Fireproof Your Marriage

I am usually hesitant to endorse movies but...

Therese and I went and saw Fireproof yesterday evening. If you are married or thinking about getting married we would encourage you to take some time and go see the movie. It will be worth your time.

Friends

Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

In our reading for today I was reminded of how we need each other. Following Christ is a tough journey at times, and it is a journey that we were never designed to travel alone. We simply need one another. As much as I'd like to think that I can at times "go it alone", I know that is a lie that Satan would like me to believe. Because if He can isolate me from everyone else then he has me to himself and that is a perilous place to be.

Seek Jesus as your friend today. Reach out to someone today and be their friend.

Dont' forget about our memory verse for the week:
Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

To Help or Not to Help?

Almost every week we typically get one or more calls at the church from people who are looking for help. Much of our benevolence funding is directed through House of Neighborly Services because they have a much better infrastructure (efficient and effective) to support people in need. But every now and then we will get a call from someone in need that it seems that God would have us, as a church, reach out to them and help them directly.

I must confess, that for me, I can have a somewhat cynical view sometimes of people asking for help. I don't always trust that people are so much in need of help but instead are looking for an easy way out. And honestly, I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing. It might be discernment or it might just be a plain and simple lack of trust and faith. And so I typically end up in a "wrestling match" with God. And I ask Him questions like:

Is this someone that You have sent to us specifically for help?
Is this person conning me or are they in need of real help?
Will helping this person actually hurt them in the long run because helping them will just enable a continuance of harmful habits and patterns in their life?

Anyway, long story short, someone called the church yesterday looking for some help and seemed to be genuine and in need of a place to stay for a few nights. It seemed that they had worked through the proper channels to look for help but every service they had contacted was already maxed out and so was unable to assist them. However, they had found a couple of other churches that had been willing to help them.

So after a "wrestling match" with God, it seemed like God would want our church to help this family out (a husband and wife with 2 small children). And so we put them up for a couple of nights in a motel here in Loveland.

I hope this was the right thing to do. It seemed like it was. Be praying for this family. I do know this, they experienced the love of God whether they realize it or not. Be praying that their "God encounter" would bear eternal fruit. Also be praying for us a church during these difficult economic time as people will be needing more and more help. Pray that God would give us the wisdom and discernment to help those in need in the right way and at the right time.

Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT)
¹⁰ "The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
¹¹ It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

I trust that God was at work through His church yesterday and will be again today.

Friends of God

To think about being a "friend" of God - of Jesus Christ - is an awesome thought.

John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

What are you going to do for your friend today?

Commitment 101

Last night we had 11 folks attend the Commitment 101 class. I love teaching that class because every time it affirms for me that we as a church are doing the right things as best we know how from a Biblical perspective. What we do as a church has got to flow from how God has designed the church to accomplish His will in building His kingdom. While we are far from perfect, in most areas it seems that we are on the right track trying to do the right things. Sure we make mistakes but we are also willing to learn from our mistakes. God doesn't require perfection but He does require faithfulness and a willingness on our part to seek Him and His ways.

I shared the following quote from Vince Lombardi last night on commitment:
"Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."

I would add - that is also what makes a local church work - commitment to God and to each other.

Jesus said that He would build His church - that's a guarantee - that is going to happen - our part is to just be willing participants wherever we are at and to let God use us in that process.

What A Challenge!

Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

What a challenge! In and of myself, I am none of these. I can only be compassionate because God is compassionate towards me. I can only be kind because God is kind towards me. I can only be humble because God is humble. I can only be gentle because God is gentle with me. I can only have patience because God is patient with me. I can only forgive because God forgave me.

God, help me today to live these out in my life. My only chance of living these out today is because you are with me and for me. God, thank You in advance for your forgiveness as I fail at these today in thought or action or deed.

Hide-Away Verse: Week of October 26th

Romans 15:7 (NIV)
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Restoration: Part 4

The Think It Through for Restoration: Part 4 can be found here.

