I just got off the phone with my daughter, Christi, and she asked me to pass this on to you. Thank you! Thank you! The cards and letters you’re sending are having a deep and profound impact on her.

She has always been impressed with the heart and love of the people of our Church, but never had she been on the receiving end of that love. Her words about this Church echo my own. We have never, and I mean never, seen a Church more in touch with missions than Ivy. Nomatter the cause, no matter the cost, there is a passion in our midst to bring the love of Christ to others. We don’t have to know their name or even the circumstances of their need. All we have to know is that there is a need, and Christ can meet that need through us.

I think it is easy to take this spark of life in us for granted. Sometimes we forget this is the heart of our fellowship when we have to deal with our “family problems,” but it doesn’t take much to get us back on track doing the work of Christ through missions.

With all the needs around us, there are undreamed of new opportunities to serve our Lord.

I thank God for the opportunity to share this journey with you, and Philinda and I thank you for showing Christ’s love to our daughter.

PJ

One of my greatest joys in studying the Scriptures is when I stumble upon a lesson that has been hidden and yet is so obvious when I see it. I call these lessons an “A-Ha” moment.

I had one of these A-Ha moments the other day when I was studying Jesus’ parable about the wealthy businessman who reached the point his wealth was so great, his security so secure, he had no apparent need for God. Jesus then said, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you, and now who will own what you have prepared?”

What struck me was how many of us live in a “closed world” where the only reality is the one we see with our eyes and consider with our own thoughts. In this closed world, the balance sheet says if you lose $1,000 you are down $1,000, regardless of where that $1,000 goes. If the world is indeed closed, then it doesn’t matter how or why you are down $1,000. At the end of the day, if that $1,000 is lost, stolen, given to feed the poor, or spent on a luxurious vacation, the net result is the same.

Jesus shed new light on this when He said a living God and an everlasting heaven is included in our temporary system, thus making it a very open system. Blessings follow obedience and service. Personal sacrifice and responsible stewardship of God’s possessions will have its reward, both in this life and the life to come. Jesus knew this to be true:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1,2)

Now, that is a thought. In this world, 100 minus 10 will always equal 90 regardless of why the ten was subtracted or what that 10 represented, but, in God’s economy, there are situations where 100 minus 10 might equal 1,000. Jesus counted on that when He gave His life for us. Countless others have discovered this truth when they invest their time, talents, and treasures on behalf of others.

Think about it!

PJ

This past Sunday morning, I began a series of messages from the book of James. I’ll never forget my first sermon, which I preached at First Baptist Norfolk on a Wednesday night some 33 years ago. My text was from James, and the title was, “The Bionic Tongue.” I remember how nervous I was and the good natured teasing I received over the title.

I don’t recall much else, other than the church voted to endorse me to attend Southwestern Seminary shortly after that. I’m not sure if they endorsed me because they recognized God’s call on my life or if they thought I needed a lot of help after hearing that sermon.

Curiously, I have never felt led to preach from James since that day. Over the years, I’ve used certain passages in my sermons, but to focus on it from the pulpit isn’t something I’ve done until now.

I’m not sure exactly why I’ve been guided this way. The book of James describes the acceptable conduct of a follower of Christ. I tend to focus on the love of God and our love for Him over outlining suitable conduct of believers. I’ve always tried to avoid building on the Law from which the Cross releases us.

However, recent events have made me more aware than ever that we need to spend some time reminding ourselves of just how believers should behave toward each other and to the world. It’s not just enough to declare our loyalty and faith in Christ, but we need to “clothe ourselves with Him” as well. A great deal of pain can be avoided when the principles found in James are understood and followed.

The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians of this very thing. He said that many have become physically ill, and some have even died, because they received Christ and did not reflect Him in their behavior toward each other. The refusal to reconcile differences and work things out had made this a serious problem with equally serious personal consequences.

The conduct of a believer is as important as the faith of a believer. This is the theme of the book of James.

