The Hand of God
1/5/2009
If you Google “Hand of God” the initial results are probably not what you might have expected. In 1986, Diego Maradona, arguably the greatest soccer player ever in the world, scored one of soccer history’s most controversial goals. Diego was playing for his home country, Argentina, and his goal came against international rivals, England, during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
Diego leapt toward the ball that an England defender failed to clear and discretely punched the ball into the back of the net with his hand (the use of hands is taboo in soccer). A difficult angle for the referees prevented them from dismissing the goal, so instead it was awarded. Argentina went on to become champions in the world’s most prestigious soccer tournament. The goal was soon nicknamed the Hand of God after Diego admitted in an interview that he had scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.
Accrediting the goal to God was a lighthearted attempt to deflect the outraged objectors’ cries for a more just ruling. Diego’s subtle admission of his unconventional score reminds me that God’s hand is at work in each of our lives.
Jesus told the religious leaders of his day, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17, NIV).
“What is He working so hard at?” He’s bringing the whole world to Him through Jesus. He aches for us all to accept Jesus as lord of our lives and to follow Jesus’ way of living. Nonstop, God is implementing his plan to reconcile us to him through Jesus. It is through Jesus that we are made righteous before God. His perfect life gives us that are imperfect precious hope.
Have you recognized that God is working to bring you to Him?
~Wesley Shutt
Happy New Life
12/29/2008
People like new things. If you don't believe me, look at the advertising around you. New product. New formula. New look. New smell. New taste. New and improved. Brand spanking new.
People love the smell of a new car. Most of us don't even know what that smell is. Some scientists say the chemicals that cause that smell are potentially harmful to us! Still we like to enjoy that aroma that says "New!" to our senses. People like it so much, in fact, that you can buy bottles of "New Car Smell" to spray in your not-so-new car, just so your nose can be deceived.
For some reason, we tend to like new years as well. There is a promise of a fresh beginning. We have a clean slate just waiting for us to reach out and make our mark. Or so it seems. At some point, however, we come to realize that turning a page on a calendar doesn't really change our lives. The problems that were there the year before don't magically disappear when the clock strikes 12 midnight on New Year's Eve. It's a new year, but it's the same old us, living the same old lives.
I want a new start. I don't want "New Life Smell" sprayed on my old life; I want a real new beginning. And I know where to find it. The apostle Paul wrote: "
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (
2 Corinthians 5:17). In another letter, he told the Christians in Rome: "
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (
Romans 6:4). God doesn't merely spray a new smell on an old life. He lets us be born again, giving us a completely new life. The old has passed away; the new has come.
Those of us who are already in Christ can also get that new beginning. The apostle John wrote: "
If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (
1 John 1:7). Jesus purifies me, wipes the slate clean, forgives my sin and lets me start all over. Continually. As long as I stay in contact with him.
This is the time of year when people wish one another a happy new year. Instead of that, I'd like to wish you a happy new life, new life in Christ.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
I Want Christmas Year Round
12/22/2008
We love Christmas at our house. We always have. Our children learned to love it too. They are both married with children of their own and it is a big deal in both of their homes. We decorate like crazy: outside lights all over the trees and house, big tree inside, decorations everywhere. We can’t wait for cold weather, crackling fires, and driving the neighborhoods to look at lights. We cherish the memories of Christmas past, remembering the times when the kids were young.
But what really makes Christmas special are other things ... especially the spirit of giving and sharing at Christmas. We love the time we get to spend with friends and family. It is exciting to see the new additions every year ... babies, in-laws and new friends. Much of our Christmas time centers on eating together. We feast, we laugh, we tell stories, and we love being together. People think about Jesus at Christmas and I like that. I wish I could have Christmas all year round.
Which is why being part of a church family is perfect for me. Christianity is based on giving and sharing. God gave his Son to make us part of his family, and we share that good news with as many people as we can. We think about Jesus all the time. We gather around a meal every week, tell stories and celebrate together. We get to see new members join our church family. We love being together.
I do have Christmas all year round. So can you.
~Steve Ridgell
“Fantasy” Jesus vs. “Real” Jesus
12/15/2008
Each year during the holiday season we witness nativity scenes dotted around our cities and towns. Perhaps because of the familiarity of the depiction of the birth of the Savior we fail to focus on just what an impact it had on the lives of all mankind. To many people, it is simply a story, a reason to gather with family, the depiction of a baby lying in a manger. To know the real Jesus, our minds must take Him out of the manger and see Him as a man, yet deity; a King who came to show us how to live; a Savior who came to seek and save the lost.
