Thought for the day...

Balance sheets and resumes
By Pastor Mark Jeske
How can you tell if people think of themselves as successful?

Look at what’s on their resume: educational attainments, advanced degrees and certifications, positions held (always higher and higher in rank), and special honors and awards. Look what’s on their personal balance sheets: market investments, real estate, business ownership, trusts, and cash. Look at their presence on social media—are pics of them eagerly consumed because of their beauty, abs, or clothes?

What is your self-image? “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth” (Jeremiah 9:23,24). Wealth, fame, beauty, and strength are all temporary and will soon fade away.

Is your relationship with the Lord the highest-ranked item on your personal balance sheet? Are you proud to know him? Is that on your personal resume? Is your self-worth based on your personal achievements? Or the opposite—do you suffer from low self-esteem because you see more failures than triumphs in your life?

All this pride and fear melt away when the Father’s love, the Savior’s forgiveness, and the Spirit’s wisdom and strength are the features of your life that give you the most satisfaction and peace.

 

January 20, 2020
Verse of the Day
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Amos 5:24 NIV

 

The truth test
By Jason Nelson
I’d like you to take this little test about truth. The answers are below, but don’t peek now.

1. T or F Truth is truth no matter who says it.
2. T or F All truth is from God.
3. T or F If something rings like truth, it has a biblical foundation.

Early in my educational experiences, I saw that most ideas I found appealing also reflected the Bible’s teaching no matter who said them. I encourage you to get to know your Bible well enough so that you can apply this truth test to everything you hear. Our ability to do that makes us modern-day Bereans. “The people of Berea were more open-minded than the people of Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive God’s message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11 GW).

We tend to prefer our truth from people we like or people like us. But that is a narrow range and filters out a lot of other truth tellers. Truth seekers are generally curious, listen to many ideas, and apply the truth test to everything they hear. And voila! God shows us there is more truth available than we thought. Recognizing it makes us able to “run in the path of [his] commands, for [he] has broadened [our] understanding” (Psalm 119:32).

Now it is up to you to decide whether what I wrote here passes the truth test or not.

Answers: 1-T, 2-T, 3-T

 

January 21, 2020
Verse of the Day
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 1:5 NIV

 

Loving the Unlovable

According to church standards, I was pretty good. I “loved the sinner, hated the sin” until the day I had to put this cliché into practice. There it was, my life thrown into a tailspin over a deep betrayal. I had to make a choice: walk away from the relationship or love someone who could not have cared less about the pain that was being inflicted on me, with no remorse or resolution in sight.

I sought God hard for wisdom. What should I do? It was in this moment God revealed something to me—the heart of my betrayer. The saying “hurt people hurt people” was exactly what was happening. This person was in complete turmoil. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to deal with it or where to take it, so it was taken to me.

A funny thing happens when we begin to focus on the heart of others rather than their behavior. We become compassionate—like Jesus. Suddenly, it's no longer about me and how I’ve been hurt. Instead, it becomes about ways to love them through their pain.

I believe this is what Jesus is saying in His powerful Sermon on the Mount. How easy it is to love people who are kind to us. Even non-believers do that. Chances are, they aren’t the ones who need love the most. Honestly, it’s probably the back-stabbing coworker, the lying spouse, the rebellious teenager, or the horrible waiter at lunch. Taking the journey of loving like Jesus is life-changing. It’s loving with eternity in mind. It’s a risk, but one worth taking!

Shannon Morrison
Life.Church South Oklahoma City

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43‭-‬48 NKJV

 

January 22, 2020
Verse of the Day
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 37:4 NIV

 

This is only a test
By Pastor Mark Jeske
The Israelites and their great leader Joshua had conquered the central portion of the land of Canaan. But they didn’t finish the job. The upshot was that the new nation was surrounded on all sides by intensely hostile enemies: Tyre and Sidon (Phoenicians) to their northwest; Aram (Syria) to the northeast; Ammonites to the east; Moabites, Amalekites, and Midianites to the southeast and south; and the dreaded Philistines to the southwest.

God decided to make the presence of those hostile nations work for him: “‘I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.’ The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua” (Judges 2:22,23). When the Israelites lost interest in the Lord, he let them be harassed by their enemies.