PJ

This past Sunday, the theme of the message centered on the word “test.” I said people will “test before they trust.” This means Christ who lives in us will often be tested before He is ever trusted. Jesus knew this and included this encouragement in His Sermon on the Mount:

10"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)

I used one of our old chairs to illustrate this. Everyone who has ever sat in one of those old chairs knows the first thing that has to be done is to inspect the legs for signs of warping and then to sit down very gently lest the chair collapses. Curiously, just a few minutes later at the Sunday School teacher recognition someone was “pinched” by one of those chairs.

It is time to get new chairs!!!

We are pricing new chairs, and the costs aren’t that enormous. Because our Church has so many other budget obligations, and these are tight times for all of our ministries, there has been a reluctance to start a campaign to get new chairs. I sure do understand that!

However, the fact remains that every time someone sits in one of those chairs their faith is put to the test in ways that it shouldn’t have to be.

Now, I have found that the members of Ivy do very well when they are made aware of the needs of their Church and are given an opportunity to meet those needs. So, that is what I am doing here.

It would really be something to be able to name a chair after each family that buys one, but I think the process of naming a chair would cost more than the chair itself. We will just have to content ourselves with the knowledge that our chairs are being used by the Lord for the work of the ministry and wait for our reward in heaven. Maybe if you buy a chair for Ivy, you will be given a chair in heaven so you won’t have to stand for all eternity. Now, that’s funny.

PJ

“1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-4 NKJV)

One of the most natural things any of us face today is to settle on a particular loyalty and then root and support our decision against all who have other, competing loyalty. I have seen farmers almost come to blows over loyalties to brands of tractors. John Deere, Ford, Massie Ferguson are brand names that separate farms, families and in some places entire communities. Dare I mention politics? How about football teams or baseball teams? Actually, there are so many competing loyalties they almost boggle the imagination. Friends are chosen based on loyalties; communities are formed based on loyalties. I actually know people who refused to move into a particular area of the county because in the last election it had voted Republican, and they were Democrats.

People take their loyalties seriously.

We expect that type of behavior in the world. I guess the compelling force behind loyalties is a deep need to belong, to associate with others who are just like us.

Occasionally, major events happen that remind us of a greater set of loyalties which trump the subset of loyalties that define us from day to day. I need only to mention a couple: Pearl Harbor, 911. These events overruled everything. Each citizen was reminded that above all we are Americans, facing a common threat. The defining loyalties that had so-separated were instantly put into perspective and seen as the silliness they were.

The Corinthian church had allowed itself to settle into silly camps. Some were supporters of Paul, and some were supporting Apollos. It doesn’t really matter why they had settled into these camps, but they did, and as a result the mission and purpose of the church was crippled. “Who you supported” became more important than anything else.

Is this happening at Ivy? Actually, this is a part of the “flesh” of every church in every age and every place. Knowing this doesn’t mean we accept it; rather it means we avoid it whenever and wherever possible.

PJ

Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback in California, invented a new phrase to describe the successful life of a Believer and their church. He said that success hinges on a clear understanding and commitment to a given “purpose.” While each believer has to work out their purpose before Christ, the unifying purpose of a church hinges on a clear commitment to discipleship.

Transformed lives through discipleship will eventually transform the world.

Nothing fragments a church and causes it to lose Godly authenticity more than when that congregation isn’t settled on a common purpose. We’ve seen this played out metaphorically in Iraq. Once the war was won against Sadaam, there was no clear, unifying purpose to understand what to do next. Consequently, our military and the civilian population floundered for months out of a lack of vision and purpose. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29).

In commissioning His church, Jesus told his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations.” This has been the unifying purpose of the church for two thousand years, and it has been the responsibility of each generation to figure out how best to fulfill that purpose in their culture and age.

One of the ways we are going about this at Ivy is by offering a variety of classes which are designed to equip us with the resources to become disciplined, dedicated followers of Christ. On Sunday evenings and throughout the week, groups will meet at the Church and in homes to “put on the garments of Christ.” In this newsletter, we have a survey of each group’s focus. I’m sure you can find something that interests you. Actually, the mystery of discipleship isn’t found in matching interests, rather by Christians joining together to develop the personal disciplines to better reflect our Lord in every aspect of their life. That is discipleship.

