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This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).

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Community takes effort.

Romans 14:19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Ephesians 4:3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 

I will be the first to admit that I wish relationships were easy and didn’t take a lot of effort.  I wish that no one would ever get their feelings hurt, put the worst construction on what you say or make assumptions about your motives and actions.

But they do.

I do.

I have a sinful nature and so does every other person.  At the heart of the sinful nature is selfishness.  Selfishness by definition is thinking of self (sorry for the obvious).  When I think of self I don’t think of others and when I don’t think of others, relationships are not easy.

So, thanks to sin in our hearts and lives, relationships and community take effort.

Everyone’s effort.

Relationships are ALWAYS two-way streets.  Sometimes they are lopsided and one gives more than the other for a season, but ideally the relationship is also reciprocated.

I’m grateful for the effort that Jesus made to have a relationship with me.  Down to the very sacrifice of his life, was his heart of love that desired to have me (and you) as his child for eternity.  Of course his love engenders my love, trust, and faithful following.  His love engenders my love for him and for others.  Of course I can walk away from that relationship too.  I can blame Jesus for something that goes wrong.  I can disagree with what he says about my life or lifestyle.  I can assume that he is the cause of bad things in my life.

I would be wrong, but I can walk away.

The community of the church is to model the love Jesus has for us.  To be sure, the relationships can get lopsided and perhaps at times you may feel like someone “owes” something back.  But one can only control their heart and their effort.  If eventually the effort is rejected, you can’t control that.  You can only do as the Apostle Paul encouraged, “Make every effort!”

So what does that look like – especially in the church?

1. Begin to invest in others first.  On a Sunday morning strike up a conversation with someone with whom you have not met or talked with for a while.  Ask them a few questions, “How as their week?  What was challenging?  What was rewarding?  How is their family?  What make them laugh this week? Etc.
2. Take baby steps.  Small steps to build relationships over time will foster a caring community in your church.  Again you don’t have to share your life’s story on the first conversation.  Just interact with someone in a meaningful and sincere way.
3. Manage your expectations.  People are sinful as you are.  Not everyone is going to become a best friend, but people can enjoy getting along with others.  Someone will say something that will be hurtful.  Ask a question to clarify as often there is a story behind what was said…and we often don’t create the right one.  Look for wins rather than for reasons to give up.
4. Remember it’s your responsibility (and everyone else’s).  Everyone working together at building community will build community much quicker than one or two people working at it.  Don’t wait for someone to take initiative…do it yourself.

Remember the community of your church is the place where we get to experience and put into practice the love of Jesus.  It is not always easy.  It takes effort.  But it will always be a blessing!

 

Apply: What is one thing you can do this weekend to build community with someone at your church?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for giving every effort to build relationship with us.  Lead us to respond to your love by loving in community with others and making every effort we can to be a catalyst for a loving, caring community in our church.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).

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Extra love opportunities.

Today in Georgetown, TX kids and teens are headed back to school for the 2023-24 school year.  We certainly ask the Lord to bless and watch over them and their teachers and that those that are followers of Christ bear witness to his name and represent him will in the classrooms and hallways and athletic venues.  

One of the challenges kids can have in going back to school is that not everyone treats them well and they don’t get along with everyone.  We hear reports of bullying, shaming, or teasing that creates a challenge for the student to show up and be their best unless the issue is addressed.

The temptation when treated in an unloving way is to repay the evil for evil.  It is very hard to show patience or kindness to someone who does not treat us well or speak well of us.

Perhaps at times, one just has to avoid the person and protect your own safety.

However, perhaps there are these type of people in our lives to practice the love that Jesus has shown to us.

I call them “Extra love opportunities.”

The thing is, they don’t just show up in our schools.  They show up in our workplaces.  They show up in our homes, and, yes, they show up in our churches.

It’s part of being in community with others who are not perfect and have a sinful nature.  To be sure, I would love it if everyone could exhibit perfect patience and love at all times.  But its just not going to happen.

