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EMPOWERING WITH GRACE by Dave Stubblefield ...April 1, 2008

How many of you ever been accused of over thinking or over complicating? That’s me! My wife insists that any home repair takes me twice as long because I spend 2/3 of my time thinking about how to do it. In fact just before a large complicated work project I would think and worry. My wife pulled me aside and said, “Stop thinking about it and just do it.” Therefore I have 10 points to share.

As much as I like to think about things and over complicated the task I also like to figure out the simplest way to do things. I like task lists. In other words I need KISS. This comes from the saying Keep It Simple Stupid. The same applies to my Christian life and I use Keep It Simple Saints.

After being a Christian for a couple of years, a faithful and loving brother called me out. He said to me, “Dave. I get the sense that you’re not always present. You show up to the bible talks, church but you personally are not in the battle. You’re not engaged in the fight for Christ.” In my pride I thought, “He doesn’t know anything.” For awhile this hurt my pride. I tried to sweep this under the rug but oh how true these words were. I continued to make appearances and pretend to be a Christian man but sin still filled my heart and mind.

In my mind and my heart I hadn’t figured out how to battle for Christ but after many hardships and confessions another very close brother inspired me with the verses from Titus 2:11-14.

Titus 2:11-14 reads:
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

What do these verses teach us? Let’s make a list to Keep it Simple for Saints.
The grace of God is what teaches us the most important lessons. It teaches us:
1. Grace teaches us to say NO to ungodliness in this present time
2. Grace teaches us to say NO to worldly passions in this present time
3. Grace teaches us to live self-controlled lives in this present time
4. Grace teaches us to live upright lives in this present time
5. Grace teaches us to live godly lives in this present time
6. Grace gives us blessed hope to wait for our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ
7. Grace teaches us that we are redeemed from all wickedness by Jesus
8. Grace teaches us that we are purified by Jesus
9. Grace teaches us that we are Jesus’ own people
10. Grace teaches us to be eager to do what is good.
The list itself is unimportant but how our heart and how we respond to the grace is. How do we live after receiving grace instead of a well deserved punishment for our disobedience?

Jesus’ blood cleansed me … is cleansing me! Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection paid my sentence to death, my penalty, my debt to God in His perfect justice. I am wearing a white robe of innocence. The blemishes, blackness and utter horrid sin are removed.

• I AM FREE FROM MY GUILT
• I AM FREE FROM GOD’S CONDEMNATION THROUGH THE LAW
• I AM FREE STANDING WITH CONFIDENCE ALONG SIDE MY LORD AND BROTHER, JESUS CHRIST.

The Lord my God is my Savior and Redeemer. I am fixated on knowing Him, His good and perfect will and to spending eternity with Him. My life is not my own. I belong to my Lord Jesus and He is leading me by the Holy Spirit onward to battle for my soul and as many as He can bring. To God be the glory!

MARKETING, MICE & THE LIGHT OF TRUTH by Lannie Cox ...March 25, 2008

“After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.  But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.  No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."  For even his own brothers did not believe in him.  Therefore Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.”  (John 7:1-7 NIV)

In my professional life, I work in marketing and public relations.  The job is to share your message in a positive way with your audience and do it so well they accept it and, hopefully, act on it.  Marketing goes after building customers for a product, service or idea.  Isn’t this the same thing we do as Christians?  Aren’t we supposed to make Jesus seem appealing to the world around us?  Isn’t it our job to tell the story of Jesus in such a way that unbelievers see the positive side and want to become loyal customers?  I think Jesus answers our questions in the snapshot above, and the answer might surprise you.

The first thing that jumps out from this passage is that Jesus’ brothers want to consult him on how to market himself as a celebrity.  They tell him to go where the people are, show yourself to the world, let them see what’s special about you, dazzle them with your miracles, give the fans what they want.  (Paraphrasing, of course)  It sounds like good advice for anyone seeking followers.  And from their perspective, they may know better.  Verse one says people wanted to kill him.  It also says “after this.”  After what, you might ask?  That’s referring back to John 6.  At the end of that chapter many people turned away from Jesus and stopped following him.  Does any of this sound right?  Aren’t we supposed to get more and more people to follow Jesus?  I think the answer from scripture is “yes,” but not always in the way we think.

