oasisCHURCH

Thankful Hearts

Thanksgiving day has passed.  The turkey has morphed into various casseroles and side dishes.  Our families have returned to their regular routines.  While I enjoyed the time with my loved ones, it made me stop and think.  While I was feasting on turkey with all the trimmings and watching football, many people were hungry and lonely.  Sometimes I think that the hunger for love, and the need for companionship, is far worse than not dining on fine cuisine.  Many people would probably be elated to feast on a bologna sandwich, if they had a loved one to share it with.      

As our Oasis family delivered the fixings for turkey dinners last week, I was amazed at some of the heart wrenching stories I heard.  People living alone, in horrible conditions, right here in our midst.  I don't know why this surprises me.  Sometimes, I believe we are lulled into the mindset that everyone is provided for.  If a person is not gainfully employed, then there must be enough welfare benefits to supply their needs, so we think.  I know that I have been guilty of this kind of thinking, in times past.  Even if that were true, what about other needs, such as the need of friendship, love and community.

When I signed up for the turkey give-away, I wasn't  sure who I should take the food to.  I prayed and asked God to place someone in my path, that I could bless.  As always, God answers.  There is a man who comes into my office from time to time.  I knew that he didn't have much in the way of material things.  I called him that evening and asked if he could use the turkey.  He said, "Yes, I sure could."  He gave me directions to his home, and I told him I would be there about 6:30.  I was running about 20 minutes late, and as drove slowly down the dark road, looking for the turn-off to his place, I saw him standing in the road.  He had apparently been standing there waiting for me, in the cold for about 20 minutes.  As I saw this man standing there alone in the dark, smoking a cigarette, and waiting for someone he hardly knew, to bring him food, my heart ached.  He climbed into the van, and we drove back the lane, to his trailer.  He began telling me of the hard times he was going through, and how he wasn't sure what to do, about a particular situation.  We talked, and I tried as best as I could, to assure him that he was doing the right thing.  I told him that I would continue to pray for him.  I also told him to contact me, once a particular situation was addressed, and to let me know if I could help.  I had another turkey dinner to deliver, and I asked Donald, (not his real name), if he knew anyone else who could use it.  He said that he would see if any of his neighbors needed it, and if not, he could use both of them.  I said, "that's fine."  "If you can't find anyone else to give it to, then keep it in your freezer for later."

As I drove away, I was filled with conflicting emotions.  I was truly thankful, that I was going to my nice warm home, where my family was waiting for me.  I was also filled with sorrow and remorse.  Sorrow for Donald, and others like him, who just needed the compassion of a friend.  Remorse, for the fact that I complain at times, when indeed, I have nothing to complain about.   I asked God to forgive me for whining.  I asked for mercy, that I may extend mercy to others.  My prayer for all of us, as we continue to be the Church, is that we will always be sensitive to the needs of others.  That we will keep our spiritual eyes open, so we will recognize opportunities when they present themselves.  Finally, that we will do whatever God puts on our hearts, to show His love in a real and practical way to the people that He puts in our path.      

So Here Goes

Just wanted to test this out really quick. so here is my plug for two movies. First if you haven't yet, go see the INCREDIBLES. secondly, if you haven't seen POLAR EXPRESS..do. Both movies have good messages and Polar Express has some good things to make your kiddo's possibly even you think about FAITH.

how's that for a small trial.

Headship & Submission

One of my favorite subjects to talk about (tongue-in-cheek)... especially in today's culture. But it is not up to me to pick and choose which sections of Scripture we study and which ones we leave out. So yesterday in our Oasis Large Church gathering we studied Ephesians 5:22-33... the roles of husbands and wives (please note: NOT the roles of "men and women", but of "husbands and wives"). If you want to listen to the MP3 file, click here.

Scripture is clear that marriage is a covenant. And like every other covenant that has ever been made between God and His people, marriage has a “head.” Every covenant that God ever made, someone was responsible for that covenant… the head. Marriage is no different.

Whenever we talk about "covenant and headship" we need to understand something very important. This is not an issue of “culture.” We’re not talking about reinstating traditional values. I do not believe yesterday was better than today. I believe scripture is better than today.