I don’t think I’m understating this when I say that every hour we spend together fulfilling Christ’s purpose for us will have an eternal impact in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

We thank each and every leader who is stepping out to serve us, and we give special thanks to Dr. Bill Melton and the staff who have worked so hard to bring this about.

PJ

This has been quite a summer at Ivy. Vacation Bible School was an absolute success with more children attending then we have had in years. These children, along with their parents, are making their way into the fellowship of the Church and in time, will discover our Sunday School and the caring, gentle people of our church.

The youth mission trip to New England drew first time volunteers and teens who have never experienced a mission opportunity at all. Funnel continues to draw teens from the community, and many are hearing and experiencing the love of Christ through the leaders and their peers.

After a brief dip in Sunday School, following honest but unsuccessful efforts to provide additional space in our program, the Sunday School has recovered its numbers and is growing every week with new faces in many of our classes. The nursery and preschool areas on Sunday mornings are practically bursting at the seems. There continues to be a cry for additional helpers and staff to care for these precious children.

All in all, the hard work of the dedicated, faithful servants at Ivy is bearing fruit and is impacting the lives of many in the community. Understand something else, growth comes with a price. Sometimes the price is financial; sometimes it is measured in the number of additional volunteers needed to support expanding ministries.

The Daily Press ran a story about a church in Suffolk, in the midst of expansion, who were hit hard by the economy. They were forced to declare Chapter 11 as they couldn’t service a loan on their new facility. The article stated that nonprofits throughout the region are being smacked by high fuel and food prices. I can say “Amen” to that.

A day doesn’t go by that we don’t receive urgent requests from area ministries that are struggling. Last week, I received an urgent call from Virginia Baptists requesting immediate help with their budget. Support is at an all time low, and they are very worried that necessary ministries will have to be either cut back or stopped altogether.

The same is true with Ivy. If you have been tracking our giving, you’ll know that we too have been hit by the economy. While we are just under last year’s level of giving and we are paying our daily bills with our offerings, we are doing so by pairing back on many of the things we have planned.

In the coming weeks, expect the Finance Committee to make an appeal to the Church to pony up to this challenge and face it head on. It takes time for new people to take ownership of the ministries of their church. It is up to the rest of us to redouble our efforts to support our growing church with our time, talents, and treasures.

May God bless each of you with good health and His peace.

PJ

Thoughts From the Pastor

This past Sunday, we were all saddened to hear our beloved Kathi resign as Director of Music and Creative Ministries. Kathi served Ivy through some difficult transitions, and her loss will be felt by everyone. Her latest work with our Sunday night format was the product of about a year of planning, dreaming, and praying. She displayed an unusual sensitivity for worship, and her work will live on long after she leaves.

We will wish her the very best, and God speed. I’m not sure what the future holds for her, but I know that she is seeking God’s will with all her heart. God is faithful and already has a place for her to continue her dream to serve Him in the center of His will.

This past Sunday we honored our summer interns. Nick and Tabitha will be heading back to college having spent the summer overseeing and leading a recreational ministry at the Church. Helen, our youth intern, is heading back to college to finish her degree and prepare for a wedding next year. There are no adequate words to express the profound impact these three people made in our community. We wish them all the very best and look forward to following the progress of their ministries in the years to come.

Just a quick reminder about this coming Sunday: David Bounds will be spending the day with us as we reach out to our neighbors, family members, and acquaintances who have “Gone Fishin’.”

In Psalm 91, King David observes that God will deliver you from the snare of the trapper. I really don’t think that David had a literal trap in mind when he penned those words; rather, he was speaking of the devil’s snares and traps that capture God’s children and place them on the sidelines far away from the Body of Christ. Everyone I know has found themselves in those traps at one time or another. Because you are reading this means that someone reached out to you, loved you, encouraged you, and invited you back to Christ and fellowship in His church.