Jesus was God come to earth. He came as a baby, and grew to be a man, one with power and authority. He came with a gentle, loving, and forgiving heart. Because of this, our culture has created a Jesus who is a “love only” Jesus. This “fantasy” Jesus overlooks all sin and never condemns. Yes, Jesus is gentle and loving—so loving that He calls us to Him and condemns sin to bring joy into our lives. Sin, with all its promise of glitter and glamour, ultimately brings misery as we yield ourselves to it. The story of Jesus is more than just a story of a baby born long ago in a faraway place, to bring the offer of forgiveness. It is the story of a Jesus who longs to be your Lord. He offers grace and mercy. He demands loyalty in return.
This same Jesus who was born long ago to bring salvation to those who seek Him and follow His leading still lives today. He has the power to transform your life.
Are you seeking to know the “real” Jesus? Do you long for the transformation in your life that comes by following Him?
~Kay Talley
Peace Like a River
12/8/2008
"Saved alone. What shall I do?" Those were the chilling words Horatio Spafford read in the telegram from his wife. It was November, 1873. Anna Spafford had been traveling to Europe with the four Spafford children; Mr. Spafford was to join them later. The ship the family was traveling on, the
Ville du Havre, was rammed by a British iron sailing ship, the
Lockhearn. Mrs. Spafford was rescued by the
Lockhearn, but the four children were taken by the waves.
Mr. Spafford was a prosperous lawyer and real estate developer in Chicago until his fortunes were reduced to ashes by the Great Fire of 1871. Still reeling from that financial disaster, now Spafford faced an even greater crisis. He was a man of faith, but these were times that would try even the greatest saint.
Making the Atlantic crossing to join his wife, Spafford was shown the location of the wreck that had cost him his children. Reflecting on that moment, he wrote his wife's half-sister saying "On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the waters three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs."
During the crossing, Spafford sat and wrote the words to one of the best-loved songs of all times. The first verse reads:
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot
Thou hast taught me to say
"It is well with my soul."
It's an amazing story. Most of us would have trouble reacting in such a way. When faced with loss, when dealing with grief, the common reaction is to fall back on self-pity. What enabled Spafford to respond as he did? Faith. Spafford believed that death was not the end for his dear children. He believed that the grave was a stopping point, not a destination. To him, his children lay, not beneath the cold waters, but folded safe in the arms of Jesus.
Without God, such hope is not possible. Without God, death is the end. But God has overcome death, through the history-changing resurrection of his son. We can read in the New Testament: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
Do you have this hope? Do you share this faith? If not, let me tell you about the God that can fill you with peace in the most trying of times, that can trace a path of hope through the darkest hour.
Back to Basics Church...
12/1/2008
I want to find a church like this:
The building committee approves the building of a stable instead of a multi-million dollar edifice. I know you can’t have much of a crowd in a stable, but I like the idea of simple and functional as opposed to grand and expensive.
Animals are allowed in the building. Maybe that is not really practical, but it would be great to be in a church that dealt with real life and not just “church” life.
The message is about good news of great joy. It seems to me that is what most people I know are looking for: a life of joy.
Farmers and intellectuals worship together. I believe people everywhere are pretty much the same. We generally need and want the same things. I want a church where people of every race, economic status, or profession are welcome.
It started out like that you know. Church is really about a simple message. God’s son came to earth and lived among us. He was born in a stable among real animals. He lived a real life.
That’s the good news: that God wanted us to be in a relationship with him so much that he let His son leave heaven and come to earth to make that relationship possible. For everyone that wants it.
It is not complicated. It is not elaborate. It is good news of great joy. Do not be confused by the church pomp and circumstance you see this time of year. Do not let the competing message of the world’s view of Christmas hide Jesus, who came to earth to find you.
So how did he find you? Why does it seem so difficult to find him today?
steve
“Over the River and Through the Woods”
11/24/2008
“Over the river and through the woods to ‘Aunt Patty’s’ house we go.” Well, that’s how it would be sung at my house. For 38 years they ALL have come to Aunt Patty’s house for Thanksgiving, not Aunt Patty and Uncle Bill’s house, just Aunt Patty’s house.
There have always been three generations who gather, including in-laws and out-laws. I’m not sure some of the attendees would know how to cook turkey, prepare stuffing or get enough ice unless my wife, the aforementioned Aunt Patty, didn’t do it.
Thanksgiving dinner takes place around 1 pm with the adult table and the kid’s table. Then the late afternoon has football games or my nap. Leftovers are available from 6 pm to bedtime with the evening centered around some games that most of the family participates in while coordinating the strategy for who is to be at which store before the sun rises and the world starts to turn the next morning.
Each year the faces change, depending on whose family gets the kids for the holiday this year, but even for an old codger like me, what I enjoy most is simply having my family close enough to hear their laughter, see their smile, feel their warmth.
