The following questions were from a Lenten devotional I was reading today. The answers are my responses.

Why is it so hard for us to accept Christ's gift (of salvation)? 
We live in a world that shuns you if you don’t do enough. There are written and unwritten rules of this world that capture our time;  if you’re not doing something, it’s considered ‘laziness’. If you’re doing everything while neglecting yourself, family, friends, and other relationships, you’re considered ‘gifted’, ‘selfless’, and ‘worthy of promotion’. This world has little, if no, grace for those who try their best and then fail. If you fail at your job, you’re fired. If you fail in your marriage, you're forced into a divorce.Whereas when we know and proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior; that He died for us and that we are called to live for Him, we feel like our relationship with Him has the same so-called rules as the ones we have here on earth. Wrong. The relationship Christ offers is full of forgiveness. Forgivefull. We live in this world, and therefore are easily conformed to the ways of it. Our senses are overwhelmed. However, Paul tells us to fix our eyes not on what is seen (or otherwise, “sensed” by our 5 senses by what is in the world) but to fix our eyes on what is unseen [2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV] (or otherwise, we shall focus on everything that is, and of, Christ--our focus should be heavenward). 

Is this a struggle for [me]?
Since I am of this world, yes, I do feel it is a struggle for me to continually and momentously accept Christ’s gift of salvation through the cross. This world tells and shows us that if we fail in this world, we gain nothing. Christ tells us that if we fail in this world, we gain everything; if we lose our lives for Him, we will find our lives in Him alone. 

Christ calls us to lose ourselves in His sacrifice; that we learn to love as He loved us. Our lives are to be a constant sacrifice to Him. In every activity we do, we are called to honor Him. “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial…” and therefore we need to honor Him only in actions, words, and events that are holistically pleasing to Him. 

However, this world does not always approve of actions, words, and events that would be pleasing to Christ. But that shouldn’t matter. Christ is our treasure. HE. DIED. FOR. US. ALL.  “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him Who died for them and was raised again” [2 Corinthians 5:14-15].

How do we make it a non-struggle? 

My desire is to keep a constant relationship with Christ. By praying to Him; thanking Him for His sacrifice. “Pray without ceasing” [1 Thess. 5:17]. 

I desire to ask Him to reveal His Truth to His people. And “in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:” [Ph. 2:5 NIV]. 

I desire to “[g]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” [1 Thess. 5:18 NIV].And remember, Christ doesn’t look down on you if you fail. YOU. ARE. FORGIVEN. Our relationship with Christ is forgivefull; it is full of forgiveness. It is important to not become prideful of His grace, but to accept it as a gift; one that you never expected, but are overtly grateful to receive. For it is in Christ that we are saved. It is in Him through His sacrifice of love that we have the opportunity to be reconciled to God. 
Now all glory to God, Who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to Him Who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present and beyond all time! Amen.-Jude 1:24-25

Jesus says in Matthew 22, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind."  It can be easy to think that the alternative to that would be, "Not loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind."  But I think the real alternate option is, "Loving something that isn't God..."

In other words, we're all going to love something with our heart, soul, and mind.  That's just how humans are.  God created us to be devoted to Him.  So when we aren't, we get devoted to something else.  That goes as far back as the Garden of Eden.  We will always give ourselves to something.  It's just our nature.

So Jesus calls us to give that full devotion to God.  And why?  Well, of course, because we were created to do just that.  That is not only the greatest "commandment" (you must do this!) but also the greatest purpose (you were created to do this!) of life.  And it can also serve as a warning.  Devoting ourselves to some other god, some false idol, will lead us to destruction.  Anything we devote ourselves to that isn't God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, will leave us empty and disappointed.

Consider this testimony from Brian "HEAD" Welch (guitar player from the band KORN):

HEAD had everything - he was the lead guitarist of a HUGE, platinum selling band.  And he describes his god - playing in the band - letting him down and leaving him depressed.  Ultimately, he found God.

We will all be devoted to something.  But if it isn't Jesus, it will destroy us.  Commit yourself to Jesus - get to know him from discussing Jesus with your friends, read about Jesus from the Bible or other books that help you understand Him.  Seek Jesus.  Only He can save and fulfill you.

Here is a short video from International Ministries about the disaster in Haiti and the response of our denomination.  Our church gives regularly to American Baptist missions.  And every year we take up special collections for particular projects of International Ministries.  What follows is a video about the work of IM in Haiti.

Today is the beginning of Lent. As it is a season of self-denial, fasting, Christian growth, and simplicity, many people are "giving something up" in recognition of this time set aside in the church calendar/year. It is also a time of remembrance and reverence and reflection of what Christ did in the desert. He fasted 40 days and 40 nights (Matt. 4; Luke 4). Even through His many struggles during those 40 days and 40 nights, He overcame them all. Since we are called to be like Jesus in modeling Him in His words and actions, we can do that in one way by giving something up for Him. Our act of giving something up for Christ's sake, also imperfectly mirrors (at best) Christ's loving sacrifice for us; by giving His very life for us on the cross.

