrive. As good as the salsa is it wasn't meant to fill you.

Religion is like that. As good as it is and as much as we may enjoy the traditions and rituals of our faith, they are meant as an hor dourve, a finger food that precedes a meal, not the meal itself.

If you were trying to live on chips and salsa eventually your body would find ways to let you know it's not doing well, that it needed more. Our spirit is like that too. Often we think "religion" is not working for us but the truth is many times we're simply not using it right.

If after years of walking with God "religion" is all you have, you may be filling up on the finger foods and missing the meal. It may be time to stock the fridge with something a little more substantial.

by Michael Holmes

Lead Pastor

“… the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.” Isaiah 66:18b

One of the first things a missionary does in a new land, if not before they arrive, is learn the language. It’s not just essential for basic living, but to do their mission: communicating the gospel to the people who live there.
Reaching out to people in their language is important. It’s vital to the growth of Christianity.
But in North America, we forget the importance of language. We go about our lives, being more cautious not to let the secular world affect us, instead of focusing on how we can positively affect it. When we do witness, we assume that since we are speaking the same general language as the secular world, our message is getting across.

If you’ve ever had a miscommunication in marriage, you know this simply isn’t true. Motives, speaking patterns, and emotions change language meaning. Dialects, slang, and cultural idioms can change meanings of language. Language is both beautiful and complicated.

Christians have their own language. We use terms that either mean nothing or have different definitions to anyone outside our “club.” It’s normal for a group to develop their own slang: engineers, doctors, gamers, geeks, and sports fans. The term "Christianese" has been coined to refer to the dialect Christians have developed.

Ever use words like fellowship, testimony, convicted, or witnessing with non-Christian friends in general conversation? These terms–and a large list of others–all are part of the dialect Christians use. It becomes part of our everyday language and living, making it easy to forget that non-Christians (and even new Christians) don’t know what we are saying.

When we don’t speak the same language as those we're trying to reach, we isolate ourselves, alienate non-Christians, risk miscommunication, and make it much harder for people to understand the truth.

There are times when God opens doors for us to tell others about Jesus, but if we can’t speak the same language as them, we might as well not be talking at all. The best part is that it only takes paying attention and a slight change of habit to fix how we communicate.

Here is some translated “Christianese”:

Fellowship: interacting and spending time with friends
Conviction: feeling guilty or a deeply held belief
Testimony: one’s own story
Witness to: talk to someone about Jesus
Sin: acts that separate us from God; breaking God’s laws
Repent: stop doing the stuff God doesn’t want us to do and changing one’s behavior

The definitions above are oversimplified for general conversation, but the purpose is to make what we say understandable to the audience we are engaging. As the conversation deepens and one’s curiosity or faith grows, you can introduce the Christian words and explain the depths of their meaning. It’s an opportunity.

A political figure was recently asked if she would be submissive to her husband if she were elected to the role for which she is campaigning. The question came up because the secular world does not properly understand the wife-as-submissive doctrine. It’s one of many stereotypes and misunderstandings about the Christian community. It’s often thought of by the secular world as a wife being completely controlled in an oppressive way by her husband, like slavery. It was a perfect opportunity, which the politician took advantage of, to explain the Christian definition of a misunderstood concept.

Words and language are important. We are all missionaries in a land that we need to reach for Christ. We need to have understanding for those who don’t understand us. We need to have the patience to explain what we mean. And we need to remember that language could be the key to someone seeing God’s glory.

By Jennifer Armitage

Director of Community Outreach
Originally posted at Wesleyan Life Online

If you put your hand into a glass bowl of clean, clear water, you can see the change in hydrology. As your hand breaks the surface, the water flows outward. Like the movement of the water, change the shift of the air current, the flame responds.

God feeds us and teaches us differently, at different times, in different ways. What may break me and bring me to my knees in pain and fervent prayer, testing the strength of my flame of faith, may barely break the air current of yours. He comes to us according to His desires for us, not ours. He teaches us using whatever it is in our lives that make us weak or strong, depending on where we are for Him in our faith at the time. He changes us using those currents in our lives, those things that will reach us, teach us, stay with us.

Sometimes, even in a room without movement, a candle flame will flicker and wave. The wick is too long, too much fluff. Trimming the wick, it returns to it's natural state, burning upwards.

Our lives are no different, we like to keep the "fluff" closely guarded, close to our hearts: that extra stuff that stands in the way of our burning pure for God. But God is wise, and His loving hand reaches down and moves the current, sometimes ever so gently, sometimes not so gentle, and we waver in the current shift and we are reminded that the "fluff" has no place in our faith and place with God. Trimming our wicks, our fluff, brings strength to the flame of our faith and, like the candle flame, we burn pure and upward.

