Year: 2011

Word to the Wise | “God is Crazy About Us”

There are many reasons God saves us.  He does it for His own glory.  God takes pleasure in loving the highest order of His creation.  He also saves us to satisfy His justice.  God cannot declare the guilty innocent.  That would violate the integrity of His character.  The guilty must pay the penalty.  Since God loves us, He sent His Son to pay the penalty.  When Jesus volunteered to pay our penalty, God’s love found full expression—He was free to save us.  And His justice is satisfied—the penalty was paid in full.

But, do you know the sweetest reason of all?  God loves us unconditionally.  He likes having us around.  He wants to visit and fellowship with us.  God is simply crazy about us.  If we need to talk, He will listen.  If we are hurt, He will comfort us.  He can live anywhere in the universe, and yet, He chose to live in our hearts.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/12/09)

Some Thoughts for a Friend | “Why the Missional Church Will Fail”

I was put onto this article, “Why the Missional Church Will Fail,” by my friend Joel Diaz (@thejoeldiaz) who wanted me to comment (I am sure for the sake of discussion). I will provide my thoughts in list form to reduce my tendency to say too much.

Three Observations

1.  I agree in principle with the underlying premise of the post. Mission devoid of discipleship will leave the church looking like a car dealership parking lot with a plethora of options and not a single way of moving them because all of the engines have been removed.

“If you’re good at making disciples, you’ll get more leaders than you’ll know what to do with. If you make disciples like Jesus made them, you’ll see people come to faith who didn’t know Him. If you disciple people well, you will always get the missional thing. Always.”

2.  The missional movements passion for doing the work of the kingdom has been and is a needed corrective to what has been perceived as the “dry” and  sometimes “stale” orthodoxy of the institutional church. (I don’t believe either of these are true, but perception tends to be reality.)

“God did not design us to do Kingdom mission outside of the scope of intentional, biblical discipleship and if we don’t see that, we’re fooling ourselves. Mission is under the umbrella of discipleship as it is one of the many things that Jesus taught his disciples to do well. But it wasn’t done in a vacuum outside of knowing God and being shaped by that relationship, where a constant refinement of their character was happening alongside of their continued skill development (which included mission).”

3.  This next comment is based on this ONE post. I do not know what has been said in other posts or places by the author.

As in most cases when I hear someone start talking about discipleship, and the need to be better at it, there is hardly ever any attempt to provide the pattern, system, methods or whatever that Jesus actually did to form and shape the first disciples. If there is one thing that is undeniably clear about the first disciples it was this: They were completely certain of what Jesus had taught them to do.

The danger with discussions about discipleship is that we base the conversation upon the effects that we see in the Scripture and hope to see in our day because we have no idea about how to create the conditions for those effects.

Final Thoughts

I do not believe that the process or method of forming disciples is something that changes because of context. We have no evidence that the discipleship process of the New Testament was adjusted as the apostles traveled the world. But, we do have Paul’s explicit example that the methods of introducing new areas and converts to Jesus, his Gospel and discipleship changed and were adjusted to the context of ministry (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

I have come to the place in my faith journey that anytime we have to “start thinking about discipleship again,” we are exposing the failure of the church and her leaders to keep the main thing the main thing. Anything and everything else is a secondary issue to making disciples. Jesus never said anything about buildings, budgets, bands, books, banners, boycotts or branding. Jesus’ final words were to make disciples.

The bottom line is that we are good at advertising the churches mission statement, but have failed in accomplishing the purpose for which the church was created (Colossians 1:28). Until we get this right we will have to continue addressing this issue.

Source Article: Why the Missional Church Will Fail by Mike Breen

“Faith is…” Series, Pt. 3 | Faith is… Rejoicing in the Mercy of God

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

(Psalm 103:6-14, ESV)

Psalm 103 is one of those places in the bible where you are confronted with an unrelenting truth about God. Grace has commonly been defined and understood as God’s unmerited (undeserved) favor from God toward us. Grace is what God gives to us when we don’t deserve it. But, there is something else that happens in that exchange. At the moment of salvation mercy is extended, and mercy is something different all together.