Jesus, when confronted with the advice of his brothers, answers, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.” 

Why can’t the world hate his brothers?  First things first, they are in the world.  The scripture says that they, at this time, are unbelievers.  Praise God that we see in later parts of the Bible that some,  if not all of his brothers become followers.  But at this time, they are giving him the advice of the world.

I think this is a serious temptation for all of us who are believers.  We want to make Jesus attractive to the world.  We follow Jesus, and we want everyone else to follow him.  We can be tempted to want to be Jesus’ publicist.  We want to apologize for the uncomfortable places he puts people and point out his best features to the world.  But what does Jesus want? 

In Luke 19:10, Jesus states that his purpose is to “seek and save what is lost.”  But part of that plan is testifying that what the world does is evil.   
Like me, before Jesus sought me and save me from my self, I was in the audience for the gospel, and that audience was “lost!”  We aren’t looking for a tune-up we don’t need to hear the right spin to get us to join a church and get on God’s team.  We need saving, not a life coach.

Let’s listen to more of what Jesus tells us on this topic reported in John 3, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Listen to the authority in Jesus’ words “this is the verdict,” you and I hate the light.  We don’t want it shining on the hearts we make for ourselves when we follow our own desires.  We don’t want our deeds exposed.  As I’m writing I can hear a mouse doing his best to make a nest under my kitchen sink.  It’s disgusting hearing him shredding things under there and wriggling in the darkness that is the world under my sink.  When I start to walk toward the cabnet door to throw it open and shed some light on his work, he gets really quiet.  Because when the door opens and the light is shining, there are only two directions: into the light or scurrying back to his dark little hole.  Friends, we’re that mouse.

So what do we do with this?  If you are in God today, we know this to be true, “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”  God has gotten the credit for saving you.  He has shined his light of truth spoken in love into your lives, the sin in your life has been confronted, you have and continue to repent of your sins and by faith in Jesus have been baptized, trusting in the blood of Jesus to cover over your sin and now you follow him.  Following means for us that we must shine that light into the darkness all around us.  God’s word must be shared with love and conviction with those in your path that are in darkness.  If people are simply acquainted or comfortable with an image of Jesus that isn’t filled with the light of truth, it hasn’t saved them because that’s not the true Jesus who lives.  Further more, that doesn’t give God the glory he deserves.  We must proclaim truth.  This isn’t letting your little light shine.  It’s Jesus shining through you his blinding white-hot light that transforms or sends them scurrying.  We can’t be afraid of what this might mean we must stand for truth with no compromise.  Yes, it convicts me as I write it.  But it’s true, so let’s not waste our time fighting it.

If you aren’t a believer by Jesus’ standard: your real self known, your real deeds uncovered, living in the light and forgiven, not seeing him just as your savior but your Lord, pray you will let God shine his light into your life.  Open up the Bible with someone who is living in the light.  Don’t hide in the dark any longer.  We all were with you in that dark place and only by His powerful grace have we found a life in the light.  Whether you’re in the light or dark, make a decision to follow Jesus’ example today.  Let’s stop marketing and mousing around and let God use us to have an impact that echoes in eternity to his glory.

OUR RESPONSE TO LIFE'S OFFENSES by Larnise Johnson ...March 4, 2008

In life we are very easily offended.  We take offense when we are cut off in traffic.    We take offense when the food we ordered at a restaurant is served too slowly. We take offense when we are overlooked by others, or not treated with the respect we think we deserve. We take offense at God when the circumstances of our life are not as comfortable as we had wanted.  We even take offense at God’s word when our sin is rebuked. When offended we are easily taken captive by the Enemy to fulfill his purpose and will. We become embittered, cynical, distrustful, and resentful.  One of the greatest reasons we are so easily offended is that we forget that nothing happens apart from the Lord’s will.  He knows it before it ever happens.  In my life, I am learning through the story of Joseph (Gen 37-47) that if I trust in God, I can keep myself from being so easily offended and can stay on the path of God’s will. 