Grace is freely offered over to us and has been readily available since before the beginning of time (2 Tim. 1:9). I still don't understand it fully, and I may never understand it. For if I were to fully understand God's grace, I may become prideful and desire to do nothing for His glory. I desire to learn from Him, by focusing on Who He is and what He has done for us, rather than focusing on myself. But sadly, I don't always do what I want to do (Rom. 7). It is with the word "focus" that I want to continue discussing the season of Lent. 

When Jesus was in the desert, He was fasting and He was also being tempted by Satan (Matt. 4; Luke 4). The entire span of the 40 day period, Jesus was focused on God. He gave up food for the sake of the glory of God. He desired to show dedication to His Father God by fasting and keeping mind and heart full of the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:1; Luke 4:1) in His act of worship to God. 

Jesus not only gave something up for those 40 days (what we now call "Lent"), but during Lent, He was completely and utterly focused on God's Word. He quotes Scripture to Satan in response to Satan's attempts to sway Jesus to worship him instead of God The Father. When Satan tries to use Scripture against Jesus, He knows Satan's usage is out of context, and wins the battle even again. And why? Granted, Jesus is part of the Trinity, and therefore in constant reciprocating relationship with the other members, but Jesus was able to win because He was completely centered on God. Being in the Trinity helps a bit.

So for the Lenten season, it's not just what you "give up", it's also about Who you choose as your focus. If you give up chocolate, will you be doing it for the glory of God; to honor Him?  Or will you be doing it for yourself?  If you give up chocolate, you could try to see how Jesus felt when He gave up food in order to bring glory to God during those 40 days and 40 nights. In the Lenten time period when you feel like you are tempted to eat chocolate (or whatever you decide to give up; if anything at all), you could ask God to have your eyes and heart opened more to see what He wants you to see and do for His glory.

Maybe you don't decide to give something up for Lent. Rather you decide to begin a new spiritual discipline that will grow your relationship with Christ in learning more of Him and His love. Since the season of Lent is garnered from Jesus' 40 days and 40 nights in the desert being constantly tempted by Satan to do the wrong thing (the worst thing), choosing to start a new discipline--a focus on a spiritual discipline--could be a way to observe it.
Whether or not you choose to observe Lent, I pray that during these 40 days and 40 nights that you are renewed by God's transforming love, grace, and mercy. I pray that you are not overcome by evil, but that any evil you encounter; that you overcome it with good (Rom. 12:21).

When our forebearers in faith broke free from the English Monarchy/Church of England, they did so to clarify and simplify things.  It was their conviction that the unholy wedding of Church and State had compromised the faith to an unbearable level.  They separated- aptly called "Separatists"- and tried to restore a biblical understanding, practice and experience of church and faith.  By leaving much behind, they felt they were trading-up, if you will.

If you've been around First Baptist for any length of time, you probably will have noticed our attempt to keep things simple and, hopefully, biblical.  We do have traditions, in fact, many cherished ones, but we try not to let our traditions rule us.  We try to remain People of the Book.

That brings me to what I want to discuss in this article: Lent.  The Season of Lent (from Ash Wednesday through Palm Sunday- 40 days) is a very ancient observation within the Church.  Lent is designed to slowly improve our focus as we move along.   Eventually, we end up staring at the Cross, speechless before a God who loved us enough to pay the penalty for our sins Himself.  Then, if that were not enough, we stand joyfully before an empty tomb. 

It seems to me Lent is one of those traditions that is a treasure, and it shouldn't be left behind.  Further, Lent is very biblical.  In preparation for His public ministry, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days.  Lent is modelled after this episode by giving us space to prepare for salvation and new life.  The preparation ebbs and flows through simple practices like confession, thanksgiving, repentence, submission and reflection.

If you haven't guessed already, we are hoping to do a little bit more with Lent this year.  We'll be changing things a bit.  We invite you to look forward to this season and to make plans to join-in.  Here's what you can expect.

First, the church calendar will have a new Bible verse for each day of Lent.  Feel free to use these readings for a daily devotion, pray the verses, meditate on the verses throughout the day or whatever is meaningful to you.  If you miss a day or two, forget it and jump back in on the appropriate day.

Second, the Sunday School and small groups will be using lessons derived from the previous weeks Bible readings.  We are hoping this overlap will open the door to new and deeper understanding and, ultimately, life change.

Third, the worship services will be a little different.  We'll be pushing the sermons up toward the beginning of the service. The time after the sermon will be used to kind of "do" Lent.  We'll be singing more songs in the last half of the service and there will be spaces around the sanctuary for individuals to respond to God as they feel led.   

