The Sharpest Tools in the Shed

 For some of you, reading that title immediately got you singing Smashmouth's "All Star" (just writing it got the song stuck in my head). I tip my hat to you. Well, last night I had a blast bringing back 4-Square in the gym. Turns out I'm not as rusty as I thought! We also brought back the insanely dangerous awesome game of Hungry Hungry Humans. If you don't know what that it is, just go look it up quickly on YouTube and you'll be sorry you missed out. ;)

Have you ever had to mow the lawn? When I was a teenager that was one of my responsibilities at home. I hated it. I always ended up sweaty and gross, covered in bits of grass and dirt and almost always with at least one new bug bite. The job itself seems pretty simple - turn on your mower and walk over the grass. On paper its a very simple job. But add in the heat, bumps in the ground, sticks in the way, and elevation changes and that simple task just became a lot harder.

Now imagine that I go out to mow my lawn and I think to myself "Hey Mike, you don't need a lawnmower to do this, you can handle it yourself!" And then I proceed to bend down and start ripping the grass up with my hands. With this method, how long do you think it is going to take me to finish "mowing" the lawn? The whole day? Maybe several days? With the size of my current lawn, I think the grass where I started will have regrown by the time I finish, meaning I'd have to start all over again! My hands would definitely be hurting something bad by the end of it (assuming I managed to finish at all).

The obvious question in this scenario is "Why didn't I use the tools at my disposal to handle the work more wisely and efficiently?" I had the tools, but I was choosing not to use them. And that's what we talked about last night: God has given us specific (and powerful) tools to handle the problems of life. So let's look at those together. Check out what James says in chapter one of his book:

James 1:2-5 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." (Emphasis mine)

The first tool God has given us is prayer. DO NOT underestimate the power of prayer. Prayers aren't just empty words spoken in a conversation, they are words filled with hope and expectation spoken to the God who can actually answer them. It is one thing to say "I wish I was wiser." It is something else entirely to pray and ask God for wisdom. When I wish for something, I'm just expressing a desire. "I wish I had some pizza right now." "I wish I wasn't lactose intolerant." "I wish I was as buff as Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson." But when I pray for something, I am asking God to give me what I desire. The difference? God can actually give it to me.

In fact, according to those verses above, God gives out wisdom freely. You want the wisdom to handle the problems of life? Pray and ask God, and He will give it to you.

I would also like to note that these verses assume that we will face trials of many kinds. James is like "Hey guys, you're going to run into problems, you just are." And he says we should "consider it pure joy" when we do. Why? Because facing problems is what causes us to grow and mature - both in life and in faith.

When I started to rock climb at the Gravity Vault, I got very comfortable climbing 5.9s (just one grade more difficult than beginner). That's all I wanted to do because I was good at it. Finally, my friends challenged to try something harder. When I did, I failed. I couldn't do it. I wasn't strong enough and didn't have the skill or technique to do it. But they encouraged me to keep trying, to keep facing the problem. And as I did, I slowly became a stronger climber and was able to work my way up the grading scale all the way to 5.12s (one step below expert). If was never challenged to do something harder, I never would have grown stronger. So James is right to tell us to take joy in facing our problems, because through them we grow stronger, more mature and complete in our faith. And prayer is one of the tools God has given us to overcome those problems.

Now let's look to tool #2, and for that we'll take a look at Proverbs 3:1-6 - "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Well, the joke is on you. We've actually been using tool #2 this whole time! The second tool God has given us is His Word - the Bible. Proverbs, in particular, is packed with wise sayings about how to handle (or avoid) the problems of this life. The Bible, the Word of God, is not just a bunch of stories about the history of Israel or even all about the life of Jesus. It is full of the knowledge of God, and guidelines for living wisely and confidently in this broken world.

I'm not much of a "car guy", to the point that I can never even remember what size windshield wipers I need for my car. It seems like a small problem, but the wrong size can make it so they don't work properly on the car. There are a couple of ways I can go about trying to figure it out: 1) I can buy a bunch of different sizes until I get the right size, 2) I can go ask a mechanic or someone who would know (although they can get it wrong), or 3) I can look it up in the vehicle's manual - which will tell me exactly what size wiper I need.

