Anyway, back to the statement. I’ll paraphrase, “I think… I feel… we feel… we’re Christians… for us… we affirm homosexual marriage.” Again, I pay enough attention to not be surprised. When you drop the name of Christ, though, the game changes.

You see, all these statements about what he thinks or he feels or he likes tell me a lot about him and nothing about God. God wrote it all down for us because He knew that the thoughts and feelings of sinful man would be more about justifying man’s sin and less about Truth. When I wear the name of Christ, which is to say I am a Christian, I surrender my right to make my own rule or make my own truth. Calling Him Lord means accepting His Truth.

God’s Truth in Genesis 2 is cited as evidence by Jesus in

Matthew 19:4-5  He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”

As a disciple, if what I think and feel are opposed to the Word of God, which is to say opposed to God Himself, I surrender; I submit.

John 8:47  Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

I read in chapter 3 verse 1 that, as a teacher, I have a little target on me. I stand in front of a lot of people and say a lot of words and that opens me up to judgment and criticism. I get that. I can’t be surprised by it. What do I do with it? The structure James uses shows me what to do with it.

In between the bookends of “from the same mouth come blessing and cursing…this ought not be so” and “do not speak evil against one another,” James shares this encouragement.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. -James 4:10 

These words, directed at me, are an opportunity to humble myself before the Lord. For a long time now, probably out of self-preservation, I have ignored a lot of words spoken about me. I made a point of hearing the words spoken to me while ignoring the words spoken about me. Was I missing an opportunity? I began taking inventory. I tried not to consider the source or the intent, but simply the words. That is easier said than done. Here is a sample of what I heard as I took inventory: thief, liar, unqualified, boastful, overbearing, unapproachable, mean, false teacher, tool of Satan, and so on. I only share these because I have a new appreciation of their value. I sat in the presence of God and reviewed my inventory with Him. I asked Him to give me a receptive heart. Is there truth in these words? May I hear in them my weaknesses and opportunities for growth. Talk about humbling. Yeah, I have a lot of work to do. Some of the words are just not true. With God’s permission, I can throw them away. Others are chances to humble myself before the Lord and hear what words He speaks over me. With my weakness revealed, God is good and faithful to direct me, to correct me. He then exalts me by speaking words like beloved, righteous, son.

Some words are still hard to hear. Often they are not spoken in a God-honoring way. Sometimes, they are just not true. I am not letting you off the hook. There is no excusing words spoken in sin, words intended to tear down, lies, gossip, cursing, slander. You must control your tongue. But somehow, I am thankful for the words that give me a chance to humble myself before Him. It is hard and painful, but nothing beats the exaltation of my Heavenly Father. When The Almighty God lifts you up, you’re up.

• Options for every soul prior to Jesus ministry were Sheol and Hades.
• Options now, in light of the resurrection, are Heaven and Hades
• Options for eternity after the Judgement of EVERY soul are Heaven and hell

In that time between his death and resurrection, Jesus went to Sheol to lead the souls of the saints to heaven. When He spoke to the thief on the cross and said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43), paradise is translated Sheol. Jesus would see this thief waiting to be ushered into the presence of God, upon his death.

It all comes down to translating Hell and Hades as opposed to Sheol, Paradise, Abraham’s Bosom. This also becomes the root of bad theology pertaining to the fictitious place called Purgatory. Another day…

This meeting was a pretty big deal. We have been considering purchasing a piece of land in Madison on which we will build our first facility. The turn-out  was awesome. Our meeting room was standing room only. We made the proposal and opened the floor for questions and discussion. After about 20 minutes of discussion, we voted. The vote was unanimous. Did I spell that right? I have been in a lot of business meetings, but that word just isn’t all that familiar to me.

What’s not to love about a business meeting? We show up. Thirty minutes later we’re done. Everyone hangs out for another hour and celebrates and hugs, and eats cookies and drinks coffee because that’s how good baptists roll. Seriously though, family comes together and talks. They ask questions. They move forward in harmony and they celebrate. Thank you, Summit family.

