Devotionals @ The Mount Church

Do you remember your first day of school? Looking around and hoping that someone, anyone would recognize you or smile or give you a friendly nod. Anything that would give you the slightest hint that you would be accepted into the new, strange, and exciting place you have found yourself.

Do you remember the first time you were the new person at work? You may have blundered your way through your first real task or heard someone give you directions for a task that sounded like Greek. For most of the day, you probably kept looking around and looking for that one warm smile, the encouraging nod to let you know you were catching on and some sign that you would one day be familiar with your surroundings.

How about going to college and meeting your first roommate. For 17+ years you have been living with your family and they know all of your quirks and loves and hates. Suddenly you find yourself in a room with a stranger that you are instantly supposed to somehow connect with and live with for at least the next semester. They don’t listen to the same music or wear the same clothes, perhaps they even speak a different language. You look around your crowded small space and wonder “How on earth is this going to work?”

Sometimes we feel like strangers in the world we are living in and yet for the most part, we are all looking for similar things; love, acceptance and a place to call our own. Perhaps the old show Cheers said it best “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same You wanna be where everybody knows Your name.” The best part of this struggle is that God understood our need for acceptance. Our need to not be strangers in the world but an integral part of the world we are living in. He saw our need so well that He sent Jesus to become an ultimate sacrifice for us so that we could be accepted into His kingdom and never have to worry about being alone or if we would “fit in” for the rest of eternity.

Not only did Jesus come and die for us, but also he lived among us and he experienced our life with us. We are not strangers to Jesus because he saw our hurts, our disappointments, our joy, our disgrace, our pride, and our humility. He saw the greatest people our world had to offer and the worst that our world had to offer and he loved them all equally. He sat with Pharisees that were only concerned with the rules and regulations. He ate among the tax collectors that were robbing the people they collected from on a regular basis. He chose simple fishermen and other commoners to walk with him everyday and experience life with him.

That all sounds great for that time, but what about the here and now. What does this mean for me? When Jesus died, he left with us the Holy Spirit to fill us in his absence. When we become believers we are granted this gift. We are never alone when we are believers, God is always waiting to hear from us and have us consult him on our day – no matter how big or small a problem or joy is that we are experiencing. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:19-22 - So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

We have been given citizenship in the kingdom of God and it is up to us to help other believers to not feel like strangers in his kingdom. The next time you are in church and you see that person with the glazed over stare, or the look of confusion and bewilderment in their face – take the time to go and invest in their lives. They are citizens of the kingdom of God with us and Jesus is building up His church to do His work through them. We know how it feels to be strangers and to walk into a new place with new vocabulary and customs to learn. We have been there and we should be eager to help the next person transition from stranger to friend, especially within the church. As cliché as it might sound – what would Jesus do is an excellent question. Well, I’m not sure what his opening line would be, but I am sure that he would greet that person with open arms and say something like “friend, let me show you where the donuts are and you can sit by me during the service, I always have an extra seat beside me. After the service, we can go grab a bite to eat and I have an amazing story about love and grace that you just have to hear!”

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis 1:1-5

God is the king of the universe. He is the creator and the author of all that is around us. Each day this amazes me. I cannot conceive the intricate nature of knitting together an entire universe in just a few days. Then to think that He had to send His son to die on a cross for us to fulfill His own desire to save the people He created is astounding. Jesus was also the king of the universe. He referenced the kingdom of God several times during His reign on earth. Jesus told the Pharisees more than once that He was the one in charge of the kingdom of God and the universe. But what does this mean for me today?

If Jesus provides rule over the universe it means that He is in control even when we think He is not with us. It means that He is orchestrating amazing feats of nature, keeping the planets aligned, allowing the wind to blow and the tides to change from high to low each and everyday. Even something as simple as a bumble bee flying is an act of the king of the universe.