I think too often we try to face our problems with option 1 - we keep trying different things until something works. Sometimes we'll opt for option 2, and ask someone for advice (but they could be wrong or give bad advice). Really, our first thought should be option 3, to go to God and His Word for the right answer of how to handle whatever situation we've come across.

As these verses advise, we should keep the Word of God close to our hearts, reading portions of it every day and continuing to think about them throughout the day. We should definitely be living by the teaching of the Bible, loving others and being faithful to our word every day. And in verses 5-6, it says we should trust God fully and not rely on our own understanding of things. We need to recognize when we don't know what to do and then go to God for guidance. What will happen when we do this? He will show us the right way to go.

There is a 3rd tool hidden in there, too. The book of Proverbs was written by a man to his son (using God's wisdom as his primary source of knowledge). God hasn't sent us out into the world alone. No, He has given us a global community of fellow believers to support us (and whom we should support). When we're not sure what to do, we can go to other Christians and ask for advice and guidance (this is literally what Pastors are there for).

So, God has given us several tools to work with in facing the problems of this life. He has given us the power of prayer so we can ask for His help directly, His written Word so we can use it as a reference and guide, and other Christians who can encourage and support us in times of need.

If you are reading this, here is what I want you to do. Think of a problem you are facing right now (it can be anything, big or small). It shouldn't be too hard to think of one - we all face problems on a daily basis. Once you have a specific problem in mind, I want you to pray and ask God to give you the wisdom to handle that situation. Do it. Right now. Pray something like this: "God, give me the wisdom to handle this situation the way You would want me to."

Once you have prayed, look to the Bible. In order to be reading this you must be in some kind of web browser, so open up a new tab and look up what the Bible has to say about what you're dealing with. Maybe you are struggling with a particular sin, or drama in your friend group. If its the drama, you can look up what the Bible has to say about our relationships with others and how to maintain peace and harmony.

Once you have done this, follow the advice. If you're not sure what to look for, or you're not sure what to do in response, use tool #3. Ask your fellow Christians. Shoot me a message or ask another one of the leaders from youth group. Don't just sit there in confusion, seek out an answer.

God has given us these tools so that no matter what problem we face, we are equipped with the tools we need to face it. He doesn't send us to mow the lawn without a mower. He doesn't leave us to pull up the grass by hand. He equips us to face life, and He stands with us and faces it with us. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

God bless yall.

Come to Me, You Who Are Weary, and I Will Give You Rest

 Last night looked a little different as far as the message goes. Instead of a typical "Leader gets up and talks about something for half an hour", we looked at a couple of different scenarios and then worked in small groups to unpack what the Bible had to say about how to handle those scenarios. Before the message time, however, we took turns whacking each other with foam swords in a series of duels.

Let me ask you a question. When you have a problem, where do you go for advice? Do you have a particular friend who is your "go to" for problem-solving? Does it depend on what kind of problem it is? Maybe you have a good relationship with your parents and you often go to them for advice. Every now and then someone will come to me, but I'm not usually their "Option A" (maybe more like "Option Z"). So, where do you go? Take a second and really lock in an answer before reading further. Got it? Good.

Was your answer "I go to God and His Word"? My guess is, probably not. One of the main problems I see in our group is that we (yes, I am including myself in this) will go just about anywhere else first for advice before going to God and the Bible. For some reason, our gut instinct is to ask a friend, or a parent, or even Google before opening up the Bible for answers. The crazy thing about this is that we would rather trust other created beings than trust the Almighty Creator. I mean, seriously, if we really believe that God created everything (which according to our beliefs, He did) then wouldn't He be the first person we go to for advice on how to live in His Creation?

Logically, it makes sense for us to go to God. But the sad truth is that often, we don't. This needs to change. Our gut instinct should be to go to God first. To read the Bible first, before going to other people (who can then help us understand what God says to do in the Bible). Last night, in an effort to get this point across, I had everybody split into groups and work through case studies. Each group was given a short scenario and some Bible verses to look through. Their goal was to figure out what the person in the scenario should do according to what the Bible said about that scenario. I won't share the scenarios here, but the point of the message was to show that the Bible has the answer. God knows how to handle any and every situation we come across, and He has given us access to that knowledge through His written Word. All we have to do is read it.

