The apostle Paul has such astounding news for the non-Jewish believers pursuing a faithful relationship with God. He explains the mystery only made known within his generation, that Christ Jesus is the way for anyone to be reconciled to God. 
     Disciples over centuries have gained such assurance from grasping this truth - the new reality of existence that is the fruitfulness of a faith response to Christ's offer of grace to forgive and heal. Then to learn of the gift of the Holy Spirit to be present within the life of the believer inspires hope to thrive in the world.

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How does it help someone to know the gospel accounts of Jesus interacting with persons in all different circumstances of need and distress? We get a sense of his heart and how individuals experienced him. Would that help you in your approaching Jesus with your brokenness and need? In Luke 9:38-43a, we see a desperate father with no ability to help his only son, begging Jesus for help.

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     In contrast to the emphasis on publicly displaying one's basic spiritual practices, as modeled by the religious leaders, Jesus calls for reform. His call people of faith to remember prayer's purpose for our lives and our community of faith. Within this setting, Jesus gives a model prayer for disciples, now known to the Church as "the Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6:5-13).
      If you find that your pattern of prayer is not what you desire it to be, consider beginning each day with the Lord's Prayer. And each day's emphasis can be to meditate and pray in relation to a phrase provided by Jesus. 

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The March 3 message begins a new series related to a Lenten study of Maxie Dunham's "The Intercessory Life." In this opening message the focus is on moving our heart's focus from self to those broken around us. Luke's gospel recalls the event where Jesus is teaching  a crowd of seekers about His Kingdom framing for life. A few individuals show their love of a paralyzed friend combined with strength of conviction about Jesus' love and power to bring healing and wholeness to the broken in spirit and body.
Rather than be inspired to simply tell of Jesus, those friends show how love compels action to carry others into Jesus' presence to encounter Him, the Lord over life. When convinced of Jesus' goodness and power to restore and transform lives, we can focus on our part: carrying others to Jesus and trusting His gracious response to them.

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Pastor Dave shares message two of reframing our approach to the challenging experiences of life. This week we consider the remarkable tragedy and success of Joseph, son of Jacob (later called Israel). 
Then a very special sacramental moment occurs immediately at the close of the message, as a 90-something year old member joyfully renews her baptism.

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What can we do when we confront one of life's most terrifying challenges - our own "Goliaths" - and cannot see any way out? Reframing. Because of faith in Christ Jesus we have access to resources of grace and power to change our perceptions. We focus our attention on the Lord while still realistically facing life's most significant challenges.
Pastor Dave shares a principals from what is commonly known in the counseling realm as "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy." Yet he asserts the scriptures offer this same model for facing overwhelming life challenges. "When we do not see God's hand, we trust his heart."

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     The 80's pop song by the band Foreigner cries out: "I wanna know what love is!" The love of God actively given in Jesus Christ for the world brings transformation of character and behavior. The apostle John writes to the churches in his later years: "And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect...So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world" (1 John 4:17 NLT). Unless one pursues the knowledge of Jesus available in the scriptures, discernment is not really possible.
     Unless I allow the scriptures, including the words and actions of Jesus, to become authoritative for my life I am left only with my personal experience. If relying primarily on my personal experience is sufficient, then there would be no need for Jesus' sacrificial death on the Cross. 
     However, because of the gift of mercy, I can move from self-reliance to entrusting my life to the care and formation given by the Holy Spirit. This is where the wise one begins the pursuit of knowledge and discernment of truth when evaluating all the dimensions of our lives. 
 

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Peter's first letter to encourage his early church friends called them in the midst of suffering and pressure to exercise their spiritual gifts to serve one another's needs. The energy and drive called for is highly invested. The outcome of such fruitful service to one another within the body of Christ: "Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ."  But what about when we differ in perspective from our bothers and sisters in Christ that form our local church?  How can we approach such challenges with the heart of a servant of Christ?

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The apostle Paul provides an excellent life example for those young in faith in ancient Corinth. In response to questions about spiritual gifts assigned by the Holy Spirit, Paul describes the nature of the human body as a single cohesive body made up of multiple specialty parts. He likens the local church of connected disciples as a particular body of Christ in mission with their community (Corinth). He goes on to provide vital points for understanding how parts are assigned to individuals in order to carry out specific roles needed for the unified mission of love of neighbor.
In the living process of spiritual growth as disciples we are called to pursue understanding and become receptive to whatever spiritual part God determines is best for each person. At what point in your spiritual discovery are you today?

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     The 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians is one of the passages where we draw the list and descriptions of "gifts" disciples of Jesus receive from the Holy Spirit. However, when the apostle Paul is ticking off the special abilities, it is part of making his corrective point about the parameters for their use, along with the agenda of the One giving them.
     Romans 12 informs the Church of the expectation for each disciple to offer their bodily life as a kind of ongoing daily sacrifice of will and obedience. Within this way of relating to the world, the special spiritual abilities are distributed according to the loving mission purpose of the Holy Spirit. In reflecting on your own spiritual giftedness, how do you practice serving the Lord as part of the Body of Christ, the Church deployed across the world? 

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