Call the 'WAAAAAAm-bulance!"

Once I heard this wonderfully sarcastic line from a movie: “aw…. are you hurt? Let’s call the WAAAAAmbulence!!!” it gets me everytime, because there are those of us that probably clog up the “WAAAAmbulence” phone line.

 When I read the Old Testament, I am always dumbfounded by how much the Israelites complained. God delivered them out of Egypt,             even parted the Red Sea for them (I can just hear the women now…”ugh! Crossing that seabed is going to be a nightmare! Its going to be muddy, and the kids will get filthy, couldn’t God have just created a bridge for us instead?”). There is no doubt about it- the Israelites didn’t know how to be thankful for what they had, and what they got taken out of.

            It’s so easy for us to criticize them, isn’t it? But when you think about it- we are really no better than they were. God delivers us from one struggle just to hear us cry and bemoan the next set of problems in our lives! We don’t take the time to sincerely thank God for the blessings that he gives. We need to stop complaining long enough to see the blessings that we receive from God daily.

Thanksgiving is this month, and as is tradition, we sit and think about what we are grateful for. I, myself, am thankful for a great many things, but even I forget to thank God for some stuff. For instance, we should take the time to THANK God for struggles and hurdles, instead of complaining about them all the time. These things are a normal, natural occurrence of living in a sin stained world; and whether our problems are from our own stupidity, or just a “spiritual growth spurt” of sorts, shouldn’t matter.

            Numbers14:26-29 says “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.”(NIV)

            A good friend of mine was preaching the other day and said “God brings us out of a tough situation, but he can just as easily put us back. “ The Israelites were this close to the promise land when God declared that the whiners and complainers wouldn’t live to see it. When we are disobedient and whine about every little thing in our lives, it displeases the Lord. And if you don’t want your corpse to fall in whatever ‘desert’ you’re currently wandering through, I suggest we all start taking the time to thank God for everything- even the difficult situations in our lives.

By: Lacey Slifkoff

"A Law like Gravity"

          Within the confines of our limited understanding, there are certain things that cannot be refuted. Such things would include the first and second laws of thermodynamics and the law of gravity. These systematic theories have become laws because they have never been disproven (and demonstrated constantly via the scientific method); they have become timeless truths, which we now know to govern the physics of our world.

            Likewise, the Bible also presents laws which will never be refuted. One of these spiritual laws is found in Romans 8 – the law of the Spirit (vs. 2, 4). This “law” simply states that living by the Holy Spirit will bring life and righteousness (Rom. 8:1-4). Living according to the Spirit of God releases us from the law of sin and death; it allows us the privilege and freedom of experiencing real life (with God) here on earth, eternal life (with God) in heaven, and real righteousness (with God) both now and forever. The lips of God have spoken, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death… in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled” (Rom. 8:2, 4).

            The law of the Spirit can be likened to the law of gravity. The law of gravity proves that objects are attracted to like objects (of proportional mass and matter), because of the force drawing/pulling them together. Like the law of gravity, the law of the Spirit overcompensates for the pull of our flesh. This law, then, releases us from the consequences of our fleshly condition – sin and death.

            If we so choose to live by the Spirit, He WILL give life and righteousness to His followers (Gal. 5:25). It will only be then, through the power of the Holy Spirit, when our feet will leave the ground, and we will soar on wings of the Lord above gravitational pull of our fallen human condition. Thusly, if we live by the Spirit, God will remain true to this promise. God will provide us with life on earth, eternal life in heaven, and His righteousness. Now, somehow, all we have to do is surrender ourselves to the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit!

- Dusty

Amazing Grace for a Painted Face

Amazing Grace for a Painted Face.

I have never liked clowns. I don’t know why, I just don’t like them. I am not sure if I need a reason to not like something, but in this case, I don’t have one. I do not like clowns. I am well aware that clowns are supposed to be there to uplift our souls and to lighten our loads through laughter and fun; they even present us with an image of encouragement. However, I have never felt encouraged by one. I have felt terrified and suspicious, but never encouraged. When I look at one, what I see is a person behind a mask trying to be something he or she is not, a pretender. Thus, I do not trust them.

This is the essence of the word hypocrite: someone playing a part that is not actually them - an actor. In truth, however, the only difference between the one with the painted face and the one without paint is that the one without is harder to recognize. But make no mistake, everyone is pretending.

Do we really know one another, or do we just know what they want us to know? All of us have a, “face” which we hide behind. We tend to think of this exterior as a protection from others who have the potential to hurt us but as one very wise lady told me, “weakness is like blood to sharks.” However, its far more likely that we put on this image in order to stop the real us from coming out. The heart can be an ugly thing and we aren’t really sure what will come out if we allow it to. So, we keep it hidden, unwilling to allow a crack to happen for fear of the uncontrollable flood that would happen as a result. So we are content to walk around with a painted on face because life is easier that way.

                So, what are we to do with this information? Do we ask people to stop hiding their true selves? No, that won’t help. Do we ask people to go and do something so that they feel different? No, that only creates religious people. All I would suggest is that we simply remind people that there is one who already knows our hearts, and he has chosen to love us anyway. There is no reason to hide it from him. He already sees it, and the only way it is going to be healed is to get to know him more. The heart is exposed, the mask is wiped away, and the pain is healed in the presence of him.

