The Well Church of the Nazarene

Through the life of Jacob we see the difference between religion and relationship. In his dream, Jacob didn't climb a "stairway to heaven" to get to God, God descended the ladder to get to him--to us. Whereas the goal of religion is heaven, there's a significant shift in our lives when our goal becomes relationship through Jesus, by His grace. 

Our words have the power to build up or to tear down. Every word that has been spoken to us and that we speak to others puts into motion actions that impact our lives--whether that's words of praise and affirmation or those that are discouraging and condemning. The need for blessing is found in each of us. We were created for relationship with God and to live in his favor. We need what we don't deserve--grace! 

Baggage--we all have it and we all carry it. The baggage we carry weighs down our relationships with others--family and friends, co-workers and neighbors. Our baggage gets in the way of an honest walk with God, ruins marriages, and ends friendships. BUT…there is good news for those who are weary of carrying their baggage everywhere they go.

Chloe shares her testimony and journey to baptism!

Celebrating the sacrament of baptism as we dwell in the new life we have in Christ. To dwell in Him is to hunger, desire, and yearn to get rid of the "old" and embrace the life we were created to live. 

To be holy as God is holy is a call to heart purity that is best exemplified in how we love others--not in the checklists, the do's and don'ts, and the "dips."

Allowing ourselves to dwell in Him leads to a stronger presence of God in our life that brings about genuine worship--a move of God that leads us to seek that which we may be lacking. Or as Rich Villodas puts it, to ask ourselves... "Do I worship God or do I worship the experience of God?"

Last week, six of our teenagers attended Nazarene Youth Conference in Tampa Bay. Over the course of their time there, they had an opportunity to drink the water of life--to taste and and be filled to overflowing, to hear the ways God is calling them toward His  purpose! There's something stirring in our young people, and as a result, in our congregation as well.

Water was made to move. When it sits still, it gets nasty. Our teens have living water that is ready to move, and it will move with or without us. So our challenge is this--how can we, as a church, facilitate the flow of that water?

We strive to live Godly lives and to act in Godly ways, but do we actively seek to understand what God wants for us and the people in our sphere of influence? Do we want what God wants? Do we will His will in our lives?v

In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, Paul charges Christians to spread "the fragrance of the knowledge of [Jesus Christ] everywhere." For we are the "aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."

The call to holiness begins with (and is about) our relationship with God--a vertical atonement in which God draws near to us and we draw near to Him, and then its horizontal application to our everday lives. 

Whatever is inside of us is what comes out of us. If we have discontent, bitterness, hurt... that's what we'll give others. If we're drifting off course or allowing the world to fill us, that's all we'll be able to offer, because our horizontal relationship is an expression of our vertical relationship. If the vertical is out of whack, so is our witness to the world.