The Unleashed Are Made in the Furnace

Where I grew up, there was only one sport people really played–basketball. We played it, watched it, talked about it, and lived it. And the best thing for all of us was that we grew up when the NBA was in its prime.  My early years were dominated by the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson clashes, but that was just the prelude to probably the best player of all time–Michael Jordan. He changed everything!
 
For a kid that loved basketball, I think the word I am searching for to describe Michael Jordan was “magical” (kinda feminine, but I was in junior high). All of us wanted to be “like Mike,” as the Gatorade commercial went. Everyone used to wear bun hugging shorts, but Mike freed us from that nonsense and introduced us to baggy ones. Our socks went from tube socks that were pulled up to our knees, to ones scrunched down to our shoes. And we no longer wore Converse or Adidas; we wore Nike, specifically Air Jordan’s. None of us could dribble with our tongue in our mouths anymore because Mike¹s wasn¹t.  And suddenly all of us thought we could jump like Mike so we wore wristbands on our forearms to protect ourselves from the rim.
 
Everyone wanted to be like Mike, but the mistake we made was to think that if we wore the right clothes and equipment, or if we took on his mannerisms, that somehow we would be like Mike. The problem with this, however, is that we missed the fact that this is not how Michael Jordan became “Air Jordan.” We wanted to be like him, but we didn’t want to work hard in the same way that made him into the greatest player of all time.
 
Sometimes, I think Christians operate the same way in regards to being like Jesus. If you were to ask most Christians if they want to be like Jesus, the answer would be, “Of course!” If you asked them if they wanted to walk in the steps of Jesus, however, the answer would probably be, “No.” We want to look like him, but if it means pain or discomfort, we are always looking for another way. The problem is that there is no other way.
 
The writer of Hebrews made sure that we understand that those truly of the faith will suffer, but most important is that they will endure or hold on. This process not only proves our faith (1 Pet. 1:6-7), but it also starts to make us more and more like Jesus.
 
The apostle Paul put it like this for the Romans, “we rejoice in
our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character” (5:3-4). That word “character” was used during Paul’s day to speak of proof or approval. They used it specifically of refining silver. The silversmith would heat the silver
ore until it melted, and to the surface would come the dross or impurities. He would scrape the dross from the top, let the metal
cool, and then look for his reflection in the silver. He would do this over and over until he could see his face in the metal. Silver that most accurately reflected his face was the most approved or had the highest character.
 
This is exactly what God is doing in our lives. In life he is allowing the heat to get turned up, and when it does, to the surface always comes impurity and sin! The major issue, however, is not working harder, but trusting the work of the gospel more in your life. Faith!

SLAVERY/HUMAN TRAFFICKING

I wanted to remind you of the verses we looked at on Sunday.  

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25

My prayer is that Sunday’s service “stirred” you to do more than nod your head. I often hear messages and get distracted before applying them. In case you have similar struggles, I thought I’d give you a reminder to “do” something. Hopefully you’ve been pursuing “love and good deeds.” I hope you’ve been gathering with others in your community in order to stir them up. We all need reminders and enCOURAGEment.

I’m listing a few websites below. These are some different Christian organizations that have done good work in the area of slavery/human trafficking. There may be ways that you or your community would want to get involved. Cornerstone has partnered financially with some of these groups, so know that some of the money you’ve given to Cornerstone has gone toward their ministries. Be encouraged.

www.notforsalecampaign.org
www.lifeimpactintl.org
www.tradeasone.com
www.childrenshungerfund.org
www.love146.org
www.ijm.org
http://www.gozoe.org

I recognize that the Lord puts different burdens on each of our hearts. I don’t expect everyone to be as passionate about freeing children as I am. I want each person to pursue wholeheartedly whatever it is that the Lord has laid on your heart. You were created with a purpose, and filled with His Spirit. I realize these are tough times for many, but God is calling us to do more than survive. Be courageous.

“Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Hebrews 10:37-39

In faith,
Francis

Not a Faith by Works, but a Faith Unleashed!

I grew up most of my life on a farm and a ranch in southeastern Wyoming right next to the Nebraska border. Wintertime was spent in a larger town, but come spring, we were prepping for calves to be born and wheat to be harvested.
 
My hero growing up was my dad. He was the total cowboy. He roped calves, broke horses, and I think he chewed manure instead of tobacco he was so tough. In my head as a little boy, he was the Lone Ranger without the mask. I literally believed my dad could do anything, and it used to freak my mom out!
 
One of our favorite ways to get a rise out of my mom was for me to jump to my dad from the ladder of his combine during harvest season. Every year I would try to jump from a higher and higher step. And as I increased in the height, my mom quit watching. The reason I would do it (besides the joy of seeing the horror on my mom’s face), was because underneath me I would hear my dad say, “Jump! Daddy has you.” And I knew he did.
 