That is precisely what we will be doing this Sunday as a church. Please be in prayer for those people you know who have “Gone Fishin’.” As names come to mind, invite them to Church. Perhaps you may even invite them out to lunch afterwards.

This is an all-day event with services on Sunday morning and two on Sunday evening (5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.).

PJ

Pastoral Care

One of the most challenging aspects of serving as a Pastor in a multi-generational church is to balance simple pastoral care with the responsibilities of providing leadership to various councils and committees, teaching, preaching, and all the many hidden expectations of a Pastor. In a growing, transitional Church like Ivy, there will be times these responsibilities get out of balance and one area or another might get neglected for a short time.

There are some things that can’t get neglected: preparation, prayer, preaching, and pastoral care. This brings me to the purpose of this column. There is a large number of people who are a vital part of our fellowship and who, for one reason or another, are unable to attend Church on a given Sunday. In addition, there are an equally large number of people who are friends and families of our members who are in need of pastoral care. I pray daily for these people, for those names I know, and those that I don’t.

I need your help! There are people in need of a pastor’s care who are living in the shadows of our fellowship and are facing hard times. If you are aware of this and should you feel so led, please let me know by calling the Office, and Bill or I will follow up with either a visit or a phone call as soon as we can. We keep a board in the Office for such as this, and we look at it several times a day.

There is one other thing. I am never too busy to stop by for a visit to those who aren’t facing hard times. I cherish every opportunity to get to know you in your own home. I wish I had the time to do that with every member of our Church. Short of that, I would love to be invited for a visit. In the past week, I traveled to Richmond to visit with one of our beloved displaced members. Prior to that, I spent a lovely afternoon with a dear, dear lady who invited me over for lemonade.

One can barely get to know the many special people in their Church by saying “hi” on a typical Sunday. I would love the opportunity to turn acquaintances into friends. If this is something you would like to do as well, please call the Office, and we’ll find the time for a visit.

You are a very special and wonderful Church. I am honored to serve you and represent you as your Pastor.

PJ

Crazy Days of Summer

“Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer,” sang Nat King Cole. This summer has been anything but lazy. It has indeed been hazy and just on the edge of being crazy with the smoke from the Dismal Swamp. VBS was a huge success! The enrollment shot up to over 30 more than had attended since records have been kept at Ivy. Several of the families showed up on Sunday morning, and from what I can tell, none of them had been attending church at all. Time will tell if they are open to the Gospel and are open to surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus. It is a start.

By the time you read this, Chinese Promise will have ended, and the team of eight that spent the week in Brooklyn will have returned. Not only that, but 49 youth and adults will have arrived in New England to begin a week on mission.

This you can pray for now. You will begin to hear a lot of talk about “Gone Fishin’.” I have asked David Bounds to help us reach a group of people in the shadows who have both literally and figuratively “Gone Fishin’.” By that I mean those people who, for one reason or another, have checked out of their walk with Christ and now find themselves captured by our enemy. Some have been ensnared with a co-dependent addiction, some by work and some through a compelling leisure activity like “fishing.”

Whatever has captured or ensnared them has the effect of taking a believer out of action with the Lord and placing them on the sidelines, far from the Spirit’s care. They are on their own, far from the care of the Shepherd and His flock.

I can’t think of anyone more suited to help us reach these folks than David Bounds. Many of you remember him from his service as Ivy’s interim pastor. Since then, David has begun a ministry called GraceBound Ministries. This is a counseling/discipleship ministry that helps people discover their identity in Christ and trust the “Christ in them” as they live for Him each and every day.

I can’t emphasize enough how the powerful, Biblical concepts of grace have set people free from their chains. I have seen it first hand and have experienced it myself.

Everyone can begin preparing for the people who will hear this message on August 17. Now is the time to invite your adult children, your neighbors, your brothers and sisters, and anyone you can think of who will benefit from this message. Actually, this might be something you need too.

