Patient Boldness - Striking the Perfect Balance

A surfer sits on his board patiently waiting for the right moment to boldly paddle to catch the wave. Go too early and he will use up his energy and miss the wave. Go too late and he will not be able to catch up with the wave. Go at the right time and feel the wave push his board forward, ready for him to stand and surf.
We need that healthy balance between patience and boldness over and over again in life. When we move too early, we often react with haste but without a thoughtful plan for success. When we move too late, we miss the opportunity presented to us. Find the perfect balance and discover success with the thoughtful plan at the right time.
My wife is the cautious buyer who does not like to buy unless something is on sale. I am the impulsive buyer who just buys when I decide I want something. I rarely get the best price, miss out on the good sales, but get what I want. She mostly gets the best price, but often cannot get the item she wants to go on sale. By the time it is on sale, it is no longer available in the right size, color, etc. We compliment each other when we encourage each other to not wait too long or to not be too hasty.
Patient boldness is buying the right item at the right time. Patient boldness is making the right decision at the right time. Patient boldness is waiting on the Lord but then moving when He says, "Go!"
Some of us just react to situations. We need more patience. We need to stop and ask the Lord how we should react instead of just following the same old instincts and habits that get us into trouble each time before.
Some of us get fearful, too comfortable or just complacent. When the opportunities present themselves, we don't move at all and miss out on them. We need more bold faith. You cannot have all your questions answered and understand all the consequences. A step of faith requires trust that the Lord knows the answers when we do not. However, a step of faith needs to hear the Lord say take that step first.
The Elders of Church of the Valley took a bold step of faith when we voted to withdraw from the PCUSA because we felt the Lord directed us to do that now. Now we need patience because we want to withdraw in a way that honors the Lord and help us all. Taking the first right step can still lead to problems if our next step is not right. We need to continue to take the right steps at the right time. We need to stay following the Lord, not getting ahead of Him and not getting too far behind Him.
This is true in our personal lives as well. We wait patiently on the Lord until He calls, then boldly step forward in faith when He moves. The Israelites moved through the wilderness when the Lord moved before them as a column of smoke by day and fire by night. When He stopped, they made camp.
Psalm 37:7 "Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act."
May we all grow in patient boldness!
Pastor Mike

Valentine Love or Sacrificial Love?

You and I know how difficult it is to truly love someone; to forgive, be patient, be kind and considerate. Be honest! How good are you at loving in those ways? How good are we at loving people in ways that they truly feel loved? Even for the people who we love the most, we know how hard it is to love them well. You and I don't have enough love on our own to truly love anyone else.  We need a love that comes from outside ourselves. We need a greater love that comes from the very source of unlimited love. That means we need Jesus at the center of our relationships so our relationships can succeed. If we are to be successful in any relationship, we must surrender that relationship to Jesus Christ. We must love Jesus first so we can love others. We must find that source of love.

When we love anyone more than we love Jesus, that love always takes a selfish twist, where we love them more for our benefit and less for theirs. We cannot put our love for others over our love for Jesus or we will not be able to love anyone. Parents if you truly want to love your children, you must learn to love them with Jesus’ love. Children if you truly want to love your parents, you must learn to love them with Jesus’ love. Husbands if you truly want to love your wives, you must learn to love them with Jesus’ love. Wives if you truly want to love your husbands, you must learn to love them with Jesus’ love. 

This is what Jesus means when He tells us to take up our cross and follow Him. (Matthew 10:38) By the way, this is the first mention of the cross in Matthew's Gospel. And it is very fitting this is the first mention of the cross, because to truly love someone you must be willing to sacrifice your life for them. Because Jesus loved us, He sacrificed His life on the cross for us. Because Jesus loved us, He lifted us up to greater life today and forever. If we are to truly learn how to love another, we must take up our cross and follow Jesus in a sacrificial way in each relationship. 

Now, we cannot do this in our own love or power. To take up our cross to follow Jesus does not mean we try to love like Jesus did without Jesus. No, we only have the power to love like Jesus did with Jesus. We have to say “no” to our own self efforts to love others or live life without Jesus in any way. We have to say “yes” to Jesus’ efforts in and through us to love and live with Him. Right at the very moment when you realize you cannot do it without Jesus, that is the moment Jesus can succeed through you. When I realize how much more love I need for my wife, children, brothers and sisters in Christ and my neighbors living on my street, because I know I don't love very well at all, I find that love when I let Jesus love through me.

