The other day I was at home and life came crashing down on me. I had been struggling with a leg issue that wouldn’t allow me to run, I felt a cold coming on, I had been stuck at home all day because my car was being repaired, there were difficulties with my job, with my kids, with my finances and it began to strangle me until I couldn’t breathe with the enormity of all. The disturbing part wasn’t that these things were happening, it was that I had this innate sense that it would never get any better. That I would be stuck at the bottom of this hole of despair, clawing for a glimpse of life forever. It was at that moment that I knew the value of hope.

Faith and hope are closely linked, but different. Hope is a precursor to faith. While faith is believing and trusting in something that you cannot see, hope is imagining that there is something there to even believe and trust in. It is the belief in what could be. Hope redefines what is probable and opens the paths to the impossible. For example, faith is putting your trust in God to help in a financial difficulty, but hope opens the door to even let yourself consider that there may be a way out of your problem. Without hope, there can be no faith, because we would not even deign to pray about those things we could not imagine. Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

If it seems difficult to understand the role that hope plays in our faith and our Christian life, it is because it is so fundamental to how we approach our lives. Erwin McManus, in his book Soul Cravings states: “…hope is essential for our souls to thrive.” and “If you don’t believe you have a future worth living for, your spirit loses all hope, and your soul was not designed to live without hope. In fact, when we lose all hope, we lose all desire to live.”

As Christians we were given hope when Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the grave. No longer were our lives destined to hopelessness, we had the ultimate assurance that things would get better. Our lives were redeemed from hopelessness, not just in heaven, but here on earth as well. Our hope is in God. We can hope in a God that can do impossible things in our lives.

Many times as we forget that as we live our daily lives though, and consign ourselves to the drudgery of “the way things are.” If you have been struggling with finances, do you have hope that you can work it out? Do you have hope that your body can be healed from the illness that has plagued you? Do you have hope that the situation in your family can not just be tolerable but good? Do you hope for God to amazing things in your kids lives? Do you have hope that your church can reach many with the gospel?

Sometimes we define our reality by what we believe is possible. When I came to realize what I was feeling the other day, the hopelessness that gripped me, I put on my jacket and went out for a walk. I put one foot in front of the other and prayed. I asked God to give me hope. I put the situations in His hands and asked Him for faith that He would take care of them. I admitted my lack of faith and hope and asked to see things through His eyes. And by the end of my walk, I felt completely changed. The situations were the same. My physical body was still weak. But I had hope.

If you find yourself without hope in any area of your life, don’t linger there. Put your hope in God so that you may say with the Psalmist;

“You answer us with awesome and righteous deed, God our Savior,
the HOPE of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.” —Psalm 65:5-8

pastorben@theporchonline.org

We think that faith should feel different than it does. I’m not sure where we got the idea, but in our minds, decisions made in faith are backed by a bedrock of surety. Yes, there are moments of doubt, but all in all, we think it should feel like a warn groove that we fit into and are cradled by. This is what we believe, but the reality of faith is much different.

As I look at the chosen in the Bible, I can’t help but think there were many times that they were plagued by doubt as they acted in faith. Take Ezekiel for example: God told him to symbolize the siege of Jerusalem by drawing the city on a clay tablet, making siege ramps, camps and battering rams around it. Then he was to take an iron pan and put it between him and the city and lay on his left side facing it. He was supposed to lie there for 390 days. 390 days! And then he was to turn over and lay on his other side for 40 days. There must have been many doubts in his thoughts as people passed by him, asked what he was doing, looked strangely at him. What must have passed through his mind as he lay there for over a year? “Why am I doing this? Did I hear God correctly? Is it worth it?”

Or what ran through Joseph’s mind in the nine months after the angel appeared to him to tell him that his fiance was pregnant by the Holy Spirit? What doubts plagued him as he watched his wife-to-be swell with a child, knowing that he had no part in it?

What about during the many years that Noah had a huge boat in his backyard? I can imagine him muttering to himself: “I have been working on this thing for 70 years! Every single day my neighbors pass by, laugh and make fun of me. I’m 530 years old for goodness sake! I’m getting too old for this! I have seen no rain, no sign of the impending devastation, why am I doing this?”

If someone did these things in today’s society, how would we react to it? I think these people would be labeled delusional at best and crazy at worst. Yet each of these men, in spite of their doubts continued on the path God chose for them. That is faith.