Mercy is different because mercy is what God withholds from us when it is EXACTLY what we deserve. Don’t miss that. There is something that we all are guilty of and should be judged for. No one escapes.

My thought today is that faith is REJOICING in the mercy of God. The first time that I truly understood that God’s mercy was something worth rejoicing in was as I was reading and studying through the apostle John’s first letter. In 1 John 2:1-2 John is trying to help his readers understand the security and comfort that comes from Jesus being our advocate, our lawyer, in God’s court. As I read these words I was struck by the tenderness with which John writes these words.

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (ESV)

Right there, in the second verse we find this amazing and revealing reason for our rejoicing. Jesus is our PROPITIATION. This is one of those words that is not used very much any more (if at all). It has been translated “atoning sacrifice” or “the sacrifice for our sins” or some other variation. While this is technically correct there is one significant problem. One of the most important components of what Jesus did for us is missing.

Jesus atones, takes the blemish of my sin from me, by dying. When Jesus was crucified and he was killed, my sins were put on Jesus in such a way that he became guilty FOR my sin–and the sins of the whole world! This is the basic understanding of atoning. Jesus paid the price for my sin. But, the act of propitiation has another idea included. When Jesus atoned for my sin he also gave me something that I could not get for myself.

When Jesus was placed on the cross for my sins, God pronounced his judgment on all sin for all time and unleashed the unrestrained fury of his wrath upon his Son.

When Jesus was placed on the cross for my sins, God pronounced his judgment on all sin for all time and unleashed the unrestrained fury of his wrath upon his Son. God did not hold something back in reserve for us so that He can hold it over us. God has finished punishing sin. What is missing is the application of that punishment to those who never accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. You see, in order for me to receive grace Jesus had to die in my place. In order for me to experience mercy God had to pass my judgement onto Jesus.

God’s wrath has to be appeased. This is why an atoning sacrifice was needed in the first place. Now, this sounds like God has an ego problem. God has to be happy. But, this is the fundamental problem that we have to overcome. The problem is not that God’s ego was bruised by sin. God’s character is what was violated. The demand for punishment is never determined by the offender. Even in our flawed and broken justice system we try to find a punishment that “fits the crime.”

So, what then is the proper punishment for offending an eternal, holy and pure God? Is it not an eternal, profane and despicable hell? When my simple sensibilities are wounded, I want retribution. But, when God is the one offended, somehow God should not seek recompense. Why? God is gracious, some will say. God is good, others will argue. God is love, comes the reply. But, God’s goodness, grace and love are expressions of another more basic reality of God’s being–God is holy.

Worship is the only proper response to Jesus being our propitiation.

Jesus stands between me and a holy God and he received and endured the full thrust of God’s wrath. When this truth penetrates your mind and touches your soul…you will be changed. You can not continue living and working and attending church as if what Jesus did was just something to be thankful for. No, worship is the only proper response to Jesus being our propitiation.

Only when we appreciate what God should have done too us because of our sin will we rejoice in God’s mercy toward us. When we can understand how bad our sin really is we will begin to see that mercy is also a form of grace. Only a loving and gracious God could withhold his well deserved day in court and extend mercy.

Faith is rejoicing in the Mercy of God. Have you stopped to give God thanks today? Do not miss another chance to do it.

Reflections on a Cheerleading Competition | “Finish What You Start”

This past weekend I had the opportunity of emceeing a cheerleading competition with a friend of my church who also teaches at the local public high school. It was an interesting experience. When you think about the different sub-cultures in our society cheerleaders often have many stigmas and stereotypes attached to them. I will not list them here (because I think they are irrelevant). What I will say is that there were several times throughout the day where I felt really out of place because I did not know what the expectations were. But, I survived and had a great time supporting these young ladies and their coaches.

