Don't Panic

A favorite sci-fi story is “The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy,” originally a BBC radio broadcast. On the cover of the book featured in the story are the words “Don’t Panic.”  Of course the entire story is filled with scenes in which panicking would be the natural response, and the comedy is in how the characters deal with the absurd adventures.

If I were to write a book about 2020, I’d put those same words on the cover - “Don’t Panic.” I certainly didn’t foresee the events that have transpired, nor could possibly imagine a year ago all of what has happened. I did not know, but God did. And the reason for not panicking is not some science fiction comedy but the reality that we serve a God that is in control. 

Psalms 60:12 declares, “Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.” With the same confidence that David sang this song, we can sing it today. Our confidence is in the mighty God we serve, and we fear no enemy. We do not fear the Covid virus, nor the media’s influence, nor the political partisan division, nor the requirements of state (whether or not we agree with them), nor the economy, nor the future. 

Romans 8:35-39 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Our victory is not determined by the state, the economy, the media, or anything that can or will happen. Our victory is ensured by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can endure all things because He already has overcome them. John 16:33 says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Join me in being CHEERFUL and GRATEFUL that we have the peace of Christ in us, and through Him we have overcome every threat in this world! 

Rooted

Last October, Micah and I took to the trail in search of father-son time and some cool pictures. We got both in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. One of our favorite spots was Chapel Rock—a place where you find a tree that seems to laugh in the face of wind and erosion.

This white pine sits atop a rock formation that is freestanding from the rest of the shoreline. The tree has these roots that shoot out across the free air and find their home in the soil on the mainland. It’s nuts! Just take a look for yourself...

Apparently there used to be an archway supporting these roots. It collapsed in the 1940s, leaving this 250-year-old tree to survive on the strength of its roots or fall into Lake Superior.

It’s a modern-day picture of what the Apostle Paul wrote about in the letter to the church in Ephesus...

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

(Ephesians 3:16-19)

Paul’s prayer for his church family is that they would be rooted and established. POWERFUL. This power comes from the love of Jesus Christ.

This passage pushes us to be powerful at a deeper level than intellectual agreement with who Christ is. It challenges us to have knowledge and faith—yes. And then to push deeper into Christ—into the place where we have learned about Him, believed in Him, and now share a relationship of love with Him.

Dear church, grasp His love with your mind. Encounter His love with your heart. And serve Him with all your strength.

There are forces in this world that would see you blown into the lake, forces that would erode the ground beneath you. But you have the power to stand the test of time. You have the opportunity to send your roots deep into a relationship with Jesus—to grab hold of his deep, rich love for you. That’s a picture worth taking!

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matt. 5:4)

Jesus does not gloss over the pain of life in this world. As I sit and write this exhortation, I feel the weight of sadness on my shoulders. As I have gone about my day with that kind of hazy moroseness that accompanies grief. Luckily, as Christians, we don’t need to be happy all the time to prove our faith. According to the Psalms, the life of faith is well acquainted with all manner of emotions: joy, peace, anger, frustration, love, hope, doubt, and fear. 

But in the midst of sorrow, we can hold fast to the promise of God’s comfort: a promise that even in the dark days we are blessed. As Christ-followers, we are those who receive divine favor. Being blessed means that we have not been forgotten, but that God the Father loves us and is with us. It is easy to think that the happy person, the rich person, or the successful person is the one that is blessed. But that is a worldly way of thinking. God says that even those who are down and out, overlooked, struggling, and sad are the ones that receive his attention and favor. Their current struggles do not keep them from the certain hope of knowing and being known by God. 

Whatever you are feeling today, don’t try to rush through it and get to “happy”. Sit in your emotions and invite in the Holy Spirit. Let him remind you that you are blessed; you are the recipient of divine favor. You are not forgotten. And whatever you are going through is not the end of the story. 

We have an eternal hope; Jesus wins. 

