The Mount Church - www.themountchurch.com

When I was young my family moved a lot.  And by a lot, I mean A LOT!  My father’s job required us to relocate often, so much so, that by the time I got to my freshman year, I had already attended 11 different schools in 3 different states.  I remember well the effect that had on me, never knowing how long I would actually be living in a particular place.  Though I desperately wanted a group of friends to whom I could belong, I was reticent to invest deeply in relationships because of the pain associated with being uprooted time and time again.  I had said “Good-bye” to so many friends at an early age that I ended up building a wall of defense around myself in order to preserve my lonely heart.  Though I couldn’t have articulated it at the time, what my heart so desperately was seeking was a sense of community.  I needed a place and a people to call “home.”

Thankfully my high school experience allowed me to begin truly experiencing that.  By God’s grace and my parent’s determination to provide our family with that elusive sense of stability, I was able to attend all four years of high school at the same place!  Like rain quenching the sands of an arid dessert, my heart began to soak in all the joy and peace of finding a place to belong, a group of friends with whom I could actually build long-term memories with and simply experience the wonders of doing life together.  I began developing deep friendships with classmates and even got to know my teachers well.  Returning to the same faces and bonds for a second and third year in a row was something I had only dreamed about before.  I remember fearing that it was going to come to an end, because this is what I had always wanted but had never gotten to experience.  It was a comfort unlike I had ever known before, being among people whom I had grown to love and whom I knew truly loved me.

On the day that I tossed my mortar board into the air with all those friends I had come to cherish so dearly, I took a mental snapshot that I still carry in my mind to this day.  It is a picture of a community of people who navigated the highs and lows of life together, laughed with each other, prayed with each other, cried with each other, and served with each other.  It is a photo of a group of people who supported one another and each member of that group was better off and blessed for having been a part of the joint experience.

Last year I attended my 20th reunion.  There were some people there whom I’ve kept in touch with over the years through e-mail and phone calls and facebook.  There were others, however, that I don’t think I’d seen since graduation day.  But, because of the bond we built during those crazy and awesome days in the late 80′s, we were able to pick up right where we had left off.  The sense of community was as strong and real as it ever was, and each of us knew it.

One detail I didn’t mention earlier about this community in which I exist is that it centers around Jesus Christ.  You see, I was blessed to attend a Christian High School, where our bonds were forged not just in the halls and classrooms of a building, or on the courts of the gymnasium, but in the soil of God’s Word and truth.  I wholeheartedly believe that the primary reason this community I’ve told you about thrives is because it is built on a foundation that is unshifting, and that is the love of almighty God.

1 Corinthians 12:12-271 Corinthians 12:12-27
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
One Body with Many Parts ¹² The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God's Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit. w Some of us are Jews ... that same Spirit: Verse ¹³ may also be translated, “God's Spirit is inside each of us, and all around us as well. So it doesn't matter that some of us are Jews and others are Gentiles and that some are slaves and others are free. Together we are one body.” ¹⁴ Our bodies don't have just one part. They have many parts. ¹⁵ Suppose a foot says, “I'm not a hand, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the foot still belong to the body? ¹⁶ Or suppose an ear says, “I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the ear still belong to the body? ¹⁷ If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn't hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn't smell a thing. ¹⁸ But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best. ¹⁹ A body isn't really a body, unless there is more than one part. ²⁰ It takes many parts to make a single body. ²¹ That's why the eyes cannot say they don't need the hands. That's also why the head cannot say it doesn't need the feet. ²² In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. ²³ We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, ²⁴ but we don't have to be modest about other parts. God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. ²⁵ He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. ²⁶ If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honored, the whole body will be happy. ²⁷ Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body.

WP-Bible plugin talks about the Body of Christ.  And that is exactly what this community was, and is.  We exist not only as friends, but as members of the very Body of Christ.  Each of us are individual people, but we co-exist as joint members of a larger whole.  Some of us are pastors, some of us are teachers, some are bankers and missionaries on the other side of the world.  Others are homemakers or plant managers.  But regardless of our various jobs, we all find ourselves on earth to serve the same purpose, and that is to live in community, loving one another and loving God!  And there is no greater joy known to anyone in this life.

Since high school, I’ve gone on to become a part of other communities as well, each of them eternally significant as well.  The bonds I made with numerous Christ-followers in college still thrive to this day.  I still do life together with several of them, whether they live nearby or distant.  And then there is my church family, a bond which nearly defies description.  It is one of those blessings you almost have to personally experience to fully comprehend.  And even in the midst of it, I struggle to fully comprehend it at times.  My church family, my small group, and my closest brothers and sisters in Christ are a community that are virtually as necessary to my life as food and oxygen.  I interact with them everyday, numerous times a day.  We are literally the living, breathing hands and arms and feet and heart of Jesus to one another, which is the way God designed community to work.  And that is something we all long for and need, no matter how old we are.  I didn’t outgrow my need for community once I got my diploma.  In fact, I will never outgrow that need.  Living in community is something I look forward to enjoying for all of eternity, as I eventually move from doing it on earth to doing it in heaven.

