I love to paint. I love art. I don’t do it nearly enough because of time, but there are some principles that God has been speaking to me over the past couple of months from the years of training I have received.  When I was in art school I was required to do a self-portrait as the last project of Drawing 1.  I thought the finished product was fairly good to have just taken one class. The next semester I transferred to FSU and took Drawing 2. The very first assignment was guess what? Yep, a self-portrait. This time the instructor taught us a concept of drawing by looking at a picture upside down. He talked about how our brains tend to complete drawings the way we think it should be done instead of looking at the picture the way it actually is. I completed that project completely upside down. Not only did I look at the picture upside down, but I drew upside down as well.  The result was amazing! When I put the two drawings side by side there was no comparison. The one done upside down was way more realistic than the prior version. A different part of my brain had been tapped into to see differently. A shift in perspective had occurred and there were absolutely no preconceptions as to how the drawing should look.

What is your perspective of God? Have you drawn a picture of God that is the way you want Him to be or how you think He should be?  We put so many limits on God if we do this. Our perspective of situations is so tiny, distorted and skewed compared to God’s perspective. When we get a glimpse of what we think he is doing in a situation we go ahead and look down at paper and draw the rest of the picture in our minds to fit what we are used to instead of what the plan really is. The only way to see the full picture is to not take our gaze off of his FACE. This comes with time. Time in his word, time worshiping, time serving his people. The more we interact with his heart the more we know what is on his heart and His perspective begins to take over our foggy, distorted eyes.

Commit to Him today to not be hasty and complete the picture on your own. Don’t let prior failures and hurts draw a conclusion that is not His plan for your life. Ask him to turn your world upside down and to shake loose your perspective. Look only to him and fix your gaze on His eyes. The reality of His perspective (ways) in your life instead of your own will blow your mind.

Click on the link below… It’s a nice upside down song. I call it Misty Edward’s Dr. Seuss song.

I’ve always been a person who wants to have a reason for everything I do.  I want to understand the purpose behind it.  Primarily because when I understand the purpose of something and keep “purpose” as the focus, it keeps mediocrity and complacency from setting in.

Lately, my quest for knowing and understanding the purpose behind things has caused me to re-evaluate my life somewhat.  And it seems that when I start down this path, things (aka, clutter) start getting cleaned out (thus the pile of garage sale items piled in the back of our house).  I start asking myself why I do the things I do.  Did God instruct me to do this?  Is what I’m doing in His word?  Is it fruitful?  The list goes on.

As I sift through these things, habits, activities, and behaviors, it’s not uncommon for me to realize that, of this “clutter,” much of these items did not start out this way.  But because I lost focus on their intended purpose, they became dead weight in my life.

Often, in the church world, we classify this clutter as “tradition,” as if the tradition itself is the dead weight.  Even when we say the word, all sorts of negative connotations arise in our mind.  However, traditions by definition are inherently positive beliefs handed down from generation to generation to establish cultural continuity.  The negative connotation comes when we focus on the activity of tradition rather than the purpose behind the tradition; when we make tradition the prerequisite for God to move (i.e., God only moves when we pray a certain way or sing a certain type of music).  Godly mandates and traditions are abused and rendered powerless only when we forget or misinterpret their original purpose.  In fact, most things in life, when void of purpose, are abused.

A simple example to illustrate my point is food…a basic necessity for sustaining life.  The purpose of food is to fuel our bodies with energy so they will function the way God intended.  Food is to the body what gas is to a car.  A car must have gas to function; however, a car was made to hold only a certain amount of gasoline.  If you have ever found yourself daydreaming while pumping gas, you quickly realize that when your tank is full, it has no problem ejecting the excess.  This is costly, dangerous, and messy.  You cannot overfill a gas tank.  Conversely, when it is empty, the car will cease to function until it is filled again.

Our bodies were made in a similar fashion.  They were made to hold a certain amount of food.  They were made to operate properly (as God intended) with certain types of food.  What happens is we forget or misinterpret the purpose of food and thus we abuse it—whether it be through over indulgence manifested through gluttony and obesity or under indulgence manifested through eating disorders such as anorexia.

If you’re like me, you want to enjoy your food.  Enjoyment, however, was not the initial purpose of food.  Providing our bodies with energy and proper nutrients was God’s intended purpose so that we can do the work (worship) of the Lord.

