Refocus

I absolutely love spending time in my garden. I just grow some basic fruits and vegetables, I can’t seem to keep flowers alive, but I do what I can.

One of the reasons I love to garden, is I find the Lord often speaks to me there. He has revealed many truths to me about His provision, the implantation of His word and just how amazing, miraculous, and creative He is.

And one of my favorite parables is the story in Matthew, chapter 13 — the story of the scattered seed or the seed sower. The seed being God’s word and the various types of soil it can land on, and the soil representing the conditions of our hearts.

As I was in my garden recently, I was reminded of verse 22, where it specifically talks about how the seed lands on what probably was otherwise good soil, but it ends up getting choked out. And it gets choked out by the cares and desires of the world, the illusion of riches, or various different things. To me, it gets choked out by the lies of the enemy, that’s how I interpret that.

So, as I was working in my garden recently, I felt the Lord re-remind me that I don’t just plant what’s in my garden and walk away believing in faith that it’s going to do what it supposed to do — that it’s going to produce fruit all on its own.

I have to tend to it! I have to water it, I have to make sure it’s getting enough sunlight...but I also have to monitor for things that would come to choke out the life-giving plant that I have put there.

And I have to monitor for pests, invasions and diseases on the trees or plants. So, it isn’t just something that I can blindly do and walk away from.

And isn’t that so true with the condition of our heart?

Proverbs 4:23 tells us that we need to guard our hearts above everything else, for from our hearts, flows our life.

So friends, I just want to remind you...be diligent about guarding your heart. Yes, watch what you take in — watch what you listen to, the music, the books, the movies...all of that matters. But also, monitor your thought life.

Because it’s the words spoken over us, and the words we speak to ourselves, or the words the enemy’s whispering to us, that often will plant a seed in the garden of our hearts. These seeds could try to grow alongside the promise of the Lord and choke the life out of it.

So, we have to be thinking about what we’re thinking about. And we identify any of those lies, any of those thoughts that do not come from the Lord — and like my spiritual mama taught me, you can say, I do not receive that! That is not a word from the Lord!

We don’t have to give place, and in fact, we have to identify where those weeds, those lies, might be and get those puppies out by the root!

So I hope this encourages you to monitor your hearts, think about what you’re thinking about, and let God’s word grow richly in you.

Proverbs 3:5 • Lean Not on Your Own Understanding

by Rob McKenna - Lead Pastor, The Bridge South Bay (bridgesouthbay.com)

Romans 5:1-5 • Finding Peace

by Seth McKenna - NextGen Pastor, The Bridge South Bay (Instagram.com/therealsethla)

As the shepherd parable recorded in John 10 neared its conclusion, Jesus uttered another one of the seven “I am” statements found in this Gospel. He twice identified himself as the Good shepherd and described two specific ways he fulfills that role.

In verse 11, he said he gives his life for the sheep, considering them so valuable they’re worth sacrificing himself for. And in verse 14, he said he knows them, pursuing the kind of knowledge that’s more about relationship than information. In fact, in verse 15, Jesus described this knowing as the kind he experiences with the father. And he said it’s the reason he’s moved to lay his life down for us.

In verses 12 and 13, these two characteristics of the Good shepherd are contrasted with those of a hireling – a rent-a-shepherd – one who prioritizes his own well-being over the flock’s and has no interest in developing a caring relationship with them. It’s certain the Lord meant this comparison to shine a harsh light on the self-serving “shepherding” practiced by the Pharisees, but I think he was also providing a way to identify any impostors among those who would seek to lead his people.

The Greek word translated as “shepherd” in this passage is the same word translated as “pastor” later in the New Testament and used to describe those who serve as leaders in the church. And as someone who’s had the privilege of ministering to others under that mantle for several decades now, the Lord’s example here is deeply moving to me and hits very close to home.

“Pastor” is not an honorific or a title of respect that precedes a church leader’s name. It’s not a station or position of achievement. It’s not a line item in the church budget under salaries. It’s not a sign on a door in the church office or on a reserved parking spot closest to the entrance. It’s most certainly not a career path. According to Jesus, it’s the description of someone who is so deeply invested in a relationship with God’s people that he or she is willing to live a life of sweeping personal sacrifice to support the spiritual wholeness of those in their care.