We don’t point fingers at each other at Ivy; the Word sets us free from the powers that would trap and enslave us. That is what we are about.

PJ

The Dwelling Place

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

Sunday evenings is home to The Dwelling Place. For the last three weeks, our Church has found a soft, quiet place to find rest for our souls and meet our Heavenly Father in worship.

The lighting is subdued, the worship is gentle and reflective, and the teaching is insightful and compelling. There is always an invitation at the altar, and the faithful are often two deep, on their knees, and in prayer.

Oasis, our ministry to young adults, has taken the lead on this, and they have done an outstanding job. Every aspect of the planning and execution is bathed in prayer, and it shows. From the moment you enter the sanctuary from the back, you know you are entering the presence of God.

Over the years, I have heard of places where this is taking place, but it has always been in another church, miles away, and usually during a time I have commitments. It is an answer to prayer that such as this has now found its way to my own Church where I can actually participate as a member of the congregation. Servants sometime need to be served and enjoy the food they have been serving to others. I have found this at The Dwelling Place.

Why am I writing this? I suppose it’s because I don’t want you to miss this. Flowers only bloom for a short time, and then, they are gone. I don’t know how long this flower will be in bloom, but while it is, I want everyone to have a chance to share it. The Dwelling Place is a truly beautiful flower, and its fragrance is rising as a sweet odor to our God.

It starts at 6:00 p.m. with music beginning at 5:45.

PJ

Gratitude

I hope you all are enjoying your summer. This past weekend, Philinda and I were delighted to have all three of our children together with their families. As many of you know, this happens all too infrequently.

For the last two Sundays, I talked about the power of giving thanks. I compared thanks for undeserved blessings with a feeling of entitlement. The latter accompanies a performance mindset, the former a mindset of grace. Gratitude for blessings is absolutely essential if one is ever to surrender to the lordship of Christ.

We are born with a deep instinct of entitlement. Is there a child on the planet that doesn’t feel they are entitled to the love and care of their parents? Children need to be convinced and tutored to learn the simple act of gratitude. Children don’t naturally write thank you notes, and they wouldn’t think of thanking their parents for food, shelter, vacations, or anything else for that matter. Gratitude is a learned reflex. But it is a reflex that is absolutely essential if a child will ever grow in the grace of God. It is the foundation that submission to the will of God is built on, and it is the center of all future relationships that a child will ever enjoy.

Think about it. How can anyone “enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise” if every part of a person’s heart is colored with entitlement either for their hard work, moral purity, or anything else that contributes to a claim for special treatment or reward?

Jesus was entitled to the highest honor that could ever be given a man, but He never claimed it. Rather, His gratitude for the love and care of God moved Him to not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but He emptied Himself, taking on the form of man, and was obedient even to death, death on the cross. What was at the heart of His obedience? It was gratitude.

What are you grateful for today? Is there anything in your life that you can honestly say, “It was a gift that I didn’t deserve”? If there is, then make that the basis for your worship, your service, and your submission to the will of God.

PJ

God Working in Our Church

This past Wednesday night two notable events took place at the Church. We celebrated the end of a season of Wednesday night suppers with a spectacular buffet which included barbeque chicken, ham, and all the trimmings. After a short time of prayer, we tried to convene our Bi-monthly Congregational meeting. I say tried because we were unable to assemble the required 50 for a quorum and came up 12 short. Consequently, all the new members seeking membership were placed on hold, and the daily business of the Church was also delayed. Not only that, but many of the committees we have voted to serve us gave reports that only a few were there to hear.

Over the years, I have observed that attendance at congregational meetings serves as an interesting barometer of the life and health of a church. When things are peaceful and the congregation is generally satisfied with the direction and future of their church, attendance at these types of meetings tends to suffer. Conversely, if there are urgent matters or controversies that need to be settled, the requirements for a quorum rarely become an issue; the church will be packed. It’s when things are flowing smoothly that quorums become an issue like they did last Wednesday night.