The enjoyment of something comes from understanding it’s purpose and allowing it to function in and for that purpose (this can be said of most things i.e., money, children, work, church, etc.).

Bringing it back to a more Biblical example, let’s take a look at the Israelite’s response to the Law or the Ten Commandments.  God gave the Israelites a set of rules and laws to follow based on their plea that God not speak with them directly for fear of death (Exodus 20:19).  So rather than “be near” a God they were afraid of, a God who called them His “special treasure,” the Israelites said they would rather “do” anything He asked of them.  They thought by adhering strictly to the law, God would be pleased with them and that would be enough.  They viewed the purpose of the law as a means to get close to God without ever having an encounter with Him.

But God’s purpose for establishing the law was to reveal man’s sinful nature (Romans 3:20); to reveal man’s need for a Savior—our need for relationship.  And this brings us to our original purpose for being created: To rule with God via relationship with Him.

For every believer, this purpose is the same.  We all have been given various talents, abilities, and callings to fulfill this purpose; however, our purpose is singular.  What happens when this purpose is misunderstood, abused, or ignored altogether?  Powerlessness.

Paul warns Timothy about having a form of godliness, while denying its power.  This reminds me of the Israelites again…that’s what they wanted…a way to “appear” holy, without ever having to commit their heart to God.  To enjoy the benefits of being “God’s special treasure” while never enjoying God Himself.

Look at what this cost them—time, energy, life, family, and for some, the promise.  When I look at this story from an objective point of view, I don’t see a God who dictated rules and regulations to frustrate His people.  Rather, I see a God who took pleasure in His people and desperately desired to be close to them.  His purpose was for them to become His children (Ephesians 1:5); to bring Him pleasure (Revelation 4:11).

And often I find myself in the same place as the Israelites—forgetting God’s purpose for creating me.  Striving to “do” rather than seeking to please.

Striving = law.  Seeking = relationship.

Our purpose is for His pleasure.

And all else, in my mind, flows from understanding and living this one thing.

I found it really weird that this was happening because for the entire month of March, God had been speaking to me regarding faith, works, and fruit, and one would conclude that this relative probably hadn’t produced much fruit in his life.  Who knows, maybe God was giving me a visual to demonstrate his point.  There are two chapters of scripture that I have been intently studying regarding faith, works, and fruit, James 2 and John 15.

Lately, I’ve been evaluating all of my actions to make sure they are productive and effective.  Some of my reasons for evaluation are: I realize that I’m not twenty-one anymore and must begin to take things a lot more seriously; I’m a mom who has to be conscious of the effect my actions and/or inactions have on our son; and the growth of The H.O.P.E. Center is “moving at the speed of light” and requires much analogy.  Nevertheless, I have learned that only what we do for Christ will stand, and everything that I have taken on as of late has been analyzed to determine if it is a good fruit of my labor.

John 15:16 (The Message) tells us that “You didn’t choose me, I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil…and James 2:14-18 (The Message) tells us dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?  I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”  Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

I’ve said all of this to say that we should count it joy that God chose us to carry out his works on this earth, and our work must have a purpose.  Many of us get so busy working to bear fruit, but is our fruit spoiling as soon as we bear it?  Are we negating the fruit of our faith and works with sometimes shaky faith, ulterior motives, and hidden anger?

Let’s make a conscious decision to forego “pettiness”, and focus on the most important task at hand.  With so many people hurting and in need, let’s get busy bearing fruit that will last, exhibiting faith that is unwavering, and works that are contributing to the Kingdom.

I leave you with this final thought from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  “Life’s most urgent and persistent question is what are you doing for others?”  I strive for my answer to always be bearing good fruit because of my faith and my works.

The ten commandments, those archaic rules that are no longer allowed in our schools or courts of law, yea, you remember those right? They actually tell us quite a bit about God and ourselves when we look at them with the correct perspective. Jesus tells us more about the ten commandments in his 15 second interpretation of them than you and I can live out in a hundred lifetimes.

During one of the many episodes of religious church folk attempting to diminish the Spirit of God working through Jesus, He was questioned, “Which is the greatest command?”

His response was powerful and proved that religious people struggle to look at the spirit of what is intended, instead they usually just see what is written. (God’s Word is a discerner of the intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12) This usually has to do with people using God’s intentions to accomplish selfish motives rather than submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word in their own hearts.