Your Choice

Today was a "Your Choice" day for our daily reading.

My verse today that ties into Restoration for our souls is:

Psalm 116:7 (NIV)
7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

The goodness of God provides rest for our souls.

What was your reading for today? Share it as an encouragement to everyone else by clicking the "Comments" link below.

Communication That Honors

As with everything else under the sun, God has given us instruction on what it means to honor others with communication. In the past 10 years or s, a new channel of communication that has become available to us - the internet. And like every other form of communication (verbal and non-verbal) that has come before, it comes with its own positive and negatives and it also comes with its own set of responsibilities. And like all other forms of communication, they can be used in ways that honor God and others or in ways that don't do either.

Within the "cloud" of the internet there are many forms of communication that includes web pages, email, instant messaging, and more recently blogging, among others. And again each of these comes with its own set of positives, negatives and responsibilities and as followers of Jesus Christ, we must always remember to do our best in following God's guidelines for communication. A non-exhaustive list such as the following comes to mind:

• Put others before ourselves (Colossians 1:10)
• Don't gossip about others or slander others (2 Corinthians 12:20)
• Always think the best of others (1 Corinthians 10:24)
• Focus on the positive in all things including other people (Philippians 4:8)
• Communicate with grace and truth (John 1:14)
• Communicate with love (Ephesians 4:15)
• Treat others in the way you would want to be treated (Matthew 7:12)

We also must remember that there are always right and wrong modes and channels of communication. Jesus once shared the following words with a group of His disciples as He was trying to teach them about proper communication channels.

Matthew 18:15-17 (NLT)
15 "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.
16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.
17 If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. If the church decides you are right, but the other person won't accept it, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

In other words, there are right ways and wrong ways to communicate with someone who sins against you personally or does wrong against you or offends you from your perspective. The first course of action, as I understand it, is to go to them directly and in private and try to resolve it in that realm first and then only if necessary to escalate it to higher levels. And in my experience, levels two and three are rarely necessary if level one is followed.

That being said, I would like to remind all of us of the purpose of this blog. The purpose is to simply provide a tool to share and encourage one another as we grow in our relationship with God. This blog should never be used to gossip or slander or speak against anyone in any way. If there are offenses that need to be resolved, according to Jesus, there are better channels of communication.

We always welcome all feedback and are always up for dealing with any and all issues that may arise. We, as your pastors, simply ask that the proper channels are utilized and if you are unsure you can always ask and we'll do our best to guide you according to God's Word.

A good test that I try to filter my own on-line communication through is: "Would I say this, in this way, if the person or people that this is intended for were standing here right now?" It's a good question to ask for each communication that we send out into the vast space called the internet.

Doing the Right Thing for the Right Reason

I am always amazed at how we can be people with the best of intentions and yet still wind up going down the wrong path and doing the wrong thing. As someone once said, "There is no right way to do the wrong thing."

I was reminded of this again this morning as I read our memory verse for the week, Mark 2:27-28.

Mark 2:27-28 (NIV)
27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Jesus felt that it was necessary to remind the people about the Sabbath. I am sure they had the best of intentions but they had wondered down the easy path of religion and legalism which ultimately leads to an "us versus them" mentality and divides rather than unites. Rules and religion is always easier than relationship and community but Jesus calls us to the latter.

It is easy to find ourselves on the religious path and quickly become burned out and exhausted of trying to keep up with all of the rules. But God wants to restore our souls not burden our souls. While it's true that God has given us boundaries and standards, they are not there as a way to get to God and for Him to be pleased with us that we have followed the rules, rather they are there because they provide a framework in which life works best. And a part of that framework in which life works best is when we follow God's rhythm of life of 6-on and 1-off. In that there is rest for our souls.

For most of us, today is probably one of the "6-on" days. Let's do our best to honor God with our time today as we work for His glory so that when our "1-off" day comes around we can step back and enjoy it and find true rest for our souls.

Have an awesome day in the Lord.