There are a couple of reasons the members of a church should attend congregational meetings. It is a time to celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit through the many ministries of the church. When a church is growing and flourishing like Ivy, it is usually because God is blessing one area of the church with growth, and that blessing spreads over and affects all other areas as well. It is always good to know these things.

Secondly, the ministry of encouragement usually begins with the reports that are given. Many people put in long hours to serve our Lord at Ivy. They work hard between meetings, visioning, scheduling, and ministering. We have an opportunity to encourage and support them not only with our presence but also with a private word of encouragement after the meeting. Often this serves as a cool glass of water to someone who is working hard on our behalf.

These are just two of many reasons why we need to go out of our way to attend these meetings. At the heart of every reason is this, “We are a family of God, and families need to support each other in the good times as well as the hard.”

PJ

Depth of God's Work

These are two well read poems that I discovered in the back of a lady’s Bible whom recently passed away. They display the depth of God’s work in this great woman’s life.

PJ

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not seek so much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


God of Justice and Mercy,
Forgive me for averting my eyes from dumpsters
and failing to see that some of your children
see food where I see garbage.
Forgive me for avoiding urban alleys
and failing to see that some of your children
see shelter where I see danger.
Forgive me for turning away from those
who are hungry and homeless
and failing to see that you are present
in the pain and suffering of all your children.
May your justice break through my comfortable contentment.
May your mercy guide me beyond my selfish fears.

Honoring Our Mothers

I thought you might find these thoughts meaningful as we spend the week reflecting on our moms.

Thoughts About Motherhood

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.
--Honore' de Balzac

The mother's heart is the child's school room. --Henry Ward Beecher

A mother's yearning feels the presence of the cherished child even in the degraded man. --George Eliot

Becoming a mother makes you the mother of all children. From now on each wounded, abandoned, frightened child is yours. You live in the suffering mothers of every race and creed and weep with them. You long to comfort all who are desolate. --Charlotte Gray

Women know the way to rear up children (to be just). They know a simple, merry, tender knack of tying sashes, fitting baby shoes, and stringing pretty words that make no sense. And kissing full sense into empty words. --Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. --Elizabeth Stone

A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary. --Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. --Rajneesh

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.
--Abraham Lincoln

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.
--Honore' de Balzac

There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. --Chinese Proverb

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. -- Jewish Proverb

Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground. --Zora Neale Hurston

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. --Tenneva Jordan

Faith

One of the most powerful and least understood forces in our world is faith. In the book of Hebrews, Paul defines faith as being the “substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is like lightening before thunder, the calm before the storm, a crash before a child’s cry.

One of the more interesting observations people made in Indonesia, prior to the Tsunami hitting their coast, was that the animals sensed devastation was coming, became highly agitated, and fled to the hills. Faith is very much like that. It is an innate spiritual sense that something is about to happen. Faith is rarely based on objective reality or the here and now; rather it is a sense of God’s hand in the future which may or may not have much to do with the present.

Sometimes faith is confused with wishful thinking. There are those who would have us believe that a hoped for outcome can be had if only we had the faith to make it so. Over the years, I have seen people refuse necessary medical treatment for serious illnesses because they thought God might interpret this as a sign of their lack of faith and withhold His healing.

This is not the faith that Paul speaks about in Hebrews. True faith is more like the Three Wise Men who instinctively knew that a star would lead them to the birth of Messiah. It wasn’t wishful thinking, but it was a deep spiritual instinct.

What does this mean for you and me? It means that we must always be ready to hear from God the messages given through either our faith or the faith of others. I am more convinced than ever: the biggest obstacle to our walk with Christ is a powerful reality and an inevitable future that appears greater even than God. Discouragement sets in; then, ears and hearts stop listening. Like Israel in the wilderness, blessing is delayed, and everyone suffers. Why? Because the promise was never preceded by faith; therefore, the promise wouldn’t happen, at least for them.

What is God telling you about His future? You know what your eyes and ears are telling you about the present, but what is He saying about Him? Objective reality and inevitable outcomes guide the actions of the world; faith, guides the actions of believers.