I wonder why we have such problems with the arranging of a hierarchy of authority in our relationships? We must realize that subordination does not imply inferiority. "As the church submits to Christ," Ephesians says, "so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." It is a divine principle, modeled by the very nature of God Himself. The Holy Spirit witnesses to Christ. Christ witnesses to the Father. And in obedience to His Father, He was willing to be made a little lower than the angels. That is, He was willing to be a mere man. 

Actually, I do know where the problem of this teaching stems from. It comes when a man assumes the role of head but he’s not under Jesus Christ or God the Father. When a man wants to assume the role of head but is not, himself, in submission to Jesus, then what you often have is chauvinism, or a dictator. That’s a man who is worthless. He wants to be king but he doesn’t want to be under the king. Then you have a real problem.

But in a Godly relationship if a wife says, “I don’t want to submit to my husband,” the question for her is, “Are you better than Jesus?” Did Jesus yield himself to the Father? Continually Jesus submitted himself to his authority… God. All authority is passed down from God the Father. No man has any authority apart from God. Which means if a man is in sin and telling a woman to do something that is against Jesus and in sin, she need not listen to him. Why? Because he is not her final head… Jesus is.

Conversely, if all wives had husbands who were obedient to God’s Word and “loved her as Christ loves the church” then there would never be an issue with this teaching. In fact, women would be lining up to submit to men like that. Because his number one and two goals are to honor Jesus and his wife… and together they both grow closer to Jesus and to one another.

Do you begin to see how beautifully this works when we are living in God’s cultural design… not ours? In ours the man has tried to be head without submitting to Jesus (The Cause). The Effect… women have rebelled, refusing to understand submission or accept the roles God has beautifully created for them. But when Jesus is the ultimate Head, there is no problem. There is no worry, no competition of roles, no gender wars. Why? Because we both have the same goal in mind… to honor and serve God the Father in all we do.

Only the love of Christ can bond the marriage in covenant as scripture is instructing us. In the kingdom of God, our marriages need to have an abundant flow of living water. There is no greater love that a man can have for a woman than that of loving her with the love of Christ. This love transcends all other loves and gives the Biblical marriage its true strength. So it is with the woman. While romantic love is certainly a part of marriage, it is not that kind of love that bonds the marriage in covenant. Only the love of Christ can do that.

Personally, one of the greatest privileges of my life is that I have a wife. I have a wife! And she loves me, and respects me, and compliments me like the Holy Spirit compliments the work of Jesus. She makes it easy for me to love her like Christ loves the church. I recognize the great responsibility that has been placed on me as head of my family… and I do not take it lightly or for granted.

My prayer this week is that God would challenge the men to be molded in the image and likeness of Christ. That our wives would see Jesus when they look at us. And then submission would be no problem for them because they will actually, ultimately, be living in submission to Christ.

Community Giveaway: Reflections and Futures

When the idea for the community giveaway first came to me I had this grand vision. The vision ran something like this: 40 or 50 churches would combine to create an outreach extravaganza that would dominate the better part of a city block. There would be mountains of stuff, gads of people, music, food, drinks, fellowship, and a huge growing together of the community with the church (i.e. US). When I say “US” I don’t just mean Oasis but rather the larger body of believers. One of my hopes was also to allow the body of believers a chance to reach out together and hopefully learn how to grow with one another. What I saw in that regard was a moment in time where we all put aside our denominations and simply became the church in action. Much of this vision has already come true. We’ve had mountains of stuff, gads of people, music, food, drinks, fellowship, and members of the community asking questions about who we are. Several of the people who were involved in the giveaway on Saturday came away with some truly inspiring testimonies. The same could be said for the turkey giveaway the very next day. Yet I feel that there is much more that can be done. I have other ideas about how we can reach out to the community but many of them are still seedlings in my head that haven’t taken clear shape yet. However, the community giveaway has been evolving in my mind.

There was a conversation on Saturday about how many times a year we could reach out to the community with this particular giveaway. Someone mentioned that we should make it a seasonal thing. Basically do the event during Spring, Summer, and Fall. During the Spring someone mentioned that it might be best to do a giveaway before school lets out. During the Summer it was noted that the best time for a giveaway would be the week before school begins. During the Fall someone said that the time we picked for this past giveaway was ideal. I talked to Chris the other day about picking the date for a Spring giveaway in April within the next couple weeks.  You might say, “Gee isn’t that awful early?” Well I asked myself the same question but let me expound on why I want to set the date soon.

