Send It On Ahead

When we moved to Portland in 1964 the local newspaper interviewed my parents, and one question asked was where would they send us 6 kids to school?  Without knowing how, their answer was, “Holy Redeemer.”  Sure, it was a sacrifice, but it taught me something about purpose and how to be  grateful, content, and invested in others.  I’m thankful for the example of selfless living shown by my parents.   

In Matthew 6:19-20 Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”  True, Jesus is talking about our money and possessions, but on a deeper level it is a matter of the heart.  As Jesus concluded in verse 21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” we are reminded that who or whatever has our heart has our wallet.  

And if Jesus has my heart, then my purpose for what I do changes.  It becomes a natural response to my relationship with Him.  Work has greater fulfillment, peace replaces anxiety over money, and returning tithe and offerings becomes a faith partnership with Jesus that I know will bless someone, somewhere for eternity.  Why does Jesus have my heart?  Because I know He supplies all my needs and I am grateful to know He loves me, forgives me, saves me, places me in right standing with God the Father, and I am a new creation, an overcomer, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

The result:  I send what He asks me, ahead in ways that will bring further results for eternity.  Money?… Why not?  Possessions?...sure.  Time?...of course.  Talents?...naturally.  I send whatever He asks on ahead so that the good news of Jesus’ love and salvation can be preached in word and action.  Just like someone sent it on ahead for me…and you.  

May God bless you as you send it on ahead for Him.

-Pastor Jim

Don’t let greed give you a hollow pie

 I remember a familiar “Uncle Arthur,” story about a hollow pie.  Greedy for the biggest and best of everything, young Robert finally learned his lesson when, at his Aunt’s home for dinner, it came time for dessert.  As usual, Robert went for the biggest and best desserts only to find great disappointment.  Knowing his greedy habit, the best looking desserts had been doctored to be the worst tasting.  By the end of the story, we find Robert deciding greed has its consequences.

As humans with our fallen nature, we all are naturally bent towards selfishness, which leads to greed.  “Bigger,” “better,” “more,” the advertisements and books abound telling us that we can’t be content unless we have it all.  I’ve bought that lie more than once, and like the hollow pie, there is always an empty disappointment down the road.  

What is the cure?  Well, it certainly isn’t more of the same.  And it isn’t solved simply by giving everything away.   Without a change of thinking we will just collect stuff again.  Instead, the solution is found when we come to a place where we realize God is enough for us.  The counsel in Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us that God is responsible for all our talents, achievements, and material blessings.  When we forget that, we are left with self as the reason for what we do or don’t have.  This causes us to measure our worth by the world’s standards, and our motivation for doing more and getting more is so we can feel better about ourselves.   

God’s desire for us is that we find our worth in Him.  Throughout history Jesus has demonstrated that He wants to be our, “enough,” by the multitude of blessings He provides.  Enough provision, enough protection, enough deliverance, enough mercy, enough joy, enough peace, enough hope, enough love.  Jesus said, “ For God so loved the world (He sees value in us), that He gave His one and only Son (God’s provision), that whoever (that’s us) believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  To prove what He meant, He died our unrighteous death, and His resurrection gave us His righteous life and it’s available to anyone who trusts Him as enough.  May we all find our contentment in the riches of Christ, knowing He is enough for us.

 -Pastor Jim

Owners or Stewards?

One teaching in scripture is that God owns all things. Here are a few examples: In Job 41:11, God says: “Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.” In Exodus 19:15, God said to Moses, “All the earth is mine.” And Psalm 24:1 proclaims, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof.” These are just a few scriptures proclaiming that God is the owner of all things.

Well, what does that make us? Scripture teaches that while God owns all things, he also gives all things. He gave life to Adam and Eve, he gave them a garden, he gave them the command to have dominion and rule. God gave Adam and Eve, and all of humanity, stewardship over his resources. This means that ultimately, we are stewards of all that God has given us.

Many may find this idea troubling, after all, being an owner is a good feeling. We are proud of the things we own: land, homes, cars, clothes, etc. But, when we start to change our mindset from ownership to stewardship, we start to see our resources, not as things to progress our kingdom, but as things to progress God’s kingdom.

So, to end, here are a few questions to ponder this week:

1. Have you primarily viewed yourself as an owner or a steward?

2. How can you use your resources to advance God’s kingdom?

3. What can you do this week to live as a steward of all that God has given you?

Blessings to you this week, as you live life as God’s steward.

-Pastor Evan

Uh-mazing or Ah-mazing?

This past week we finished our "Foundations of our Faith - Why I Am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian" sermon series.  Our concluding sermon included the communion service because our final message was how the Seventh-day Adventist church follows Jesus and therefore values service.  I am a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church because of the amazing service so many church members rendered to me throughout my time in SDA schools.  So many servants gave in so many wonderful ways that truly touched my heart to the point I gave my heart to Jesus Christ to be the Lord and Savior of my life.  Those who were serving to help me, connected with me and connected me to Jesus.

Service is a spiritual discipline.  It's easy to think about service and think "Yeah, it's uh-mazing," you know, like we know it's supposed to be great but we don't connect with it on a heart level.  Service, however, like all discipline, reveals it's worth the effort in every way!  There is no more rewarding work than to know we have helped someone and connected them closer to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Galatians 6:8-9 says, "Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  In other words, the Bible is telling us God will prove to us that serving others truly is "ah-mazing" because one day soon we will all say, "Aha!" at the incredible harvest that will make everything worthwhile.

May God bless our Meadow Glade Seventh-day Adventist Church family to ever appreciate growing as servants of our Savior Jesus Christ.

