The Father's Love

"See how great a love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are."  (1 John 3:1)

And so we are. Read that again. The Apostle John knew his place, didn't he?

Friends, do you know that you are a child of the Most High God? Do you really know that? Our Father is not content to leave us as orphans. We might feel sometimes that we have no place, but it is God's desire that we know him and call him "Abba" (my Father).

Many people say they believe in God, and maybe they do. But it is only through Jesus, the Son, that we get to call him "my Father." Scripture tells us that when we have a relationship with Jesus we are adopted into the family; we get to call Jesus' Father our Father. God loves each of us as much as he loves Jesus.

In the garden before his arrest, Jesus called his father, "Abba." Twice in the letters of St. Paul we read that the Spirit of Christ is Himself the one who cries in us, "Abba! Father!" (Rm. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6)

In this Romans 8:15 passage, Paul is pointing out the true adoption we have because of Christ.

How is that? Under Jewish law, the servants of the household were not allowed to call the head of the household "Abba." That was a term reserved for the children, both adopted and natural. Paul reminds us here that because of Jesus our relationship with God has changed! We are no longer servants in the household; we are now His children, and with that comes the joy and privilege of having access to Him and calling Him, "Abba."

I believe that when we truly GET that, our lives change; and we can say along with John, "See how great a love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are."

Blessings to you this week, brothers and sisters!

Greg

In His Image

Most of religion today is sin management.  ~Dallas Willard~

One time Jesus was approached by a group of Pharisees. They were trying to trap him to say something unlawful so they could build a case against him and have him arrested. Scripture picks up the story in Mark 12:14: They asked him, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, or should we not pay?" But knowing their hypocrisy, Jesus said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." (A denarius was a common Roman coin at that time.) "So they brought one. "Whose image and inscription is this?" he asked them. "Caesar's," they said. Then Jesus told them, "Render onto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." In other words, if Caesar's image is on the coin, then it belongs to Caesar. Jeane was talking to her friend, Linda, a couple days ago and Linda added some wonderful words to that simple parable. She pointed us back to Genesis when God was creating the world and all things in it. Gen. 1:27 says, "So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female." So how do you tell ownership of something? Apparently, you look at the image it bears. And, good people, we are stamped with the image of the Most High God. We were literally created in His image. It doesn't get any better than that. If you ever feel lost and wonder where you belong, just look in the mirror and say, "I am created in the image of God. His image is stamped on me and I belong to him. I am his - period." ...and Hallelujah to that! Greg

The Amoeba Ministry: Change is Happenin'

Jesus wasn't looking for leaders at all. Jesus was looking for followers.   Leadership is a function. Followership is an identity. ~Leonard Sweet~

Several years ago when Life Discovery was being formed we were discussing with our Board of Directors what our organizational structure looks like. After many ideas and debates, it was suggested that we are much like an amoeba. This might sound funny to you, but it perfectly describes our fluid ministry. If you can think back to your high school Biology days (and I realize that is harder for some of you than for others!), an amoeba is a tiny, simple organism. In fact, it is so small that you need a microscope to see it. Its outstanding characteristic is that it's flexible and it changes shape constantly. That fluidity gives it the ability to make changes when needed and to fit into most spaces. And it is transparent. Sound familiar? One of the things that we value most about our ministry is our ability to make changes when we feel it's needed or move into a new space where the Lord might be pointing us. In fact, we like to refer to ourselves as an "organism" rather than an "organization." Having said that, here is a word about some of those changes we are making to our Sunday schedule: We will continue to meet for Breakfast Club at our house on the third Sunday of every month; but other than that I would like to use our Sundays differently and, I believe, more effectively. Every second Sunday beginning in February I invite you to take part in a focused, purposeful new group I am calling Fellowship of Followers. I want to pick up where we have left off in our studies this last year with those of you who desire to go deeper and explore what it means to be a follower of Christ. We will ask for a commitment of attendance whenever possible. We will read some articles and books together during the year, so there will be homework during the month. We will challenge ourselves to put our faith into practice. This will be a focused, intentional journey of spiritual formation that will involve the disciplines of studying scripture, prayer, fasting, and contemplation. For any of you who want to deepen your walk and go the next step, I challenge you to this task and to this adventure together. Fellowship of Followers will meet at 6 PM on the second Sunday of each month starting in February. We'll plan to adjourn around 8:30 PM. I have no idea how many people will be interested. I am praying for the right size group - not too small or too large. Please call me if you have questions about it: 602-622-1488. There is more to share about our plans & dreams for this year, but enough for now. Plan to attend our first Monday night together at Peace Lutheran this Monday, January 16 where I will present more about what's new for the coming year! A fellow follower-in-training, Greg

I Am a Human.....Doing

ENJOY the little things in life; for one day you will look back and realize they were really the BIG  THINGS.

Greetings & blessings to you in this New Year! Every year around this time I find myself in contemplative thought and prayer about the year ahead of me. Where am I going? What changes should I be making? When am I going to start that next project? What am I doing? The most important question I need to ask myself, however, is, "Who am I being?" We humans get this mixed up a lot, don't we? We want to get going! We want to accomplish great things! But we forget that if they are really going to be great things they must start on the inside where the Spirit of the Lord dwells. Remember, God doesn't give out points for all that you do. The Pharisees in Jesus' day were quite pumped up about all that they did - and they did it right, by golly. They sacrificed a lot to be correctly "right" in doing what the Jewish law demanded. But more than once Jesus reminded them that they were barking up the wrong tree. He was after whatever was in their hearts, not all the correct things they were doing. "Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice," he told them. Matt. 9:13 At the end of the day, I often ask myself this question: "Have I given my best to what God has called me to be today?" Notice - not called me to do but called me to be. It is because of the "being" that the "doing" produces fruit in the kingdom. Just be a human.....being!    It's your Godly DNA. Greg