I realize that it won’t be long before our own fellowship will be tapped out of stuff to give away, especially if we make this a regular event. So the reason that I want to start early is that I want to give as many organizations, whether they be churches or otherwise, a chance to finally get their hat in the game. I’m going to be offering an open invitation over the month of December and January for whoever wants to get involved to be part of the next giveaway. I’m going to break down in specifics what my upcoming plan is.

Setting the Date, Time, and Place:

As I said before, I’m looking at some date in April. I’m not sure what specific date yet. I’m going to sit down with Chris sometime soon and determine what might be the best possible date. Then I’ll have to make sure that we can procure the Legion on that particular date. Here are some of my thoughts on times: The past two giveaways have been all day events. Yet most of the action takes place right at the start of the day. So I’m thinking about starting much later and ending a little earlier. Right now I’m eyeballing a 10 to 2 time frame on some Saturday in April. This allows us to do a few things. It’s become apparent that we need time the morning of the giveaway to do some further setup and organization. When we opened the doors this past Saturday we just weren’t fully ready for the mass of humanity that hurried through the door. This also allows us to be closer to lunchtime. Several people asked about food when we opened the doors but who really wants a hot dog at 9 a.m. This time I’m going to announce that we will be serving lunch at noon. Somebody also spitballed the idea that we should have coffee and donuts available when the giveaway starts. I think that’s a good idea. The more ways we can reach out the better. Yet this is going to require a great deal more of organization. I’ll talk more about that later.

Getting the Word Out:

In truth I’ve had ideas for much larger advertising but to be perfectly honest I just wasn’t sure how much we would actually have to give away. Therefore I didn’t want to do this mass advertising and then have almost nothing to give away. However I think this idea has proved to be a fruitful one so now I have the confidence to move forward in advertising scale. The sentinel article was obviously very helpful. The sign at the T in Middleport obviously had an impact. I want to do those things again but now I want to add a few things. I want to get our local radio station, K92, involved. I’ve already talked to personnel at the radio station and they are willing to do a remote at our community giveaway. What this means is that they will bring their van down to the Legion and broadcast the event all day long over the radio. The other thing I want to add to the advertising end is simply contacting as many local churches, organizations, and individuals that I can based on the amount of time that I have. I want to tell them how they can get involved. I want to do this early, establish a good line of communication, and determine what kind of contributions others can bring to this forum. I have no idea how this is going to turn out but I feel like I have to try. I’m hoping that I can accomplish all this but in the end I might need some help. I’ll let you know as that time approaches.

What we’ll need at setup and the actual giveaway:

We have to face a very simple reality; if we don’t volunteer our own time then it may very well be that we won’t have any volunteers at all. Thus far we have had many people who have given of their time and talents to make these giveaways everything that they could be. But as we feed this thing and help it grow we’re going to need more hands on deck to accommodate its girth. Basically what this means is that we’re heading towards a more structured event. The last two giveaways have been very casual and somewhat loosely organized structure-wise. This has been intentional. I wanted people to feel comfortable coming to this thing. I didn’t want to scare people with a lot of “structure”. So don’t worry. When I say structure I just mean that as we expand this vision it will just require more careful thought and more attention to detail. This is another reason why I’m talking about the next giveaway right now so that we can begin to look ahead at our schedules and find out in what ways we can commit ourselves to this event. There are several “services” that I would like to offer to those who come to the next giveaway. This might include using our legs, muscle, vehicles, or minds. The reality is that a lot of people that showed up to this giveaway walked to it. Some people needed help transporting their stuff and we had to improvise. Others might not have taken certain things because they had no way to get them from point A to point B. I want to help remedy this kind of problem.

I have many new ideas in my head that are still taking shape for this next giveaway. Some of it might be practical while other parts of it might not. Sometime in December I hope to have a full game plan together that will lay out a very clear vision of where we’ll be heading in April. I’m looking towards developing a standard for how we conduct the giveaways. At this past giveaway I believe we began to see the ministry value of this thing begin to work itself. I definitely want that aspect to come out more. I want to know how to feed that. That’s something that I believe God is helping me work out right now. I feel a strong pull towards this and I don’t feel like it’s an accident. I think one of the greatest lessons I am learning thus far is that “being the church” is far more impacting than any other thing that we could be. Some of the testimonies from this past weekend prove the truth of that. “Be the church” is my new buzz phrase. It’s one of the things I keep repeating in my mind and searching my soul for. I believe that we have only scratched the surface of what we can do to be the church. I’m challenging myself to allow God to teach me how to be more effective at becoming a walking talking church. I hope that eventually we can fill up date after date of ways to reach out into the community and be what it is that God has called us to be. I’m excited about the future and the blessings that God is laying upon us. My philosophy is let’s share those blessings. Let’s use them to bring as much praise to God as humanly possible. I think that by doing this we can help paint a different picture than what people have canvassed out in their minds of what the church is and who God is. My simple prayer is that God would keep our hearts on the path he wants in all our endeavors and that our hearts would be turned to God so that our path will be clearly lit.

