Intimacy

 Jesus continued, "There was a man who had two sons.  The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.  Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild (prodigal) living.  (Luke 15: 11-13)

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I wonder if I'm the only one who sees himself in this passage! I'm amazed at how much and how often I'm like the prodigal son. Too often, I view God as my heavenly blessing machine. I treat Him like a fast food drive-through, picking up my blessings "to go." Even though I know my spiritual fast food diet will catch up with me one day, I presume the grace and mercy of God will cover me anyway. Sad.

The blessings we seek from God can distance us from Him, if we're not very careful to pursue an intimate relationship with Him. In spite of so much preaching today about our breakthrough, our destiny, and our shining moment, the Bible is more focused on our character. So, our Father prepares and presents a feast for us everyday, and we must be careful to turn aside from all other concerns and sup with Him through worship, prayer, and the Word. Our schedules tell us we don't have time for this, but our souls long for the moments of sitting at the table with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - laughing, sharing, and talking. 

The prodigal son goes to his father to get a blessing; but to the children of God, being with the Father is our blessing.

Love you all,

Pastor 

Pursuits and Possessions

And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

(Luke 18:21-23)

Success in the Christian life is never measured by what we possess, but rather what we give away. This “giving away” involves much more than material possessions; it reaches all the way down to how we see ourselves, and the value we place on everything and everyone around us. It’s not until we are willing to be empty of our own will and beliefs that we are ready to be filled, and we must be willing to know nothing before we can know anything at all.

"You still lack one thing.”

It is a strange thing to tell a rich man that he is still lacking. That is because Jesus does not count what a man has, but what He can give him. Our Lord will never seek to fill those who are already full, nor will He pry open a closed fist and force Himself upon us. But He will patiently wait until we realize how desperately poor we really are before revealing Himself. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .” (Matthew 5:3)

. . . he became very sorrowful.

God will challenge us by placing someone in our path that possesses a greater measure of the Spirit to provoke us to a holy jealousy. How we respond to that person says everything about our willingness to grow in the Lord. We are never the same after we’ve seen this person, and as a result, we will either shrink back into the false comfort of the familiar or pursue the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The choice is ours . . .

Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."

(Mark 10:28)

Love, understanding, and perfect peace,

Pastor Eric

Being Filled and Led By the Spirit

And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times.  (Acts10: 13-16a)

Receiving the Holy Spirit is a great thing, but it’s only the beginning of the story. Peter had been baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and now God was teaching him to walk in the Spirit. The Lord Jesus was asking him to do something he would otherwise never do – go preach to the dreaded Gentiles. Jews of the day didn’t even speak to Gentiles. What a difficult thing it must have been for Peter to obey when he had no understanding of what the Lord was after!    

One of the earmarks of a Spirit-filled believer is God working through him or her in ways never imagined. If we are truly Spirit-filled, we are responding to God’s call to go where we would not have gone, love those we once felt nothing for, forgive those who hurt us most, and give what we would have kept. That’s when the Holy Spirit is having His way with us. God sent Peter, a Jew, to a place he would never have gone, to minister the Gospel to people he didn’t think God even cared about. Peter’s obedience would make a way for those lost in ignorance and sin to enter into the Kingdom of God, because he allowed the Spirit Who filled him to also direct him.

I encourage you to trust God more than your feelings or experiences, like Peter did. Peter simply obeyed God. You, too, must obey Him - even when He takes you through new and uncomfortable challenges. He is an exceedingly good God who will perfect and prepare you to do all He asks of you, through the Spirit Who fills you. Learn the lesson Peter learned – if you will let God change your mind, He will use you to change your world.

Love and peace,

Pastor Eric