Did you know that it should be physically impossible for a bumble bee to fly? Their wings are actually too small for their bodies and it is an anomaly that they are capable of sustaining their own weight during flight. It’s an anomaly until you realize that the creator of the universe designed the bumble bee this way and in His eyes, this tiny little creature is perfect and there is nothing strange at all about this phenomenon. When we think to what this must mean in our own lives for Jesus to still be king of the universe the ramifications are huge.

It means that Jesus knows when children are born with defects and He still values and loves them as a part of His creation. They are beautiful in His sight. He knows that through that child valuable lessons of love, patience, tolerance and forgiveness will be shared with others in the world.

When storms literally come and blow down our house and tear apart our lives we learn the value of having Jesus as the King of our Universe. We must learn to pick up the pieces and rejoice over the small things the storm did not take with it – our hope, our endurance, and our strength that come only from Him. Imagine how lonely it must be to watch all of the destruction and not have a peace that passes all understanding or a hope that knows no bounds. I watched my friends from New Orleans sift through the molded leftovers from Katrina and cry out to God over the things they had lost. God is okay with this. He does not expect that we will always understand or be silent in our grief or anger. The important lesson is to move past this to see the workings of God through our suffering and anguish. Years later I still marvel at their courage and their perseverance in being capable to see the rainbows that came after the storm and remember the promise that God gave to Noah that He would never destroy the world again with a flood.

On September 11th we we were reminded that when planes suddenly crash into buildings led by terrorists and millions of people are left scared, alone and without their loved ones, the King of the Universe is holding open His arms through the doors of His church and His people to take them in and comfort them. He allowed Amazing Grace to be sung by politicians, prayers to be heard on national television and his word was available to ease their distress. He allowed missionaries held hostage to be set free and the cries of others to be heard in all the nations and known for their martyrdom.

The most amazing thing to me is that Jesus knew all these things, the injustice, the cruelty, the love, the hate, the whining, the groans of loss, the pain of abuse, the want for peace and still chose to die for us on a cross to save us. Only the King of the Universe could have that kind of power. This is the kind of power that allows me, a sinner, to call on Him today and be saved through His grace and mercy.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

John 4:7-12

God’s nature is often a mystery. He is compassionate and tender and yet shows His power and might through everything He does. There is one aspect of His character that always seems to shine through in the Bible. God is capable. When you look up capable in the dictionary you will find a definition stating; having power and ability. I believe this is the truest essence of who God is – He is all power and all ability.

So why is it so easy to doubt God and why do we question His power and ability? Perhaps because just as being capable is a part of God’s nature, doubt and unbelief are a part of ours and we feel compelled to test God to see His capabilities overcome our failings. If you look through the Bible you will see wonderful examples of men and women who doubted that God was capable of taking care of their every need, wish, desire or request. David doubted God’s power and feigned being insane. Sarah doubted God was capable of giving her a child and helped to create a nation that would always be at odds with God’s people. Thomas doubted that Jesus was capable of rising from the dead after he had been told in person what would happen after the crucifixion. My favorite picture of God showing just how capable He is in the midst of unbelievable circumstances happens in the life of Moses and the people of Israel.

Think about the story of Moses. Here is a guy who God appears to in a burning bush (Exodus 3) and Moses’ first reaction is to say to him “Who? Me?” As if God was not capable of taking a sheep herder who had once lived with the family of the Pharaoh and helping him to speak and persuade the Pharaoh to let God’s people go.  After all He had saved Moses from dying as a child, He allowed him to escape Egypt after committing murder, He had led him to a family in the desert who took him in and gave him wise council. Is this not a perfect picture of how blind we are to God’s capabilities because of our nature of distrust?  Moses continued to doubt and God had to prove to him over and over again His power and abilities. Then Moses finally trusts God and seeks out the Pharaoh.  Moses has overcome his doubt at least for the moment.  Then he is leading the people of Israel out of Egypt and lo and behold they become the doubters.