Why Give Thanks?

I’ve never fully understood the following prayer. In fact, I have always thought people who prayed it were just plain weird. Have you ever heard something like this? “Lord, I thank You for all of these horrible things that are happening in my life. The Bible says, ‘give thanks in all things,’ so I thank You that my dog died, and I thank You that I lost my job, and I thank You that I can’t pay my bills, and I thank you that I hit a deer on the highway, and I thank you that….”

Man, those people creep me out! Are they really thankful for that stuff? Does God really want us to be thankful for bad things that happen? There has to be more to it than just simply “giving thanks in all circumstances”… period. Leave it at that. Don’t ask why. Just be thankful dang it!

Well, I like to ask why. Asking “why” isn’t always bad. There has to be a deeper reason to give thanks in all circumstances. Perhaps the focus of our thanks isn’t supposed to be directed to the circumstance we find ourselves in, but that it sees through the circumstance and goes to a deeper level — a level where God Himself meets us and teaches us something about ourselves… about Himself.

I know what the Scripture says. Paul writes to the Ephesians, “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And these words are connected to another statement Paul had just made in the same breath (or with the same bottle of ink) just three verses earlier, “Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Eph. 5:16,19,20)

Aha! If I understand what the Lord’s will is, then I can truly be thankful in everything. No matter what circumstance I find myself in, if I understand the Lord’s will, then I will not respond foolishly. Instead, I will give thanks. But why? What is the ultimate reason why one would give thanks for all circumstances, even BAD ones. We can understand giving thanks to God for our blessings. But why the bad? Well, it must have something to do with “the will of the Lord,” and understanding what that is. If we understand what the Lord’s will is, then this “thanksgiving” would just come naturally for us.

Does this mean that it is the Lord’s will that we face those bad circumstances? Certainly not. That doesn’t seem consistent with His nature. Jesus did say that we must face trials of many kinds. But I do not recall him ever saying that he wanted us to face them. He was just letting us know that it comes with the territory. If we choose to love Him and serve Him, we are choosing to go against the current of the nature of the world, therefore there will be trials. But give thanks!

Why??? Because you understand what the Lord’s will is. But what is the Lord’s will??? Is it his will that my dog died, or that I lost my job, or that I can’t pay my bills, or that I hit a deer, etc (those are hypothetical examples by the way… I don’t have a dog, etc… LOL)? But you know, I have actually heard people say things like that. “Oh, I lost my job. It must be the Lord’s will.” Or, “I’m in the hospital and I’m really sick, but it must be the Lord’s will to have me go through this.”

Really??? Does God want us to face these circumstances that are ultimately a result of living in an evil world? (Eph. 5:16b… “…the days are evil”)

It has to be something else, don’t you think? It just doesn’t seem right. It seems weird. It seems creepy. To give thanks in all circumstances… because it is God’s will that we face them???

I am going to submit that it is NOT the Lord’s will that you face awful circumstances. But as I reflect on the Scriptures I have read and studied over the years of my life I seem to find this common thread being spoken of as the will of God. Are you ready? It’s really deep…

To KNOW Him.

Could it be that the will of God that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 5 is simply this… to be close to Jesus. Could it be that this is what it’s all about? The whole Christian life. To simply be close to Jesus.

If so, then it now finally makes sense why I should give thanks in everything — all circumstances — even the bad ones. Not because God has given us those circumstances, and we respond by saying “thank you” like children do when you hand them a Popsicle.

But because in everything — whether good or bad circumstance — we have the potential of being drawn closer to Jesus.

And for that we give thanks.