God calls us to live by faith (Hebrews 10:38), but we make a mistake when we assume it is an easy road. Comfort and security are a siren song that pull us away. Our belief that the walk of faith is not prone to doubt is a stumbling block to keep us from our path. We need to understand that the essence of faith is doubt. It can’t be faith if there is no doubt. As a Christian, God will ask us to stretch ourselves, to do things that others think are strange. God does not call us to be comfortable, to fit in. He asks us to change the world — to put ourselves in danger for His sake — to live in faith.

The path is different for each person, but requires the same level of stout-heartedness. It will look radical to other people. God has a calling that will challenge you, refine you and remake you into a stronger, better Christian — a person more like His Son. It may be to stand up for someone that others make fun of. It may be to sacrifice your wants and desires to take a job that God wants you to take. It may be to start an organization to defend the rights of those unable to defend themselves. God calls us to live by faith because he asks more of us than we can do on our own. Through our faith in Him, we accomplish the impossible. Will we answer the call? Will we commit to live a life of faith? Like Isaiah, will we say “Here am I, Lord, send me?”

What does faith look like for you?

pastorben@theporchonline.org

All too often our Americanized Christianity wraps up success with well-being. I’m not talking about the “health & wealth” gospel, which claims that if you’re following God like you should, then he’ll bless you with tons of money to spend as you outlive all the wicked people around you. (Sure it’s true that the Proverbs indicate that when the world is functioning as it ought, those who follow God will be blessed both now and later, but it’s also true that the Proverbs show a world doesn’t always function as it ought!) I’m talking about a far subtler version of this “health & wealth” concept.

When people find out I’m a pastor, inevitably they ask one or more of the following:
“How many members do you have?”
“What’s your average attendance?”
“Do you have multiple services?”
“How many ministries are there in your church?”
“How many people have come to know Christ there this last year?”
“Are you making your budget?”

The substance of the questions are easy enough to answer, but I fear that the heart of the question is misplaced. Is how Solomon’s Porch is doing (or any other church for that matter) really reflected in these numbers? Is the work of the Spirit amongst Christ’s body so definitively and easily quantified? Don’t get me wrong, I want to see the answers to the above questions going in a positive direction. Just like we want people to praise how we look when we haven’t seen them for awhile, or congratulate us on our latest achievement. But I think Scripture indicates that this is not how well-being is determined.

Compare Ezekiel and Jonah. There could not be two more drastically different prophets with two more dissimilar stories. Ezekiel is the epitome of obedience; Jonah is a picture of rebellion. Ezekiel obeys God even to the point of looking like a lunatic (Ez. 4-5) and refusing to mourn the death of his dearly loved wife (Ez. 24:15-18). Jonah pushes God away at every turn. He turns to God only briefly and temporarily when he’s on the brink of his own destruction (Jon. 2:2-7). Ezekiel is carried along by the Spirit to go and speak the words of God to His people (Ez.2:2; 3:12). Jonah has to be taken there against his will by a fish (Jon. 2:10-3:1). In God’s presence, Ezekiel bows in worship (Ez. 1:28). Jonah, on the other hand rages against God (4:9).

So, who is doing well, and who not is doing so well? The answer is obvious. Ezekiel is thriving, and Jonah is deteriorating. But what about the about the “standards of wellness” we saw above? Who looks better? Who has achieved more? Who has the biggest results for their ministry? Let’s run the numbers…

Results of Ezekiel’s ministry?
Converts: 0
Jerusalem: Massive destruction and exile experienced by God’s chosen people
Results of Jonah’s ministry?
Converts: 120,000+
Nineveh: Massive reformation and repentance by Gentiles

And on top of this, they both knew what was coming. Ezekiel is told twice before his ministry even begins that it will result in failure (Ez. 2:3-8; 3:4-11), and Jonah’s resistance stems from his anticipation of repentance in Nineveh (Jon. 4:10-3).

So, which of them had a “better year” so to speak? Which can say they did well in God’s eyes? Jonah in his “mega-church” or Ezekiel alone in his empty sanctuary? It seems from the stories of Scripture that God is more interested in obedience than success. More interested in love than ambition. More interested in compassion than achievement. I find this to be true of all Christians, both as a corporate body and as individuals.

So, when you reflect on the last year, let me ask you, “How have you been?” Did you do well and walk in the footsteps of Ezekiel, or did you pull a Jonah?

pastorjon@theporchonline.org

To say the least, I was shocked.

The focus of that class period was exploring the life of Israel in the desert. I was pretty skeptical about how he was going to make the connection between a bunch of Hebrews wandering in a desert to our churches being too focused on passion, but I heard him out, after all, it was that or get up and leave in the middle of class (which is generally frowned upon). The gist of the conversation was that Israel’s time in the desert was a time of learning to obey and trust God, and thus, the church today needs to worry less about developing passion and more about encouraging obedience.