Joseph was betrayed and sold into slavery by his own flesh and blood — those who were supposed to protect, support and love him.  Instead, his brothers abused him and left him for dead--all for their own pleasure.  Why did they do this?  It was because they were offended.  They were offended by his dream and by his close relationship with their father.

Though sold into slavery, conditions for Joseph began looking up.  He found Pharaoh's favor and worked inside his home.  But Potiphar, Pharaoh’s wife had other plans – plans of adultery, disloyalty to her husband and revenge on Joseph. Because Joseph fled the sin of adultery, honoring God and remaining loyal to Pharaoh – Potiphar was offended.  She felt ridiculed by Joseph’s rejection of her lustful advances.  As a result, she requested that he be banished to prison.  Again, Joseph was mistreated because someone was offended. 

Perhaps Joseph wondered, “Did God abandon me?” or “Why have I fallen from my seat of honor?”  In prison he began to interpret dreams.  His two cellmates were disturbed by their own dreams, and one was subsequently restored to his position according to Joseph’s interpretation.  Though restored, he failed to remember Joseph. Forgotten, left to die in Pharaoh’s dark dungeon, Joseph must have despaired of life.  Eating the bread and drinking the water of affliction (1 Kings 22:27) - Joseph continued to suffer alone for two more years.

Is God in Control?
Perhaps when Joseph was a young boy he saw his dreams as confirmation of God’s favor. While in prison, the reality of those dreams must have seemed so distant and foolish. However, God was totally in control of it all. It was through all those offenses that God was able to accomplish his overall purpose for Joseph. God used him to save his family and save his nation. 

 In my life, I look at Joseph’s story as an example that NOTHING can change God’s will for our lives...except OUR response to life’s circumstances.  Will I allow the offenses of others to cloud God’s plan for me?  Or will I remain focused on God and trust him no matter what may arise?

When things in life don’t go as I plan, it’s easy for me to blame myself, my family, my co-workers, my boss, other church members, or even God.  I sometimes think “God could have prevented this whole mess”.  However, Joseph’s story reminds me that absolutely no man, child or even the devil can ever get me out of the will of God!  Joseph’s brothers tried to destroy him, but God’s plan still succeeded. Indeed, God was working through the offenses of his brothers the entire time. 

God demonstrated the story of Joseph in my life.  As a single woman my dream is to get married and have a family.  In pursuit of this dream I dated for four and a half years in a relationship that God knew was destined to fail. Certainly the relationship started strong and encouraging, but it began to fall apart. I went through two years of challenges and one year of complete despair. At times I blamed the brother and was offended by him, his family and their traditions.  I was yelled at by his family, ridiculed, taken advantage of, and was misunderstood by my own family as well.   It seemed like the more I tried to love, remain humble and forgive, the more hurt I became.  I began avoiding his family and started fighting back – my sinful nature was slowly taking over.  As the months of our engagement passed, my fiancé's disloyalty hurt and offended me even more deeply.  Toward the end, I wondered why I was going through all of the pain.  I was miserable during a time that should have been joyful– and discouraged because my dream seemed unattainable.

Now, as I look back on that time, I can see God’s hand in it all.  He had a different plan for me.  His plan was for me to return to my home town, and to use me there to support and serve others in the church there.  There, He also introduced me to a faithful brother in the church, to serve beside and draw encouragement from. In recent months, our relationship has become very close and special. Though I was not even looking at the time, God has blessed me with new hope.  God has an amazing way of making our dreams a reality.  It happens as we trust in Him, remain clean, pure of heart – and avoid reacting out of offense, no matter what.
God’s will does not always unfold for us in the exact way we plan or hope, but if we trust in Him, it will lead to great blessings (Gen 28:15).

About the Author

Larnise Johnson is a single professional in the Greater St. Louis Church.  She was baptized into Christ 8 years ago, and currently supports the Single’s ministry as a Family Group Leader.  Larnise is also a small business owner and Management Consultant.