You have to understand what the goal is (what the Lord’s will is). If my goal is to be happy, then “giving thanks in all circumstances” will not make any sense. Because not all circumstances bring happiness. But they can all bring me closer to Jesus. So what is my goal? Is it happiness? Or is it to be close to Jesus? Because when I am close to Jesus there is something that not even happiness can compete with. There is JOY. Joy has the ability to look through the surface and see what is really happening. And what is really happening is Romans 8:28… “…that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” That’s what is really happening.

God didn’t make your dog die so He could draw you closer to Himself. Your dog died because we live in a cursed, evil world where death is constantly present. God didn’t make you lose your job so that He could bring you closer to Him. You lost your job because we live in a world of social injustice, where greed, pride, and selfish power reign. But God can use the loss of your job to bring you closer to Him. You see. Evil never wins. In God’s Kingdom, evil cannot win. So even though it is not His will that we face evil — He still knows that we must. And when we do, He is good, and draws us closer to Himself, even in the worst of circumstances.

Therefore I give thanks. In everything. I say, “Thank You God, because this will ultimately result in me being closer to Jesus. And that is my goal. My goal is not to make a lot of money, although I am thankful for the money I have. My goal is not to be happy, although I am thankful for the happiness I experience. My goal is not to live long and prosper, although I am thankful for every day I get to live and increase my territory in this life.

I thank You, God, because in everything I have experienced in life — whether good or bad — it has continually brought me closer to Jesus. Today I am closer to Him than I have ever been in my life, and it just keeps getting better. For that I am thankful.

To my friends and family… Happy Thanksgiving.

Making the Most of Our Opportunities

Taken from the article in last Friday's Daily Sentinel:

"...Oasis Christian Fellowship is having a yard sale without the sale, amounting to a community giveaway.
What the church is giving away are items such as clothing, dishes, furniture and shoes to name a few.
Church member Chad Dodson said that the only stipulation on items people have donated for the giveaway was that they be items other people could use.
Dodson sees the idea as a “Pay It Forward” project. Pay It Forward was a novel released in 2000 that has spawned a movement of young people who think globally but act locally when trying to make a difference in the world."

I am of the firm belief that we are not called to merely proclaim the Kingdom of God's love and mercy... but we are to demonstrate it. Too often emergent Christianity is guilty of nothing more than philosophizing about who and what the church is intended to be. But what are we doing? How are we BEING the church we are intended to be? God's Word is pretty clear that it is much better to DO the Word than it is to intellectualize about it (that would be... talk about it... listen to it... blog about it... write books about it... drink coffee and ponder it... etc.). Get the point? It would be meaningless for us to worship a God who makes no impact on the world around us.

I was struck by one small paragraph from my study of Ephesians this past week. It 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. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

It's true. If I understand what the Lord's will is then I will not live foolishly. If I know my goal... which is to be close to Jesus... then I will be making the most of every opportunity. It sounds like such a simple concept. But why do I have such a difficult time living it? Instead, I always seem to have more work left to be done at the end of my week. I am not "being careful, then, how I live". I am not "making the most of every opportunity". Instead, I complain about not having enough time.

Am I alone in this? Anyone else want to confess this sin? Yes... I said sin. We don't always recognize the sin of "not making the most of every opportunity" because there are so many other "bigger" sins to be dealt with. But squandering our time is just as much a sin as anything else.

If you'd like to listen to the entire teaching on this from Sunday, you can download the MP3 here or from under "Teachings on Ephesians" in the left-hand column.

Songs My Father Taught Me

This morning I was lounging around the house simply enjoying the pleasures of an acoustic guitar in an empty house. I was at work on a new song that just came to me yesterday when finally I hit a wall. No big deal. That’s how it usually happens. God will give me scraps and other times he’ll heap on a full plate. It doesn’t much matter to me. It’s all still a blessing just the same. Then I moved my lounging to the tub. My throat had been feeling a little scratchy this morning so I figured the heat of a bath might help. Then as I was putting myself back together a thought occurred to me. In the last month God has given me roughly about 4 or 5 new songs. Some are finished while others are still waiting to be finished. Then another thought overtook me. God has me nearly halfway to another music project. Then a phrase was laid on my heart. The phrase was simply, “Songs My Father Taught Me”. So that’s the name of God’s new project for me. So far this is what I know will be on it: Call to Worship, Rush, Break Me, Bloom, and Hero. That’s what I’ve been given thus far. Here’s an interesting side note to the song I’m calling “Bloom”. Lara Perrin recently wrote the beginnings of a song. She asked her mom if she could put notes to it. So Amy passed the word along to me and I was blown away by the wisdom in Lara’s lyrics. One of the lines that stuck out to me most was this: “His love is like a blooming flower that grows and grows.” I remember reading that and thinking what a powerful testament that was to just how graciously loving God truly is. It’s such an exciting time in our fellowship. I see the way that God is blessing so many people, both child and adult, and I’m withered in humility by it. I don’t when God will tell me this new project he’s laid out for me will be done but I can’t wait to see what lies further on up the road.