In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus answered the Pharisee, a.k.a. expert of the law, by giving a summary of the first 4 commands. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Jesus was forcing this expert of the law and the other silenced listeners to acknowledge they had missed the spirit of the law that was given through Moses.

They were all there to defend the great and revered Moses but none of these men even understood what Moses had really written. They probably would have been just like the other stubborn, faithless, Israelites during Moses’ time and not listened to him or even liked him if they had been alive with Moses. Yet here they stand before Jesus, the Spirit of God in flesh, defending the law and the human law giver exemplifying their complete perversion of what the law even said.

The first four commands are laws that govern our personal relationship with God while the last 6 are laws that govern our relationships with everyone else, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

The challenge here is to grow deeper in Him; more than just reading the Word without the Spirit being involved or living life without being submitted to the Spirit that wrote the Word. We can’t just take the name of God without allowing the Spirit to work in us and through us. If we take a personal inventory and can not see the fruit of the Spirit being cultivated in us then we may not have moved past living as one who is known only in name as a Christian.

John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” The greek word for sons in this verse is teknon and it gives the meaning that you are called a son or child because of your name.

When you compare the meaning of the original word for sons in John 1:12 with the original word used for sons in Romans 8:14 “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”, you get a much different definition. The word for sons in Romans 8:14 is huios and it means those who in character and life resemble God, those who are governed by the Spirit of God.

The great separation here is that one who is only named among the sons of God does not necessarily yield himself to the government of God which is directed by the leadership of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. This requires continued submission to the Holy Spirit, every day, not just once, at an altar in front of a large crowd. We have to be led by the Spirit daily.

If my son disobeys me this does not make him not my son, but rather he is a disobedient son. Of course though, continued disobedience brings consequences of death that separates a disobedient son from his Father eternally, Romans 8:13, “for if you live according to the sinful nature you will die.” In other words just because God predestined us all to be sons, this doesn’t make us have His name or His character. No, we all have to choose to let Him be our Father and we have to choose to let Him govern our lives. We must first believe in Him as John wrote in John 1:12 and then we must continue our submission to His Spirit as Paul wrote in Romans 8:14.

A point where the water gets muddy is the Church is full of both types of people. Those who are content with the name of God and those who are striving for the character of God. This points to why there are so many wars among church people.

Romans 8:7 says, “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” If you have some that are trying to walk according to the Spirit and you have others who do not, the very natures involved will bring direct conflict. The answer for this dilemma is to walk in love. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us all the ingredients required to walk in love. The Spirit’s leading will never cause us to walk contrary to God’s Word.

One who is controlled by the Spirit has yielded his heart and is willing to die to selfish desires in order that the desires of God be brought about through the Spirit’s leading. It is this “law of the Spirit” that cultivates the character of God within us, making us known as Christians in our conduct, attitudes, love and character rather than just a person who gets to use the name. Real sons, real daughters of God are those who are led by the Spirit. Ask God to make you make you one that is known by name and character.

For almost nine months now I have been a father.  Little Cam has brought Lindsey and I joy beyond any and all expectations.  Lindsey and I agree on a daily basis that he is growing up too fast.   We quiz ourselves on what we will do at each stage of his life and try to prepare our reactions and answers.  We’ve been rehearsing for these experiences since before Cam was born.  I read aloud to little Cam, Exodus to Joshua, while he was still in the womb. The Old Testament is full of classic battles won and lessons to be learned in every outcome.  I always enjoy reading of the perils of the great leaders.  All the while knowing that there will be great proclamations of God’s goodness in the end.

Now that I have a son the one thing that rings in my ear is that the Lord repeatedly gives instruction to the leaders to build monuments, perform a ceremonies or write down decrees after many of the major victories or defeats.  The explanation given is that this will teach the children and the next generation that did not share in the same experiences.  Exodus 12:25-27 explains the Passover as an opportunity to remember God’s mercy as well as share this experience with our children.

25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ ” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

It makes total sense to write what God has done for us on tablets or in a song.  That way it won’t be forgotten or misconstrued by way of hear say.  Share what God has done for you with the next generation.  I say write it on posters, billboards, monuments in government buildings, t-shirts, armbands, and of course pillowcases.  After all, “Jesus makes me happy” would make a great pillowcase.