If you are curious, the lot is on Rt 29 in Madison, about a mile south of Sheetz on the northbound side. It is 7.67 acres and we will pay $110,000. We expect to sign the contract within the next few days. Drive by, take a look, and allow God to share His plan with you.

We don’t mourn enough in our culture. We don’t know how to be somber. And it certainly includes our journey of remembrance through the last week of Jesus’ life. Too often — far, far too often — it’s still just a story. Something that happened a long time ago. But we don’t feel it. We don’t recognize our incredible culpability in all of it. We don’t mourn the fact that is was OUR sin — it was MY sin — that put Jesus on the cross. And we don’t mourn the fact that we still choose sin. We STILL choose to spit in His face when we choose to get angry and selfish because we don’t get what we want, when we want it. We still choose to reject Him when we worry about such things as the price of gas and food. We still choose to forget how much He suffered! Jesus was beaten to within an inch of His life for MY sin, and yet, somehow, I think it’s OK to demand that He make me well! We still choose other stupid “saviors” such as food or money or alcohol or nice clothes and cars. Jesus, you weren’t good enough then and you’re not good enough now. Oh, God, FORGIVE US!

I hope you’re not enjoying your day. I hope you are grieved to the depths. I hope you spend time in genuine repentance. I hope you are exhausted because you’ve sobbed until you could not cry anymore. And I hope your heart longs for tomorrow…as you drive to church so early (not really) in the morning, think of the women who were going to the tomb, expecting to cry some more, but greeted with the Good News that would forever change history. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to worshiping and celebrating with you.

There is a great misuse of this passage of scripture among today’s church. Some would suggest that we have the right to come before the King with our wish list in hand and demand that He give us what we ask. Some would demand healing. Some would demand prosperity. Some would demand the King’s blessing on their plan. By the work of Jesus, we have the right to make our requests known (Philippians 4:6). We do not have the right to make demands of the King.

This passage in the context of Hebrews 4 speaks of our Great High Priest. We can enter the King’s presence because Jesus is our only Priest. He sits at the right hand of God and intercedes on our behalf. As such, we are allowed to enter. No one was allowed to enter the throne room of ancient kings without specific invitation. To boldly enter the throne room would result in death. Even the highest ranking officials and the family of the king would enter in fear, face to the ground, begging for mercy as they approached the king. Anything else could result in execution. Because of the work and sacrifice of our Great High Priest, we can enter, clothed in His righteousness, and be confident that the King will receive us in grace and we can humbly make our requests (desires) known. Then we can humbly submit to the sovereign will of the King and accept His answer. We have received all grace before we even receive the answer. We have received infinite grace even when He answers “no.” That’s right–the answer is not always “yes.”

Some live as though the answer is always “yes.” God desires for the answer to be yes, but because of our sinful, fallen state, it cannot be. We live in a time when the Kingdom of God has been initiated. John the Baptist heralded, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Jesus’ first coming initiated or instituted the Kingdom. At His second coming, the Kingdom will be fully realized. At that time, creation will be restored to God’s intended state. At that time, we will no longer be influenced by sin. Our desires will be pure and purely in line with the King’s. We will be perfectly healed. We will be perfectly filled. We will be perfectly content and satisfied.

Until that time, we continue in our imperfect state making sinful and selfish requests of the King. We celebrate the fact that we can even make those requests. We celebrate the Father’s grace that allows us to come boldly and ask. We celebrate the Father’s grace that says “no” when that is the right answer. The wonderful gift of God is that you may ask. The confidence of the disciple comes from knowing that His answer is the right answer. Draw near to God and receive mercy and grace, which may or may not include health and wealth.

He will give you every good thing. That is He will give you everything you need to serve His good purpose for you on earth, which is to glorify Him and enjoy Him.

It is with great joy that I write to you today because I hope you will share the joy and goodness of our Heavenly Father.