I’ve chewed on that statement, and that whole class, for quite awhile now and as I have it’s occurred to me that Scripture portrays the church as the bride of Christ. And what’s a marriage without passion? Pretty dull, uninteresting and unappealing. So there has to be passion. But what happens when the passion wanes? What happens when late night dates become late night feedings, then late nights up sick or wondering where the kids are or when they’re coming home? What happens when the joy and excitement and passion of being newlywed gives way to the 9-5 work days and commitments to friends and family that eat up our time? What happens when instead of anticipating time alone with your spouse, you begin to dread it? What happens when the passion gives out? Is that God’s way of telling you your marriage is over and it’s time to move on?

Life with God is no different. Whether it’s the first commitment to Jesus, or the beginning of a new church or ministry, it always starts with passion. It always starts with joy, excitement and anticipation. But what happens when that wanes? What happens when the explosive new ministry becomes the ministry that’s been around for 5 years and can’t manage to find new volunteers? What happens when the new church on the block becomes the old church on the block? What happens drudgery of everyday life and challenges preys on the optimism of a new believer? Is this God’s way of telling us to find a new church or close down a ministry?

I think that was the problem my prof. was identifying. If we’re only all about passion than what happens when it wanes? And it will wane!

When passion wanes, devotion has to kick in. Devotion is the commitment to work at something that we don’t want to work at. It’s the recognition that, whether I feel passionate about my wife or not, she’s worth the time and effort to work at our relationship. Whether I wake up feeling excited about church or God or ministry, God’s worth my time, the ministry is worth my effort, church is valuable enough to work at it, even if I don’t feel like it is.

Passion needs to breed devotion. When we’re passionate about God or a ministry or our spouse, that’s when we need to work hard at developing habits of obedience and commitment. When you’re excited about it, that’s the time to be intentional. And when that passion wanes, let the devotion kick in. That’s the time to work even harder. That’s the time to remember what life was like when the passion was present, and be committed, loving, obedient, and devoted in spite of the lack of desire. That is the time to work hard in spite of the lack of passion, and to work to restore the passion. Devotion is the backbone of passion. When the passion returns, and it will return, (if you work at it) it’ll return with a vengeance!

I think life is a cycle. A lot of stuff starts with passion, and a lot of stuff ends when the passion wanes because we lack the devotion to trudge through to the other side. But on the other side is more passion, greater passion that will give birth to greater devotion, that will be the backbone of more passion…

Are you feeling passionate about something or someone? Use that energy and excitement to work hard at developing habits of commitment and devotion.

Are you feeling like the passion is all gone? Have hope, keep devoted, keep working at it. When you come out on the other side (and you will) it’ll be worth it!

— Jon Moore

pastorjonattheporchonline.org

I explained the situation to the person on the phone telling her that the passport office had asked for additional documentation eight days ago which we had sent the day after they requested it. She checked her computer and said that the passport was still in process and that they had not received the document according to her records. My head was about ready to spin around like a person possessed, but I kindly asked her how to proceed from here. She said we could try to send the document again. I informed here there was not enough time, that it would take a day to secure the document, another to send it and still no guarantee that the document would satisfy the passport office or that the passport would arrive on time. I was more than frustrated. I asked if there was another way we could proceed. She said that she could have the passport office call me. I asked for that option and hung up with a heavy heart, unsure how this could turn out well.

Sue at the passport office in Buffalo, New York called me back and asked if we could resend the document. I explained again the difficulties with that scenario and then she said the magic words: “Well, you could fax it.” I called the court and had them fax her the document. All was well, right? Wrong. Sue called back and said that this document wasn’t sufficient. I called the court back and left a message asking if they could work on providing the type of document the passport office was requesting and in the meantime, I went searching for any piece of official paper that we had that might satisfy them. I found a letter that had the possibility of working and faxed that to them. In the meantime, the court also faxed them an affidavit. Lo and behold, Sue called back and said that the documents were sufficient and they were issuing the passport that day. Hannah could go to Korea! (In fact, the passport arrived as I was writing this.)

Going through this process, I was reminded of the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18. Jesus told the parable of a widow who went to the judge and asked for justice against her adversary. The judge refused. Time and time again, the widow returned seeking justice until finally the judge relented and gave her justice. That was much like the situation that I ran into with the passport. There was no way that I was going to give up. If it took staying on the phone all day, I would do that. If I had to fax or mail 500 documents to the passport office, I was willing. If I had to get in my car, drive to Buffalo, NY, and pick up the passport, I would do that. I had a single-minded determination to see the situation through and I was willing to ask and try as many times as it took, in the same way the widow was persistent.

Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow to show us that we should always pray and not give up. Are there areas of your life that you need to go to God in persistent prayer? Are there things that you have given up on and even stopped asking for that you need to go back and seek again? Do you need to pray for healing of an ongoing illness again? Do you need to restoration of a relationship? Financial help? Have you stopped asking because you felt sheepish coming to the “judge” again, seeking “justice?” Don’t be afraid to ask. Jesus wants you too. Sometimes the seeking builds our faith. Sometimes it takes a while. Many times it takes longer than we feel it should. But when our “passport” arrives, it is all worth it.

— Ben

I lay there in bed staring at the ceiling, “What have I forgotten?” I know that something’s missing, but I can’t quite place it. That’s when it hits me, I’ve spent no time with God today. Here I am, a pastor. I’ve prayed with and for people throughout the day. I’ve seen God answer a prayer in an amazing way for our teens’ mission trip. I’ve spent time studying preparing for a sermon and to answer someone’s theological questions. Yet somehow I’ve managed to do all this without really spending anytime with the One that it’s all about. How have I managed to serve without even taking a minute to listen to the One who’s will I’m trying to follow? Too busy following a calling to spend time with the One who called me. Too busy living life to acknowledge the One who gave it to me.

Why is it that the most important things in my life appear to actually be the least important?

Before I came to be a pastor at Solomon’s Porch, the pastor at my old church gave the congregation this challenge, and I’d like to take it on myself, and I encourage you to do the same. The challenge is simple and small: commit to spending just 1 minute a day with God. Just 1 minute a day away from everything and everyone else to talk to God and read from the Bible. Commit to doing it for 1 month. Just 1 minute a day for 1 month. Write it on your calendar, set an alarm, leave a note for yourself on the TV, do whatever you have to do to remind yourself.

I’ll commit to trying to build a habit of 1 minute a day, you do the same. Together we’ll see if God shows up and if so, where He takes the relationship from there.

— Jon Moore
pastorjonattheporchonline.org

The day arrived rainy, dreary and overcast. We started out and my game plan was to run a reasonably relaxed race. As I got to about 5 miles though, I realized that the weather that day was deceptive. Even though there was no sun out, the humidity was making it very difficult for running. I slowed down my pace, gulped some water and continued on. Things got very rough as the race continued and the last mile was a fight for every step. As I crossed the finish line, there was no triumphant smile upon my face, no upraised fists in victory, only one thought pounded through my mind: “I am so glad that is over!”

As I was rejoicing that my running was done for the day and looking forward to taking a nap, another man approached the finish line. Jason Kinzler had just passed the 14 mile mark when he suddenly collapsed. He was a former football player for Grand Valley State University and was in excellent shape. He was taken to the hospital and later died. They are unsure of the cause of his death. This news caught me off guard. There seemed to be no reason for it, Jason was healthy and there was no evidence of heart problems. When I heard about what happened, my first thought was; “That could have been me.”

This incident brought home a harsh reality to me: We are not promised tomorrow. The Bible tells the story of the rich fool in Luke 12. This man harvested a good crop—so much so that he didn’t have room to store it. So he made plans to tear down his barns and build bigger ones so that he could just sit back, relax and “be merry.” God, however, said to him “You fool! This very night you life will be demanded from you.”

We get caught up in life: bills, work, projects around the house, kids, social gatherings, buying items, relationships, and life in general. It is easy to forget that we are not promised tomorrow. And if this was our last day on earth, how would we live it? What items on our agenda would still be important and what items would not be? How important would our troubles seem? Are there people that we would want to talk to one last time? What would we say? Ephesians 5:15-16 says “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

You are not promised tomorrow. How will you live today?

Throughout our lives we come to believe certain things about ourselves, our lives and our capabilities. We define ourselves by those beliefs. And sometimes, we limit and bind ourselves by those same beliefs. For example, what happens to a young child hears over and over that they are dumb? Over time, they come to believe it and they act it out. That same child will have a much different life if they are treated as intellectually gifted through the years. What difference does a positive or negative belief mean in the following situation: what you can achieve, your finances, your relationships, even how happy you are. The thoughts and beliefs that we have can chain us…or they can free us.

Christ’s death and resurrection breaks our chains. It redefines how we see ourselves. It gives us hope. It shows us that it is not up to others to define us. It shows us that we even have a hard time defining ourselves. God sees the whole picture. God is the only one that can truly define us—He created us. God is the one that can break the chains.

