Being Separate

OK. Hard stuff. Lots of questions on the way out of the building today. GREAT!

Ezra 9 presents a picture--a template--to use to help us think and act on holiness. We discussed some of the ramifications at church today. How did you feel about what was said? Do you agree with my views on the church in the United States today? Do you sense that "there's a change coming on?"

Of course, it's easy for me to point the finger. And as we've learned, just pointing a finger at someone else's sin problem does not make the pointee holy. It comes down to this: what will I do about this? How can I practice the kind of holiness Ezra practiced?

Does this mean we never draw the line? Does this mean we tolerate sin? Does this mean that we simply ignore sin for the sake of grace?

As the Apostle Paul would say, NO WAY! Instead, we should humbly deal with sin in our lives, and confront sin around us in love and extreme humility. Whenever we sense that we're erecting a tower of our own holiness, we should be concerned. "Pride goes before a fall."

While you were considering these things today, did God speak to you? Did God give you any ideas that would help you and your progress toward holiness? Any ideas on how Grace Christian Fellowship could confess to the Tri-Cities area?

Next week at GCF we look at Ezra 10. Read it this week. Please pray that God would bring together exactly the congregation he wants to attend next week.

Have a graceful week.

Pastor Ron

Courageous Dependence

What God wants from us is dependent trust. But not blind trust.

Ezra, looking out toward the west from the Ahava Canal, did not step blindly in the direction of Jerusalem, walking off to an unknown precarious future. The journey ahead would be hard and full of peril, but God had already laid a foundation for trust. Read through Zechariah 8 (NIV):

Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me. This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her."

This is what the LORD says: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain."

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?" declares the LORD Almighty.

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built. Before that time there were no wages for man or beast. No one could go about his business safely because of his enemy, for I had turned every man against his neighbor. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past," declares the LORD Almighty.

"The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me," says the LORD Almighty, "so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the LORD.

Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me. This is what the LORD Almighty says: "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace."

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.' And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him."

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' "

How do we know we can trust him? Because he's given his word. What promises speak to you about well-placed dependence?

Next Sunday, we dig deep into Ezra and into our own spiritual identity. We'll be taking a strong, possibly painful look at holiness -- not the easy, breezy kind, but the holiness that makes you squirm.

Have fun fasting this week.

Pastor Ron

Grace upon Grace

This morning as we got ready to hit the ice for church, Jon asked me, "What're you preaching about, Dad?"

"Grace," I said.

"I should have guessed! That's kind of your 'theme' isn't it? Grace?"

Oh yeah. That it is.

Here's one to talk about. If you come up with answers, please let me know.

Mankind was made to live best -- to thrive -- in an environment of grace. But because of The Fall, we would much rather dig out of our situation ourselves. God has never abandoned his original plans, and has provided a way, through the sacrifice of his own son, to provide the grace environment for us again.

As applies to church life, how can we create an environment of grace in which people can thrive? Can we? Have you ever been in a place of grace? Have you ever been in a church that provided that environment? How did it work?

Next week at GCF: We'll open up Ezra 8 and learn about Courageous Dependence.

Have a warm week.

Pastor Ron

Facing the Opposition

On the way out of the building today someone asked the insightful question: So what are we supposed to do about Satan?

Always a good question, based on the evidence. He's always going to try to derail God's work, and he does not want God's plans in us to succeed. So what are we supposed to do?

The answer is alarmingly simple, but not easy.

Imagine walking through a dangerous jungle. Alone, you are vulnerable and open to attack. But if you take someone with you, you might be able to avoid harm. If you are accompanied by a guide who knows the jungle thoroughly, you're even better protected. If you're walking alongside someone who created the jungle, knows every path, every beast, every detail, and has the power over every circumstance you will ever face in the jungle, you can be quite confident and assured of safety. And if that's the case, it just makes sense to stay as close to that person as you possibly can.

So it is with Jesus. We could try to turn around and battle the enemy on our own, but that's not always going to work. Instead, it makes sense to stay as close as we can to Jesus, who has already been victorious over Satan, and trust in the safety of his love and power.

How has Satan caused discouragement in your life? How have you been able to deal with it?

Next Sunday, we'll be looking at Ezra 6: "The Ezra Method."

Enjoy your week.

Pastor Ron

Celebrating With Joy

Hey!

Have you been practicing your chedvah? Good.

"The joy of the Lord is my strength." How?

This joy that brings strength proves powerful when it springs up in a person. It is like a big wave when it multiplies through a group of people. Can you imagine this kind of joy invading Grace Christian Fellowship? Can you see what that could mean?

How does joy operate? How do we find it, grow it, share it, show it? How do we practice the joy that leads to strength?

Next week at GCF Sunday: Facing Off with Opposition from Ezra 4-5. Have a good rest of the week.

Pastor Ron

First Things First

Hey there, GCF.

The first three chapters of Ezra provides ample evidence that the most important thing to the returning Jews was worship. If you combed through your life, would you find similar evidence of the priority of worship? Here are some of the ways the evidence showed up in Ezra. Use these categories to evaluate the priority of worship in your life.

• The way you spend the budget
• The way you organize your family
• The way you spend your time
• The way you use your talent
• The way you express your emotions
• The way you evaluate your life

While you're thinking about Sunday, on a practical note, let me know how you feel about the new InfoCard.

May you find grace this week.

Pastor Ron

Kids

It's been awhile since we were in Mark, and awhile since we've thought through some issues. This one is simple:

What are we going to do with the kids?

That's what the disciples asked, and their answer was to send them away. Jesus got especially angry with this decision, and he rebuked his friends.

Yesterday at Grace Christian Fellowship we talked about what we "do" with kids. Here are some questions I asked that we need to answer:

1. How do we welcome kids? How do we show children hospitality?
2. How do we protect the hearts of kids? Are we reactive or proactive?
3. How are we clearing the pathway to Jesus for kids? What obstacles are we removing?
4. How are we blessing children? What does it mean to "bless" kids?

Ironic that when we were setting up tables for our ministry meeting, we used the tables the kids needed to eat on. I never considered that they would need the tables more than the adults.

The answers to these questions have to do with Grace Christian Fellowship's overall approach and philosophy of children's ministry. Do we see our role as glorified babysitters, caring for the kids so their parents can be spiritually fed? Or do we see children's ministry as actual ministry to children?

Or we could approach it this way: Would we have ministry to children if none of the adults at our church had children? Hmmm....

"Jesus said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

What do you think? What do we do with the kids?

Have a great week. Next Sunday, the beginning of an exciting new series, "Back Where We Belong."

Pastor Ron