Hillside Foursquare Church

Amazing Grace #2 - Christ In Me

In the letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul discusses the revelation of relationship with God, by faith, through grace. He had lived the majority of his life zealously pursuing the traditions of his forefathers, and the attempted fulfillment of the Law of Moses. What God showed him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) & beyond was that the only way for a person to be justified (made right) in their relationship with God was by faith, through grace. No matter how hard a person tried to be made right by their own works and strict adherence to the Law, they would always fall short (Romans 6:23). Paul even discovered that this had been God's plan all along, as shown in God's covenant agreement with Abraham in Genesis 15, where it says, "Abraham believed (had faith) in the LORD, & He (the LORD God) counted it as righteousness (right relationship with God.)  Further, in the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 10) God challenged His people not merely to attempt the outward keeping of the Law, (which meant going to church, praying, maintaining ritual purity, being circumcised, etc...) but to live lives of faith & devotion to Him, loving Him with all of their heart, soul, mind, & strength. God wanted ALL of them, not merely sacrifices & rituals. This has huge ramifications for us, as Paul points out in Galatians 2:20-21:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God...

This means when we exercise faith in Christ, we receive God's grace to live each moment of our life being lead by the in-dwelling Holy Spirit, by the power of Christ. Which means I'm not following God by rote, but rather walking with Him, doing what He would be doing if He were in our shoes! That is a beautiful thing.

Blessings, grace, & peace to you!

Louie

Amazing Grace #1 - A Study in Galatians

The Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Galatian church with a greeting intended to remind his readers of the basis for their relationship & standing with God. He writes, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5
 
God’s grace (God’s unmerited, unworked for, unearned favor)  is at the very essence & heart of the gospel – the Good News – which declares that because of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, EVERYONE who calls upon His Name can be forgiven of sins & restored to relationship with God, through Christ. God’s peace (His blessing of peace, well-being, & physical/spiritual harmony) is upon our lives as a result of grace, & is at work in, through, & around our lives as evidence of God’s working in us. The gospel truly is good news!
 
In the next portion of Galatians 1, Paul confronts the church because they have forgotten the gospel of grace by which they were saved, & have embraced a different ‘gospel’ – one rooted in religion, guilt, shame which emphasized & evaluated ourrelationship with God based on performance & deeds instead of the love/faith relationship intended by God, begun with the victory of Christ’s work on the cross.
 
Grace is a big deal - & our embracing God’s amazing grace enables us to live lives free of the weight of sin, guilt, & condemnation – to live full of the power of the Holy Spirit, freely embracing the great gift of salvation, redemption, & transformation as sons & daughters of God.

The LORD is my Shepherd... & I shall lack nothing...

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing. Psalm 23:1

I was reading over Psalm 23 this morning… it’s familiar. I memorized it when I was small. I know that its good to know scripture – at the same time, I have found that I have to make sure not to just know it in my head but to also let it sink to my heart. There’s a difference.

If it’s in my head, I can recall it, remember it, think about it. And then when I’m done & off to the next thought, the Scripture goes back into the file in my head & is put away in its virtual filing cabinet until the next time I come across it.  If it’s in my heart, I live it. It affects me at the deepest level of my being. It becomes like a handy-dandy smart phone app, perhaps invisible but still actively running below the surface, having a definite influence.  Back to Psalm 23 – The LORD is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing.

David wrote it – he GOT it at a gut level – he had been a shepherd, & he knew intimately of the similarities between what he had done, & what God did with him on a daily basis. So David’s declaration of The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want, is a faith statement – rooted in thankfulness – contentment. There was nothing that God had not, did not, would not make sure that David would get if he was in need. And from his self-assessment, he wasn’t lacking anything.

This hit me hard. The LORD is MY shepherd. He is the One who cares & provides for, protects, directs, instructs, heals, & feeds – ME. But when I read the second part after the ; the I shall not want, I realized there were/are areas in me where the ugly stuff resides – rather that being able to see where God is shepherding me well, & that I am not in lack, want, or need – instead, my soul is striving; discontent; frustrated; needy; ungrateful; blind to God’s faithful & miraculous care for me.