The entire biblical book of Judges shows how God successfully used Israel’s crises to lead them to repentance and to return to him. He then came to their rescue again and again to bring them security and peace.

You know, it may be that God has chosen not to take away all of our troubles and threats for the very same reason. Sometimes foolish sinners like us need his two-by-four upside the head to get our attention. But it’s not punitive. It’s corrective when our troubles lead us back to him.

He does it for our good, you know. He loves us.

 

January 23, 2020
Verse of the Day
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7 NIV

 

January 24, 2020
Verse of the Day
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:11 NIV

 

Behind the tongue
By Pastor Matt Ewart
Words are extremely powerful things. Nations have rallied together because of a single speech. Top-level leaders of huge companies have fallen because of what they said in a single sentence. Relationships have thrived and failed over words that were said.

The Creator used words to speak this creation into existence, and ever since then on a much smaller scale our words have had the power to shape things. Words have the power to shape lives. But the apostle James explained the danger in that: “No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).

In modern terms, he might have compared it to a fire hose with no nozzle to control it. The more you try to control it, the more you realize you can’t. The only thing you can do is stop the source. And the fire hydrant that feeds your mouth is none other than your heart. Whatever is in your heart is eventually going to come out in the form of words.

God is not content to teach you how to filter your language, and he gives no classes on how to choose your words carefully. Jesus came not to tame your tongue but to address your heart.

So when the Word of God became flesh and dwelled among us, he spoke some powerful words that transform you from within:

It is finished. I forgive you. I am with you always. Peace I leave with you

 

I thank my FHC family for their friendship.


Being a Friend

I had a new co-worker a while back who really wanted to be my friend. Instead of welcoming her onto our team, I wasn't very nice to her. In fact, there were times I was flat out mean. We would hang out from time to time but only when it was convenient for me.

A few months went by and my dad was diagnosed with cancer. It wasn't long before I found myself in a hospice facility during the last few days of his life. This person I hadn't really given the time of day to didn't just pray for me during this terrible season. She stayed on the phone with me every night until I was tired enough to fall asleep. She cooked my favorite meal for me before I got on the plane. She organized a package with all my other co-workers to send to me. And when I returned to work, she made herself available to talk and to cry with me whenever I needed to.

She was my friend before I knew I needed one. She cared about me when I didn't care for her. She loved me when I wasn't very lovable.

I thought I knew what unconditional love was. I thought I understood how Jesus loves us. It turns out, I was really wrong. For some reason, I thought we earned unconditional love. Like, we start loving people conditionally and if that goes well, then eventually it will become unconditional. But that’s not the way God loves us. He died for us while we were still sinners. Jesus sees me as worthy of love even when I’m really not deserving of it. He loved me unconditionally from the beginning, and that’s the way He calls us to love others.

That friend loves me just like Jesus does. I want to love like that.

Sam Simala
Life.Church Wichita

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:12 NKJV

“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Luke 6:32‭-‬36 NKJV

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 NKJV

 

January 25, 2020
Verse of the Day
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 NIV

 

Giving and sharing
By Jason Nelson
By definition, giving is a sacrifice. It is taking something we value and presenting it to someone we value even more, expecting nothing in return. In Leviticus, God taught Old Testament believers to love him like that by insisting they make significant sacrifices. They burned up animals that took effort and expense to raise. They poured out wine that took time to ferment. When it was over, those things were gone.

We give when we help our neighbor dig her car out of a snowbank. That’s a couple hours of our lives we will never get back. We accept no payment because she is our neighbor. Giving is love with no returns. When I gave my daughter’s hand in marriage, I whispered in my son-in-law’s ear, “No givsies backsies.”

Sharing is loving with mutual benefits. There is an expected reward. We get satisfaction in what we have offered to others. God wanted Old Testament believers to share the Passover meal. Family and friends got together to enjoy food and drink. They expressed their faith in the Lamb of God whose blood redeemed them. The older folks told stories of their unique experiences as God’s people. And younger folks discovered their heritage.

Sharing is love where nothing is lost. Everyone is enriched. Faith and life mean more to us because they are appreciated by others. And it is very appropriate for others to return the favor. Giving and sharing are nice ways to live

 

January 26, 2020
Verse of the Day
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
John 15:2 NIV