Matthew 11:28-30 says this: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

When we have problems in this life, and stress is weighing us down, Jesus invites us to come alongside Him. He invites us to go to Him with our problems so He can share the load. The imagery in this passage ties back to an old farming technique, where two oxen would be connected together through a wooden device called a "yoke". The yoke kept the oxen side-by-side as they dragged a large plow through the dirt to loosen it and make it ready for planting. When training new oxen for this, what the farmer would do is take an older, seasoned ox and pair him with a young, inexperienced ox. The older ox, who knew what to do, would lead the way (taking most of the weight and doing most of the work) as the young ox had no choice but to follow. Over time, the young ox learned what to do and would be able to work with the old ox so that they were working together. That is what Jesus invites us to. He is the old ox - full of experience and knowledge of what to do - and we are the young ox - inexperienced and untrained. He offers to guide us through life and teach us the way we should go, all we have to do is go to Him.

So, if you're frustrated by the problems of this life, and you don't know what to do - look to Jesus. Go to Him, read His Word and learn from Him, and He will give you rest for your soul. He will show you the way. My hope is that moving forward, your first instinct when facing a new problem would be to go to the Bible. And if you don't know where to look, or you don't understand what it says, go to a leader, come talk to me. We are literally here to help you grow and mature in your walk with God, so we would love to hear from you and help you find answers.

If you have a situation and you need advice, or would like to know what the Bible has to say about handling that situation, you can post it anonymously in the comments below or share it in the box at the church (oh yeah, we have a box for questions now). My plan is to take one every week and share about it during the message. That's all for now, God bless you and your family.

Do You Know God?

 HEYO! Last night was a good night. We had a good crew and shared a few laughs together. I learned that some of yall are VERY EASILY distracted, which I suppose wasn't really "new" information. Sister Spatz brought out her favorite game, Dutch Blitz, which is apparently a fast-paced and fun game (I just don't get it). We attempted to play "keep up" with a volleyball, but this was the part where I learned about yalls distractedness.

We played some Nuke 'Em as our main game and not to boast or anything but I did this amazing diving catch which turned into a roll upon landing. Obviously, I didn't get to see it happen (as I was the one doing it), but in my mind's eye it was EPIC. Definitely one of the coolest things I have done in a while.

Our message last night was a continuation of our study of the devotions of the early church. This is all based out of Acts 2:42-47 - "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the LORD added to their number daily those who were being saved."

So far, we have talked about being devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayer, and true community, and last night we talked about the second-to-last thing, praising God.

When I was a kid, I did a LOT of reading on my own time. I had this awesome series of books called "Dinotopia" which was about a secret utopian society on an island where intelligent dinosaurs and humans lived together in peace. I highly recommend these books. Anyway, I used to hate the beginning of a book. It was so boring as they introduced characters and setting and plot. I wanted to get to the action. So, I got in the habit of skipping the first 3 chapters of a book, reading it to the end, and then after finishing I would go back and read the beginning. What would happen is I would start reading in chapter 4 and have to ask "Who is that? What is he doing? Who's that guy? Where are they going? Why are they doing that?" Since I had skipped the intro, I had no clue what was happening in the story or how the characters related to each other. And then, when I would go back and read the beginning, suddenly all the pieces would fit together and those questions I asked in chapter 4 were answered.

Many Christians today (and perhaps you, too) prefer to read the New Testament over the Old Testament of the Bible. Sometimes this is because the OT is hard to read or understand, while the NT is pretty straightforward. Other times this is just because that's all the church covers on Sunday morning. The problem is, only reading the NT is like skipping the first 3 chapters of a book, you miss a lot of the setup and background information. You have no idea who anybody is or why they are doing what they are doing. The early church described in Acts 2 didn't have the NT to read and study like we do. They had the apostles' teaching (which would have covered a lot of what is in the NT) and the OT Scriptures. Their knowledge of God, who He is, what He has done, and how He relates to us came directly from the OT Scriptures. And their praises were based on what they knew of God through those Scriptures.