I am really looking forward to experiencing Lent with you.  May the Lord continue to do His good work in us.

Bob

One of the many books I'm reading recently is entitled, Christian Worship. In the second paragraph of the first page of his book he gives different possibilities of why some people worship God. He resolves to say that there is no "one-size-fits-all answer". Rather, people tend to:

1) worship to meet someone else's expectations
2) worship out of pure habit
3) worship in spite of--or because of--the fact that they are locked in some sort of struggle with God
4) worship because they are awestruck by a God who deserves a life of praise...and so much more.

I find it interesting that there are four ways listed. To me, these four ways could be broken up into seasons; seasons of life maybe?  

Granted, these ways have not been fully extrapolated. There are many more ways and reasons why we worship God. Spiritual disciplines are just one way to honor God, yet spiritual disciplines like an intricately-spun spider web filled with silk strings of countless ways to show love and honor and praise to God. 

One of my friends and I were talking about what God is doing in each other's lives recently. When she asked me, I said that I felt Him pushing me to be more mindful of the words I say and how I say them. The meaning counts. After the conversation, Jeremiah 29:13 kept going through my mind... "you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." 

Not half-hearted. Whole-hearted. I wonder if whole-hearted worship is the season of life I desire to always serve for God. 

Why do we worship? 
If our answer to this question results in something epitomizing half-heartedness, we may not be worshiping God with our whole heart. Prayer, solitude, service, fellowship, study, and many more spiritual disciplines are ways we can learn to give God all the glory in the lives He has so lovingly given us to live for Him. Doing these things together with a friends/accountability partner is a beautiful way to engage in fellowship. "For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am with them." --Matthew 18:20

As believers in Christ Jesus, God needs to be our foundation; not just in one area, but in everything we do. I'm learning more and more that as long as we seek Him, and give Him the glory for what He accomplishes through us, the more we honor Him as the creation He made us to be for Him.

I was running some errands today and thinking about Lent, when a new thought occurred to me.  I started thinking about delaying gratification and procrastination in some new ways that have very spiritual implications.  I decided to do a little thinking out-loud as I drove.  And thanks to the benefits of modern technology, I can share those thoughts with you in audio format (typing this out would take far too long.  I hope this makes some sense, and gives you a sense, once again, that the things we (the pastors) talk to you about, we also wrestle with ourselves.  Lent is for all of us.  I'm definitely sensing the ways in which it is for me.

The Lenten and Easter season is coming once again.  Last year during this time, I wrote and told you about my fast food addiction.  That year for Lent I gave up fast food for 40 days.  It was great.  My waist line shrank, and my appreciation for God’s provision increased.  But like anything in life, Lent just wasn’t that great because I was mostly doing it alone.  In our tradition here at Peru First Baptist, we haven’t always placed a large emphasis on Lent.

But this year is going to be different!  Don’t worry, though,  your fast food is safe.  Instead of asking you (the congregation) to fast for Lent, we’ll be encouraging you to do some different things.  We’ll be worshipping differently, studying differently, and doing special devotions.  We want to emphasize this time in the life of our congregation as a time to prepare for Easter.  We have to remind ourselves again of how desperately we need Christ in order to truly understand and celebrate the hope that Easter brings.

So here’s the plan:  For our classes in the Lenten season, we’ll be doing special Lenten studies.  These studies will have three parts –

1.)    Personal Study – It will be important during Lent that you find time to study Scripture alone or with a friend/family.  Lent is an intensely personal time for self-reflection, prayer, and listening to God.  Because of this, Kelly has developed a great calendar of daily readings for Lent.  These readings will shape the back-bone of the Lenten studies.  Reading through these in your personal time will enrich your discussions in class, as well as the depth of meaning you’ll experience in worship.

2.)    Group Discussion – The Lenten study guide will be designed to generate group discussion flowing out of the Personal Study.  This discussion is fruitful as it helps us see Scripture in ways we might have missed otherwise.  The Bible says that Christians sharpen each other like “iron sharpens iron.”  That’s what discussion is about.  If you want to get everything you can out of this time and study, please make sure to connect with a class or study group.

3.)    Living Lent – Now here’s the fun part!  After a week of study, and then discussion, you’ll be given specific, practical, and enjoyable activities to do together with your family or friends.  These activities will be designed to: help reinforce the theme of the week, drive interaction between generations, and help you invite non-Christian friends in to discussions of faith.  These activities will make Lent memorable, meaningful, and deeply enriching for friends and family alike.

I don’t know if you can tell by how I’m writing this, but I’m REALLY excited about this opportunity for our church to study, serve, and experience Lent together.  I’m smiling in a big, goofy, smile even as I write.  And here’s why – I believe that when we make space in our lives to encounter God, He shows up! 

