“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
One last reflection from camp today, and this one will be short because we are hitting the road early. We have talked this week about having a pure heart that reflects God’s holiness, a humble heart that willingly acknowledges who God is, a trusting heart that is willing to seek God’s kingdom ahead of our own, and today we are talking about a willing heart that is ready to live in obedience to God’s command. This morning, though, I want to reflect for a few moments on yesterday’s topic: a merciful heart. Let’s go beyond the surface.
“So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Do you really know who God is? How well do you know Him? Do you know what His character is? Those are all questions you may answer instinctively if you’ve been around the church long enough to be programmed to answer them in a certain way, or they may prompt a bit more reflectiveness in you. I’d like you to really give it some thought today. Yesterday at camp we talked about having a trusting heart. This is a heart that has a grasp of God’s character that goes beyond the surface. There are several places in the Scriptures that call us to have this kind of a heart. Here’s one we talked about yesterday.
“But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
We love stories of prideful people getting their comeuppance while humble people receive the honor and recognition they deserve. Arrogance is a trait we instinctively reckon at when we see it brazenly on display before us. At the same time, we are naturally drawn toward people who are constantly lifting up the people around them. And this is something pretty much every major religion points to as the way things should be in one form or fashion. But this wasn’t always the case. And it isn’t quite so common of a thing to think as we might expect. Yesterday at camp, we talked about having a humble heart. Here are a few things I learned.
This week, as we continue working through the story of the church, we are taking a step with the disciples in a bit of an uncomfortable direction. Just when they thought they had really hit their stride, God called Peter to go and share the Gospel with a group of people who were the very last people in the world He expected to ever be sharing the Gospel with. Yet He obeyed, and the whole church learned a very important lesson we are still trying to learn today. Read on to find out what this is.
An Inclusive Identity
Do you know what one of the most polarizing words in modern English is? “Christian.” That word is the cause of not a little angst on the part of many people both in the church and out. There are some in the church who don’t like the title because of the cultural connotations it has come to have. In the same vein, there are a lot of folks out there who hear the word and associate a whole host of negative adjectives with it: judgmental, small-minded, exclusive, bigoted, intolerant, homophobic, unloving, uncaring, and the list goes on. Then, of course, there are the folks who wear the title like a banner and are kind of judgmental toward all those who don’t. But, have you ever wondered where the word “Christian” came from? Some of the Bible scholars in the room may know that it was not what Jesus’ followers originally called themselves. They preferred the much simpler and, frankly, more descriptive title “disciple.” So how and when did the name change start to happen? Better yet, what does it actually mean to be a Christian? I mean, if we’re honest, there are a whole lot of different kinds of people who believe and do a whole lot of different kinds of things who all claim the title as descriptive of them. A little clarity here would surely be helpful.
Last week on our journey through the story of the church, we saw what some of the fruits of our Gospel boldness can be. They weren’t particularly sweet. Persecution never is in the moment. Yet the church kept at it. They did their part while relying on God to do His. When both parts were working like they should, something pretty incredible happened. Let’s take a look at what this was in the next part of our story. Thanks for reading and sharing.
Playing a Part
In 1996 a young man named Bob was drafted out of the University of Tennessee by the Texas Rangers as the 18th pick in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. Like any person in his position he entered the Majors with boatloads of optimism. He was offered a nice signing bonus and seemed set to make a quick trip through the farm system to his eventual big league debut. He was even invited to join the U. S. Olympic team competing in Atlanta that summer. Early on in the process, however, a doctor for the team noticed in a team photo that his arm was sticking out funny. This led to some testing and it was discovered that he was missing a piece of ligament in his throwing arm. Doctors were amazed that he was even able to turn a doorknob without excruciating pain. The reaction was swift. His signing bonus was cut to 10% of the original offer and for most of the next 10 years he languished in the minors.
The Nexus 