Reflection on Passion Week

This was written by Pastor Jeff Meyer from The Church at Christ Memorial.  I thought this was really good to read during passion week and wanted to share it with others.

As you follow Jesus this week, so closely walking with Him to the upper room, to the bloody cross, and, praise God, to the empty tomb, please take time to really ponder His love for You!  Jesus went through it all for you.  Pretty amazing, huh?  Unbelievable really.  True nonetheless!

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. Romans 5:6-8 – The Message

Here is a simple action item for today.
As you are going about your day – coming and going, attending to responsibilities, etc. – notice the people around you.  Notice the people you know and love of course.  But then look beyond them to the people you usually do not notice.  Look at the people you generally overlook.  Try to look into their faces.  Notice their eyes.  Notice their humanity.
While you are at it, take a moment to also look at the people you may notice often, but do not like.  Look into the faces of the people who irritate you… who have run-ins with you… who hurt you.
And as you are noticing these people, realize this: Jesus knows and loves each of these people so much He willingly gave up His life for them… for each of them… for each person you notice.
See that person who seems to go out of his way to contradict you?
See that person on the street corner waiting for someone to stop and offer a day job?
See that person who undermined your credibility to the boss?
See that person walking in front of the building talking to himself and clearly not connecting well with reality?
See that person behind the counter?
Notice them.
And realize this truth:  Jesus’ assessment of each of these people is that they are worthy of suffering for and dying in place of.  Each of these people has that much worth.  Each of them.
And so do you.
How would the world be different this Holy Week if everyone noticed and remembered this?

Joy.

“Tell me what brings you joy?” It is the question  posed this past week to our church congregation, St. Stephanus by Pastor Thompson.  You would think after losing my job of eleven years a week prior that this question would be tough, but I had to keep my hands tightly secure under my legs for fear of pumping my hand in the air like Horshack and yelling, “Oh, I know, Mr. Kotter.”  Thankfully, Ms. Jackie gave the answer I was so carefully suppressing, “We are family.”

Family.  Yes, we are family and it is precisely why I refuse to let the a small thing like losing a job keep me from feeling joy this Christmas Season.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer states,

“God cannot endure that unfestive, mirthless attitude of ours in which we eat our bread in sorrow, with pretentious, busy haste, or even with shame.  Through our daily meals He is calling us to rejoice, to keep holiday in the midst of our working day.”

How true this statement is!  Yes, we all suffer losses, but if we refuse to recognize the joy, then we reject God’s gift to us – Jesus!  Jesus did not just come to give us relief from our suffering here on earth, but rather to give us eternal life, relief from our sins.  Our church family follows Jesus’ example of sharing in each others’ joy and pain.

Our connecting groups at St. Stephanus embrace God’s promise that our Savior will always be here for us and therefore, it is our mission to share our joy with others.  I pray all of you this Christmas Season and beyond, will share that joy that is “down in the depths of your heart.”  After all, we are a FAMILY!

It Starts with the Heart.

Here is a message that goes with what Mike Zimmer had to say from the Pot Luck. It hit home with me:

It Starts with the Heart. By: Pastor Greg Laurie

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. —Acts 17:16-17

Far too often we are isolating ourselves from our culture rather than infiltrating it. We would prefer to remain in our Christian subculture when, in reality, we should want to invade our world with the message of Jesus Christ.

In Mark’s Gospel, we find the story of a man who brought Jesus to his friends. Matthew became a believer, and then he invited all of his buddies over to his house. But he also invited Jesus to the party. We read that “as He was dining in Levi’s [Matthew's] house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him” (Mark 2:15). Matthew brought Jesus to his friends.

Mark also tells us about four men who brought their friend to Jesus—they were working together on behalf of their companion, who was a paralytic. They wanted Jesus to heal him, but Jesus was teaching in a home that was so crowded, they couldn’t get inside. So these men climbed up on the roof, broke through it, and lowered their friend down to where Jesus was. Seeing their persistence and faith, Jesus rewarded them by healing their friend.

I think one of the reasons we don’t share the message of Jesus Christ more often is because—if we were really honest—we don’t care. So we need to start by praying, “Lord, give me a heart for people who don’t know You.” When the apostle Paul was in Athens, “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (Acts 17:16). He cared. And then he acted.

May we care enough to bring our friends to Jesus—and bring Jesus to our friends.

“Encouragers” Devotion by: Pastor Greg Laurie

Vince found this devotion the other day and sent it out on email. It does a great job talking about how we as leaders and facilitators are called to be encouragers like Barnabas.

Blessings on your week, Megan, Vince and Betsy.

For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. —Acts 4:36
Acts 9 tells us that it was Barnabas who brought the newly converted Paul to the apostles in Jerusalem. The name Barnabas means “son of encouragement,” and his actions reveal that he was an encouraging guy. We all know a Barnabas—the one who always has an encouraging word. When you are down, that is the person you want to call, because you know he or she will encourage you.

You may not be called to preach and teach like Paul did, but you can be an encourager like Barnabas was. You can do your part, because right now, you probably know someone who needs some encouragement—someone who has failed in life, someone who is hurting, or someone who is a brand-new believer. They need someone like you to stand in the gap. You don’t have to know every verse in the Bible. You don’t have to have the answer to every theological question. You just need to be a real Christian who can show them what it is like to live in the real world.

You can be a Barnabas, an encourager, because everybody needs encouragement. And everyone needs help. Everyone stumbles and falls in some way, shape, or form. Everyone has their down days, even the heroes of life. They may wake up on the wrong side of the bed, be feeling a little cranky, or don’t always have the perfect answer for every question. They are human like you are. They need someone to just encourage them. So be an encourager.

Thank God for the Barnabases of the world who help those in need—and all of us need it at one time or another. These are the unsung heroes who play an important part in the lives of great men and women of God.