That is the concept of faith and that is one of the major premises of the entire Bible. It is loaded with stories of God saying to his people, “Jump! Daddy has you.” To Noah, God asked him to build a boat.
To Abraham, the father of the faithful, God told him to move to a land and expect a son (only to be told to sacrifice him a few years later). Moses was asked to confront the leader of the then known world and take Abraham’s offspring back to the Promised Land. And the list goes on and on, but to all of them God said the same thing: “Jump! Daddy has you.”
 
This is what James was talking about in the letter he wrote to
the Jews dispersed all over the Roman Empire. At the very heart
of his letter, James proclaimed to a group of beaten up people,
“Its okay. Jump! Daddy has you.” James knew they were struggling trusting God.
 
In the first chapter of his letter he wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (v.17). When talking about “variation” and “shadow,” he was using the idea of a candle. If you have ever seen the shadow that a candle casts, then you know that it dances all over the wall. The light that a candle puts off is unstable and unreliable. When he calls God the “Father of lights,” however, he means he is like the sun in the room. You won’t find an erratic or wavering shadow, but instead, no matter what the situation, you can TRUST him!
 
That is why James could write, “You see, faith (TRUST) by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless”
(James 2:17). My trust in my dad didn’t become faith until I jumped. And if all we are is a bunch of people who say, “God can,” but we never trust him, then we really don’t have faith. God desires to show himself off to the world through people who really believe and live like he has us.
 
Will God ask you to jump?  He will and in ways that will seem much scarier than me jumping off the top stair of my dad’s combine. Will it seem “crazy?” It will only to people who don¹t know your Father in heaven, a “Father of lights.”

The Faith Life Should Look Crazy!

In our culture, nobody wants to look crazy. “Crazy” people tend to stick out because what they are doing makes no sense. Obviously, if you asked them, they would say that what they are doing has a very reasonable purpose, but when you hear the purpose you generally roll your eyes and shake your head (at least on the inside).
 
For several years I lived in Los Angeles, a safe haven for crazies.
I worked at a Starbucks next to a busy freeway, and underneath that freeway some of the most bizarre people I have ever seen would hangout there. One lady in particular (we called her “Dancing Lady”), used to dance on one side of the street from one stoplight to the next, passing under the freeway, cross the street at the light, dance back under the freeway to the same stoplight she just left, and cross the street only to start all over again. She would do this all day! None of us, however, had the guts to ask her why.
 
Another guy, we called “Four Guy,” used to stand underneath the same freeway holding up four fingers while staring at oncoming traffic. We never figured out why the number four was so important to him, but when “Dancing Lady” and he were “workin’ it” on the same day, it was quite interesting.
 
I bring up these stories because I truly believe that many Christians are afraid to authentically live like Christ calls us to live because we know we will look crazy to others. Think about itŠhow many people walked away from Jesus during his ministry on the earth because his call was too “crazy?” When you read the Gospels, it is shocking how many times people heard what it meant to follow Jesus, but when they saw the cost they knew it was too great. To stick with the theme,
it was crazy!
 
Probably more important, however, is that they didn¹t see what Christ offered as more valuable than what they could get out of this world; the value didn¹t outweigh the cost. When they looked at their money, possessions, families, pursuits, desires, and goals, they loved what this world had to offer, and therefore the thought of foregoing them was stupid.
 
To people then and now, Jesus proclaims: 
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:44-46).
 
Why did he say this? Because if you don¹t believe that following Jesus how he asks you to follow him is worth it, eventually you too will walk away like so many have before you. Following Jesus is the freest and most wonderful gift ever (Eph. 2:8-9), but it the freest gift that will cost you everything (Mark 8:35; Luke 14:25-35)! It is free because you could never earn this relationship with Jesus, but costly because following him will require you to walk the same grueling and “crazy” path that he did (Matt. 10:24-25; Heb. 13:12-24; 1 John 2:6).

DON QUIXOTE CHRISTIANS

Today I read the following by Russell Moore from a sermon he preached SERMON
 
“Satan does not mind family values–as long as what you ultimately value is the family. Satan does not mind social justice–as long as you see justice as most importantly social. Satan does not tremble at a Christian worldview. He will let you have a Christian worldview as long as your ultimate goal is viewing the world.”
 
How true!!! Satan is so crafty in regards to masking the purpose and plan of God, and sadly we Christians become willing accomplices to doing nothing in regards to advancing his kingdom. We get sold on “worthy” issues like family values or social justice, and soon these means (as well intentioned as we might be) become the end. Without meaning to, we become Don Quixote charging windmills that have nothing to do with the gospel.