For Easter and the four weeks following, Fall Creek takes a look at the baggage that we all carry through life and seeks to embrace the truth that it is God's plan to help us carry the baggage we cannot avoid, and give away the baggage we do not need.
Sunday, May 1, we looked at the Toxic Baggage of Unforgiveness. Jesus reveals the necessity of learning forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35. In this text, we find that our baggage of unforgiveness hurts the one who needs forgiveness (see verse 30). Our unwillingness to forgive also upsets those bystanders who experience our hard-heartedness, especially when they know how much we ourselves have been forgiven (see verse 31). In both cases, we tend to excuse our unwillingness to forgive on hard fought grounds.
If our lack of forgiveness hurts the one who needs forgiveness, we can easily conclude that the perpetrator against us deserves whatever he gets. We reason that our offender made his bed; we are simply forcing him to lay in it. Too often, we ignore the truth that the debt owed to us pales in comparison to the debt we owe to God. In our hurt, we cry justice for others but mercy for ourselves.
If our lack of forgiveness hurts those around the situation, we often justify ourselves on the basis that others cannot know our pain. No one knows the loss we have suffered and we cannot be blamed for balancing the scales. We forget that our rush to judgment leaves wounds in our wake and only perpetuates the damage done in the first place.
Most of us, if not all, have little regard for the above arguments as a motivating factor moving us towards forgiveness. Unfortunately, others' pain simply fails to reach our hearts when it comes to our need to let go of the toxic baggage of unforgiveness. If we ever hope to be free of this baggage, we must become convinced of the danger to ourselves. Jesus does not leave us wanting for this incentive.
When we refuse to forgive our offender, we ironically become our own worst enemy. Jesus warns us in verse 34 of our text that the person who will not forgive destroys himself in the end, by subjecting himself to the judgment of the master (God). The bitter spirit within that blocks forgiveness also poisons us by opening us up to Satan's attacks (see Ephesians 4:26-27).
So how can we let go of this toxic baggage of unforgiveness? I offer four steps you can take to help rid yourself of your toxic baggage.
1. Memorize Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." The Word of God hidden in your heart will strengthen you in your effort to let go of the poison of unforgiveness.
2. Pray, and ask God to help you renew your mind to know that forgiveness is first about obedience to Him. If there were no other incentive to forgive, this would be enough. Jesus commands that we forgive one another. Jesus told us in Luke 17 that forgiveness does not require great faith, but rather simple obedience.
3. Pray, and ask God to help you restore what you've lost by regaining a passion for His forgiveness to you. To put it simply, if you cannot forgive, you have lost sight of how much you've been forgiven. Praying and thinking about this will certainly empower you to be more forgiving.
4. Pray, and ask God to help you react in a God-sized way by praying for and being kind to those who have hurt you. You will know that you have made real progress in the matter of forgiveness when you can genuinely pray for those who have hurt you and show that person the kindness of God.
There is so much more to learn about forgiveness and the freedom it brings to those who have been wounded. I challenge you to dive deep into God's Word to discover how much more God has for you and how you can be free from your own toxic baggage.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Power of the Resurrection
Everything in life for the Christian depends on the resurrection. Paul noted this in his letter to the Ephesians when he wrote, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms..." (Eph 1:18).
When we accept the truth of the resurrection, we gain access to the power that accomplished it. Power that enables us to think new thoughts to deliver us from our self-destructive musings. Power that transforms all our hopelessness into confident expectation. Power that provides us with every resource we need to display the glory of God through our lives.
The power of God is available to all who believe. The challenge for every Christian is not God's ability or will to act, but whether or not we believe. To be specific, the challenge is whether we believe the Word of God when He tells us to act. For instance, when God tells us to speak of Jesus to the world, promising that they will believe, we have a choice. Will we speak, believing that God will save? Will we remain quiet, convinced that the world doesn't even want to hear. When God tells us to "not let the sun go down while you are still angry," do we believe Him enough to follow His instruction? Or do we give up in defeat and say, "That's impossible."
The power of the resurrection is a deposit from God to those who would follow Jesus Christ, challenging us to believe God with absolute faith. Dead men don't walk out of their grave, yet Jesus did. After that, what has not been conquered or what cannot be conquered in your life? Unfortunately, in our small thinking, too many of us who claim to follow Christ weigh ourselves down with all kinds of baggage that leaves us powerless to really live.
We hang onto hurts, using them as an excuse as to why we cannot be free. We cling to unfulfilled dreams, paralyzing us from moving on to grander possibilities. We pursue volume instead of value, wondering why satisfaction never comes. We persist in patterns that diminish us, lamenting why we can never gain control of our lives.
The resurrection of Jesus changes all of this... if we will believe. Believing is not easy, but it is possible. And Paul gives us the answer as to how at the beginning of the passage we cited above. Paul prayed for his friends in Ephesus to experience the power of the resurrection of Christ and by extension, challenged them to pray for each other and themselves. If we hope to be different, we need the power of God to make us different and we gain access to Him through persistent, believing prayer.