So as we talk about what it means to be devoted to praising God, we're taking a trip back to the beginning - the very beginning. Click here to open up Genesis 1 on Biblegateway.com. Or, if you would prefer, pull out your Bible and open to page 1. Let's see what we can learn about God from the first 3 chapters of the Bible. (For the sake of space in this post, I will not be including most of the verses so you will need to follow along using your Bible or Biblegateway.com)

Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This is the first sentence in the entire Bible, and it sets the stage for everything else that follows. "In the beginning God..." This verse tells us that God exists already at the beginning of everything, which tells us that He is eternal (has no beginning).

This verse (and the rest of the chapter) also tells us that God is both powerful and creative. We also learn from this first chapter that God's Words are powerful (He creates by speaking things into existence) and that He is orderly - He creates in a specific order, with complexity and purpose.

Genesis 1:27-29 - "So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.'" We learn here that God delegates authority and provides generously for His creation. He put mankind in charge of the earth and made sure they had an abundance of food to eat. Here and also in chapters 2 and 3 we see that God is personal - He interacts with His creation on a personal level. He walks and talks with Adam in the Garden of Eden. He is not some distant god with little or no concern for us - He knows us and is concerned about us.

In Genesis 2 God establishes one rule for Adam and Eve in the Garden - they must not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They have free reign over everything else, just not that tree. This tells us that God is moral - He knows the difference between right and wrong and establishes rules for living rightly.

In Genesis 3 Adam and Eve are persuaded by the serpent (imagery for Satan) to break God's rule and rebel against Him. It is in this chapter that we learn that God is just - when rules are broken there must be consequences, or justice. He sets consequences on all the involved parties: the serpent, the woman, and the man (and through this consequence the earth also becomes cursed).

But we also see at the end of chapter 3 that God is loving and merciful, because even though Adam and Eve rebelled against Him, He still provides clothing for them.

And finally, we learn that part of the consequences of rebellion is separation from God. He banishes mankind from His presence (and the Garden). This is because He is holy and mankind's sin was unholy - those two things cannot go together.

So just in the first 3 chapters we have the establishment that God is eternal, powerful, creative, orderly, generous, personal, moral, just, loving, merciful, and holy. We learned how the world was created, how mankind was made special (in God's image), how mankind rebelled against God and received the due consequences, and how God worked through it all. All of these things we learned about God remain consistent throughout the entire Bible and these chapters set the stage for all of history.

Go back and read Genesis 3:14-15 - "So the LORD God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.'" This is God's judgment on the serpent for deceiving Adam and Eve into rebellion. And that last part, "he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel", is an important foreshadowing of something we just celebrated a few days ago at Easter - the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Devil's plan was to kill Jesus (the offspring of Eve) and he succeeded. Unfortunately for him, though, Jesus didn't stay dead. He arose from death, which was the point at which the Devil's demise (his defeat) was realized. Jesus' resurrection was a deathblow to Satan's plans. So, even in the first 3 chapters of the Bible we already have a foreshadowing of God's plan of redemption for mankind in Jesus Christ on the cross. Although we are the ones who broke God's rules and deserve our punishment (death), God entered our world as Jesus and paid the price for us - because He is just (someone needed to be punished), AND because He is loving. John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Getting back to the point for today, being devoted to praising God, in order to praise God we have to know God. We have to relate to Him somehow. And how can we come to know Him unless we read His Word? How can we praise Him if we don't even know Him?

The early church's praise was born from their knowledge and experience of God. Our praise must be driven by the same thing. We must know and experience God personally before we can be devoted to praising Him.

Remember how God banished mankind from His presence? That was a consequence of their sin. Because of our sin, we also are separated from God and cannot know Him personally. But, because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can now have our sin removed from us and be reunited with God! We CAN have a relationship with Him and know Him. To try and know God without believing in Jesus as your Lord and Savior is like trying to look up facts about someone on the internet. You may learn something about them, but you won't know them, not really. To get to know them, you have to be in a relationship with them. It is the same with God. We can know about God by reading the Bible. We get to know God when we believe in Jesus, enter that relationship, read His Word, pray, and experience His love and mercy and forgiveness for ourselves. Then, it is out of this knowledge and experience that we sing praises to Him.

So, ultimately, it is as we are devoted to these other things (teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayer, and true community) that we then can be devoted to praising God like the early church was. Praise and worship come out of knowledge and experience.  The question for you is:

Do you know God?