Hide-Away Verse: Week of October 19th

"Then He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.' "

Mark 2:27-28

Holy Time

God gave me a new thought this morning as I read Exodus 20:8-11. The thought I had was that God set aside a specific portion of time to be holy. I have a much easier time thinking of something tangible as holy, such as 'holy ground' or a holy place like the 'holy land'. But I really hadn't considered that God has made a portion of time to be holy and that when we treat it as holy and do with it what God says to do with it that there is a benefit for us in that - we find rest for our souls.

The Rhythm of Life

As I read Genesis 2:1-3 this morning I was reminded that God established a pattern of living, a rhythm of doing life, if you will, when He created all that was necessary to create in six days and then took the seventh day to stand back and reflect on what had been done and to rest.

He could have certainly kept on creating but He didn't. Why? Maybe part of it was to speak to us and to say, 'There will always be more to do. But it's OK. It's OK to take a break and it's OK to rest even when there is more to be done.'

I don't know about you but I need to hear that again and again because my tendency is to think that it is not OK. And if I do take a break that I'm being lazy. But there is a difference between laziness and resting as prescribed by God. Laziness is when we don't do what we are supposed to do. Laziness is not working when we are supposed to work. God certainly says to work - Adam was even given work to do even in the context of the Garden before the fall of man.

But God also says to rest. Rest is good and is necessary. The rhythm that God has dictated on how to do life is a rhythm of 6 on and 1 off. Six days of doing and one day of stepping back, reflecting and resting.

6 on and 1 off - 6 on and 1 off. It's just like breathing.

Are you able to live in this rhythm? Why or why not?

Restoration: Part 3

The Think It Through for Restoration: Part 3 can be found here.

Simply Yes and No

One of the things that I appreciate about memorizing a verse is that as we are memorizing scripture, God uses it as a filter that everything that we come into contact with flows through. As I have been thinking about our memory verse for this week, Matthew 5:37, I keep coming back to the word "obedience" because it seems that obedience is simply saying "yes" or "no" in a way that lines up with God's will. And sometimes, actually quite often, aligning myself with God's will is extremely difficult. I was reminded of the difficulty in following Christ (of making my yes's and no's line up with God's will) as I read the following account of a China missionary family this past week:

Can God be trusted with our children?

The early years on the mission field were very difficult for Jonathan and Rose Goforth. Four of their eight children died in their first twelve years in China. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, the family barely escaped with their lives. They traveled home to Canada for a brief furlough and then returned to China with a new addition to their family, little Constance, who was born during the furlough.

Back in China, Jonathan's new responsibility was to evangelize one-third of the Changte region. On their way to the mission station, Jonathan told Rose about the plan he felt God had given him to reach this goal. He would send one of his assistants ahead to rent a place for the family to live for a month. Once there, Jonathan would preach in the streets or villages during the day while Rose would preach to women in their courtyard. Each evening they would hold a service in their home with Jonathan preaching and Rose playing the organ. At the end of the month they would move to another town, leaving behind an evangelist to teach the new believers.

Rose thought it sounded like a wonderful plan, but as they had five little ones, she was adamantly against it. She would remain at their home at the Changte mission station, and that was that. Having already buried four children in China, she couldn't bear the thought of losing another, and she was convinced Jonathan's plan would put the children's lives at risk.

As they made the long river journey to Changte, Jonathan continued to plead with Rose. He also loved their children dearly and couldn't bear the thought of losing another, yet God had given him an inexplicable peace that they would be safe if they followed this plan.

Finally Jonathan said to her, “Rose, I am so sure this plan is of God that I fear for the children if you disobey his call. The safest place for the children is the path of duty. You think you can keep your children safe in your comfortable home in Changte, but God may show you you cannot. But he can and will keep the children if you trust him and step out in faith!”

The Goforths reached their home at Changte on a Saturday evening. On Sunday morning Rose left the children with their faithful servant. Two hours later Rose returned to find their son Wallace ill. The doctor was called, and he diagnosed it as one of the worst cases of dysentery he had ever seen.