I envision heaven being something like Thanksgiving at Aunt Patty’s house.
All of the “relatives” gathering in one place, telling stories of the way things used to be, new faces each year, hearing the laughter, seeing the smiles, feeling the warmth. ALL of us in the presence of God- Almighty, His Son- Emanuel, His Spirit- the Comforter. But no one goes home, Thanksgiving never stops.
Yep, just like at Aunt Patty’s house, because they’ll all be back for Christmas!
Who will be at your Thanksgiving dinner this year or what is keeping you from having that dinner? If you get to heaven, for some don’t think they will get there, who would be at your gathering there?
~Bill Brant
Steps to Hope
11/17/2008
When we began to work on the website
HopeForLife.org, we sat down and talked about what we believe about hope. We decided that we could best communicate our thoughts about hope with the idea of four stages of hope, four steps along the road of having a life with meaning in purpose.
I believe that the first thing we must accept is that hope exists. There is hope. Before we can decide what to believe in, we need to understand that there is something to believe in. Some people look at the world and dismiss hope, choosing to focus on chance and coincidence, chaos and disorder. I've seen enough to know that they are wrong. There is hope. It exists. It can be found. It can be embraced.
I believe that hope is in God. Many of those who have given up on finding hope have done so because they spent their time looking to the wrong things. People place their hope in other people, only to be let down. They place their faith in wealth and possessions, only to have that faith shaken by economic turmoil. Others look to science, but find that the hope science offers is short-term, not reaching beyond the limits of this world. Only God can offer hope for this life by offering a promise of another life to come.
I believe that God offers hope through his son Jesus. There aren't multiple paths to God; there is only Jesus who proclaimed himself to be "
the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Jesus offers us the way to overcome the things in our life that separate us from God. He doesn't just ask us to live right; he makes it possible for us to do just that. He brings us the hope of mercy and forgiveness, rather than judgment.
I believe that each of us can share in that life of hope. We can come to God in obedient faith, placing our hope in him and becoming part of a large community of people who have chosen his way of life.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
No Pain...No Gain
11/10/2008
I am so sore I can hardly move. It sounded so good when I first heard about it. I could lose weight, feel good, and look better. All I had to do was show up a couple of times a week for a new class at the gym. My wife had gone a few times and loved it. And if my sweet wife could do it, just how tough could this class be. They gave me a bar with such small weights on it that I could hold it with one hand. I should have suspected something when the instructor began to scream “no pain, no gain”.
After the first class, my wife had to help me to the car. By the next day, I was so sore I could hardly move. What happened? I heard all about how good it was, but I don’t remember hearing about the cost. Actually, to be fair, I do remember my wife mentioning that it was a real workout, and that I would have to commit to sticking with it. I just ignored the part about effort, pain, sacrifice, and endurance. All I heard was feel good, look good, and lose weight.
That is exactly how some people try to convince you to follow Jesus. They talk so much about the blessings of Christianity that we do not hear the real message. It is as if becoming a Christian will make you healthy, wealthy, and wise. That is not what Jesus ever said. He spoke of narrow, hard roads. He spoke of denying oneself, of being crucified with him, and of following him. He owned nothing, most people rejected him, and then they executed him like a common criminal.
Yet he lived a life of contentment, purpose, and peace. Then he rose from the dead. And he lives forever. He promises me the same. My life has peace, purpose, joy, and hope. It is not easy, but it is worth it. Even the pain of my life finds meaning and purpose in following Jesus. It takes a real commitment to follow Jesus. Sharing in his pain really does become my gain.
So is it worth it to you? Is it realistic to ask people to embrace the hard road and the difficult path? What keeps us from the life of true discipleship?
Steve
Far From Home
11/3/2008
Do you ever feel out of place? Like you just don’t belong? Maybe when you’re visiting with a group of acquaintances, and you just can’t seem to relate to them. Or in the midst of an evening out with some of your best friends, and you just can’t help but wonder if there’s something more. You might have even felt it in the company of your own family during a holiday gathering.
Have you been there? You don’t have to be a black sheep to feel this way. In fact, I imagine most sheep, despite their color, feel this way from time to time. A good deal of this experience can be accredited to the fact that we simply aren’t at home in this world. We just don’t belong.
Peter, a follower of Jesus Christ, wrote “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).
You see, followers of Christ are anticipating something more, something wonderful. We’re aching for a better life! We press on in this world even though we feel out of place. We have every thing to live for because Jesus gives us hope, life in him and a future in heaven!
Jesus has changed my life, and I have found community with others who are living changed lives with hope and purpose.
~Wesley Shutt
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