The “easy” out is to step out of that situation or relationship and not lean into it. This can happen in any of these settings, including the church.  How many individuals, perhaps including yourself, have you met that no longer go to church because of what was really or perceived as unloving…something someone said, did, or did not do.

In no way am I justifying or minimizing unloving behavior, but really those situations are not ones to step out of but rather step in to.  The Bible encourages:

“…Be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)

So, I hate to say this, but each of us is an opportunity for another person to practice this.  In no way am I advocating that individuals should intentionally create “Extra Love Opportunities” with people around them.  I am encouraging to lean into that relationship and seek to understand why the person did or said what they did.  Often behind a cutting word, a mean look, or an unkind action is a hurt or situation they are reacting to…you just get to be on the receiving end of it.

To be in a church community is really a practicing place for us to put the love of Jesus into practice with those around us.  Of any setting (work, school, home), your church is a primary place to receive AND show the love of Jesus to the people around you.

So let’s be patient with one another.  Bear with one another in love.

The better you get at your church, the better you will get at school, at work, at home!

Apply: Who in your life is an “extra love opportunity”?  What might be a kind word or action that would show patience and love to them?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, open my heart to be filled with your love so I might show that love to others. AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).

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Are you willing to tear down the fence?

“Don’t throw your trash in my backyard, my backyard, my backyard

Don’t throw your trash in my backyard, my backyard’s full!”

This little ditty was the verse we would often use to warm up in choir.  I sang it on Sunday in the message, so listen to it there if you want the melody!

To be honest, I hadn’t really remembered these phrases and melodies for years…until this week.

I don’t want my neighbor’s trash in my backyard.  I have enough to deal with on my own to take on the others around me.  For us, that would be seven households that have some border on our backyard fence due to the layout of the property.  That’s a lot of trash.  Sure, I’d be more happy to throw my trash in their yard, but I wouldn’t want theirs in mine.

What does this have to do with community and the church?

We build fences around our backyard so we don’t have to interact with our neighbor.  Sure once in a while there is is a “Wilson” conversation over the fence (Reference the TV series: “Home Improvement”)  Perhaps these conversations have great depth like Wilson and Tim did on the sitcom, but for the most part we all keep to ourselves.

And if we are honest with ourselves, most of us are probably pretty comfortable with that arrangement.

But community means allowing the fences to come down.  When the fence comes down, we have to take time to interact with our neighbors and they with us.  We get a front row seat to the trash in their back yard and they into ours.  That’s scary!  That’s uncomfortable.  That’s a picture of the work needed to build community in a church.

Interacting for a few minutes on Sunday morning is a slight risk, but not too risky.  Superficial conversations are easier to have than vulnerable ones.  So a little interaction on a Sunday morning is sufficient.

But listen to this sampling of passages and see if a “superficial” conversation allows us to do this well:

“Carry each other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2)

For the most part, we want to carry our own burdens.  There’s even a bit of ego that doesn’t want someone to help (is it just me?).  It takes trust to let someone in on a physical, emotional, or spiritual burden.  When the fences come down, we can see what others are going through and be available to carry their burden.

Here’s a few more…

“Be kind and compassionate to one another…” (Ephesians 4:32)

“…Stop passing judgment on one another.” (Romans 14:13)

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you…” (Ro. 15:7) 

To put these encouragements into practice, we have to let the fence down and build the relationship.  We may have to step through trash, we may have to be inconvenienced…but you know what? People who want to build community with us will have to become comfortable with our trash because our backyard is full too.

Satan loves to keep us isolated…let’s repent and fight against this temptation.

The Spirit of God loves to help us build community with others so we can enjoy the “one another” and “each other” blessings of God’s church…his community.

Apply: Which of the four statements are most challenging for you to follow?  Why?  Ask the Lord to give you humbleness, courage, patience and willingness to take a baby step into community with others.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the community of believers you have put around me.  Help me to tear down the fences and and build community with others. Thank you for the blessings you promise and give as a result.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).

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“Access denied.”

We all know what it is like to forget a password and realize the account we wanted to access is blocked because we didn’t have the right password.  Maybe even we’ve entered enough bad passwords that the website says, “Your account has been locked for 24 hours.”