PJ

Reflections on the Emmaus Walk

I’ve just returned from spending a long weekend with the Emmaus community serving as one of three spiritual directors. Twenty eight “pilgrims” spent 72 hours experiencing nothing but the Grace of God. In all, over 50 volunteers invested their time, energy, and talents to make sure that these men would feel God’s grace touch their lives.

I was one of those pilgrims last year. I have to say this was one of the high points of my journey with Christ; so much so, that I felt compelled to be a part of sharing this event with others. I guess this is what grace is all about. True sacrifice is rooted more in returning blessings than in anything else.

One of the notable moments of this weekend was the hours spent in prayer for every aspect of the weekend. When the team arrived on Thursday afternoon, they immediately walked all over the retreat center and prayed for every spot and every function the pilgrims would experience. I was struck by the priority this had in the preparation for the weekend.

The weekend was a phenomenal success as evidenced by the testimonies of every man that walked. As I listened to testimony after testimony, I was reminded of the hours spent in prayer for the weekend, and I knew God was simply answering our prayers for these men.

As I drove home last night, I knew this was something I would bring back to Ivy. In a few minutes, I will be meeting with the staff for our weekly staff meeting, and I plan to bring this up with them. Focused, serious prayer needs to be a part of everything we do. I know people regularly pray for the ministries of the Church; however, there is more we can do. Prayer needs to be given a higher priority in everything we do and are about.

I suspect you will be hearing more on this in the coming days. I was reminded the only way any difficulty can be weathered and any blessing can be understood is with the confidence that prayer has lead the way.

PJ

Multi-Generational Church

Last week, I attended a seminar sponsored by Virginia Baptists at Camp Little Crossroads. The title of the invitation only seminar was, “Leading a Five Generation Church.”

You can understand why this intrigued me—as this precisely describes the challenges we face at Ivy. There aren’t many congregations that are picking up this challenge. Too often, one generation of Christians is given the lions share of attention at the expense of the others. The reasons for this are many and varied. Typically, words like “survival” and “squeaky wheel” are the motivational forces behind a focus on one generation over another.

Obviously, the greater challenge facing a historic church like Ivy, is to bring all generations together as the Body of Christ. This is no small or easy task, rather it challenges all of us to reach beyond our small circle of friends to include other generations into our communities. The scriptures are replete with examples of younger Christians honoring their elders and elders mentoring and caring for those who are coming behind them.

Jesus commanded us to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” The Apostle Paul expanded this command with these forceful words, “bear one another’s burdens in love.” Both of these instructions imply we have neighbors, and both of these are directed at Christians within the faith community. Love does not exist in a vacuum, rather it demands that we interact and care for those around us.

Both scriptures demand that we move out of our comfort zones and established friendships with many different generations. How else can the seniors receive the respect and honor due them, and how else can the older believers mentor and disciple the younger?

It may be that this is a new paradigm for the modern church; however, it is not new to the historic church. Mentoring and honoring have been as much a part of the fabric of Christianity as Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. I am convinced that the next twenty years of the church will see a revival of “mentoring and honoring” as Christians rediscover the jewels of generational connection.

Living Lord's Supper

Last Thursday evening, we presented The Living Lord's Supper. This was the first time I had ever seen this shared in church. I must say in every respect, it exceeded my expectations. I was impressed by it's message, the commitment of those men to memorize all those lines, the soloists, the AV crew, and of course, the director.

I don't know why this isn't done more often in churches. That meal was the last one that our Lord had with His disciples. As you know, they were celebrating the Passover, and during that meal, Jesus summed up thousands of years of teaching by showing us that the Passover was about Him all along. God had manipulated history, spoke through the prophets, declared the Law at Sinai in a way that pointed directly to the last declaration of our Lord during that meal.

In case anyone would ever miss the message of the cross, His words would instruct and enlighten anyone who wondered what His sacrifice meant. As the lamb slaughtered as the sacrifice that would cover and protect any who believe from the judgment to come.