Do you find yourself in a community such as I’ve described?  Have you found that sense of belonging among men and women who know, love, and follow Jesus?  Other communities will try to substitute for this greatest of connections, but nothing even comes close.  If you’re in such a community, wonderful!  Keep making it a priority and investing in it.  If you’re not in a community such as this, please know that you are welcome to join ours at The Mount.  We truly invite you with open arms!  There is always room for more in the Body of Christ.  And, if you don’t live in this area, no worries!  The Body of Christ exists all over the globe, and as you pray and seek God’s guidance in finding one, He will lead you “home!”

Wouldn’t it be nice if as you went about your morning, you heard God speaking to you clearly?

“Bill, it’s time to take a shower. You don’t want to oversleep again.”

“Um, Jill, I think you’ve had enough coffee…”

“Ted, I think we should talk for half an hour before you jump on that computer.”

“Sarah, don’t you think that guy over there could use a hand? Better get over there quick.”

To be honest, I wonder if it would only make our discomfort at doing God’s will more apparent. Often enough we just question whether we have really heard God, discounting his voice as a sore stomach, a daydream, etc. There would be no hiding behind our last meal if we all heard God speak to us loud and clear.

“Everything that is now hidden or secret will eventually be brought to light. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand! And be sure to pay attention to what you hear. The more you do this the more you will understand – and even more, besides. To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them.”

Mark 4:22-25Mark 4:22-25
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
22 ; . There is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret that will not be well known. ²³ If you have ears, pay attention! ²⁴ ; . Listen carefully to what you hear! The way you treat others will be the way you will be treated—and even worse. ²⁵ ; . Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose what little they have.

WP-Bible plugin

The “habits” that we call spiritual disciplines help us to be receptive to God’s voice, and that makes them powerful. For instance, the practice of prayer reminds us that God is not only willing to speak, but willing to act. It also helps us to stop – to put away the static and distraction that keeps us from hearing God’s voice. The practice of fasting can free us from the normal routine and and make us ready, heart, mind and body, to respond in a new way. Finding just the right place to worship (whether near or far away) might be a powerful agent in allowing the Holy Spirit to speak in a way that alters life as you know it.

We make it a habit to try to divorce the “real” and “natural” from the “spiritual”. This is an unfortunate by-product of the age we live in. But it is not the way God looks at the world. He created it, and considers it important – valuable and useful. We often approach prayer in this way: “I can pray anywhere, since God is always available.” And this is true. But you may find that God provides a certain environment that helps you to focus on Him better. That reminds you of his love or power. That is nothing to sneer at, and we ought to take full advantage of the way we have been made! We may be accurate when we think, “God does not care the posture of my prayer, but the heart behind it.” But it is amazing how the body can respond differently to prayer or scripture reading when it is done sitting, laying down, kneeling, at the computer, eyes closed, eyes open… No, there is no magic formula for godly “reception”. But we must not discount the way we worship and respond and listen for God with our bodies. We are both physical and spiritual beings.

So we see these two together. Spiritual habits help us learn to be receptive. Spiritual disciplines are not just spiritual activities though, they are deeply physical, and require us to place our whole body before our Lord. That is the way we will be receptive and begin to hear his voice more clearly. They are “practice” or “exercise” and require customization for each of us to have the effect God desires. They require commitment over time if we are to see results. And they themselves do not produce the results, but provide the opportunity for the Spirit to work in us.

God is calling us to place our entire being before him, and Lord-willing, that is what we will do.

Being a sinner makes me no more an expert on temptation than being an American makes me an expert on the history of America. What God has taught me has come over years of overcoming temptation and failing in temptation. What was has struck me is how simple and complex temptation is. The complexity of my individual personality, my personal desires, my personal circumstances, and how Satan uses those to lead me toward sin. The simplicity is in that the goal of Satan is the same in all temptation for all Christ followers. Satan simply wants us to assign a higher value to something, anything else than Christ.

God’s word is clear on a few things, temptation is not sin (James 1:15James 1:15
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
15 Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead.

WP-Bible plugin), temptation will always be with us (James 1:13James 1:13
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
13 Don't blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn't use evil to tempt others.

WP-Bible plugin), and when we are tempted there will be a way out from sinning (1 Corinthians 10:131 Corinthians 10:13
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
13 You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations.

WP-Bible plugin). As believers and followers we must accept that we will be tempted and that we must resist the temptation. We must be honest and realistic and know that we will experience failure occasionally in this resistance. God has given us a great many resources to navigate this fallen world the most of which is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, but also include His scriptures. Spiritual discipline is the way out of temptation that God has promised.

