August 17, 2008
Paul said, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to
do." Do you ever wonder what task God has prepared in advance
for you to do? As you present yourself to Christ do you feel prepared
to accomplish His task? Surely if we are God’s workmanship
and were created by God to do good works, we would not be placed
on this earth without the gifts to do these tasks. Yet many of
us feel inadequate and shy away from the opportunity to do the
good works that Christ has prepared for us.
Recognizing the gifts that God has given us takes a certain amount
of introspection. Sometimes God gives us a new gift that we haven’t
had and the contrast allows us to see the new gift clearly. Other
times the gift is there all along, but it has not yet been dedicated
to God. Consider the dedicated worker who arrives at work every
day with a smile. He does his job correctly and even corrects
the errors made by fellow workers. Yet when the Lord asks this
worker to do a task that was prepared in advance for him, he often
answers with “I don’t have any gifts the Lord would
want” or “the Lord doesn’t need me to make a
garage door for him.” So often we look at the product that
we create as the gift and not what makes us do our work well.
The Lord may not need a “garage door,” but he could
use the gift of hospitality and serving that allows this worker
to be good at his job.
It takes introspection to understand what gifts that God has given
you. Dedicating these gifts to God is what makes them a spiritual
gift and not a natural talent. Consider 1 Corinthians
12:4-6. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same
spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all
of them in all men. Having a spiritual gift means you have a “ministry
purpose” for your life.
August 10, 2008
You never know when you will hear a Call to Discipleship, or a
reminder of the Call to Discipleship to which one is already committed.
On August 4, 2008, a Call to Discipleship came in the form of
a newborn baby. As our (Pastor Judi and Terry) granddaughter,
Elyse Adams, came into this world a day earlier than expected,
the first thought which came to my mind was also the prayer on
my lips: “Thanks Be To God!”
As we drove to meet her on Monday night, the call came….a
reminder to my heart and mind of the story of Jesus’ birth.
The birthing story as recorded in Luke chapters 1 &
2, is the one familiar to most of us. I recalled not
just Jesus’ birth, but Mary’s reaction when she heard
the news via God’s angel messenger that she would give birth.
(We might see this as Mary’s Call to Discipleship). As surprised,
even fearful, as she was, her response was recorded in the song
she recited known as “the Magnificent”.
“My soul magnifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God
my Savior. For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.”
As I received the gift of this newborn grandchild, it called me
to remember that each of us is born as a soul magnifying God.
Our sinful selves can take away our ability and our willingness
to magnify God in all we do…actions, words, etc. Yet this
is what we are created to do, to give glory to our Lord, our Savior,
our Sustainer. To live lives where others will see our good works
and give glory to God. (Words we recite over each child as he/she
is baptized.)
This week I invite you to remember that God has looked upon you,
God’s lowly servant, and has called you His own. May your
lives, and may the life of this newborn Elyse, magnify the One
who is the Giver of life and life eternal. Where are YOU experiencing
God’s call?
August 3, 2008
I keep struggling with understanding the difference between being
a Christian and a disciple of Christ. I have been using apprenticeship
as a symbol to try to understand this difference. Apprenticeship
is unlike attending a school. To apprentice to a master you must
be accepted by him. Through Christ’s death and resurrection
and our faith in Him the Lord accepts us and we become Christians.
Each day of our “apprenticeship” we are asked to wholeheartedly
present ourselves to Him as it says in
Matthew 22:37
Jesus said to him,
‘You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind.’ When we present ourselves
in this manner each day we become disciples of Christ. When we don’t
“present ourselves” as ready and willing to learn, it
is akin to being accepted by the master into his apprenticeship,
but never meeting with him or exercising the things the master requires
to allow us to grow. In the Christian church, the process of growing
in our faith under the tutelage of Christ is called “Sanctification.”
Paul talks about this process of “sanctification” in
Romans 6-8. As Christians we have been accepted
by our Master, Jesus Christ. In
Romans 6:16-18;
Paul talks about our choice of presenting ourselves to Christ, or
by not presenting ourselves to Christ, we are presenting ourselves
to Satan and his sinful nature to be shaped in his “ apprenticeship”
program. Don’t you know that to whom you present yourselves
as servants to obedience, his servants you are whom you obey; whether
of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness? But thanks be
to God, that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient
from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto you were delivered.
Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.
The words that Paul uses; servants, slaves, bondservants, are difficult
for us to grasp as we have been raised to oppose slavery. However,
this illustration is not as important as understanding that we are
to present ourselves willingly to the Lord, as obedient servants,
ready to do His will.
In Christ,
Jim Black
July 27, 2008
Vacation Bible School was held here at St. Paul this past week.
