FIVE ON FRIDAY - April 18

 

One of my goals is to be more productive with my blog. I have things I want to share, but I struggle with the discipline to write. My plan is to do better, and to post more regularly on my blog. 

I recently started receiving a weekly email from Tim Ferris, author and entrepreneur (check out his blog here). The email is called "5-Bullet Friday" where he shares short points of interest with his readers. To help get me started I am blatantly borrowing his idea and plan to make at least a weekly blog on Fridays of things from my life that I find interesting, and I hope you will too. So here goes ... 

1. BIBLE READING PROGRESS

I am using the YouVersion Bible App for my daily Bible reading and following a reading plan from The Bible Project (check out the plan here). This week's readings have been in 2 Kings 1-19. The nations of Israel and Judah are pretty much on a downward spiral and judgement from the nations of Assyria and Babylon is coming. The reading is like watching a train wreck about to happen - you know something bad is coming, but you just can't look away. 

2. BIBLE VERSE I AM MEMORIZING/MEDITATING ON

"Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." Psalm 55:22 

Confession - I am guilty of "Yo-Yo" praying about my "burdens." That is, I throw them at the Lord in prayer, but there is an invisible string attached that brings them right back to me, so I don't really turn loose of control. Through this verse God is reminding me that it really doesn't work that way if I want Him to sustain me. The word "cast" in this verse literally means to "throw down" and turn loose of something. I'm learning to cut the string on the Yo-Yo, so to speak. 

3. BOOK I'M READING

"Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins we Tolerate" by Jerry Bridges. (NavPress, 2007). I'm about a third of the way into the book and Bridges has laid out a pretty compelling argument that Christians are hard on blatant sins (and sinners) like adultery, murder, false witness, etc., but tend to be soft on "respectable" sins like pride, unthankfulness, selfishness, anger, sins of the tongue, etc. It's a hard read because it hits so close to home. 

4. QUOTE I AM PONDERING

    From the above book - Bridges emphasizes the need for Christians to rely on the Holy Spirit not only to deal with sin, but to live a life that honors God: 

"Regardless of how much we grow, however, we never get beyond our constant need of the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual life may be compared to the motor of an electric appliance. The motor does the actual work, but it is constantly dependent upon the external power source of the electricity to enable it to work. Therefore we should cultivate and attitude of continual dependance on the Holy Spirit." (pgs. 48-49)

5. DAD JOKE I'M DIGGING

Shared by my friend (and Deacon) Dennis: 

A pastor interrupts his sermon to ask three men on the front row: "What would you want your friends and loved ones to say as they are looking down at you in your coffin?" 

Tom: "That I was a good husband and father." 

Bill: "That I lived a good life of kindness to others." 

Dan: "Hey look, he's moving!" 

A merry heart does good like a medicine ..."  😊

If you have any thoughts or ideas for future "Five on Friday" blogs, let me know. 

Have a blessed weekend! Hope to see you Sunday!

EASTER @ Grace Point

 

“From death came life, from sorrow came joy; this is the hope of Easter.” -Aloo Denish Obiero

Easter is the glorious foundation of our faith - we celebrate the most significant event in the history of our world, the resurrection of the Christ Jesus our Lord. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: 

17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 

1 Corinthians 15:17-22 NLT

Because of Jesus and the resurrection, we have hope and we have new life in Christ. 

Sunday morning we will celebrate the resurrected Lord beginning at 7:00 am with and Easter Sunrise service at Community Fellowship Church in Christ (515 Lakeshore Road, Talbott) I will be preaching and our worship leader, Lydia de Santos will be leading the music. Refreshments will be provided, and everyone is invited (bring your own camp chair)

At 9:00 am we will gather for worship at Grace Point. The message is titled "Why Do You Still Doubt?" and will focus on Jesus's interactions with Thomas following the resurrection. If you or someone you know has ever struggled with spiritual doubts, I encourage you to be there. 

Following the service, the kids will have their annual Easter Egg Hunt. Kids need to bring their baskets, but eggs will be provided. They will all receive Easter Treat Bags from Ms. Cecelia. Also following the service we will have a brief "finger-food fellowship" in the fellowship hall. We are asking our members to bring some light snacks for refreshments and it will give us an opportunity to fellowship while the kids are finding eggs. 

I believe we are going to have an amazing time of worship and fellowship on Easter Sunday. I hope you will plan to join us!

Do You Want to Be Well?

 

5 One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 “Sir,” the disabled man answered, “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.” 8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.

John 5:5-9 CSB

At Grace Point we've been in a series called "Questions Jesus Asked (and is still asking)." Yesterday the message was about Jesus healing the invalid at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9). Before he healed him, Jesus asked him, "Do you want to be made well?" Which seems like a redundant question but instead of answering "yes" the man started making excuses. Jesus knew that the man had grown comfortable in his situation. Jesus doesn't bless his heart, He just tells him that if he wants to be well, "Get up. Pick up your mat and walk." And he does. His healing didn't come in the way he thought it would, but it came when he OBEYED the command of Jesus. 

Sometimes when we have problems, we figure out how to fix them and ask God to do it our way. But God doesn't work that way - if we truly want to be well, i.e. have our problems "fixed", we have to do it His way. He may command us to do something unconventional, or outside of our comfort zone, but to truly be well, we have to do things His way, not ours. He never promised that it would be easy, but He does promise to be with us as we obey. 

Being made well will take a significant step of faith, because if some small tweak would have helped you overcome your problem you would have done it years ago. You can't be made well of something you won't confront, or something that you are still trying to manage or compensate for. You will only get well when you surrender fully to Jesus and do as He says. The healing may not come in the the way you thought it would, but if You follow Jesus and obey His words, you will be healed. 

Do you want to be well? 

You can listen to the full message HERE at our sermon site.