Then they said to Moses; “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Exodus 14:11-12

God once again shows how capable He is in the face of great doubt. Moses tells the people “the Lord will fight for you while you are silent.” (Ex. 14:14) While the people of Israel are in the middle of their doubt, Moses asks them to be quiet and trust. God in the meantime is preparing His plan by hardening the hearts of the Egyptians and making them blind to the trouble in front of them. Moses leads his people into the Red Sea where it parts for their passing through God’s power and ability and then closes the Sea behind them to get rid of their enemies.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Seeing God’s capabilities versus man’s shortcomings is easy when we read about it or hear it in a sermon. How does this play out in our real life. We have to trust that our God is a capable God. One who has the power and ability to do His will. The key is to remember that just because He has the capabilities to do amazing miracles and works does not mean that He always will. Sometimes we need to learn the greater lessons that come from suffering and struggling. This is how God builds us up for greatness and helps us become a greater testimony for His love and grace in the world. He is teaching us to learn that while we are not capable we have a “God who is capable of doing immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

If you ever want to insert an awkward silence into a healthy discussion about personal struggles, bringing up the subject of ‘accountability’ will probably do the trick. Most of us are predisposed to consider the word ‘accountable‘ to have a negative connotation-likely because of what past experiences have taught us.

Consider some popular examples of public accountability (or lack thereof) - Tyco, ImClone, and Enron. Most people who follow the stock market or consume even a smattering of business news can identify those companies for having displayed gross mismanagement of assets or unethical accounting. Often, such companies are investigated and high-ranking individuals are brought to court in order to be held accountable for their actions. Such examples need not be limited to corporate interests or money.

Nobody is exempt from being accountable for something, from politicians and public figures to school teachers and technicians–everybody is expected to perform tasks in such a way that they do not fall short of the expectations of others.

We are all familiar with the various aspects of personal accountability. Whether it involves job performance, parenting, driving, or our daily walk with God, we are usually well aware of what is expected of us.

Go ahead and read Nehemiah 5:1-13.

In this passage, Nehemiah actually introduces us to the fundamental paradox of true personal accountability: it works best when it ceases to remain personal.

While we may understand our shortcomings, we all require a reference point or incentive in order to correct our behavior. Without at least one other person to investigate our progress, we are no longer accountable for our actions–we no longer have an obligation to explain or justify our actions, which is at the very heart of what the word ‘accountable’ means.

Nehemiah was wise enough to realize that simply making the lenders and money collectors take an oath to halt their improper practices would not be likely to yield a positive and lasting result. Nehemiah made note that they would need to be accountable-to each other and to God. The result of breaking the promise would be a swift and visible judgment from God. The passage says that the people did what they promised… so are we to assume that they did it out of fear alone? The often-negative connotation that the topic of accountability brings with it is due to the fact that we sometimes fail to see the greater purpose behind it-a closer relationship with God and each other.

Any time I have ever teamed up with an “accountability partner” for some purpose relating to my spiritual life, I usually tend to approach it from the perspective that I should repair my negative behavior simply to spare myself the embarrassment of having to admit to that person that I have once again failed to reach my goal or fallen prey to the same sin in my life. For a short time, that approach works-though it usually falls apart as soon as it becomes evident that I am only seeking to save face and not actually trying to glorify God. True progress begins when we understand that our accountability to each other should embody our desire to please God with our thoughts and actions.

Instead of treating our spiritual accountability like a box awaiting a check-mark for good effort, we should view it as an opportunity to fill ourselves with more and more things that please God until there is less and less room for the things that do not.

a personal example
I’ve had a sizable collection of Christian music albums for as long as I can remember having something to play them on, but several years ago a friend told me that if I listened to only Christian radio in my car for an entire month, it would change my life in a significant way. At the time, I was in my car about two hours a day, and while I certainly expected it to be more positive and uplifting than my normal listening, I hardly thought I would find it enjoyable… much less life-altering. However, that friend knew me well-whether singing it, playing it, writing it, listening to it, or even just humming or whistling it to myself-nobody can take away my love for music. That is what made the challenge significant. Over time, my friend would not only ask me if I was still listening to the new music, but they would also ask me what I thought of it-what I liked and disliked, etc. Quite frankly, it was a difficult transition and it took years of bouncing back and forth for that type of radio listening to really grow on me. Every time, though, it became easier to jump back to the Christian music stations-and I had more to discuss with my friend all the while.