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” (Rev. 21:3-4)

The Zealot & the Tax Collector

The current climate in our nation has had me thinking a lot about two guys with radically different ideologies that Jesus invited to be part of his twelve disciples. First, there was Simon the Zealot. According to brittanica.com, “The Zealots were an aggressive political party whose concern for the national and religious life of the Jewish people led them to despise even Jews who sought peace and conciliation with the Roman authorities.” 

This was a group in complete opposition to Roman imperialism and anyone connected to it. “Extremists among the Zealots turned to terrorism and assassination and became known as Sicarii (“dagger men”). They frequented public places with hidden daggers to strike down persons friendly to Rome.”

Then there was Matthew the Tax Collector. Tax Collectors “were reviled by the Jews of Jesus' day because of their perceived greed and collaboration with the Roman occupiers. “Tax collectors amassed personal wealth by demanding tax payments in excess of what Rome levied and keeping the difference” (Wikipedia.com). This was Matthew through and through. Can you imagine some tense conversations in the Twelve’s travels around Galilee? Did Simon still carry a dagger hidden in his clothes?

Our current cultural polarization is not that different from that of the 1st century. Whether it is COVID, racial equality, sexual identity, conservative or liberal ideas about government, or a myriad of other contentions, we find ourselves digging into our camps and lobbing grenades at the other side. But, just as Jesus called Simon and Matthew to a better way he is calling us to a better way. Christians are those who are called to follow Jesus as peacemakers and reconcilers. 

I think there is a good chance that Matthew and Simon reconciled their differences and became peacemakers through their long conversations on the roads between ministry stops. As they got to know one another, and as they learned to surrender everything to the way of Jesus and the kingdom, they stepped into unity. They bore witness of the good news that Jesus was king, not Caesar and not Israelite nationalism. 

My prayer is that we can be a church that models this. We are all united with one another in Jesus. We all put our hope ultimately in Jesus and his kingdom. Let’s walk alongside one another: getting to know one another, praying for one another, and bearing with one another as we look forward to Jesus’ return and his setting right of this fallen, broken world.

Be the Church

About 15 years ago, I found out that there were about 260 churches in Kalamazoo county. I was working with church leaders and we were trying to build unity between churches. A group of us actually telephoned every church in our county inviting them to a leaders’ gathering. Additionally, we mailed invites and promoted it in other ways. The event was successful, but we didn’t get even close to every church participating. 

I also discovered that there are about 260,000 people living in Kalamazoo County. Wow. That means that there is potential for nearly every church to have as many as 1000 members! Of course not every church is called to be that large, and some churches are called to be much larger. But it’s the idea of so many souls not living in connection with a life giving spiritual family that grabbed my heart. 

When starting New Day Vandalia, one of the first things I did was see how many people live in Cass County. I found out that there are over 52,000 people that live within about a 20 minute drive from our church there. I’m not sure how many churches there are in Cass County, but it’s likely similar to Kalamazoo County. The BIG IDEA is that we are surrounded by thousands of people that either do not know the Father or have a genuine relationship of faith in Jesus, or they may, but are not connected in a meaningful way with a local church. 

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” The church is the only thing Jesus said He would build. In Ephesians 5:25-27 we discover what Jesus intends for His church, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” So the church, though no doubt still in the process of having our stains, wrinkles, and blemishes removed, is nevertheless the bride of Christ and the object of His affection. 

This means that every expression of the church is valuable and is intended by God to display certain characteristics of Christ. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at four aspects of being a church that we feel are ingredients that define the New Day Flavor. These are aspects we work into everything we do, and make us unique among all the churches in our region. We will look at our vision of Making Disciples & Multiplying Churches out of our Passion for Jesus, what it means to be a Presence Based Church, our Core F.I.R.E. Values, and our emphasis on Healthy Community. 

New Day is an amazing church with three distinct but interdependent congregations that all share these same ingredients. It's time to celebrate who we are and what we offer to our communities. You are New Day; you are the affection of Christ and the fruit of His labors. Let’s step up and be the church in our community!