So this Lenten season, I encourage you (even challenge you!) to participate fully in a Lenten study.  Whether this means joining a class, getting together once a week with a few friends in the church, or doing the study with your family – please plan on studying with us.

I am convinced you won’t regret it!

In Christ,

Pastor Aaron

On Tuesday nights I meet with a few of our high school guys for a kind of free-flowing discussion time about life, God, the Bible, and ethics.  Every night the guys bring topics or questions to throw in front of the group and we discuss back and forth until we're exhausted or in agreement.  It's a fun group to lead along.

This last Tuesday, one of the kids brought an interesting question.  At first it seemed almost silly, but the more I thought about it, the more "meat" there was to the idea.  The question was, "Why do we get so mad at fast food workers who mess up our orders?"

First of all, I resonated with the sentiment because I used to be a fast food worker.  I spent a LOT of my junior and senior year perfecting the art of the sandwich at Subway (really, that's what they called us - "sandwich artists").  And I remember the rude customers who often came in with demands to be met.  If you messed something up AT ALL, look out!  

And, honestly, you know what day was the worst?  Sundays.  The after church crowd was consistently the most entitled and condescending crowd we got all week.  That isn't to say that everyone who came in dressed up on Sunday afternoon was rude. Just a lot.

And I could spend a long time on why that might be.  I have theories.  But that isn't really the point.  The question is, why do we treat workers that way, and specifically, how should Christians be thinking about/treating the workers they encounter.  

Of course, the guys fell back on the old Christian-answer standard of, "Be nice."  Initial answers went something like, "You should be mad, they messed up YOUR food, but try not to take it out on the person."

But I wasn't satisfied.  In fact, I find the constant call upon Christians to "Be nice" frustrating.  It's not that I don't want followers of Jesus to be nice.  It's just that "nice" doesn't really have anything to do with the Bible.  Jesus wasn't nice, exactly.  He was loving, for sure, but I wouldn't call him nice.  He was actually really mean to the Pharisees.  And he was pretty blunt with a few people along his way.

But when I think about how Jesus interacted with strangers in the Gospels, I'm struck by something.  Everyone is a person to Jesus.  And that is not something that comes easy for me - treating people like people.

Let me explain.

When Anne and I went on our honeymoon to Maine after our wedding, Anne decided we could save money by avoiding toll roads.  So, in an ill-fated decision (in a pre-smart-phone-era) she plotted our our course through rural upstate New York.  We spent 8 hours driving up one mountain and down another.  And we'd go 200 miles without seeing anything that I'd consider a town.  

But along the way we saw an occasional person, and a house here and there.  And the entire time I was joking with Anne that these people "weren't real."  

"No one REALLY lives up here," I joked.  "These are just stand-ins to make us feel like we're in a real place."

But those WERE real people.  The children we saw playing were really growing up, making memories, and living life.  But to me, they were just characters in the funny story of our strange New York road trip.

And I think for most people, the wage workers they encounter are also just characters.  We might smile, and be nice but we don't really see a full human underneath the Subway hat.  We rarely empathize with the person bagging our groceries.  We don't always consider the stress on the drive-thru operator.

And because these people become functional, rather than actual, in our lives, if they get something wrong it is a BIG deal.  This, I told the kids, is why I think we get so mad.  If the person who makes my sandwich (who, as far as I'm usually concerned, only exists to make sandwiches) makes a mistake, why shouldn't I be angry???  And we hear it in angry customers, "THIS IS YOUR JOB!!!! HOW CAN YOU MESS THIS UP!!!!"

There is no recognition that we might be the 200th order they've had that day and they got mixed up.  Or that they might have just gotten an upsetting text message.  Or that their new baby kept them up all night.  We just see a defective sandwich robot, and we want it to work correctly.

This is what makes Jesus so amazing in passages like John 4.  When he encounters the woman at the well, there are many reasons for him to categorically dismiss her.  Or to view her functionally as someone who can provide him water.  She even expects as much.  She doesn't think Jesus should talk to her.  But he speaks with her directly.  He is not dismissively nice.  He's even somewhat confrontational at times.  But he treats this woman like a human (when likely few others were) and it TRANSFORMS her.

When we let our anger get the best of us, or even when we just pleasantly sail past people we view as "functional" we are missing something fundamental.  In every person we encounter, we see Jesus (MT 25).  In every person alive, we see the image of God (Gen. 1:26).  Kindness to strangers is not an abstract law of niceness in the Christian universe.  It flows from a fundamental understand of God, creation, and God's love for humanity.

So my question for you is this - are you treating humans like humans at work, at home, at church, and in the market place?  Do you recognize the dignity, and even imprint of divinity on those you encounter?  We cannot live the Gospel and help people find and follow Jesus if we do not.