Waiting Again

Waiting is not my best thing.  Not really my worst thing anymore, but still. 

1--I'm waiting to hear from the girl at the organization I hope to go to Mongolia for. 
2--I'm waiting to hear from my church about what I'm supposed to do next, now that I've decided to become a full-time missionary
3--I'm waiting for a good opportunity to talk a fellow choir member into giving me free advice about finances.
4--I'm waiting for the idea of me being a missionary to stop sounding so silly to me.

Missionary.

Without You

You are the sun, I am the moon.  Without you, I am a cold, dark stone.

I''m thinking about moving to Mongolia to teach English.  Boy, I sure could use some direction here.  The task of getting my debt cleared up seems impossible TO ME.  (The Lord is my shepherd!)  Steppes and Gobi and Mongols... oh my.

Horses.

People who need to see The Light.

I don't have any light of my own, I think I finally get that.  But I know for sure that there is Light in me and I would love to live where it can shine in some dark corners.  I CAN DO THAT!  I also can teach English.  I prefer the idea of doing something "during the day" anyway.

Horses.

Please.

Decision Making if you are a Christ flower (tee hee)

How's this for some EXCELLENT advice on decision-making: (this came from here and I LOVE the typo in #2)

So how do we tap into the wisdom of God? First, we acknowledge that all wisdom comes from God. Second, we ask. Like James the brother of Jesus wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask of God.” (James 1:5) After I have asked God, I have learned the value of taking inventory to help me decide God’s will. Here are five questions that I often asking when trying to find God’s will in a certain situation: 

1. What does God seem to be saying in His word?  I look for patterns of thought in my general Bible reading. Sometimes a certain pattern will surface that gives me insight into the direction God is leading.
2. What does the Holy Spirit seem to be prompting me to do? Remember if you are a Christ flower, you have the Spirit of the Living Jesus living within you. When making a weighty life decision – I create space to sit in silence to listen for the Holy Spirit’s prompting.
3. Which option brings God most glory? God created us to bring Him glory so it makes sense to consider which option brings God most glory? Sometimes a good question that helps me determine which choice brings God the most glory is to ask myself, “Which way is the way of faith?”  
4. What is the best use of my resources?  This is a good question because it analyzes not only how to best use your financial resources but also how to best use the gifts, talents and abilities that God has given you.      
5. What are my mentors saying? I am a huge fan of mentorship. I believe we all need people in our lives who are farther ahead in their spiritual walk. These folks can be a great resource in assisting us in finding God’s will.

Sermon Notes

Suffering and the Exaltation of Christ
1 Peter 3:8-22
Pastor Steven Lee
College Church, Wheaton

How to not retaliate.
Peter has been instructing followers to not compromise, to hold fast, to shift in order to make pressure stop.  Be counter cultural--live as a people called to be set apart.  Challenge us to live a godly life anyway.  Do we exhibit these qualities?

1--Love for our enemies...not just fellow believers, but pray for those who hate you.  Psalm 34 Just because things are going badly, don't assume God is judging you, God allows suffering to those he loves.  If we truly believe God will judge and take vengeance, then WE can be passive and let God be God.

2--Boldness in speaking about our faith...revere the Lord in your heart and you won't have room for fear of others.  Fear the Lord.  Do we share our trials so that others might see the difference?  (Plug for small groups here)  Are you engaged with non-believers?  If so, do they see a difference, do they see your hope?  "Never let a serious crisis go to waste." Rahm Emmanuel.  Have we made the Gospel intelligible?

3--Do we exhibit a hope in a suffering savior, a belief that Jesus has saved us (believers will never suffer for our sins--we may suffer as children of God, but never FOR OUR SINS because we have a suffering savior, he has paid the price, is paying the price)  Jesus overcomes.  Do we rest in Him?  Peter admits it is hard.  God left us here in order to be lights, not to lash back, but to show God's love through us.  WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT YOU?

Karma

I just a Facebook post with a video of a driving incident.  Titled Karma, it was obviously taped by the driver of a car who was being harassed by the young man driving a pickup truck.  The pickup driver eventually made his way to the right side of the car, leaning out the window and flipping the bird to the person filming his actions.  He then speeds off, swerves, loses a hubcap, eventually losing control and spinning around in the grassy area to the left of oncoming traffic.  No one appeared to have been hurt.  The video ends abruptly, so it is hard to be sure, but it seems that oncoming traffic was not involved.  The truck ended up in a ditch, back bed-cover up, looking like there was considerable under-body damage.

The video was posted because it was supposed to be funny.

It made me nauseous.  It made me want to stay off the roads.  It made me sad to be a human.

Every day I make a 9-mile journey to work along a road where every driver thinks they are Mario Andretti.  Heaven forbid a driver drive at only the speed limit; they will be honked at and flipped off and given grief at every opportunity by the other drivers.

I try to remember if things were this pressured when I was younger.  Did older drivers really have no chance out on the larger roads?  Was it so common to treat other people like paper dolls?   Ok, nevermind "the good old days" - they weren't so good, or so another FB post tells us...  Why do we treat one another so badly?  And I'm not just upset by the pickup driver either.  Why was the car's driver filming this?  Was his/her driving so above reproach?  Why was he/she in the left lane if not passing another car?  Why is it funny to see someone act like a jerk and "get what's coming to him"?  We all pay for his mistake with higher insurance rates.  We all pay when accidents cause destruction.  Is the pickup driver's humiliation a lesson for anybody at all?  Do you think he really learned anything?  Or will he hit the road next time ever more angered by the video on his mind.  Will the car's driver be "on the lookout" for more aggressive drivers in order to get another "viral hit"?  Will other people try to encourage similar actions so that they can get their moments of fame as well?

We need to pull the internet out of the mire and quicksand of bad ideas, poor choices and mean-spirited commentary.  Everyone needs to drag social media towards the light, not further away.

Sermon Notes: July 5, 2015

Joshua 20:1-6
The Refuge of God

Pastor Chris Castaldo
New Covenant Church
Naperville, IL

We all ask: what does God want from us?

Different people have different answers.  What about the Christian God?

(Skipped to chap. 20 because ... something about John Stott)

1) How can we be faithful to this text and 2) How can we bring this to our congregation?

15-19 are worthy of our attention (just not this summer from the pulpit)

(Explanation of the custom of the time)

Numbers 35: God differentiates between intents.
Not just saving lives, there is a definite God-ward view in this rule, stand the lands when there is an unlawful shedding of blood.  We reflect God and so our actions reflect attributes of God, so our actions have double meaning.  Do we feel this as a church?  Sanctity of live has MANY implications!  If e are all in the image of God, Joe can we belittle our demean any of them, nor allow it to happen to others. (list including: Utilitarianism is also a problem.)

"Such behavior grieves the heart of God."

Doctrinal positions are not people!

Address others as image-bearers even if you don't, maybe even especially when you don't agree with them.

Verse: self declaration is key.  Manslayer stays in the city until the high priest dies, even if you're innocent of murder.  Why that long?  The high priest represents the whole nation, his death pays the ransom for the manslayer.

Romans 3:23 all of us are guilty, either intentional or not.  We are vulnerable to divine wrath, God's punishment.  Where can we go?  Where is there protection?  Jesus died to pay the penalty,  reconciles us to God.  Once an individual steps into that place, you step into a union with Christ that cannot be broken.  "Neither height nor depth nor...can separate us from the love of God"

Cities of Refuge are spread for access, each are within a day's journey.  Not just Jews but also sojourners and strangers.  Which is why The Church reaches out to as many as possible.  How to reach out?  More help, more assistance when people need it, in as many ways as possible.

(He shared with his neighbor)