I want to make sure I never forget this exquisite definition our Lord gave. Even though all of us who take up the shepherd calling will fulfill it imperfectly, I want to keep looking to him as my example. I want to avoid any drift toward becoming part of a clergy class that’s enamored with attaining preference, celebrity, and recognition.

Even though Ephesians 4:11 tells us pastoral leaders are among the gifts Christ has given his church, verse 12 makes it clear that they’re not part of an elite group. In fact, their role is to help equip believers for their ministries. In a very real sense, every believer has been called and equipped by Jesus to shepherd those he’s placed in the circles of our influence whether it’s our family, friends, neighbors, and workmates or an entire church congregation. And we’ve been assigned to care for them in the way he cares for us.

We all need pastors like that, and we all need to become pastors like that.

So, even if what I just said scares you a little because you’re having trouble seeing yourself in that role right now, I encourage you to prayerfully welcome the Good shepherd to identify the flock he’s given you and be willing to honor him by loving and serving them sacrificially.

Micah 6:8 • What's Required of Me

by Sue Boldt - Crosspointe Ministries (sueboldt.com)

2 Corinthians 6:4-10 • Responding Well

by Noah Coombs - Pastor, Bay Church in San Francisco, CA (baychurch.org)

Psalm 23:6b • Challenge #13

by Matt Kladnik - Lead Pastor, Vintage Faith Foursquare Church in Culver City, CA (Vffchurch.com)

John 10:7-10 • The Door

The Shepherd and the Sheep (part 3)

by Randy Boldt - Crosspointe Ministries (TheJohnProject.com)

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John’s Gospel contains seven statements from Jesus that begin with, “I am.” They allow us to hear the Lord describe himself in his own words. And as the shepherd parable resumes in verses 7-10 of chapter 10, we encounter one of these self-descriptions when the Lord said, “I am the door.” And he used this image to illustrate another in the series of stark contrasts between the shepherd and the thief as he revealed the differences in their missions.

It’s obvious that Jesus cast himself as the shepherd in this story. And as the focus of his affectionate care, you and I are the sheep. But the metaphor of the thief is applied more broadly. It certainly includes the Pharisees and other Jewish religious leaders in the crowd he was addressing. But it also clearly points beyond them to anything or anyone opposed to the sheep, and by direct implication, refers to the devil, the enemy of God’s loving purposes for people.

Jesus said the thief’s strategy is to steal – attempt to plunder everything of God’s good intentions for us; to kill – deceive us into offering ourselves to be sacrificed to false gods such as materialism, pleasure, and power; and to destroy – not only extinguish our lives but scar them beyond recognition.

In contrast, Jesus said his mission is to give us life. And the Greek word translated here is extremely significant. It’s the word the New Testament uses for the kind of life God has. Jesus was plainly stating that he came to offer us something far more than just an extension or enhancement to the biological life we already have. His purpose is to escort us into the power-filled life of the spirit, and not just some limited, modified, or throttled version. He said he came to give it excessively, extravagantly, abundantly.

And that’s why viewing Jesus as a very specific kind of door is important. Counterintuitively, He identified himself as the door that provides safety by being open not closed.

As I record this, the whole world has been shut down for a few months due to a global pandemic. As a protection against a deadly virus, people everywhere have been confined to their homes, and we’re all starting to go a little stir-crazy. In fact, substance abuse, domestic violence, and suicides are up because living in fear behind a locked door isn’t healthy.

And contrary to what many think, the life Jesus offers is not one of confinement focused on keeping the thief out. It’s really the opposite of that. The Lord’s power to overcome any threat to us is so great that it renders that threat irrelevant. As a result, he’s able to offer us a life of true freedom unencumbered by the weight of fear so that we can come and go without concern.

This is not a denial of the very real and sinister strategy of the thief. It’s a description of a life so abundant with the riches of the shepherd’s love and power that the possibility of experiencing harm while in his care is simply meaningless.

He’s the open door swinging out as an invitation to explore the rich pastures of his limitless grace and swinging in to welcome us home to the comfort of the fold all within the security of his abiding presence. And offering that kind of life is why he came.

So, let him unlock the constraints of any fear that has imprisoned you in a small and stifled space. He wants to introduce you to life abundant.

Psalm 23:6a • Challenge #12

by Matt Kladnik - Lead Pastor, Vintage Faith Foursquare Church in Culver City, CA (Vffchurch.com)