In One Ear, NOT Out the Other

 Hiya folks!

Once again we had one of those smaller groups last night, but we still had a blast playing some 9-Square together. Saw some new faces as well as some old faces, but of course, all of those faces were wearing masks...

For this post, let's jump right into the message. Last week we looked at 7 things that the people of God were devoted to in the earliest days of the church: Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking Bread, Prayer, True Community, Praising God and Welcoming New Members. This week we focused in on the first one: Teaching. Now, we've already established that our group is fairly "devoted" to teaching, if you mean that as we have a message every week. However, we are not devoted like the early church was devoted.

Before we go any further, let me ask you. When it comes to school, do you ever ask yourself "When am I ever going to use this in my life"? I did, a lot in fact. I felt like we were learning just for the sake of learning. And you know how much of that knowledge I've kept? Not much. The knowledge went in one ear, stuck around for the test (usually) and then went right back out the other ear. When I think back to my youth group days, I think something similar happened. I mean, back then the leaders taught a message every week, just like we do now. But, I never did anything with them. I don't even remember any of them. 7 years of messages - gone. One could argue that some of it stuck, and I am sure that's true. However, at the time I wasn't applying any of it. We might hear a message on kindness, but I wouldn't be kinder after it. We might hear a message on selflessness, but I wouldn't be any less selfish after it. And here lies our issue with our devotion to teaching in our group. How many of you can honestly say that you actively apply every message shared on a Wednesday night? Is your life any different after hearing a message from God's Word? If the answer is generally "no", then you have a devotion problem. Listen to what James says in his letter to the churches:

James 1:22-25 - "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it - not forgetting what they have heard but doing it - they will be blessed in what they do."

Let me ask another question: Have you ever pulled out your phone to check the time, only to do it again 2 seconds later because you already forgot what the time was? Yeah, I've done that, sometimes 10 times in a row. Or how about reading the same sentence 12 times before finally registering in your brain what it says? That's what James is talking about in this part of his letter. When we treat God's Word like we treat checking the time (unconsciously listening), we deceive ourselves into thinking we are doing what God wants us to do. But we're not. James is basically calling out these church people and saying "Yo guys! You're listening to sermons every week, and yet its like it is going in one ear and out the other! Quit it! Close your other ear!" He says to not be hearers only, but doers. When we "do", or apply, what God says in the Bible, James promises that we will blessed in doing it. It will go well for us and our efforts will not be for nothing.

So the questions is, how do we become doers and not just hearers? How do we devote ourselves to teaching?

I said it last week and I'll say it again - take notes. When I was a student, I only took notes at camps and retreats, and never at youth group. And do you remember how many of those YG messages I remembered? Zero. Even worse, I have no notes to go back to like I do with the camps and retreats. So not only did I not apply what I was learning at the time, but I have completely forgotten it! Just bringing a notebook and a writing utensil to Youth Group (and actually using them) can go a long way in devoting yourself to teaching. It will help you remember what has been taught (just as this blog is intended to do) and find ways to live it out in your life.

Another way to become devoted to teaching is to join a Bible Study when we offer them. It just so happens that we are starting two studies at the end of this month: How To Be a Man and Experiencing God. Each study we offer is unique and works through a different aspect of our faith, and each one contains specific applications to help you connect what you're learning to real life. With rare exceptions, these are group studies, which means you will be learning and growing spiritually alongside your peers. You get the opportunity to ask questions and discuss life application together, rather than trying to figure it all out on your own (which we were never intended to have to do). That is a huge part of the learning process, and I believe it is part of why virtual learning is so tedious. Plus, the discussion can be a lot more focused in a small group than in our Summit meetings.

The main idea here is to not only hear the Word of God, but to do what He says. Look for ways to apply each message to your life. For this one, that means bringing a notebook and writing utensil to Summit next week, and/or joining a Bible Study.

How can you be devoted to teaching?

Love > Fear

 Hey gang, so last night we were able to meet in person again and it was nice to see everyone's faces! Even saw a few of you connect through Zoom, which was awesome! For those of you who missed it, we got a special treat for the message time - we went to the Sanctuary. I think the last time we had our message in there was March of 2020.