That was what our Lord showed us during the Passover in the upper room. The Last Supper was to the cross as the ULTRA was to the coded messages of the Germans during WWII. It broke the code.

Let Your Light Shine...

The Sadducees (liberal, Zionist Jews) were trying to discredit Jesus by posing a question about the resurrection of the dead and the apparent conflict that it posed on a woman who was widowed and then remarried. “In the resurrection” they asked,” when they rise again, which one's wife will she be?” (Mark 12:23)

The fact they didn’t believe in the Resurrection didn’t matter to them; all that mattered was anyone who displayed faith in anything was to be discredited so as to expose the foolishness
of their faith. They took great delight in uncovering apparent contradictions in the Torah to belittle any who might trust and actually believe the Bible.

Well, when they took on Jesus, who was the Word of God (John 1), and who spoke the words of the law to Israel at Sinai through Moses, they were uncovered as the unsanctified, secular, and unbelieving people that they were. These men were the teachers of Israel and were passing on their poison to generation after generation of children. Here was Jesus’ reply:

Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the scriptures or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? 27He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken." (Mark 12:24-27)

They didn’t understand either the scriptures or the power of God, and yet they were the leaders of Israel’s faith. Their positions on faith colored and influenced everyone.

This past Saturday, Bill Gray spoke before a gathering of about 200 Emmaus volunteers and said something that cut to the heart of a lot we do in the church. He said it isn’t just enough to be kind and benevolent, but we also need to tell people why kindness is expressed from us and the church. Our kindness isn’t based on our goodness or piety but God’s. There are some who teach, like the Sadducees, that goodness and kindness is the result of our own personal good works and piety which has nothing to do with God in us or working through us. This kind of thinking only serves to provide temporary, temporal relief and deprives the world of the gospel that gives eternal life.

Here is the challenge that faces all those who believe in the scriptures and the power of God: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16) Good works and the gospel go together. Good works validate the message that leads to life. Good works by themselves have no meaning unless they lead to God.

Reflections on Sunday, March 2

This past Sunday, I spoke on the last part of Ephesians 2 beginning with verse 11. As you recall, the text began with the words, "Therefore, remember." Then, the Apostle called the faithful to recall who they were as Gentiles before God and to remember the great difference the Cross had made in their lives. Before, they were aliens to the covenants of God, but now, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, they were now included.

Did you know your Bible is divided along these lines? We have the Old Testament and the New. The word Testament means COVENANT. The Old Testament is the record of the old covenant that God made to the Jews through Abraham, Moses, and David. The New Testament means this part of the Bible is the record of the new covenant that God made to all people through the blood of Christ.

We are not accustomed to using the word "covenant." The word speaks of a promise made between at least two parties. At the beginning of every Christian marriage ceremony, the minister will use the word covenant to declare what is being done throughout the ceremony. In marriage, a covenant is being made between two people based on promises they make to each other during their vows. In describing the covenant during the ceremony, the words, "forsaking all others" are used to describe the priority of this covenant over all other covenants that either party may be in.

When you think about it, we are all bound by many covenants in our lives. We have covenants with our employers (i.e. they promise to pay us, and we promise to work). We have covenants with our parents, our brothers and sisters, and many of our close friends. We even have covenants with our children and out grandchildren. The phrase "forsaking all others" means the relationship with a man and a woman in marriage will always have priority over all other covenants. It doesn't mean all other covenants will be forsaken and ignored, but it means this covenant is of such great importance that it will eclipse all other covenants.

The blessings of God that attend two people spending their lives trying to keep this covenant are breathtaking! The mystery here is great. To fully keep this covenant necessitates moments when each individual appeals to God for wisdom, direction, and intervention to know how best to keep those special marriage promises. It is wonderful to see God work this way in marriage.

At the end of the day, after children leave the nest and your jobs are through, you will only have each other. Then you will see the indescribable blessing of two people who made, and through God's help, have kept their promises to each other.