There are several young ladies in my youth group that are on the varsity squad. I have also had the chance to interact with some of the other cheerleaders because of the weekly devotions and lunch visits that I have been able to make since school started. What I have discovered as I have learned about the sport of competition cheerleading is that these young ladies (in some cases there are young men) have two and a half minutes to make an impression on seven judges. Two and a half minutes. All your successes and failures are on display for all to see. Talk about a pressure filled situation!

There are several thoughts that stood out to me over the course of the day that I have had a chance to reflect on in the past few days since. These are not in any particular order.

1.  The fans of the squads feel the pains and celebrate the joys of those two and a half minutes with the squad.

I was struck by the way that the coaches and other members of the fan base knew the routines and tensed up when difficult components and stunts were coming up. It was an amazing thing to see how whole sections of the crowd breathed almost in sync with one another. There was such an emotional connection between competitor and supporters.

2.  There is not place or time to stop, regroup and start over. You have to finish once you have started.

This is probably the most striking thing that I noticed. It did not matter if you fell, tripped, stumbled, dropped a stunt or forgot a movement in the choreography. You had to finish. Just as an example of this, one of the teams was executing some of their stunts and as the “flyer” (the girl that gets thrown into the air) was coming down she lost her balance. As the “bases” (the girls that lift, throw and catch the flyer) were making adjustments to catch the flyer, her foot caught one of the bases squarely on the face. There was a moment’s hesitation and then the girl that was kicked gained her bearing and continued the routine to the end. In any other situation I would imagine she might have fallen to the ground and clutched her face, but when you only have two and a half minutes, and your team is counting on you to finish you do not have the luxury of taking a personal moment.

3. You can not and you will not win or lose alone.

As the end of the competition came and the awards were about to be announced all the squads gathered on the mat. They took pictures, danced to the music (all of them!) and waited. It was one of those moments that are hard to explain, not because of they are all that unique in and of themselves, but because they are unique to you as an individual. I was announcing some of the winners and the collective eruption of joy from those that won and the disappointment from those that did not was a strange mixture of jubilation and sadness. What stood out to me was that the award was for the team. It took all of the members of the squad to win and the failure of one was the failure of all.

Final Thought

One final thought that I would like to say is this: Be open to hear from God in any and every situation. You just never know what God will say!

A Prayer on 9/11

A prayer offered during morning worship at Cordele First United Methodist Church, September 11, 2011.

Father,

We are here this morning with thoughts and memories that we would rather not have.  We are here this morning and we remember where we were ten years ago on this day. We are here this morning and we recognize that for many there are loved ones who are not.

There are no words that will ever be able to capture the feelings of sorrow, pain, loss, anger, frustration and disbelief that many of us felt as we watched our innocence stripped away. There are no words that could ever be spoken or written that could ever capture the struggle of faith that many of us endured as we tried to make sense of the wickedness and evil that exists in this world.

The danger that we faced that morning, and the danger that we face this morning is not that terrorists or war will end our lives. The danger that we faced that morning, and the danger that the we face this morning is that terrorists and war will end our faith.

The age old question of evil in the world causes us to doubt and to question your goodness and your power and your presence in our lives. But, it is in moments like these that we must focus our attention toward one point in history. A moment in time long before there were words like “terrorist” and “America” and “9/11”. That point in history, in many ways, looks very much like our day.

Two-thousand years ago, in the city of David, the Savior was born so that he might bring to an end the reign of evil, not just in the world, but in our hearts. Two-thousand years ago, on the banks of the river Jordan, the Son of God, initiated the plan of God to redeem his enemies unto himself. Two-thousand years ago, outside the city gates, the lamb of God was slain, and the veil in the temple was rent so that ALL might approach the throne of grace.

Jesus is the answer to the suffering of our world. Jesus is the answer to the sorrow of our hearts. Jesus is the answer to the doubts of our minds. Jesus is the answer to the fear of our souls. Jesus is the answer that God has given to us when our lives are loosing their bearing. Jesus is the answer.

And because Jesus is the answer we all can call upon you, God, as our father. You see all of our concerns and you ask us to come to you. And for that we give thanks.