God currently uses that music as a wonderful tool in my life… like an ever-present reminder of my accountability to God. It’s rather difficult to willingly defy God when songs of His greatness and love for me are right on the tip of my tongue. Though it certainly doesn’t have to be music, I would urge any Christian to find something easily accessible that reminds them of God, and simply keep it close by. Spiritual and lifestyle accountability with fellow Christians doesn’t always have to be a deadly-serious thing (though it could be). Often, it’s simply a bridge to a greater understanding of each other and God’s will for each of you.

Being accountable for how we respond to God’s will is not about embarrassment, failures, addictions, or even having a friend ask us the same question each week after church just to check up on us… it’s about the joy that God is faithful to bestow upon us when we seek His will together.

Dear Lord, You are such an incredible friend. You record my words and deeds not because you wish to recount my shortcomings, but because you rejoice in my successes. So often, I cannot justify myself before you, so I simply ask your forgiveness. I thank you for the people you put in my path to remind me of the standard you have set for us, and I pray that you would give me every opportunity to shine brightly for You today, so that those who see me will see You too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Disciple” … we hear that often enough. Everybody must have some idea of what it means.

A quick search for ‘disciple’ in the dictionary yields no fewer than three specific religious references to the word. One describes the twelve disciples that aided Jesus in His earthly ministry—likely the most common usage in modern English. Another one is a mention of the large collection of believers Jesus sent out to spread His teachings in Luke, chapter 10. The last is a reference to a much larger concept—the idea that the word ‘disciple’ can be used to describe anyone who follows Christ.

Most people would probably consider the latter definition to be a bit vague—lacking specific terms by which a person could be deemed a ‘follower of Christ’. What is a ‘disciple’? Is it any Christian? Is it any Christian who goes to church regularly? One who tithes? Perhaps it should be defined as a person who literally followed Jesus around on His many earthly travels two-thousand years ago. No? What about a person who simply devotes themselves to the Lord’s work? Now that certainly sounds reasonable enough.

The only problem with explaining discipleship to anyone is that a great many people actually believe that being a true disciple is an unattainable goal. Often we downplay our talents, ignore our greatest personal attributes, and even convince ourselves that our usefulness is limited. Perhaps all we see are spiritual giants around us—those who seem to do so much more for God than we are capable of. Perhaps we view those same people as the very reason why it’s ok for us to limit our own efforts to please God—they’re doing such a good job, why should I get in the way? Maybe we see no point in doing the things we can because we see them as insignificant or unimportant.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

John 12:23-26 (NIV)

It is very likely that none of us are to fulfill the exact same duties for the Lord as another person. There is so much to be done—and all of it is important. The passage tells us we are to cease being who we were and follow after Christ’s example. That’s certainly a tall order, but just remember that becoming like Christ does not come easily to anybody. We are sinful by our very nature. However, God still requires us to try. Every follower will bring glory to God in a different way and there will always be work to be done in the Kingdom of God.

We should be mindful that God is concerned with the heart—not the magnitude of our good deeds or the amount of people impacted by them. Just remember… David only had a sling, Dorcas only had a needle, the widow only had two small coins, and Moses only had a rod. Somehow, having very little worked out well for those individuals—undoubtedly because they had a heart intent on God’s glory.

Sometimes we are so concerned with what we cannot do that we forget that all God has asked of us is that we answer the call. The Bible is full of stories about people who simply did what they could do. The lesson behind each of these illustrations is the same—being a disciple is as simple as allowing ourselves to be used. For whatever God asks, God equips. That being said, it’s more than likely you already have what you need to be God’s servant.

Pray this week that God would strengthen your desire to serve Him with what you have—that He would use that service to mold you into the disciple you were created to be. Pray, also, for your brothers and sisters in Christ, that they may do the same.