Before you go any further into this post, I'd like you to check out this 3 minute video clip on YouTube. It is a short clip from the animated show "Avatar: The Last Airbender" - if you've never seen it, sorry, but spoiler alert. For the record, this is my all-time favorite animated show so you should definitely check it out in its entirety the next time you get the chance! Click here to view the clip.

There is one line in there I particularly hope you paid attention to: "You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you." You see, there are two motivational forces at work in this clip - fear and love. Azula (the angry girl) strictly uses fear when trying to motivate others to do what she wants. She uses fear to control people - including her "friends" Mai and Ty Lee. However, as we saw in the clip, fear wasn't strong enough to stop them from protecting the people they loved (Mai protecting Zuko and Ty Lee protecting Mai). This demonstrates a really important fact for us, that love is more powerful than fear.

Last week I focused on Proverbs 1:7 - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." This verse was written in the Old Testament, before Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross. So at this point in history, the only way to get close to God and find atonement (forgiveness) for sin was through regular animal sacrifices. The people lived in fear of judgment from God whenever they strayed from His Law (which, if you read through Israel's history in the OT, they did quite often).

When we look forward to the New Testament, after Jesus came and died and rose again, Paul reminds us in Romans that literally everyone strays from God's Law. Everybody sins, which means everybody is in danger of judgment, and the judgment for sin is death (not just dying here on earth, but being forever separated from God and Heaven).

Now, while Jesus was around, He had a bunch of disciples - a group of guys who followed Him and learned from Him. These guys grew up the same way the Old Testament people did, in a deep fear of the Lord. To find atonement they had to make animal sacrifices, too. However, when Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for sin, these disciples also got to experience the love and grace and forgiveness of God through Jesus. Their fear of the Lord led them to Jesus, and so their fear led them to the love of the Lord. You may recall, I ended last week's message with a quote, which concluded: "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion." Fear of God leads us to the love of God.

This week's verse is 1 John 4:18-19 - "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us." God's love, demonstrated through Jesus coming to the earth and dying on the cross for our sins, means that we do not have to live in fear of judgment. Jesus paid it all, and took our judgment on Himself. So, in Jesus, we become children of God and no longer need to be afraid of God and His power. But just as a child should respect and obey their father, so Christians should respect and obey God.

Fear compels us to do a lot - follow speed limits on the road (lest we get pulled over and ticketed), do our homework, obey our parents, etc. Fear is what Azula used to compel people to do what she wanted. God, however, chooses to use love as His motivational force. He first showed His love to us through Creation and later through Jesus Christ, setting an example of the kind of love He wants us to have - sacrificial love. This kind of love is what John was talking about in the verse above, because sacrificial love drives out fear. Mai's love for Zuko drove out her fear of Azula, and so she acted to save him even though she knew she could die for it (Azula is kind of mean like that). Ty Lee's love and care for her friend Mai drove out her fear of Azula, so that she acted to protect Mai, also knowing that there would be a cost. They sacrificed their own well-being for the sake of someone else - out of love. Sacrificial love means putting our needs and wants aside for the sake of others and for God.

The truth is, most of us come to faith in Jesus because we are afraid of judgment. We recognize that we have sinned before God and that the consequence for our sin is death, and we are afraid of that death. Our faith starts with a recognition of who God is, thus it is the beginning of knowledge - of knowing God. So, we come to Jesus. Fear of God's judgment brings us to the one person who can offer us salvation, Jesus Christ. And the reason Jesus can offer us salvation is because He chose to demonstrate His love for us by taking our place and paying the penalty for us. He put aside His life for the sake of our lives. So while fear is often where we start, we end up with love.

What is our response to this? Our proper response should be to praise God and love Him in return! Jesus told His disciples "If you love me, obey my commands". If we love God, and I mean truly love God, then that love should motivate us to do what He says is right. Jesus also said that all of God's commands can be summed up in two: Love God and love others. If we love God, then we will love what He loves, and He loves all of us. Every. Single. Person. Which means that we should love every single person. Summed up, this means being kind to others, forgiving others (even if they're not sorry), providing for the needy, standing up for the oppressed or bullied, and ultimately sharing God's love with everyone around us. I know sharing God's love (the message about Jesus) can be scary, and we often fear what people will say or how they will react. But remember, the love of God drives out fear. When we fully embrace the love He has for us, we will not be able to stop ourselves from sharing it with others.