So here is my valentine's day love for you. And it is my everyday love for you. It is a love that succeeds where I have never been able to succeed before. It is the love I now have for you in and through Jesus.

grace and peace, Pastor Mike

One Giant Step

Last week in Florida I touched a moon rock at the Kennedy Space Center. The moon rock display stands below giant rocket stages like those that blasted Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to walk on the moon for the first time. The entire center stands as a testimony to daring and courage to reach far beyond what was then imagined. Back then, the computer they used for the flights took up a giant building. Now that computer power resides in a single smart phone. These astronauts and those that went before them placed their lives in jeopardy to accomplish this mission. It was a dangerous goal that included loss of life, but ultimately worth all the effort. Armstong’s immortal words still ring out, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

How fitting that the rest of my time in Florida involved a daring step of faith. While there we began a new way for churches to minister and work together. We hopefully began a new order of encouragement not restriction, of harmony not divisiveness, of courageous steps forward not anxious looks backward. This new coalition of churches promises to stand together in Christ, under the authority of the Bible, led by the Holy Spirit and accountable to each other. The name of this new way forward is the Evangelical Covenant Order (ECO) of Presbyterians.

It would be easy to focus on the negatives of why this group feels it is time to separate from the Presbyterian Church USA. The lack of many of the things listed above has become painfully unproductive for us to remain in that group. We feel a deep sadness for this situation. Instead, I will focus on the positive reasons for moving forward. Number 1 is that we will be moving forward! Without fighting internal battles we can focus our energy on seeking the ways the Lord would have us reach out to our communities and revitalize our congregations. One of the core values of ECO directs us to share the Gospel love and truth with our neighbors and plant new communities of faith. In our home area of the High Desert of CA, there are 400,000 people. Church of the Valley (COV) is the only evangelical, reformed, presbyterian church there. We have 5 neighboring cities to establish new communities of faith. We draw our membership from a 50 mile wide diameter.

Two, another great reason for moving forward with ECO involves the mutual accountability between pastors, elders and churches. We will hold each other up in prayer, collegial support and mutual encouragement. We commit to find ways to rejoice, weep, dream and work together. We agree on our vital understanding of God’s Truth for us. (http://www.fellowship-pres.org/evangelical-covenant-order/ ) Our meetings will not be agenda and report driven, but based on personal relationships and mutual task forces. We will not meet just to hold a meeting, but meet when needed for each other and to plan ministry and mission. We agree that meetings should never be passive listening and wasting time, but should be full of active participation and using precious time wisely. Some of us have begun to establish these deeper relationships. Some of us have begun to change the way we do church locally, regionally and nationally. In many ways this moving forward is actually getting back to the way church was many, many years ago – the church of the Bible, the disciples and the reformers – the church that changed communities, nations and the world.

We have many steps to take yet before ECO fully launches. Last night the elders of COV took a big first step. We decided together to be dismissed from the PCUSA and to share with our COV family our intention to seek membership with ECO. With any step of faith, there may be unforeseen dangers and consequences to face and overcome. We hope our brothers, sisters, friends and acquaintances will be forbearing and gracious to us as we find our way; just as we desire to offer our best to them. We pledge to do everything we can in ways that honor Jesus and model His lifestyle. Yet it is also time for us to take this step of faith, really a leap of trust in Him and each other. We look forward to what this new year will bring for COV, for ECO and for the High Desert as we follow the One who never leads us astray, but always onwards toward His greater will and purpose for our lives together.

Grace and peace, Pastor Mike

More information about ECO can be found at http://www.fellowship-pres.org/evangelical-covenant-order/

My Hopes for 2012

I start 2012 with a lot of good feelings and hope for a great new year. The first reason for this is obvious for me. I look forward to the birth of my first grandchild, a boy, to my son Ben and his wife Sarah. They will be great parents, and a new generation to our family will bring lots of excitement and joy. The second reason also involves family. My 3 children keep moving ahead with goals for better lives. Tricia begins her new job having completed her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. Ben continues his MBA degree and Sandra looks to start her new MBA degree in the Fall. All 3 in or just completed graduate school points to a bright future for them all. I am very grateful for them.