Ouch. All that, revealed in a moment.  I know Psalm 23. But is it in my heart today? I repent. Reorient. Return. Ask my shepherd to pick the thorns & stickers from my soul.  Right now I intentionally choose thankfulness. Contentment. Gratefulness. Awareness of God’s work in & around me & mine.  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing. And I mean it.

Get Off The Bench & Get In The Game

This week, our guest speaker is Chris White, Pastor of UTurn Carson City Youth...

Ephesians 6: On A Mission From God - We Stand Firm...

We stand firm.

Paul wraps up his letter to the Ephesian church with a solemn reminder: on our mission from God, we have enemies actively looking to sabotage us, oppose us at every turn, & attempt to take us out. These enemies are not people, political rivals, or military adversaries; rather, they are identified as the devil & the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

So, what are Paul’s instructions for us to follow so we can endure in the face of such opposition?

Be strong in the Lord & in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil… Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

He reminds us that our source of strength & power, as well as our ability to stand firm in the face of opposition, is firmly rooted in our faith in & dependence upon Christ. Paul uses the mental picture of a fully armed & armored Roman soldier as a means of communicating the ways we are prepare ourselves for the daily onslaught of evil.

We do this when we stand firmly in truth, holding fast against the lies, imaginations, deceptions, & alternate realities/futures confronting us. We stand righteously, doing right, living in a holy manner, repenting of our sin/wrong-doing, & rejecting indecency & dishonor. We stand in the peace that comes from the Good News of the gospel, which is a stark contrast to the chaos & conflict of the world around us. We stand on faith, reliant & assured that the One we put our trust in, Christ, parries every attack of fear & doubt the enemy launches at us. We stand confident in our salvation by Christ, knowing that He is bringing us to wholeness: body, soul, mind, & spirit. We stand on God’s Word, the Scriptures, which transform our hearts and minds, exposing lies, imaginations, & attacks of the evil one. We stand in prayer, empowered, filled, & led by the Holy Spirit for every area of life.

We stand in the strength of the LORD & the power of His might. And when the day of evil comes, we will STILL be standing firm.

Ephesians 6: On A Mission From God - Navigating Relationships

As we've been trekking through Ephesians over the last several weeks, one of my takeaways has been that we Christ-followers are on a mission from God, & each of us are called to live for the praise of His glory in our local context - looking to do good... Basically, as Jesus' representatives, our role to do & be what Jesus would be "doing & being" if He were in our shoes. As I have been thinking through the WHENs, WHEREs, & HOWs to live out my mission,  I found that I was thinking in abstracts, not about specific relationships where I can "do good." Fortunately, the section of Ephesians we're looking at this week gets up close & personal about this, & challenges us to start with our 'common relationships' e.g. the people we interact with the most, including (but not limited to) our spouse, kids, co-workers, bosses, family, & friends. As I re-read this passage, I am convicted & challenged - it doesn't do any good for me to do some seemingly great thing in Christ's Name if I am being a tool to my wife, frustrating/provoking my kids, slacking at work, & disrespecting my boss, etc... To live incongruently like that undermines the mission I've been entrusted with & drags my (& Jesus'!) name & reputation through the mud. Instead, I want to take the time & expend the effort to be the best man, husband, father, friend, & employee I can be - because the people I interact with in those situations are worth it. And, one day, I will stand before God to give an account of how I lived... I have a feeling that He's not going to start asking about the mission trips I went on, or the people I led to Christ. I believe He will start with asking about how I lived my mission with my wife. Kids. Friends.... you get the idea...