So, if you have embraced the love of God, how are you loving others right now?

If you haven't yet embraced God's love and come to Jesus but are living in fear, you don't need to live that way anymore. You can look to Jesus for forgiveness and be free from fear.

Wherever you are at, find the next step in getting closer to God and take it.

Peace.

1-800-FEAR GOD

 So as some of you know, we had to switch Summit to Zoom last night because The Favorite's roommate caught the 'Rona (so she had to quarantine) and I caught a cold (yes, common diseases still exist during a pandemic). Not wanting to take any chances, and especially since people look at you funny every time you even cough or sniff, we decided it was best not to meet in person. So we didn't! Funny how that works.

On Zoom, we learned that some of yall really struggle with drawing. Then again, can I blame you for not being good at it with a mouse? These things are so hard to draw with... Anyway, for those that know, there was a blue circle. =) Good times.

Moving on to our topic for today, I'd like you to think about what it means to be afraid. What even is fear, anyway? Before we get to that, let me share with you a few times when I have had fear grip me:

When I was about 3 years old (shortly after I started actually remembering things), I had a nightmare about dinosaurs. Now, these weren't just any dinos, they were life-size version of the plastic ones I liked to play with. I was trapped outside my house at night, and they were everywhere - the streets, on the house, in the fields, everywhere. I pounded on the door, but no one answered. I tried to run away, but ran into more of them. Then, just before I woke up in a sweat, I heard the distant roar of a T-Rex. Dinosaurs can be scary even now, but for a toddler? They were absolutely terrifying!

Growing up, my older brother was known as the pest in the family. However, I also liked to mess with my siblings from time to time, and especially my brother. The problem was, he was bigger than me. And stronger. And just a little bit meaner. So when I would annoy him for too long or do too much, he would jump up and chase me down and try to hit me. And let me tell you, as soon as he jumped up I was GONE. I was running for my life! Because I knew that if he managed to catch me there was going to be pain. You may ask, "Well, why did you mess with him then?" And the answer is, well, because I wasn't thinking about how he would react, only about the fact that I wanted to mess with him.

When I was much older, after my first year of college, I was driving back home with my dad. It was super late at night and I was a very inexperienced driver. What I did know was that my parents almost always drove in the left lane of the highway. Left lane = fast lane. That's what I knew. So that's what I did. I wanted to go fast, and even though there were no other cars on the road I was in cruising in that left lane. Queue me reaching for my Coffee Coolatta from Dunkin, queue me looking down for a second to find the holder to put it back, and queue the van swerving off the road sideways, sliding across the grassy median between the Northbound and Southbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway, skidding backwards across the opposing lane, smashing the driver side window on a reflector sign, demolishing the driver side wheel on a concrete ditch, and coming to stop in the trees on the far side of the highway from where I started. Through all of that I was frozen. I couldn't move, I couldn't think, I couldn't even touch the brakes - all I could do was grip the wheel and hope this wasn't the end. Everything was a blur of grass, glass, and road.

Fast forward a little more to another year in college. My friend Leroy Jenkins and I would sometimes take midnight walks through the campus' extensive woods. On one of these walks, we heard a splashing noise through the trees. Didn't think too much of it and kept walking. But, then, we heard it again. And this time, it was closer than before. We kept walking, trying to move away from the lake where the splashing was coming from, but whatever it was kept following us. Now, you need to be aware that this is during the peak of my irrational fear of zombies, and in my mind this splashing wasn't just anything, it was a zombie coming up out of the water and shambling after us. I was freaking out. I was pushing Leroy to walk faster so we could get away, and the THING KEPT FOLLOWING. When we finally reached the edge of the woods and came across a road, I chose to walk all the way around the woods on the well-lit road rather than trek back through the forest. To this day I have no idea what was following us, but I was certain at the time that our lives were at stake that night.

So what is common in all of these situations? Well, in each case the thing (or person) I was afraid of was something I thought could hurt me or something that would have power over me. I recognized that he or it was stronger than me and I could get hurt.