I would encourage you to question the limits that you have put on yourself or beliefs that others have about you—they may not be true. A couple of weeks ago, I was praying and realized that I had taken a negative comment someone had made about me as truth. It was affecting all that I did; bending my perception of events and the reactions of others around me—so that everything that happened only served to further prove that negative belief. I felt sheepish and unsure. It undermined my core beliefs about myself. As I looked in the Bible, prayed and compared that comment to the larger context, though, I realized that it simply wasn’t true. With that realization, I could allow myself to change. Allowing God to show me the truth changed my perspective, my behavior and my entire attitude. The chains fell off.

Ask God to reveal your chains this week. When a belief about yourself enters your mind, take a moment and ask: “Is this true?” Ask God to remove the chains that you find so that you can walk in freedom and truth. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Last week our entire nation found out just how much money our President made last year.

1.7 million dollars.

I sat there at my computer and thought, “Man, that kind of money would be nice!” I continued to read the article about President Obama’s personal finances and found myself asking all kinds of questions. How much does he pay in taxes? How does that percentage compare to mine? How much did he give to charities and what charities did he give to? Do I think those were good choices?

I found that the criticisms came quick and easy. But, don’t they always? When I look at the leadership around the world, from international to local levels, it’s so easy to critique their actions, words and judgment calls. I think:

How dare they tax this person but not that person?

How dare they aide this country but not that one?

We should or shouldn’t have troops involved in this conflict or that one.

Spilled oil should be cleaned up faster, but no with my tax dollars.

Leaking radiation should be better contained, but again, not with my money!

Search parties should have formed sooner or been more organized.

As if we needed help, political pundits and talk shows heap up the criticisms. Now, not only do I get to be angry at all these leaders, but I don’t even have to go to the effort of forming my own opinion on the matters!

But, what if we exercised some empathy? What if I put myself in their shoes and tried to understand their decisions and the weightiness they must carry with them everywhere they go? What if instead I thought:

What must it be like to try to balance a multi-billion dollar budget with 635 individuals who each have their own agendas and priorities?

What must it be like to hear stories from thousands of displaced workers and try to put a dollar amount on their loss so they can be reimbursed?

How do you decide when an individual has run away on purpose and when we need to go try to find them?

How do you clean up a mess when anyone who comes within 12 miles of it risks a painful death?

I Timothy 2:1-2 gets even more to the point. “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

What if, instead of calling our politicians stupid, we prayed for them to be wise? What if, instead of pointing out all their problems, we asked God to strengthen their weaknesses? What if, we stopped talking about their greed and started praying for generous hearts?

What if, instead of sitting here and getting mad, I got off my butt and on my knees and started making a difference?

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Every Sunday morning followers of Jesus gather together in order to worship God in music and Word.  Depending on the tradition, it may include hymns or contemporary music, dramas, special readings, and a sermon of varying length.  While singing, people may be sitting or standing, hands uplifted or resting at one’s side (unless you are holding a hymnal), or conveniently read from a power point presentation .  All of this is acceptable, but do these activities completely describe what it means to worship God or does worshipping God include so much more?

Many of us who have grown up in Christian communities have heard the phrase, “All of life is worship.”  Yet, what does this phrase mean?  At its most basic, it means that God is present and acting in every event and this reality ought to shape my practice or response in every moment.  Worship should not simply be relegated to music or the arts that occur on a Sunday morning; rather, all of my responses to God’s present and past activities are opportunities to worship Him. Whether we realize it or not, my service to others is a wonderful way to worship God.

In Paul’s letter to the Roman church, he opens his discussion of the practical implications of the previous eleven chapters of doctrine by challenging the various Christian gatherings to give their entire selves as an offering to God.  However, Paul qualifies his request by describing this sacrifice as one that is living, holy, and pleasing to God.  In order to be a living sacrifice, there are things I need to die to, as well as things I need to live for.  I need to die to my selfish behaviors, and self-centered attitudes and actions, and begin to view life as an opportunity to serve others.

Why should I do this?  Paul’s challenge is based upon the simple, yet compelling plea, that God has shown so much mercy to me, that my only response can be to serve others.  As I serve others, I am entering a new realm of worship because I am responding to God’s actions on my behalf by returning the favor to others.  God is worshipped when I respond to him in service to others.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, my challenge to each of us is to take the time to review all the mighty acts God has done for us and to us, and to respond in love to others.  Make every moment an opportunity to praise God and worship him with your hands and your feet.  Let your worship expand from Sunday morning into every moment of every day.  Truly be “living sacrifices” in all that you do and say.

God bless

Pastor Chuck