I look forward to sharing my newest book in 2012. I spent all of 2011 writing it and getting it published. Now I have it in hand and also available online as an electronic book for kindle, ipad and nook readers. The book is entitled “Stand Strong! Discover God’s Way to Overcome Temptation.” I hope it helps a lot of people.  I pray it provides a way for those who feel like failures now to learn that the Lord has real strength for them to throw off destructive behaviors and discover healthy ones. Look it up on Amazon.com or in the iBook store and download a copy. Or I can directly send you a copy of the paperback. Then write a review for me and share it with others so they can experience how the book can be helpful.

I look forward in 2012 to a new network of churches focusing clearly on sharing the great news of Jesus Christ with our neighbors, of building our lives together on the Truth of the Bible, and on encouraging each other as churches together in the Holy Spirit. Sadly, our old network of churches in what was called a denomination has deteriorated in being helpful to each other. There is now too much disagreement, too many restrictions, too many conflicting priorities, too much political infighting, and not enough focus on the unity found in God’s Word: the Living Word (the Lord Jesus), the written Word (the Bible), and the visible Word (baptism and communion.) Denominations have outlived their purpose. Once they tried to support the local church. They have turned into bureaucracies in which the local church gets lost in the system. We need to get back to the basics of what it means to be churches together. Many of us will gather in this new year to learn a new way the Lord would have us work together as brothers and sisters in Christ beyond the local church. I look forward to meeting in regional and national gatherings of churches where we laugh together again (laughter is a sign of joyful relationships), trust each other, worship the Lord together, and work together to make our unified efforts much greater than working alone. I see that happening in 2012.

I know 2012 will have its share of difficulty. We have a few more bad economic years ahead before good ones return. I pray they come sooner than later. We will face resistance to the new changes that will come. I pray it will not turn ugly and divisive. 2012 will have trials, troubles and setbacks. None of those stops me from being hopeful for 2012. Why? My hope is not based on wishful thinking or possible outcomes. My hope is based on the Lord who works His greater good through all things. He uses even our failures to make us stronger when we trust in Him. We have seen how the Lord has done this in the past. He is the same Lord in 2012 that He has been before – the gracious and victorious Lord for us. Yet, I believe that a lot of the lessons we learned from past mistakes and difficulties will blossom into many great successes in 2012. For my personal family and my church family (COV), 2012 looks to be very good indeed. May we unite together in following the Lord as He leads us to enjoy life and succeed together in 2012!

Grace and peace, Pastor Mike

God's Christmas Gift

In John 1:14, John describes God’s greatest Christmas gift to humanity; “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

God’s Christmas gift is the gift of grace. Jesus brings grace. Grace is God’s love to us, not His wrath. Most people of the world think that God is always angry, wants us to crawl and grovel at His feet, could care less about our pitiful, little lives, and that He would like any excuse to throw lightning bolts down to kill us. Yet Jesus shows us the real God who at the core of His character is grace leading to forgiveness. He reveals the loving God who takes our place on the cross, takes the penalty of our wrongs away from us, cleansing us from sins with His right living, freeing us from past failures, setting us free for powerful, purposeful life. Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save it; not to reject or punish us but to heal and rescue us. God gifts us with the grace of Jesus so we can be in eternal relationship with Him. God gifts us with the grace of Jesus so we can share that grace with those around us. As Jesus forgives us, we can forgive each other. Grace leading to forgiveness is the antidote to broken relationships. In a world of revenge, hatred and war, God gifted us with Jesus so we can live by His grace, mercy and forgiveness.

God’s Christmas gift is the gift of truth. Jesus brings truth so that we can know how to enjoy and prosper in every day situations, relationships and healthy life with God and each other. He brings real wisdom with the authority of God for purposeful life. Jesus came into our world to teach us and model to us the truth. We don’t have to guess at what is true for our lives. In John 8:31-32, Jesus said to those who believed in Him, “You are truly My disciples if you keep obeying My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” When speaking to Pontius Pilate, Jesus said in John 18:37, “You say that I am a king, and you are right, I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

Truth shines clearly through all the lies, deceits, deceptions, cover ups and false fronts. So many try to deceive us with wrong teachings and instructions about life. However, you have probably noticed - the truth always comes out in the end! False teaching will only end in wasteful use of a lot of time, talents and resources at a cost of terrible harm to many. Jesus’ truth stands the test of time. Jesus’ truth sets us free. We can follow Jesus’ teachings and obey them, because Jesus’ truth leads us to greater life. In a world where confusion reigns about what is truth, God gifted us with Jesus so we don’t have to guess about what is truth.