As I am sitting here contemplating the stillness of a candle flame, one of my dogs, jumps down from the couch. The candle is on top of the table, but even that downward motion of air has reached the candle testing its flame.

The key isn't to living in a room with closed doors and windows and keeping motion limited so as not to disrupt the flame, but rather keeping our wicks trimmed, faithfully burning, curving, dancing in the motion of life, flickering ever upward, towards God.

By Linda Rodgers

Women's Ministry Leadership Team

During the last few elections, I’ve had trouble getting excited about any of the candidates. For anything. After years of watching politics, I find it harder and harder to believe that the next person we elect to [insert political office here] will be the one to finally straighten things out.

I’ve had a few opportunities to look at my ballot and see nothing terribly inspiring. To realize that whatever box I mark will probably just lead to more of the same.

Don’t let that outlook affect the way you pray.

A quick survey of the miracles in the Bible reveals a God that doesn’t care about the odds. God parts rivers and seas so His people can cross. He shows mercy to His enemies, and some start following Him. He raises the dead.

There was a time in my life when I stopped believing in romance. I’d tried it and gotten burned enough times that I was ready to just move on and try something else. Then, when I prayed for God’s guidance and committed to what He said, He changed everything. He slew my loneliness.

My friend prayed for a man to be healed from his pain and watched it happen before her eyes.
At Crossroads, we prayed for several people to get jobs. Almost all of them were employed within a few months. In this economy.

Never pray for the lesser of two evils. God is way bigger than that.

Have you ever prayed for something big and crazy and had it happen?

And let's face it, honestly, for most of us Sunday is the one day of the week when our faith is expressed most clearly and our devotion demonstrated most pointedly.

So guard 'em. If you want to get the most out of your Sunday start by guarding it. Make them special. Show God their special.

Certainly there will be days when we simply cannot make it, but make those the exceptions and not the rule.

Too often we take Sundays too lightly. We forget what they’re supposed to mean; that God is looking for us, waiting for us. That maybe we need to say “Thank You”. We forget what the day’s all about. Guard it.

We all want God to show up in our lives and in our days. Maybe we should put showing in His a little higher on the priority list.

Linda Rogers,

Women's Ministry Committee

He will keep calling until He gets an answer.

What exactly is God’s calling?

I used to think it meant becoming a sequestered monk and taking on a vow of silence, or being a missionary to the remotest part of Africa where I would have to drink fermented goats milk and eat roasted beetles (crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside).

None of those options sound remotely appealing to me, but when God calls it isn’t usually done with my convenience in mind. God’s calling is based on His desires not mine, but keep in mind that His calling always benefits us when we heed that call. That does not necessarily mean that we will consider the benefits we gain as desirable. We may not want the reward we get.

Take Jonah for example. Jonah is the classic example of the human response to the call of God. God called him to go to the Ninevites, a people whom Jonah happened to harbor a strong dislike for, and tell them they would be destroyed if they didn’t turn from their evil lives. He refused God’s call and went the other direction, because, quite frankly, he was not the most likeable person around and he wanted the Ninevites to die. He gets on a boat going the other way and ends up in the belly of a fish for 3 days to think about it. Then he is literally thrown-up on the shore and goes to preach to the Ninevites, who actually repent and are saved from the wrath of God.

Most preachers would be thrilled to have an audience respond so well to their message, but since Jonah didn’t like them in the first place he was really hoping they wouldn’t change. That way he wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore. In the end God calls Jonah on the carpet for his attitude.
The Ninevite’s salvation was not the benefit that Jonah wanted, but it was what was best in God’s eyes.

And there’s the rub.

We don’t look at the details of God’s call through God’s eyes. We look through our own. And let me tell you our vision is pretty myopic. In fact our vision is so limited that it actually goes against our nature to even consider that another viewpoint might exist. So God gives us the tools to make the necessary decisions to fulfill His call. He prepares us for obedience rather than complete control. He is there working behind the scenes as we approach times of significant impact in our lives. He desires our total willingness to follow Him rather than the threat of a forced march in front of an unforgiving master. It is for the love of Him that we do what He asks despite our fears and misgivings. Our knowledge and vision are so limited that we easily surpass our boundaries when we trust Him to know what we do not, or what we refuse to know.

The call overshadows everything in our lives. There is nothing more basic to our existence than the need for the love of God to reside within us, and it is His love within us that allows us to go beyond our own abilities to fulfill His call. And it is the fulfillment of His call that brings us a greater joy.