The other day I woke up in a blah mood.  I didn’t spend time with God that morning.  It seemed like I stayed in that blah mood all day.  I did not bring glory to God.  I missed opportunities to show God’s love.  It was my choice and I made the wrong choice.  The next day, I got up and what do you think – I had the opportunity to have another blah day.  But this time, I did as I do most mornings and began my day with “Lord, this is the day you have made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”.  I spent time with Him.  I chose to bring God glory and there were opportunities that I didn’t miss that day to bring glory to God.

I have been pondering lately on what my real purpose in life is.  And I keep coming to the same answer.  I was created to commune with God and share His love with others.  No matter where I am in life-starting a family, raising children, working, retiring- I am to spend time with Him so that I can go out and share His love with whoever He causes to cross my path.  Sharing His love can be shown in so many ways – holding the door for a mom struggling with a stroller, smiling at the clerk at the checkout counter, even when they are not having a good day, buying a meal for a stranger, giving a hug to someone, putting a $5 bill in someone’s hand, making soup for a sick neighbor, and the list goes on.

We never know how an act of kindness affects the person receiving it.  God knows all our needs and that could be just what they needed.  I believe God puts us in their path to be His hands, His face, His arms.  We don’t know what people are going thru, even if they seem like they have it all together.  We have to be willing and ready to hear when God speaks to us to do something, even if it seems like a small thing that wouldn’t really matter.  It could be just the act that brings someone closer to Him. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says: …whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.  We have to do everything, whether small or great for the glory of God.   Yes, we have jobs we do, families to take care of, soccer games to attend, etc., but what great opportunities there are in each one of those places to bring glory to God.

18 There are those who speak rashly, like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad.

Growing up in New York, I rarely had to wonder where I stood with just about anyone.  They either liked me or they didn’t.  My efforts or ability were either appreciated or they weren’t.  There wasn’t a lot of sugar-coating to accompany a typically blunt assessment.  And, to be honest, that’s one of the things I appreciate most about my fellow New Yorker’s.  It’s so much easier to deal with and move on down the road when you know, up front, where you stand.  However, this mindset doesn’t lend itself particularly well to an environment of encouragement.  When you’ve done well, you hear about it.  If not, consolation typically must be found on your own.

So, for any of you that know me well, this surely explains where my bluntness comes from.  And it may, in part, explain why I find myself constantly disappointed in the way I use (or don’t use) my words as a child of God.  Not because I’ve set out to tear anyone down, but because I may not have made a concerted effort to build them up.

When we encounter someone at any given time, we can never know what they’re feeling or what they’re going through.  We don’t always know if they’re having a great day or a terribly difficult day.  We probably don’t know if they are in a particularly “good place” or struggling just to make it.  But we can have an impact on them.  And, our impact can either be positive or negative.

We often speak so much that we forget the power behind our words.  Our words can either build someone up or tear them down.  This doesn’t necessarily mean we have to always say nice, sappy sweet things to people to build them up.  Simply pointing out a positive attribute of those we have contact with or praising them in their efforts can have a far-reaching impact on their day or life.  Even when we’re giving guidance or correction we can build someone up by balancing that guidance or correction with encouragement.  While words can come so easily to us, we should be reminded that when thrown out recklessly they can cause great harm.  But, when given carefully, words can bring great healing and encouragement to others.

Proverbs 12:25 speaks of anxiety weighing a man’s heart down while an encouraging word makes it glad.  With the abundance of anxiety we can so easily find these days, my daily prayer is that my words would make glad the heart of those I come in contact with.

Pastor Michael Smith

John 16:22-24 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.  At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.  You haven’t done this before.  Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

Who do you think you’re talking to? Is the question that my mother would ask me as a young boy that brought my mind into a consciousness that I have just stepped outside of my boundaries as a child.  I could only think of an inanimate object to divert my moms wrath towards.  So I would answer with the mind of a nine-year old child who had no siblings “the wall”.  Sometimes that got me off the hook and sometimes it didn’t.

When my mom would ask me that it was because she was trying to bring me into an awareness that I was dealing with an authority higher than that of my friends, cousins, and peers in general. She had the power to affect my state of existence in most significant ways; be it painfully or pleasantly.  I obviously had not recognized the power of what I had just said to mother or how MY WORDS  or REQUEST whether it was a question or comment could change my life.