Word to the Wise | “Fellowship with God”

Most of us are familiar with Moses and his extraordinary faith. This is the man that confronted the most powerful ruler of his time without a single soldier or even a personal weapon for self-defense.  All he had was a shepherd’s staff.  And with it he beat Pharaoh’s pride.

The story, however, includes a very short statement that is often overlooked.  God said to Moses, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle’s wings, and brought you to Myself” (Exodus 19:4-6).  Wow!  God’s primary purpose was to establish an intimate relationship with the people of Israel–He brought them to Himself. Over the following decades and centuries God’s desire to fellowship with the people was rejected.   But, in spite of the rejection God sent His own Son, Jesus, to reconcile us back unto Himself.

John quoted Jesus’ words in the book of revelation, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).  From Genesis, when God had an intimate relationship with Adam and Eve, to the exodus when God called the people of Israel unto Himself, to the book of the Revelation, God continues to call men and women to open the door of fellowship to Him.  Have you opened the door of your heart to Him?  If you have, enjoy your invitation to dinner in God’s Kingdom.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/11/09)

“Faith Is…” Series, Pt. 2 | Faith Is… Living in the Grace of God

11 … for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11b-13, ESV)

As I thought about this statement — “Faith Is… Living in the Grace of God” — I could have said “by” or “with”, but I have found that my greatest challenge to being a Christian and living out the convictions and beliefs that I now hold is living IN the grace of God. The idea that I have in mind is that the grace of God is now the atmosphere that we exist in. God’s grace is not something we have, it’s something we are in. We are IN God’s grace. That is why there ought to be comfort and assurance in our relationship with God. Paul says it this way in Colossians:

3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3, ESV)

I have read this passage many times and I still can hardly believe that it says what it says. I know that there are some who have asserted that a person’s salvation can be “lost”. I understand the theological and volitional reasons for this way of thinking, but there is a small (and by “small” I really mean insurmountably huge) problem. This verse says that when we have received salvation, the life that we had died and our new life is not really given to us for safe-keeping. No, our salvation is such a precious gift, that God has kept it in as safe a place as he can imagine, in himself. And if that wasn’t enough he has left our salvation in the capable hands of the one who purchased it.

Peter, who among all the disciples understood that if it were up to him he would have been lost and completely cut off from Jesus, shared this understanding of what salvation looks like.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5, ESV)

This is why faith is living IN the grace of God. When we are exercising the kind of faith that the Bible is talking about, we are saying to the world that our trust and confidence is not in us, but in God. We are not interested in what is happening around us. We are not trying to do anything other than living in what God has purchased, and is now keeping for us.

That God does not trust me with my own salvation is not an insult to to me. It is a reason for hope, confidence, and rejoicing. We have to stop trying to earn what is already ours. Learn to live in the Grace of God. We are talking about a COMPLETED work of salvation. Just because we have not reached the end of the road, does not mean that God has changed his mind about what he has promised and done in our lives.

Word to the Wise | “The Work of the Holy Spirit”

The Apostle Paul tells us through his letter to the Roman church that, “the true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them” (Romans 8:14, NCV).  We have no problem talking about God the Father or studying God the Son.  But when it comes to the indwelling Holy Spirit we have two basic responses: (1) we are confused on how to listen to Him and follow His direction, or (2) we are frightened because we have been taught to be afraid of addressing Him for fear of committing the unpardonable sin.  The horror!

Allow me to simplify this situation.  The Holy Spirit helps in three major ways. (1) He leads us inwardly—by making the fruit of the Spirit our lives’ goals (Galatians 5:22).  (2) He keeps us focused upwardly—by interceding (praying) for us (Romans 8:26).  (3) He keeps us in touch with the world around us—by depositing God’s love into our hearts to love God and our neighbor (Romans 5:5).  Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide, to encourage, and to counsel.  All we need to do is figure out how to listen to Him and follow His lead–it will lead us back to Jesus.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/10/09)

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