Ephesians 5: On a Mission from God

I didn't play organized sports until I was about 10 years old - I can still remember the butterflies from my first trip onto the baseball diamond for tryouts for a REAL league. I'd played catch with my dad, but I'd never been a part of a baseball team, & I didn't really know what I should do when I made my way out onto the field... so I looked for someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. And I followed him. His name was Robert, & this wasn't his first rodeo. I imitated his confident demeanor. Went where he did on the field. Circled the fly balls like he did, & hit the cut-off man with my throws. Like he did. He never knew that I was looking to him as my example, but my tryout was a success largely because I'd had him to copy, & for that I am eternally grateful. Having someone to imitate, someone WORTH imitating is priceless - & in Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul tells the church at Ephesus (& us!) to imitate God in all of our behaviors  - just like a little kid would imitate someone they looked up to... like I did with Robert on the baseball diamond. Imitating God gives us an example to follow that helps us in the words we speak with others, with holiness & sexuality, & in our interactions/relationships with others. God never intended that we would have to just figure stuff out on our own - rather, He sent Christ so we would have an example to follow & we would know what it looks like for a person to live a life submitted to God, obeying Him in every area of life, navigating through the myriad 'grey areas' that life is full of. The goal is that each of us would be able to say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ," & serve as living, breathing examples of Christ-followers...

Ephesians 4: On a Mission from God - Be Like Jesus

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been working through the first 3 chapters of the letter to the Ephesians – there are a few recurring themes Paul touches on that jump out at me:

• We are each called to live for the praise of His glory – namely, to make Him famous
• God, in His mercy has saved us by His grace through our faith in Christ, not by our works, so no one can boast about it
• We are God’s handiwork (His masterpiece), created new in Him to do good in His Name wherever we go
• We are ALL on a mission from God – to do what Jesus would be doing if He was walking in our shoes

In Ephesians 4, Paul reveals that a key element necessary for us is that we would grow up to full maturity – & the standard God uses for full maturity is Christ Himself (Eph. 4:13). In effect, he’s stating that in order to fulfill our “mission from God,” we have to be Christ-like in our attitudes, thoughts, actions, & interactions with others. We can’t do this by simply trying harder or having good will-power to ‘do good.’ Rather, we are to put off our pre-Christ self (with its deceit, hardness of hearts, selfishness, & pursuit of sensuality,) & be renewed in the spirit of our minds (v.22), looking for ways that we can be like Christ in every area (vv.23-24).  Practically speaking, it’s a day to day growing process where we submit ourselves to God, & then begin to live our lives following Christ’s example. For our mission to be a success, we gotta grow to be like Jesus.

Ephesians 3: On A Mission From God - Fuel for the Mission

In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul proclaims what he calls “the mystery of Christ.” This mystery, revealed at just the right time, is that ALL people (not just those of Hebrew descent) can become part of God’s family because of the gospel good news of salvation by grace in Christ (Ephesians 3:1-6). The mission from God Paul is pursuing is directed by this good news & God’s desire that all would see & know the hope available in Christ Jesus. In that context, what really jumps out at me from Chapter 3 is Paul’s prayer for his readers; it’s a prayer that describes what he sees as the essential “fuel” for the mission which God has given to us. He prays the following: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV You get that? Central to living out our mission from God & our being filled with everything we need from Him requires that we:

• -Be strengthened by the Holy Spirit
• -Have Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith
• -Be rooted & grounded in His love
• -Come to an ever increasing awareness, comprehension, & experience of the BIG-ness of Christ’s love

Bringing this home & personalizing it – the more we ‘get’ Christ’s love, the more effective, empowered, & fueled we will be for our mission from God. I’m praying this same prayer for us today!

Ephesians 2: On A Mission From God - Embracing Grace

There’s a section of Ephesians 2 that has been bouncing around my head: God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith... Ephesians 2:4-8 ESV God brought us out of sin & death & into wholeness & life in Christ by the gift of His grace. This grace isn’t something we could ever earn or deserve; God’s grace not only provides our salvation (vv.5&8 - by grace you’ve been saved!), it is also an ever present reminder that it is THROUGH His grace & BY His grace God promises to always interact with us. Think about it: there is no amount we have ever (or could ever) sin that would be too much for God’s grace to cover. It is big, wide, & deep enough to cover a multitude of wrongs that we have done.  That isn’t an invitation to sin with reckless abandon (Romans 5:20-6:4); rather, it gives us confidence & security that our standing with God isn’t dependent upon us! God’s grace frees us to have & exercise living faith in Christ, & to persevere in this faith for as long as we have breath. Grace to you!