When we accept the truth of the resurrection, we gain access to the power that accomplished it. Power that enables us to think new thoughts to deliver us from our self-destructive musings. Power that transforms all our hopelessness into confident expectation. Power that provides us with every resource we need to display the glory of God through our lives.
The power of God is available to all who believe. The challenge for every Christian is not God's ability or will to act, but whether or not we believe. To be specific, the challenge is whether we believe the Word of God when He tells us to act. For instance, when God tells us to speak of Jesus to the world, promising that they will believe, we have a choice. Will we speak, believing that God will save? Will we remain quiet, convinced that the world doesn't even want to hear. When God tells us to "not let the sun go down while you are still angry," do we believe Him enough to follow His instruction? Or do we give up in defeat and say, "That's impossible."
The power of the resurrection is a deposit from God to those who would follow Jesus Christ, challenging us to believe God with absolute faith. Dead men don't walk out of their grave, yet Jesus did. After that, what has not been conquered or what cannot be conquered in your life? Unfortunately, in our small thinking, too many of us who claim to follow Christ weigh ourselves down with all kinds of baggage that leaves us powerless to really live.
We hang onto hurts, using them as an excuse as to why we cannot be free. We cling to unfulfilled dreams, paralyzing us from moving on to grander possibilities. We pursue volume instead of value, wondering why satisfaction never comes. We persist in patterns that diminish us, lamenting why we can never gain control of our lives.
The resurrection of Jesus changes all of this... if we will believe. Believing is not easy, but it is possible. And Paul gives us the answer as to how at the beginning of the passage we cited above. Paul prayed for his friends in Ephesus to experience the power of the resurrection of Christ and by extension, challenged them to pray for each other and themselves. If we hope to be different, we need the power of God to make us different and we gain access to Him through persistent, believing prayer.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Now Is the Time
As we move through the week from Palm Sunday to Easter, Christ-followers have the single greatest opportunity of the year to reach out to those who do not have a relationship with Jesus. The culture of Christianity in our nation is still strong enough to draw millions to churches this coming weekend. The question is whether or not believers will take advantage of the opportunity and pastors will partner with their congregations for maximum effect for the sake of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Pastors, now is not the time to ridicule all your visitors, by calling them Chreaster's or saying something demeaning at the end of your sermon like, "See the rest of you at Christmas." Now is the time to lovingly, boldly pray for all those visitors coming to your church and be prepared with the best offering in the form of a sermon you can possibly bring. Now is the time to partner with your congregation to reward the work of their invitation by preaching in such a way that helps initiate spiritual conversations between your members and their friends.
Christ-followers, now is not the time to hang back and assume that your unchurched friends will show up at church somewhere and hear the Good News of Jesus this Easter. You simply cannot leave the well-being of their eternal soul to chance. If know that your pastor will be clearly communicating the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ along with a call to repentance and faith, then you need to partner with your pastor to get your friends to church this weekend. You need to pay close attention to the message and make yourself available afterwards for spiritual conversations. You need to be praying for God's Spirit to soften hearts and open minds to the message of Jesus.
Now is the time to be bold, my friends, for the cause of Christ.
Praying for Easter
Pastors, now is not the time to ridicule all your visitors, by calling them Chreaster's or saying something demeaning at the end of your sermon like, "See the rest of you at Christmas." Now is the time to lovingly, boldly pray for all those visitors coming to your church and be prepared with the best offering in the form of a sermon you can possibly bring. Now is the time to partner with your congregation to reward the work of their invitation by preaching in such a way that helps initiate spiritual conversations between your members and their friends.
Christ-followers, now is not the time to hang back and assume that your unchurched friends will show up at church somewhere and hear the Good News of Jesus this Easter. You simply cannot leave the well-being of their eternal soul to chance. If know that your pastor will be clearly communicating the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ along with a call to repentance and faith, then you need to partner with your pastor to get your friends to church this weekend. You need to pay close attention to the message and make yourself available afterwards for spiritual conversations. You need to be praying for God's Spirit to soften hearts and open minds to the message of Jesus.
Now is the time to be bold, my friends, for the cause of Christ.
Praying for Easter
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Reason We're Here
We are a little more than a week away from EASTER. Were it not for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, there would be no churches. More importantly, there would be no hope for this life or the next. As we approach this Easter, I pray that believers everywhere will recognize the power of a singular event in history... the resurrection. May we not shy away from sharing that we truly believe something happened. We are not advocating a better religion or a better philosophy. We believe that because Jesus Christ rose from the dead and showed Himself to more than 500 people, He has proven that all He said is true and we can bank our eternity on it.
I'm asking the members of Fall Creek to be bold in your invitations to friends, neighbors, and co-workers to come and consider the claims of the man who walked out of His own grave 2000 years ago.
I'm asking the members of Fall Creek to be bold in your invitations to friends, neighbors, and co-workers to come and consider the claims of the man who walked out of His own grave 2000 years ago.
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