                2 Peter 1:2-3   “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  3 According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to glory and virtue:”

Be Blessed,

Brian Dodson

Is it Scripture?

The mission of the church is missions.

What does it mean to be a missionary? Are we all called to missions? I say, yes; however, regardless of what I say this quote is not in the Bible. This quote is from a man named Oswald Smith, he had a heart was for missions but had a couple of trials before founding the People’s Church in Ontario Canada.  

While it is easy to think that this might be a real quote, because Jesus does call us to preach the word of God to many nations. One of our missions is to spread the Gospel, but the church is not based on one single mission, but rather a plethora of missions which encompass all of the gifts God has bestowed upon us. While missions are a crucial part in reaching out to the world, we cannot say this is single-handedly the only mission of the church. Missions, regardless of its foundation and aim, is a command given to us by God in order to follow his perfect plan.

Oswald’s fire for missions was used in the Church, not on the other side of the world, until his later years. That is what I believe we are supposed to do. As average people we are not all called to be big missionaries, but we are called to support the Gospel of Christ, wherever it may go. That means wherever YOU go. Whether it’s down the street, across the country or missions to unreached nations, we as average people are the church and God is the mission.

So, on that note, take the light of Christ that is in you and shine in your neighborhoods, at your jobs, and in all that you do--do it for God.   

Christina Lynn-Valencia

"The Full Gospel" ?

            I am not sure that what we preach, today, in America is the “full Gospel.” To our credit, we have a great understanding of faith. We understand that salvation is by “grace alone” through “faith alone” in the work of Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Rom. 3:23-24). We get that He is the only way to which one gains right-standing with the Almighty (John 14:6). It is correct, and we get it, that one is saved by faith in the Messiah – Jesus.

            However, I believe that there may be more to the “good news” of the Gospel than is taught in our churches. I believe the Bible presents a “fuller” Gospel than what is portrayed on Sundays. One of my favorite Scriptural passages is Ephesians 2:8-10. It is a beautiful declaration of the Gospel (good news). This passage, I feel, gives a broader exposé of the Good News than what we have today. It states:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:8-10) (ESV).

            This clearly states that we have been saved, through faith, by God’s amazing grace. However, it does not stop there. This Scripture continues by demonstrating that we are saved from works – for works.

            This – works – may be one of the overlooked teachings of the Gospel of Christ. It seems clear that we should put in some effort into our beliefs (even if only for our Christian witness). We know that faith saves us, but we also know that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). I’m not sure why we are not, also, encouraging the Community of Christ to arise and spread the Gospel. Especially if this is part of the Good News we have received. I think that works may by an overlooked teaching to the Gospel message. If we believe in Jesus, it would make sense for us to follow Him as well.

            Finally, I feel this passage also states that the Gospel is incomplete if it leaves out the Spirit of Pentecost – the Holy Spirit. Yes… we are saved though faith in Jesus, but we are also called to work with the Lord. It is not until we commit our lives to Christ when the Holy Spirit comes to make us a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). It is from there (out of our new identity and purpose) that our works should be produced (Eph. 2:10). Unless we know that we are “born-again” and have been reconciled to God, we can do nothing for the Lord. Besides, does not our Sacred Text show the Holy Spirit to be the deposit for our salvation? Does not the Bible state that it is through the Holy Spirit that we can do Kingdom work (2 Cor. 1:22; 1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Cor. 6:11). “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” so that we may work with Him toward His eternal purposes.

            If the Gospel is incomplete without the outworking of our faith and without the Spirit of Pentecost, what conclusion should we draw? What, then, is the “full Gospel”? Perhaps we should not only have faith; maybe we should live by the Spirit of God so that He can produce His great and mighty works through His children.

            Be blessed! Dusty

Who Do You Serve?

Have you ever heard the saying, “you can’t ride two horses with one butt”? (my grandpa from Oklahoma says it all the time.) It’s meaning is simple: You cannot serve two masters. Which begs the question, who is your master? Who is it that you desire to please above anyone else; God, or man?

            Galatians 1:10 states “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.” (ASV)

            When God is truly our master, we desire to please him more than anyone. When we choose to please people more than we please God, we become enslaved to them. Their opinion becomes the only one that matters. Which is unfortunate, because we all know how judgmental and harsh people can be.

            It is completely impossible to please everyone. I spent a majority of my life (up until I was 22) striving to please people.  It became so important to me that I allowed myself to be pushed around and never spoke up because I didn’t want to upset anyone. I am sorry to say that please people had, at that point, become more important to me than pleasing God. Luckily God delivered me of that, and now I stand boldly in Christ, aiming to please him before anyone else.

            The ways of men are as crooked as a politician and, needless to say, are not the ways of the Lord.  That means we have a choice—will we strive to please mankind or Christ? It should be a simple answer; after all, last time I checked no human being ever accomplished anything close to creating an entire universe in a week. 

-Lacey Slifkoff