We have passed store doors that say “Employees Only.”  We have approached office buildings that have access by security card only.

In many of these situations, we may have a curiosity of what is behind the door that is inaccessible, but really don’t care.  However, if there is a situation where you need to gain access to somewhere for your benefit or the benefit of someone you love, you may experience extreme stress or frustration.

Do you have access to God?

Ever thought about that?

As the saying goes, ‘There’s no atheists in foxholes.”  A person who didn’t care to have access to God in a moment of dire straights WANTS access and hopes they have access, but do they?  Do we?

In the Old Testament construction of the tabernacle and then the temple there was an inner chamber known as the Most Holy Place.  Inside was the Ark of the Covenant and this room would only be entered one day a year during the festival of the Day of Atonement.  Only after a blood sacrifice could the High Priest enter through a thick curtain and approach the presence of the Holy God.

Anyone else who tried…died.

Sinners can’t approach a holy God on their own.

They may try…good works, payments, comparisons, etc., but every time: “Access denied.”

Why try so hard to have access to a Holy God?  Because inside each of us is the desire to be right with God.  Some may struggle with who that God is or create their own God, but the fact remains we are spiritual beings with a soul that is from God and desires a connection to God.

By ourselves, we cannot gain access.

Which is why we all need Jesus.  He was the only one whose blood was shed to remove the barrier of sin and give access to a Holy God by giving us his holiness.  The writer to the Hebrews put it this way:

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 

We can have confidence that the password to God is JESUS!  The password never needs to change or be changed.  We can type our name in for the “login” and type “JESUS” as the password and we have access to God.  Our sins have been washed away and we have full confidence to stand before God as forgiven, children of God.

 

Apply: What does it mean to you to truly have access to God through Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me access to you through the work of your Son, Jesus.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…love in community (WATCH HERE).

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Restaurant or Relationship?

 

We enjoy eating out…perhaps more than we should!

When we do, we subconsciously are rating the ambiance, the service, the food and the overall experience.  My wife enjoys taking pictures of the food when it comes out and posting a review on google for the restaurant.

We rate a restaurant based on our experience with it.  If we love it, we go back and recommend it.  If we don’t, we won’t go back and find another place to enjoy a meal. 

At a restaurant we rate it based on how it served us.  We are the consumer, they are the contributor.  If we don’t like what we consumed, we move on.

Sometimes we can treat church like this.

It is easy to simply evaluate a church experience based on how well it served me.  Perhaps phrases like, “I didn’t get anything out of the sermon.”  “No one said ‘hi’ to me.” “They didn’t have anything for my kids.”

To be sure, as a pastor, I want every guest to have a five-star experience for their visit.  I want them to be greeted and made to feel welcome.  I want the message to communicate Christ in a real and meaningful way.  I want their children to be encouraged in their life of faith as well.

However, if one never moves from a consumer to a contributor, the church remains like a restaurant with a few people serving the masses.

But God didn’t design his church to be like a restaurant, he designed it to be about relationships.  

When I love a person, I don’t rate them with stars.  I don’t discontinue the relationship when there is a challenge.  No, when I love a person based on a relationship, it is a love that is built on deep commitment.  It is a love that is willing to serve more than be served.  It is a love that is willing to invest time, energy, and resources to make it better…because the relationships matter.

That’s what I mean when I say, “I love my church.”  I love my church because of who it is and what it stands for.  It is worth the investment in the people, in the relationships.  I love my church, so I’m not going to leave if the preacher has a bad sermon one Sunday, or another person doesn’t say hello.  Instead, I am going to be a contributor and do all I can, for the sake and love of Jesus to make it better.

It’s just what Christians do when they love their church and the relationships that are part of it.

Here’s what it looks like:

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Apply: What changes for you when you think of church more in terms of relationships to invest in over a restaurant to consume?

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love and grace that brings me into relationship with you and your people.  Empower me by your Spirit to invest in the people of my church to build stronger connections to them and to you.  AMEN.