Over the last week and a half, most recently this past Sunday during our Summit worship service, this verse has repeatedly come to mind:

“if My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV

The verse is a “good news”, “bad news”, verse.  The bad news is that there is trouble in the land. We can see that all around us. The good news is that there is hope because there is a remedy!  The remedy lies in our loving Heavenly Father and in His children.  As “one called by His Name” the verse continually challenged me to ask the Father, “What are my sins?” and “What are the sins of the Body of Christ?”  He is faithful and He answered!

Sunday’s message on the evils of the tongue, was an answer to prayer for me!  I could shout for joy!  Why?  Because God is faithful!  Because He showed once again that He hears and responds to the cries of His children.  Because He is good all the time and always has our best interests at heart.  He demonstrated His love, once again, not only for me, but for the whole church and for our nation!  He showed us our sin and He called us to repentance.  Why?  So that He could forgive us and so that He can ultimately heal our land!  Yes! Yes! Yes1 GOD is GOOD, all the time! And this is the Good News of The Gospel: In Jesus there is forgiveness and healing and hope!  That is very good news and it makes me want to shout for JOY!  How about you?

Thank you Priscilla. This is such an encouragement. This verse brings me both conviction and comfort. Conviction because I know I am guilty. Specifically, I am guilty of not controlling my tongue. I must eliminate the tendencies to talk about someone rather than to him, to bless God with my words while cursing man made in His image (yes, this includes men with a Capitol Hill  mailing address), to use language that is incapable of glorifying God. That’s conviction. I have work to do. It’s comforting, though, to know that God does the hard work, the stuff I can’t do. He does the healing. He does the restoring. He does the forgiving. If I will be obedient, He will change the world.

Back in September of 2011, I decided to connect with the pastor in Uganda to see if there were any children that needed sponsoring. I was looking for a baby to connect with, as we could communicate with the pastor there on a daily basis. That is when I was introduced to the first Ray of Hope snack cake. Her name is Praise. Both of her parents died from HIV/AIDS. The church named her Praise because she survived and she did not have HIV/AIDS. From that first connection, the sponsorship program for Ray of Hope exploded onto the scene here at The Summit. As a church, we are currently sponsoring 42 children at Ray of Hope.

In my mind, I was fully committed to missions. In just a short time, I had grown to love these children, recognize them in pictures and call them by name. But, I still would not have any part of talking about going on a mission trip. When The Summit team went to Uganda in January, the battle raging inside of me became very intense. The day the team came back from Uganda, I sat on the couch with my computer and waited for pictures of the children to hit facebook. Hours went by; I couldn’t do anything else but wait. When the pictures started coming in, I wept. I was thinking crazy thoughts like “I should have gone, then I wouldn’t be sitting here waiting. I would have seen them with my own eyes and taken my own pictures!” Then I got angry thinking “this is crazy. What is wrong with me? I can’t go to Africa. I have a family. I can’t leave my kids or my husband. They won’t survive without me! I’m sure of it!” I can’t adequately put into words the war that was going on inside of me.

After every mission trip, The Summit will host a Missions Momentum and share things that went on during the trip and then they will talk about upcoming trips. I NEVER go to those because, frankly, I don’t want to. My mindset is–I’m not going on a mission trip so I don’t want to get caught at a meeting where that’s all they are talking about! Know what I’m sayin’? But this time, I just decided that I would go but I made this proclamation, “I will go but if I can get out of there without being moved, I will set my feet in concrete and be done with the whole missions trip thought altogether!” I really did make that decision.

So I went to Missions Momentum with the attitude of “I will not be moved!” And I was doing great….until Noah and his testimony about Alex. Alex was our first HIV child so he was already special to me. Noah shared about meeting Alex and holding him. He got to love on Alex up close! But then to find out that Noah’s sponsorship money actually saved Alex’s life—that before Noah sponsored Alex, they had thought he was going to die. Noah’s funds came just in time to get the medicine Alex needed and now he was a plump, happy, talkative little boy. Alex got to experience the love of Christ through Noah. That testimony of Alex and Noah changed me. Aw man! My mission failed. I’m weeping! Come on now! I needed to process this whole thing. Me? To Africa? I knew it with my whole heart that I needed to see those children with my own eyes and touch them with my own hands, to speak to them with my own voice and to love them like Jesus!