Discipline usually carries the connotation of punishment, but discipline is the natural precondition for discipleship and discipleship is the call of Christ through salvation. Since sin is valuing something else more than Christ it is vital to resist and conquer temptations to maintain a discipleship relationship with Christ. We must learn and practice spiritual disciplines for resisting temptations.

Scripture urges us to flee from sin as a means of resisting temptation as we know Joseph did when being seduced by Potiphar’s wife. This is not possible when presented with temptations of the mind or motivation. Physically running from the temptation of pride or lust is absurd. God gave us the scripture which He calls “shoes for your feet” Ephesians 6:15Ephesians 6:15
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
15 . Your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet.

WP-Bible plugin. Reading, knowledge, memory of scripture is the discipline that allows us to take these tempting thoughts captive (2 Cor 10:52 Cor 10:5
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
5 and every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture people's thoughts and make them obey Christ.

WP-Bible plugin) and discharge them from our minds. It is the word of God that allows us to resist temptation by outrunning sin.

Prayer against temptation was taught by Jesus Christ himself. It was so important that He taught it in what we commonly call the Lord’s Prayer. The easiest and most powerful way to resist temptation is to avoid it. When we apply the discipline of prayer to avoid temptation we are aware that temptation it is not more powerful than the strength given to us by Christ to resist it. We also know that know that God allowed that specific temptation in our life so that He may be glorified through us depending on Him to resist sin.

It is the discipline of worship and praise that allow us to refocus on our heavenly treasure. Temptation is weak compared to the power of worship. When we turn our complete focus on Christ we are unmistakably telling Him that He is more valuable to us than anything this world can offer.

Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Don’t forget to pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities…

Colossians 3:16-17; 4:2-3Colossians 3:16-17; 4:2-3
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
16 . Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷ Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him. ² Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful. ³ Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this.

WP-Bible plugin

If you’re reading this, the great likelihood is that it is because you are someone who has an online social network. You can interact with friends and acquaintances online. You are daily blasted with status updates, or requests for some sort of interaction.You are fed links to blogs you can read so that you can know the latest thoughts of whoever. With such ready access to “community”, you’d think that we had finally done away with loneliness.

Sadly, no. We just painted a pretty face on it.

Most of this online interaction is trivial. It is surface. Not that you should share your most intimate questions and heart-felt joy and pain with the masses! But it is easy to spend all our time online, not ever really communicating from our heart, and get to the end of the day thinking we can check off the box for contact, for community. The truth is that with all the technology and instant updates and feeds, we are still desperate for meaningful interaction and connections.

A commitment to spiritual disciplines is no guarantee that you will build community and interaction into your life. You can fill your schedule with “spiritual” things and still manage to avoid speaking with God and living in fellowship with God’s people.  But spiritual disciplines are a medium through which we can share our heart with God and with each other, and this makes them priceless. There is no reason for loneliness with our God. Jesus himself often demonstrated them in action.

Prayer is a wonderful discipline in this regard. Or more to the point, prayer is a wonderful habit for bringing us into deeper communion with God. We are repeatedly commanded to pray. Pray for workers. Pray for those who speak to have the right words. Pray for boldness. Pray that love will overflow. Prayer is the natural avenue for sharing what’s in our hearts with God. Not just the pretty and good stuff, but the real mix of life. We have been given access to the throne of Jesus for exactly this purpose.

But there are other habits that also help us share our hearts and minds with God, and sometimes even with each other. Worship is another spiritual discipline that helps us communicate what resides within. All too often we force ourselves to put on a face when God would have us come to him in honesty. We lie to one another to not inconvenience each other. This hurts everyone. And that should make clear that worship is also something that helps us to communicate with one another. It is an avenue for sharing our lives with one another. Giving is also a powerful communicator from our heart. That is, when it is more than just a concession. A heart that willingly sees themselves as stewards will find giving a discipline that speaks volumes in thanks and joy. And by sharing with each other, we build a community that demonstrates and shouts “love”.

Spiritual disciplines are not something commanded for their own sake. Usually, we are hard pressed to even find them “commanded” in Scripture. Certainly not in the scheduled way we usually think of them. Spiritual “habits” don’t make God love or accept us more. They don’t win his approval on our lives and intentions. These habits are instead the way we respond wholeheartedly to the love God has shown. We build opportunities into the fabric of life for us to share with him. And we build into our lives bridges we may use to share with each other.

Today, I offer the following for your prayerful consideration:

So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning. And you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.

1 Peter 4:1-21 Peter 4:1-2
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Being Faithful to God ^{4 1} Christ suffered here on earth. Now you must be ready to suffer as he did, because suffering shows that you have stopped sinning. ² It means you have turned from your own desires and want to obey God for the rest of your life.

WP-Bible plugin