I didn’t understand the dynamics of my relationship with my mom at that time, so my way of dealing with the authority in my life was on the wrong terms.  I didn’t understand what she could do for me or to me if I had spoken to her properly.  The disciples didn’t understand the new dynamics of their relationship with the Father.  The Lord Jesus wanted them to understand that because he had to die and be resurrected the sorrow they would experience would be temporary.  But because of his resurrection they have a new relationship with The Father God who only wants to bring us joy.  He gets joy by giving you joy.  He gives us joy by answering our prayers. The whole reason that Our Father wants to answer prayers is so that our joy may be full. Have you spoken to Him today?

The most wonderful thing happened when Jesus was resurrected.  He gave us, his believers, his children the “power of attorney”. The privilege to have everything in our relationship with God the Father through his name, character and nature. When you pray and speak; do you know who you’re talking to?  The Lord of Hosts, The Creator, The Healer, The Good Shepard, The Provider, The Giver of Life.  He that comes to God must FIRST believe that He is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Pastor Marshall Ochs

It’s  February 9th and in Tallahassee, Florida and we are still experiencing rather cold temperatures.  Earlier in January the cold weather went as low as 14 degrees on some evenings.  This weather is very uncommon for our area of the country as we rarely see weather below 30 degrees all winter.

The weather has made me think about the way seasons change and the signs humans use to know that seasons are changing.  We are masters at predicting how much rain will fall and where storm fronts will move.  We know with a certain level of accuracy where most hurricane paths are and even have a whole section in the mid-west called tornado alley.  Our homes are equipped with devices that can regulate temperature as well as control moisture.  However in all man’s advancements we will never be able to control seasons.

When I say seasons I mean the physical weather that is determined by the rotation of the earth, but also the “seasons” that we experience in our lives.  Season’s like sadness, loss, death, happiness, blessing, and fulfillment are common to all humans.  In life there is tragedy and peace, but one thing is for sure, we can’t manipulate the seasons of God.

Daniel 2:21 says “He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”  Too often we get focussed on how the season affects just us.  In the natural we get bothered by having to wear too many jackets in winter, but forget about those who have no heater in their home.  In the spiritual we take for granted that we are healthy but turn a busy head to those who are sick in the hospital.

Seasons are things that change in God’s timing for the purpose of us being perfected as a whole person, however seasons don’t just affect us.  In this season of your life take time to learn about other peoples seasons so that you can develop a deeper sense of humility.  You’re triumph in a certain season may be what your neighbor needs help with now.

Ron McCants, CHC Interim Pastor

John 8:31-32 NKJV
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Creating an environment for spiritual progress has to do with connecting with both unbelievers and believers who maybe struggling with Biblical truth in a relational environment that allows them to move to a position of little understanding of God and the Bible to an attitude of openness and interest.

If someone is sitting in a dark room and you walk in and flip a switch that floods the room with light, the person sitting in the room will undoubtedly wince and turn away from the source of light with their eyes shut tightly. If you walk in with a flashlight or candle that person will turn and even move toward the light – they will be attracted to the light.

Sometimes we take the floodlight approach to evangelism. We must understand that God is light and that in Him there is no darkness. We also must understand that unbelievers are separated from Him and they are in darkness. If the person winces and turns away then we think they are unreceptive and we move on to someone who is more receptive. The context of an ongoing relationship allows time and opportunity for the unbeliever or the believer who is struggling with truth to ask questions, dispel misconceptions and grapple with barriers they may have with the Gospel.

Timothy Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City states, “Post-modern people say that it is groups and communities which form values. You cannot give yourself and identity – you don’t know who you are except by the group you belong to. All truth and identity are socially constructed, not individually constructed.” (Telling the Truth, p. 247, Susan Hecht). While there are some obviously debatable points in that statement, we are largely shaped by the “communities” in which we live. So it becomes imperative that we understand how to spread the Gospel in the context of our environment.

To summarize, there is an old story of a rural mid-western pastor who decided to go ahead with his usual mid-week service in the midst of a major winter storm. The only person who showed up was a visitor and it was just him and the preacher. The pastor did his usual 3 songs, an offering and then a hell-fire and brimstone sermon, followed by an invitation for salvation. No one responded – surprise! After the benediction the pastor asked the visitor what he thought of the service to which the gentleman replied: “Sir, I am just a simple farmer and if I went to feed my cattle and only one of them showed up, I would feed him – but I wouldn’t give him the whole truck load of hay!”

We can be ‘evangelistic’ in our interactions with others, but we must also be wise and dependant upon the Holy Spirit. That is what I say…what say you?