For two weeks Jonathan and Rose struggled for the child's life. Finally Wallace began to recover. When Jonathan felt confident that his son would survive, he left to begin his first evangelistic tour alone.

The day after Jonathan left, baby Constance became suddenly ill, just as Wallace had, only much worse. By the time Jonathan arrived, Constance was dying. As the two parents knelt beside her, Rose suddenly experienced a revelation of God's love in a way she hadn't considered before—as a Father. All of a sudden she was filled with the realization that her heavenly Father could be trusted to keep her children. It so overwhelmed her that she could only bow her head and pray, “O God, it is too late for Constance, but I will trust. I will go where you want me to go. But keep my children!”

Such peace and joy came over Rose that when Jonathan turned to her and sorrowfully said, “Constance is gone,” she was comforted knowing that her baby's life had not been in vain.

Little Constance was buried next to two of her sisters on October 13, 1902, her first birthday. Armed with her renewed trust in God's faithfulness, Rose had two more children while they served as missionaries, but no more died in China.

(from the book "One Year Book of Christian History")

Obedience is hard but it has to start with trusting God. I have issues with trusting God when I lose a buck, let alone a child.

God help me (us) to trust you more so that my (our) yes's and no's line up with your will.

Don't Give Up

I was encouraged this morning as I read Galatians 6:7-9 as God reminded me once again that it is not easy to follow Him. It's not easy because it's not passive. In order to follow Christ I must sow and reap according to how God would have me sow and reap. Of course, we have been given free-will by God and so we can choose to sow and reap whatever we choose. But God's desire for me is that I would sow what He wants me to sow so that I can reap what He wants me to reap. And to keep doing it again and again and to not give up even when it is painful and hard. And if I don't give up God promises a harvest. I'm counting on that harvest but until that time comes, I'll just keep sowing.

I also read this from Psalms this morning:

Psalm 116:6-7 (NLT)
The LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and then he saved me. Now I can rest again, for the LORD has been so good to me.

God is indeed SOOOO good and He gives us rest. My story is no different - I was facing death and then He saved me and in that there is rest for my soul.

What has God taught you today?

Carrying My Own Load

As I read Galatians 6:2-5, I was reminded again that I have a load to carry for which I am responsible. And it's my personal load. We each have our own load to carry. That's a given according to scripture. The question is am I willing to carry it and do I believe that God will give me the strength to carry it. It's a choice that we must make day by day.

Claim It and Own It

Matthew 5:37 (NIV)
Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

In my notes from this weekend, I wrote down the simple phrase "Claim my Yes's and Own my No's". What does God want me to say "Yes" to and what does he want me to say "No" to and believing that God can and does guide me if I take the time to seek Him.

My prayer for this week is simply that I would seek God in a greater way this week and be more sensitive to His guidance and direction and that He would give me the courage to appropriately say yes or no depending on the situation.

How did God speak to you this weekend?

And The Winner Is...

With a 100% of the vote in, it looks like we will be watching "Flywheel" at our movie night on Tuesday, October14 at the OPs Center at 7:00pm. This is a great family movie with a great message from the same creators as "Facing The Giants" and "Fireproof." We will have popcorn and some other goodies in addition to water and lemonade. Feel free to bring your own munchies if you'd like. Hope to see you there.

If you need help finding the OPs Center you can click here for a map.

Hide-Away Verse: Week of October 12th

Matthew 5:37 (NIV)
Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Restoration: Part 2

The Think It Through for this week can be found here.

Hope4Kids

Contributions for our Hope4Kids outreach are due by October 19th. We are focusing on three primary areas:

Funding for mosquito nets to prevent malaria ($5.25 per net)

Hygiene kits (quart size Ziplocs filled with personal hygiene products)

Craft supplies (primarily material and yarn to make dolls for young girls)

1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV)
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

God has entrusted us to do good and to be His hands and feet in this world.