The call of God provides us with both a starting point and a destination. To reach the destination He provides us with a vision, and the gifts necessary to attain it. The vision has something beneficial for each of us individually, and the Body of believers as a whole, and like everything God gives us, it cannot be contained within the limitations of one person. Everything God does seems to be made to overflow any boundaries placed upon it. The things of God are no more containable than He is. He gives us gifts that we are compelled to use in the manner and place where He finds it useful rather than where and when we find it convenient. As another case in point consider the story of Queen Esther. She discovers that someone has deviously set out to destroy the entire race of her people the Jews. Esther is asked by her uncle to intercede for her people with the king, but she is reluctant. If she approaches the king when he has not first called her there is a distinct possibility that she could be put to death. As she struggles with the need of her people and the possibility of losing her own life her uncle injects this thought into her deliberations: “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?'' (Esther 4:14b Italics mine)

In that moment the gifts and vision provided by God had just overflowed the boundaries of the vessel in which they resided. Esther responded as the Queen whom God had made her to be and risked her life to save her entire race. While the gifts God gave her were indeed hers, they were only effective when used in the manner in which He needed them to be used.

God is not surprised by the situations we find ourselves faced with. He does not lose sight of where we are or what we are going through. He doesn’t turn around and suddenly say, “Oh no! Where did he go?” as though He has misplaced us somehow. The Shepherd’s eye is always upon us.

We are not called to be ministers, missionaries, kings, queens, policemen, firemen, or computer nerds, but to be lights in the darkness. We are His wherever we go, and He calls us to be his representatives in the world according to the gifts and skills He has given us. It is not for me to do whatever I wish to do and then arrogantly say to God, “Please bless me as I do what I want.” One of the truest forms of worship I can engage in is to ask God first what He wants me to do, and then willingly go simply because it is God who asks even if I don’t necessarily agree. As in Jonah’s case the call of God does not require my agreement, but it does require, and depends on, my love for God and my understanding of His love for me. That is the basis of our obedience.
In Jeremiah 29:11 we are told, “For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” I am humbled by the fact that He takes notice of me to have a place in His plan at all, and awed by the love it requires to invite me to participate. When I willingly follow His prompting, and respond to the restless longing He has placed in my heart, my step is surer as the wind of His spirit clears the dust and debris from the path I have often ignored. It is a path I often shy away from. The trailhead is sometimes hidden beneath the layers of my self-indulgence, but it cannot be ignored forever. The beginning of that path is marked by a rough hewn cross, whose surface is marred by nail holes and blood stains. On one side awaits His love, and on the other His justice. It is my choice to live in obedience or disobedience, and my choice to enjoy the blessings or suffer the consequences.

We tend to think pretty highly of ourselves at times. We often assume we know the outcome of certain events, and in our assumption we think we have control. But we presume far too much. We have as much chance of directing God with our preferences as a feather has of standing still in a hurricane.

The past two years have been fairly tumultuous for our family. We have felt many blows in both the physical and spiritual sense. At the beginning of this period we tended to look at things expecting the worst to happen, but then God took us in hand and showed us the futility of our anxiety. There was always more to see than we could spy from our vantage point, and with each new event there was a new means of dealing with it. And in dealing with each one a new aspect of the personality of God was revealed that we never would have otherwise understood. We do still worry about things, we aren’t perfect, but we look for God’s hand more readily than we ever did before. It is in His hand that we find the greatest peace, and in obedience to Him that we find the greatest purpose. We know that His plans are "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

And that is what the call of God will always be about.

Dan Bode

Director of Men's Ministry

It’s bad news.  From the moment I knew she was there I hated her, an instant enemy and I loathed her very existence.

Rats, quite remarkable species when you think about it.  This rat can go for days without being fed; without the need for food or water. And though she has particular tastes when she does need to eat just about anything will keep her alive.

She stays out of sight, hiding in my attic, a creature of the dark.

Most of the time I’m unaware she even exists. With cues to her presence rare I’m teased with the thought to leave her alone or pretend she’s no longer there.  Sometimes, in her silence, I even forget about her; a grievous mistake for rats not only grow, but multiply.

And then comes the night. Not every night but the night of her need. With the scurry of little feet I am suddenly made aware again that my nocturnal friend has not left me at all. Instead she runs all over my dark places leaving a trail of waste and feces as evidence of her presence; turning what was simply a dark place into a rancid one. Chewing up random pieces of my house to take away and make my home, hers.

There’s a rat in my attic.  I hate her.  She is my mortal enemy and I loathe her very existence.

I have a name for my rat; I call her..."Temptation".

BY: Michael Holmes, Lead Pastor