- Pastor Michael Brackett

Higher Education

Here at the close of the school year I can't help but praise God for another year of learning on this campus! Learning is such a beautiful part of the Christian experience. Our God is ever wanting to teach us so we can grow in His ways every day and forevermore.

Isaiah 27:5-6 says, "'Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.'  In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit."

A life joined to God begins a process much like the beautiful unfolding of a blossoming flower. The giving of one's heart to God brings the fresh aroma of real peace.  And peace is not the only gift God gives!  Real growth and ongoing transformation become a constant, daily experience!  Where a person starts is dramatically different than where a person is today, when a person has a relationship with the Almighty.

Father in Heaven, you gave Jacob a new name (Israel) and completely rewrote his history. Thank you for doing the same for us!  Please continue to unfold Your flowering gifts to us so the world will feast on the sweet fruits of lives that remain humbled before Your awesome, transformative power. Thank You for providing us with a beautiful, unfolding, and ever-higher education.

-Pastor Michael Brackett

A Fuller Picture of Jesus

As a child, I knew the titles of my parent's professions but didn’t know exactly what they did. Sure my mother was a nurse, but what exactly do nurses do? Yes, my father was a funeral director, but what does that look like? I knew their job titles, but everything else was very abstract.

 That all changed when I got to visit my parent's workspaces. One time my mom showed me her unit and introduced me to the nursing staff. Another day, my father showed me his office and introduced me to the staff he worked with. Suddenly, what they did each day became more concrete in my mind, and their jobs and lives became more meaningful. My mom was not just a “nurse”; each day was serving and helping newborn babies and first-time mothers. My dad was not just a “funeral director” but sat with families in the middle of their loss and grief. Seeing their workspace, gave me a fuller picture of who they were, and what they did each day.

In a sense, the book of Hebrews invites us into Jesus’ workspace. Hebrews takes us into the heavenly sanctuary and shows us what Jesus does daily. Hebrews 8:1-3 says: “We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary…” What is Jesus doing? He is serving and ministering on our behalf. This means that Jesus is not just someone who did something in the past but is someone who is doing something today.

If your world is turned upside down right now, know this: Jesus is actively ministering on your behalf. He is actively doing his part to bring his kingdom to our broken world. This is our God. Our God who laid down his life for us in the past, and who is presently ministering on our behalf.

-Pastor Evan Davies

What is Your Faith Based On?

Text:

2 Corinthians 13:5 - Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

What does it mean to be in the faith? Faith is used to describe a person’s set of statements of  belief. The Christian faith is obviously ideas of belief that Jesus taught. But more specifically, are the teachings themselves our foundation? Or is Jesus our foundation by which our beliefs are descriptions of Jesus and what we understand him to be?

One day, when I was around 14, an adult friend and I were going door-to-door witnessing about Jesus. We were also making friends. At one point, that Sabbath afternoon, my friend got involved with some other folks he had known from before and I was getting board waiting to continue our visiting door-to-door. So I went on by myself.

The first door I came to, I met a young man who was a teacher at the local public school. He invited me in and asked me, how do I accept Jesus into my heart. I was scared to know how to answer him. But I sent up a prayer and God gave me the perfect passage to share with him. It was John 3. I began reading the story of Nicodemus to him. And God gave me the words to say for explaining the meaning of the story. The doctrine of Salvation was about experiencing the new birth and becoming a new person in Jesus. At the end of our study, he said he wanted to give his heart to Christ, and I, without any training in how to lead someone to Christ, God led to pray the prayer of surrender and He received Jesus into his life that day. Jesus was the center of that study. He was the One who would be lifted up from the earth on a cross, and all would be drawn to him for their salvation.

I would like to propose that unless our beliefs and teachings are centered in Christ, they are empty of power to change us, or to draw others to Him. I’m so thankful that through some very challenging times in my life, I rediscovered Jesus was the center of our beliefs as Seventh-day Adventist Christians. This perspective helped me not only love God more deeply, but it gave me greater confidence in God’s leading in my life.

In our verse above, we are told test ourselves regarding how well we are rooted in our belief in Jesus and his Word. For some this process may be confusing, and for others it may be easy. The one thing the verse reminds of is that Jesus Christ is in us. If Jesus is in us, we pass the test, because a believing faith in Jesus, is having a relationship with Him through Prayer, Bible Study, and Sharing with others the faith we are experiencing with Him.

Here are some questions that can be helpful in evaluating your faith and trust in Jesus:

1.      What place does Jesus have in your everyday life? Do you think of him when facing a difficult decision or are experiencing some discouraging life challenges?

a.       If you’re not in the habit of reaching out to him for help. I have found it helpful to getting a book of Bible promises that can give you God’s Word of hope in that situation.

2.      Take time every day to read a portion of the Bible. God’s Word is the how we learn about him.

a.       Sections of the Bible are better for this kind of devotional Bible study, such as the Psalms, and the Gospels.

3.      If you are finding it difficult to understand a passage of scripture or a doctrinal teaching, try to see how it would relate to a picture of God or Jesus.

a.       Don’t give up on searching for ways it could give you a better picture of God.

b.      Read some commentaries or books that are covering the topic which might help you understand it better. Don’t neglect to read what Ellen White may have said about the passage or teaching.

c.       Join a small group Bible study where you might ask questions about what others may have discovered from the passage or teaching for themselves.

4.      And finally, keep it as a matter of prayer, remembering that God’s timing is always perfect in revealing new perspectives that will open up your mind to a new understanding of truth to you.

When a came through a time when I was questioning my faith, I learned that God was with me through that challenging time. And I discovered new perspectives of understanding that made me love Jesus more and love our message more. I hope you will discover Jesus in your beliefs and in your relationship with God.

-Pastor Ben Moor