“FRIENDSHIP TREK” was the theme for the week. 135
kids and 35 volunteers came together to learn about our Savior,
Jesus Christ. Jesus calls all of God’s children, regardless
of their age, to become disciples and spread the good news. This
was an exciting week where everyone shared the good news and praised
God through song, games, crafts, Bibles stories and skits.
Discipleship is about inviting others to hear about Jesus and
what God has done through Christ for us. On Sunday night, our
first night, we had 65 kids in attendance. By Tuesday, only two
nights later, we had 135 kids! Our youngest members did exactly
what we are all called to do, they invited others to come and
hear! We met kids and parents who hadn’t heard about Jesus
before. They came and ate dinner with us, prayed with us, played
with us and heard how Jesus loves each one so much that He died
for us. How many people have you invited?
We heard a different theme each night about how Jesus is
our friend and what he offers us-
VBS isn’t just a faith experience for
children. Many of the volunteers came just to “help out”,
but I heard several times from volunteers that they had so much
fun and were able to make new relationships as part of God’s
family. You should have seen the hugs on the last night! This
is the power of the Holy Spirit working through us as we put our
time, our hearts, and our focus on Christ. How will you focus
on Christ this week?
We will pray that the seeds planted this week will bear fruit.
We will give thanks for those who have the desire to share the
good news and be disciples. We ask for the Holy Spirit to move
through us to reach out to others.
In Christ,
Brenda Sisson, A.I.M.
Visit www.stpaulsterling.com for VBS photos
Spiritual reciprocity is a term used by Dr. Lindsey Garmon that
helps me understand the fullness of discipleship. In short, spiritual
reciprocity refers to what Christ has done for us and what is expected
from His disciples in return.
In
Genesis 12:1-3 we see the first example of spiritual
reciprocity in the covenant God made to Abraham. To paraphrase,
God says that He blessed Abraham so that he will be a blessing to
others.
Paul focuses on this circle of salvation in
Ephesians 2:8-10.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and
this is not from yourselves it is the gift of God - not by works,
so that no one can boast." This is God's saving grace flowing
to us. We know that there is nothing that we can do to earn this
gift and we praise God and thank him for this gift of salvation.
So often I focus on this first part and neglect
verse 10
where Paul said, "For we are God's workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for
us to do." I know that we are not saved "by" good
works, but I neglect to remember that we are saved "for"
good works.
Discipleship is a process and not an endpoint. God's love flows
down on us and our prayers of thanksgiving flow back to Him. However,
this is not the whole circle of the salvation process. God expects
His disciples to share His grace in the love that flows out from
us to others. Paul reminds us that God prepared things in advance
for us to do. These things that God prepared are not "repayment"
for what He did for us. They are the expressions of a disciple's
love for God. The process involves being able to fully understand
the blessings that He has giving us by blessing others.
Is it time for us to ask what it is that the Lord planned for us
to do while we are on this earth? Is it time to express our love
and thank God for the gift of salvation that He gave us by becoming
a disciple of Christ?
July 13, 2008
They say a person needs to repeat things at least three times before
someone will remember it. So at the risk of being redundant, we
want to once again tell you of the new ELCA Book of Faith Initiative
which underscores our call to discipleship, and preparing ourselves
for the task.
The vision of the Book of Faith Initiative is:
that the whole church become more fluent in the first language of
faith;
the language of Scripture, in order that we might live into our
calling as a people;
renewed, enlivened, empowered and sent by the Word.
How Lutherans Read the Bible:
We read the Bible in the context of a threefold understanding of
Word.
a. God speaks the Word and the Word God speaks is a human being…Jesus.
We meet the word in living expression. (
John 1:1)
b. Proclamation is the Word…spoken AND heard. (
Romans
10:17)
c. The word is a written word of God. (
Deuteronomy 6:5-6)
However, “It is not the Word of God if it is sitting on a
shelf,” said our study leader, Dr. Diane Jacobson. Do you
agree with that Lutheran understanding?
We also bring to our readings some helpful Lutheran Principles:
a. Law and gospel. (All passages can be read as both)
b. What shows forth Christ. (Scripture is as much a receiving of
Christ as communion!)
c. Scripture interprets Scripture (Difficult parts of the Bible
should be interpreted in light of clearer or more central ones)
d. The Plain Meaning of the Text (The Bible should be understood
in the sense which seemed obvious to the original readers…which
is why
Revelation 13:1 is read/understood by Lutherans
as talking about Rome, not beasts.)
e. Public Interpretation. The community is essential in helping
us understand what the Bible means. More cultures will broaden our
understanding and interpretation. Misunderstanding or no understanding
at all can happen when reading only in private. At the very least,
the Bible is best understood when
read both publicly and privately.
Scripture is read humbly, mindfully, attentively, prayerfully, and
expectantly asking the Holy Spirit to guide us and Christ to be
present with us.