For more information on how we at Summitview and Day Seven can be a part of reaching across the globe to families in Uganda, Africa click here or go to www.hope4kidsinternational.org for more information about Hope4Kids International.

Sheep on a Mission

In our reading for today, John 10:7-10, I was reminded of another verse in the Old Testament, Isaiah 53:6 -

Isaiah 53:6 (NIV)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

We are sheep, but we are sheep on a mission. We are sheep with a purpose. We are redeemed sheep. We are sheep that are cared for by the Shepherd. We "come in" for encouragement and training and protection and to just be together but we also "go out" through the gate to do God's work. We go out in the field where it's dangerous - you just never know where the next wolf is.

I like to think of the weekend and Fellowship Teams as a time when we "come in" and the rest of the week we "go out" for the purpose of doing God's will.

Let's be sheep on a mission - together!

Movie Night is Coming!

Make your selection for the movie you would like to watch at the OPs Center on Tuesday, October 14th @ 7:00 pm. The movie poll is over on the right sidebar. Take a second to register your choice.

God is GOOD

God is SOOOO good! This last Sunday was our first day in the new auditorium at MVHS. It all seemed to go pretty well. It is certainly different and we'll be working through some of the issues as we go forward in the weeks to come. We welcome any and all comments - just leave us a comment by clicking on the "comments" link below this post.

In the meantime, here are some pics from our first day:

Restoration: Complete Joy

In our reading for today, John 16:22-24, I was reminded that God so desires to restore my soul. He wants me to come to Him and ask for restoration - restoration that will bring complete and abundant joy to my soul - and to ask in the name of Jesus Christ.

But how often is it that I look for restoration elsewhere - to things like the pleasures of the world for my restoration? To things like vacations or material things or work or hobbies or watching TV or even sleep. While those things are not bad or "wicked", there is only "incomplete joy" in them as opposed to "complete joy" that can only come from God in the name of Jesus.

God give me the courage today to seek for complete joy only in You.

Let's take some time time today to focus on God as our shepherd by meditating on Psalm 23:1-3a: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul."

Restoration: My Shepherd

Have you asked the Lord to be your shepherd today?

Have you made time for Him to lead you beside quiet waters?

Have you found rest for your soul today?

Restoration: Part 1

The Think It Through for this week can be found here.

Hide-Away Verse: Week of October 5th

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul."
Psalm 23:1-3a

Worship Him Together

This coming weekend is a BIG weekend. We will be moving into the new auditorium this Sunday to give it a try. It's exciting to be on the move once again. God has provided for us since a group of families came down to Loveland from Ft. Collins in 1995. We may be moving to a new place but our purpose will never change - to carry out the Great Commission (to make disciples) by obeying the Great Commandment (to love God and others).

Be in prayer over the next few days as God prepares us for the transition. If you worship at SVCC, we'll see you there on Sunday. If you worship at Day Seven, you are invited on Sunday to come and support your brothers and sisters at SVCC.

Psalm 22:22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.

Reasons to Worship

As I read 1 Chronicles 16:23-36 this morning, I was struck by simply my need to acknowledge God for who He is. And then I thought what better way to do that by pulling out my "Reason to Worship God" list that I started yesterday that was a "Next Step" suggestion from the "Think It Through" for this week.

Here is my Top 10 list that I started yesterday and was reminded of this morning:

God deserves my worship because...

1. He's God (could have probably stopped right there!)
2. He has given me life
3. He has given me a wife
4. He has given me a family
5. He provides for my needs
6. He has given me salvation through His son, Jesus
7. He has given me a church family
8. He has provided leaders and staff for His local churches (SVCC and Day Seven)
9. He has given me gifts and skills
10. He has given me the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me

I have many reasons to worship - to bow down, shaw-khaw' - God. This list is just the tip of the iceberg, but it's a start.

Have you started your list? What's your reasons? Share them if you'd like.