Have you received God’s gift of grace and truth to you in Jesus Christ? Here at COV, we center our lives on the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. We invite everyone who desires God’s grace and truth to join us in graciously receiving and sharing Him with each other and our neighbors. May we understand that Christmas brings God’s grace and truth into our lives in our living Lord. Please feel free to join us at any of our Christmas celebrations.

Grace and truth to you in Jesus, Pastor Mike

Stand Strong! Discover God's Way to Overcome Temptation

I have just released a new book, "Stand Strong! Discover God's Way to Overcome Temptation. It is available for preview and purchase at this site:
 http://www.fastpencil.com/publications/3321-Stand-Strong

It will soon be available on Amazon for Kindle readers and can be used in other electronic formats. A softcover edition will be available very soon as well.
I pray this book will help many who face temptations. Here is a basic summary of the book: 
Start defeating temptations one temptation at a time using the methods proven by Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are not victims doomed to fail everytime we face temptation. Jesus came to face our temptations and overcome them so we can stand strong against temptation in Him. Jesus intends us to succeed! Discover the ways Jesus overcame temptation from the actual experiences He had as described in the Bible. Then experience that you are never alone when you face temptation! Discover the whole team standing with you to help you overcome temptation. You will find practical, time tested and temptation proven ways to stand strong against the temptations you face every day.
grace and peace, Pastor Mike

Unarmed and Very Dangerous

Although you have all the comforts, prestige and power possible, imagine planning to leave your land and enter hostile territory, where dangerous, deadly enemies rule and where injustice and suffering abound. Yet in your plans, you decide to take no weapons; no defensive knives, clubs or armament of any kind. All the enemies you will face in that hostile land use many such weapons with great cruelty. Not only will you take no weapons, you also decide not to use political power to help you. You won’t appeal to international courts, friendly powers or to popular approval. You will go in as a common native of the land without benefit of personal connection to any persons in power and prestige. You decide to go alone, without the support of any other invading army or group that provides strength in numbers. All your friends and family will think you are crazy and worry that you will never return. What can one solitary person without authority, power or force of numbers do against such odds?

Now let’s take it one step further. You have been sent into that hostile territory as a young child to represent your father. You arrive in a hostile land as a helpless, innocent, defenseless infant. You face terrible foes and odds, knowing full well you will most certainly be mistreated as you grow and mature among such enemies. And as you stand up for your father, these enemies will surely seek to silence you and put you to death. Who would dream up such a plan? Who would send their infant son to live among such terrible foes?

Yet, maybe you see more clearly than those around you? You see that entering with force to overcome your enemies just continues the same sufferings and deaths that always occur in battles and wars. Using the weapons of destruction causes more destruction. No more eyes for eyes and teeth for teeth. You decide to use tools that build peace not weapons of war, implements of encouragement not chains of condemnation, instruments of love not bombs of hatred. You decide that instead of reusing human methods that continue suffering and cruelty, you will use new strategies that bring reconciliation and prosperity. Instead of seeking revenge against your enemies, you will forgive their cruelties against you. Instead of seeking to annihilate your foes, you will set them free from their destructive, deadly behaviors. You decide to take a path that can turn your enemies into your family members.

Who would take such a course of actions? God would. He sent His Only Son into our world as a helpless infant to grow up among us and win us back to a new life with God forever. He would use the weapons of heaven to defeat the weapons of hell. He came to live among us, and even though we were His enemies, He came to die to rescue us. (Romans 5:10, NIV, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!)

Let’s stop thinking of the cutesy baby Jesus of commercial fame and start wondering at the gutsy infant Jesus sent to us by God the Father. Such a gift of loving sacrifice sent in bold wisdom goes far beyond our ability to comprehend it. Yet we can still receive Him as God’s gift to us. We don’t have to live by this chaotic, unjust world’s rules anymore. We can live by Jesus’ new lifestyle of greater power and strength for today and for eternity. Unarmed and very dangerous to the powers of this world, Jesus came to free us for life abundant and eternal. He came to change us into children of the Heavenly Father. Thank you Lord for this glorious invasion we know as Christmas!

Grace and peace, Pastor Mike

PS: My next column will be about how amazing this gift of trust is to each of us!