Think now about some healthy fears that we have: heights, spiders, fire, bees, the dark... We fear these things because we recognize they can hurt us. We could fall from heights and get seriously hurt. If a spider is venomous and bites us and we could get sick or die. Fire can be really destructive if it gets out of control, and could burn us (remember what happened in California not so long ago?). Especially for someone who is allergic, bee stings can be dangerous, and at the very least they hurt a lot. And who knows what could be lurking in the dark, or what we could stumble across.

See, these fears actually help to protect us - they cause us to respect things and people who are stronger than we are, or at the very least, are dangerous. Well, fear should cause us to respect these things, though we sometimes forget that they're dangerous anyway (like my big bro). When I go rock climbing, I recognize that falling from a great height could hurt or kill me, so I always use a belay system. When we had our bonfires at the church for Summit back in the Fall, I would always bring out a bucket of water to make sure the fire didn't get out of control, because I recognized that would be dangerous. Our fear of the dark causes us to bring flashlights (or some kind of light) instead of just stumbling around, because we know we could get hurt walking blindly.

Proverbs 1:7 is a fairly popular verse which says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." So let me ask, what is the fear of the Lord?

"Fear" is the belief that something or someone is dangerous and it is the anticipation of danger. It means recognizing something or someone as dangerous and responding as though you are expecting danger. So then, the fear of the Lord is the belief that God is dangerous. But, why should we think that God is dangerous?

1. He spoke the earth (as well as the rest of the universe) into being. Read through Genesis 1. You'll notice that everything God made, He made by just uttering words. He said "Let there be light", and it was so. Light appeared because He said so. Now THAT is power.

2. Since God created everything, He can also destroy everything. Matthew 10:28 has a warning from Jesus to His disciples: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Jesus is pointing out that anything we face in this world can only hurt us so much. At best (or worst?), they can end our lives. But this world has no power over our souls, our spirits. Only God has power over that. And Jesus is warning His disciples to make sure they recognize that God is way more dangerous and powerful than anything else they could possibly be afraid of.

So God really is dangerous. He could hurt us, far more than anything else. But remember what the verse in Proverbs said. It didn't say "The fear of the Lord is debilitating," or "God is super scary so be afraid, be very afraid". No, it said "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." Unlike my fear on the road, this fear leads to something more. When we have a true fear of God, it puts everything else into perspective, so that we can better understand the world in which we live - the world God created. In order to truly understand our world, ourselves, and God, we first have to recognize how great and powerful and mighty our God is. We have to start there. We have to recognize that God is not some far away, mystical force, but an active and powerful God who stands in judgment over the whole world.

When we do this, when we see God's power and fear Him (because He is dangerous), it puts everything else into perspective for us. Our everyday fears don't seem as big or scary - not compared to God. It also causes us to respect Him way more, because it forces us to see that He is not some vending machine in the sky (we put our prayers in and He gives us what we want), but a holy and powerful God, one who created all things simply by speaking. This then gives us more respect for the Bible, which we often call the "Word of God". It isn't just some book, but a collection of God's power written out on paper for us to read and be transformed by. When you approach the Bible this way, it can really impact you in a new and profound way.

So, here is what I want you to do. As you go through this next week (and hopefully the rest of your lives), I want you to start thinking about what or who you fear. Make a list. Is God on that list? If He is, good, you're on the right path. If He is not - if you are not afraid of God - then that means you do not have an accurate picture of who God is or what He can do. My mom used to say "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." Well, God created all things, and He can take it all out - with a word. That's scary.

Now, not wanting to leave you curled up on the floor in the fetal position in fear, let me add that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, not the end. Fear of God means we have recognized His power and now show Him the respect He deserves. It gets us started. But the Bible also reveals that this same God and loves and cares about us. We fear Him, because He is powerful. Yet we can also have a relationship with Him, because He is loving. In closing, let me share this quote:

"Unfortunately, many of us presume that the world is the ultimate threat and that God's function is to offset it. How different this is from the biblical position that God is far scarier than the world... When we assume that the world is the ultimate threat, we give it unwarranted power, for in truth, the world's threats are temporary. When we expect God to balance the stress of the world, we reduce him to the world's equal... As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nonetheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion."

May the love of the Lord wash over you today and tomorrow and all future days as you walk with Him, in full recognition of His almighty power and in complete acceptance of His forgiveness and grace.