unnoticed frames... noticed

I knew this was finals week and yet I came to Donkey anyway. What's the significance? It's like the mecca for cramming college students. Right now I am tucked into a small corner of the middle "room" having been even lucky to find a chair to sit in. I come here often, but on Thursday is when I meet with a handful of people to study scripture and have theological dialogue.

Anyway, I didn't post this to simply give an update of my life, but because in this corner where I am sitting there are several framed quotes of various theologians, philosophers, and activists on the wall above me. I've never stopped to take notice of them or read them. But today they are in my line of vision, and as I sit here waiting for my friends to show up, these monks, philosphers, and scholars are providing for me a moment of contemplative devotional thought.

"Many people think of changing humanity, but nobody thinks of changing himself." (Leo Tolstoy)

"One of the few real pleasures left to modern man is the illusion that he is thinking for himself when, in fact, someone else is doing his thinking for him." (Thomas Merton, poet and monk)

"Freedom is not the power of doing what we like but the right of being able to do what we ought." (Lord Acton, historian)

"The opposite of love is not hatred; it is indifference. When we have learned indifference, when we are really skilled and determined at the business of ignoring others, of putting our own well-being, our own options first - of thrusting our own ego into life as the ideal form of life itself - we may be quite certain that at that point, life has become hell. We need be no more thoroughly damned." (Daniel Berrigan, scholar and activist)

John 10 Study Series: Foundational Concepts

To begin with this scripture I think it is important that we understand two very important communication techniques that we often see employed by Jesus. These communication concepts are the use of metaphor and parable.

Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world's a stage” (Shakespeare).

In these passages Jesus refers to himself metaphorically as a “gate for the sheep.” A whole separate study could be done on how Jesus uses metaphorical techniques to drive home his points. I’m sure each of us could quickly cycle through any of the gospels and find Jesus copiously using metaphors. In many cases we find metaphors occurring with the most frequency in the parables of Jesus.

Parable:  A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.

A great illustration of this particular definition can be found in Luke 18:9-14.
From The Message Translation: 
The Story of the Tax Man and the Pharisee
He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: "Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people--robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.' "Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, "God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'" Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

A great example of the union between parable and metaphor can also be found in
Luke 8:4-8.
From the New Living Translation:
Story of the Farmer Scattering Seed
One day Jesus told this story to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: "A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. This seed began to grow, but soon it withered and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop one hundred times as much as had been planted." When he had said this, he called out, "Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"

What follows is a footnote about Luke 8 verse 4(taken from the New Living Translation): Jesus often communicated spiritual truth though short stories (often called parables). These parable describe a familiar object or situation and give it a startling new twist. By linking the known with the hidden and forcing listeners to think, parables can point to spiritual truths. A parable compels listeners to discover the truth for themselves, and it conceals the truth from those too lazy or dull to understand it. In reading Jesus’ parables, we must be careful not to read too much into them. Most have only one point and one meaning.

In reading the parables of Jesus I often find myself challenged because these stories often force you to think beneath the surface. So as we approach any piece of study I think it is important to first put ourselves in the “dig deeper” mindset. I do agree that we must not try to read too much into the parables of Jesus because we might just read ourselves past the truth. However, I think we also have to keep in mind that it is equally as easy to not read enough into the parables. So we have to strike that delicate balance in between where truth is so often found.  As I make my way through this study I pray that God would give me guidance to see beneath the surface.  I pray that I am granted truth through God's touch of wisdom.  This small piece of scripture is very challenging.  I look forward to seeing what God will lay on my heart in the times to come. 

Expressions of Worship

A few photos from last Sunday's multiple worship expressions in Middleport (you can click on the thumbnails to see the larger version).