So it’s true…I’m going to Africa in January 2013! And I’m taking my daughter, Taylor, with me! Since I’ve made that decision, it’s like I’ve broken free. Turns out it’s exhausting to fight against God.

Is it worth it to sponsor a child? Have you seen the pictures of what God is allowing us to do to help these children? God is using us to answer prayers that they have been praying a long time. Is it worth it? Yes!

I don’t know what’s bigger and better…how God is using me to bless the children or how God is using them to bless and change me.

For more information on how you can sponsor a child, contact me (Debbie@SummitMadison.org) or stop by the Ray of Hope table this Sunday (March 25) after church.

For more information on the January 2013 Uganda trip, contact Mark DeCourcey (Mark@SummitMadison.org).

The monetary outlook I try to maintain as a disciple is simple. It all belongs to God. If I will seek to honor Him with every bit of it, He will provide for my needs and bless me with some wants. I get in trouble when I stake my claim to it. “I work hard to earn this. It’s mine to do with as I please.” Of course a good churchy response might be, “Ten percent is God’s. The other ninety I worked hard for. It’s mine to do with as I please.” How about a radical response, “Ninety percent is God’s. The other ten percent is mine. I worked hard for it. I will do what I want with it.” The truth is, the only response a disciple can have is, “It is all God’s. I will do what He wants with all of it. If He wants to bless me with some portion, I will humbly accept it as a gift not an entitlement.”

Should the currency of time be any different? Is any of it mine, or is it God’s? When I talk about “me time” or “my time,” am I speaking like a disciple? The truth is all of my time, every minute of every day including federal holidays is a gift from God. It is by His grace that I have one more minute or one more weekend. Do I say things like, “That is my time that I set aside for______?” Disciple, understand that it is all God’s. He is the creator and giver of time. You can stake no claim. I must recognize that not a single minute belongs to me. I need to get in the practice of saying, “Every day belongs to God. I will use every moment to act obediently and give Him glory.” I believe that with time as with money, when we realize the truth of ownership, God will take from that which is His and bless us abundantly from it.

I end with a recent example that has clarified this for me. I get possessive of my day off. I use good righteous reasoning like I have to protect my time with my family. The truth is, I am thinking more selfishly than that, but who can bet against the family card? Anyway, I watched my weekend disappear with Friday and Saturday events at church. I wasn’t happy with what was happening to “my” time. Looking ahead to the weekend, the events weren’t the issue, they were great, the issue was that I didn’t get to choose how “my” time was going to be spent. I got home about an hour early on Monday. Lisa graciously pulled the plug on her dinner plan and we went out on the patio and cooked hot dogs over a fire for dinner. The weather was just that perfect. While we are eating, my little girl jumps up from the picnic table. She says, “Everyone stop eating. Finish what is in your mouth but don’t take another bite.” She ran inside and came out a few minutes later. I asked her why we had to stop. She said, “This is so awesome, I didn’t want to miss any of it and I don’t want it to end.”

Lesson for Mark: You loosened your grip on “your” time. You didn’t do it joyfully, but you did it. You get partial credit. In doing so, you surrendered the week to Me. Your best intents and highest hopes for Saturday would not have compared to the gift I gave you on Monday.

When I started sponsoring Alex, I had mixed emotions. I was honored to have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of a child on the other side of the world. At the same time, I thought of the added strain on my college-kid finances and wondered if the money would actually make a difference. I at times doubted if the money I was sending was actually being used for Alex, or if it was being used up somewhere along the way.  These doubts continued, honestly even after arriving in Africa. I looked at the conditions they were living in, the state of the school and orphanage, and the lack of basic necessities and wondered where is it all going?  What happens to the sponsorship money, the Advent Conspiracy donations, and The Summit support?

It took a while for me to realize how far God was spreading our generosity.  Over and over we heard stories of how Pastor Hummer and those at the Ray of Hope were using the majority of the advent donations and The Summit support to assist others outside of the church with the intent of advancing the Kingdom. So that answered part of the question, but I still wondered how the 40 dollars a month that I was sending (a considerable income in Uganda) was being spent.  I mean, it was apparent that they kept Alex well fed and clothed, but surely that didn’t use up the entirety of the funds, right?

My eyes were opened to how much was really being done with this money when the widow who takes care of Alex, his aunt, came to me on her knees and told how Alex was on his deathbed when the sponsorship money started coming in. The whole community repeatedly attested to how much change they had seen in him in such a short time. This beautiful little boy had gone from essentially a lost cause to a big fat, healthy, bundle of joy in a matter of months. And as if that change wasn’t enough evidence to assure me that sponsorship was a worthwhile endeavor, God saw fit to reveal that Alex was not the only one being blessed. This revelation came when Alex’s aunt confessed that she had been trying to save some of the excess money from Alex’s sponsorship funds to support the 6 other unsponsored children she cared for.  So not only had a mere 40 bucks a month saved a kid’s life, but it was enabling a godly woman to meet the needs of 7 orphans that God had placed in her care. At that point there was no doubt in my mind that deciding to sponsor Alex was the best and most fulfilling decision I had ever made aside from accepting Christ as my Savior.

This confidence took a hit when I heard of Alex’s passing on Sunday afternoon.  Not only was I filled with grief because of the loss of a little boy whom I had come to love over the last couple of months, but doubts began to fill my mind. Was the sacrifice worth it? Why had I been called to open up, leave my comfort zone, sacrifice of my income if he was destined to die anyway? What was the fruit of the money, time, and love that I had invested?  I wondered, for what reason had I been called to play a role in saving his life just to see him lose it less than a year later? Would he have been better off without the sponsorship? He would have been in paradise that much sooner, right?

These doubts were put aside as God revealed how great an impact Alex had made. He showed me how many had heard of a 3 year old Ugandan orphan, how many had been praying for him, and how many were impacted when he passed. I began to realize, Alex hadn’t just made an impression on me . . .  he made an impression on our whole team this past January, he has made one throughout The Summit, and he continues make impressions on others even beyond our church. And with as great an impact that has been made thus far, I believe that it’s only the beginning of what God will do. I have faith that Alex’s untimely passing will not only be a blessing for him, but also will lead others to step out in obedience to the Lord. As he begins his eternity with our Lord and Savior, his story will be told and used to encourage others to become sponsors and participate in missions and, in so doing, practice true and undefiled religion which is “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27).

Furthermore, the relationship between Alex and I will be used to propagate the understanding that the Church body is a global entity that is called to be wholly unified. How better to show God’s impartiality and unity than to draw a 19 year-old college kid who works at a bowling alley and lives with his parents to Uganda to impact the life of a 3 year old orphan boy who lives in the slums and battles HIV.  Honestly, the only thing we had in common was God and the same date of birth, and so the only explanation I have for the bond that was built between us is that it was a God thing. I challenge anyone who thinks that global missions are unnecessary or that the Church isn’t called to be unified to provide a better explanation.

Lastly, as I saw the impact that God was going to do in others, I realized that the greatest impact of all has probably been in me. This relationship has caused me to experience sacrifice and blessing, love and loss, faith and doubt, hope and discouragement, joy and sorrow, and I’ve experienced tremendous growth through it all. When I examined how God has worked in me through this experience, I discovered all this hasn’t really been about Alex. I wasn’t called to sponsorship to save Alex’s life, I was called that I might find life and know what it means to “have it abundantly” (John10:10). Going to Uganda wasn’t so that I could bless Alex, it was so he could bless me and that God would show me what it really means to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). And even in his passing he has taught me what it means to find joy and solace in preferring to “be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). So in light of all this I ask, was it worth it? And the answer is a resounding, YES!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSJgtB0l7Q

(Stayed tuned for Part 2)

]]> http://www.summitmadison.org/is-it-worth-it-part-1/feed/ 6