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January 2024

January 24, 2024
in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD, GiveHope, Guest Services
by Brendon
0 Comments

DTOTD – Thought 3

” If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you……These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” – John 14: 15-17, 25-26

 

Just follow your heart.

 

Have you heard that phrase before? It is a phrase that you can find in all of culture, movies, songs, art and even the news cycles. Just follow your heart.

 

That phrase has led to most likely, heartache, confusion, questions, counseling, divorce, anger, resentment, mistrust, bad financial moves, and maybe even worse but the hurt of your own body.

 

Just follow your heart is a dangerous phrase. It can lead us down so many different paths that we may not know where we end up at the end of it.

 

There is a story in the Gospel of Luke, where the author writes a parable that Jesus used in teaching about Grace and God the Father. The parable goes that the youngest of two brothers went up to his father while he was still living and asked him to give him his portion of the inheritance that he would receive when his father is dead. For some reason, the Father says ok and gives the youngest son a whole pile of money. The youngest son, follows his heart and the bible says:

 

” not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need….” - Luke 15:13-14

 

The youngest son followed his heart and it led him to nothing.

 

We might not all be able to resonate with the youngest son, that followed his heart and it lead him to literally having nothing to his name other than his clothes. But, we probably are able to look back at seasons or years of our lives where we followed our hearts and it led into a place of desolate isolation and regret.

What if there was something or maybe someone that would remind us of who we are, what we are, what we are made to be, the concrete truths that we can stand firm on in our lives…..

 

” But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:8

 

Recently in a discussion about the Farewell Discourse of Jesus in John 14-18, the topic of the Holy Spirit came up and if we would rather have Jesus still on earth or if we understand the power of the Holy Spirit. Conversation ensued and the thoughts came to this:

 

There is a reason Jesus told us that it was better for us for him to go back to Heaven and the Helper come to Us. Because if The Holy Spirit did not come, then we would never be able to break free from anything that our hearts lead us towards.

 

Just follow your heart is not the phrase to lead us to Jesus or even help us become more like Jesus in our every day lives.

 

Allowing the Holy Spirit of Jesus/God to come into our hearts, so that when we have moments of time to make a decision, the Spirit Helps us through those times.

 

There are lots of thoughts and perceptions of the Holy Spirit. Some are right, some are off and some are just downright weird.

 

But for the simple-minded, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God that brings us knowledge and strength and power and healing and grace. The question is whether or not we allow the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts or whether we will continue to just follow our own hearts that are riddled with sin.

 

The Holy Spirit is a Helper.

 

The Holy Spirit is a Healer.

 

The Holy Spirit is a Guide.

 

The Holy Spirit is a Presence.

 

Take a breath and allow the Holy Spirit to come into your lives.

 

 

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January 16, 2024
in Church, Discipleship, DTOTD
by Brendon
0 Comments

DTOTD – Thought 2

Posted on  by Brendon

” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 1: 1-5

 

In a conversation a few years ago, a co-worker asked me this question:

” Do you or have you ever been in a place where darkness felt heavy?”

It was such an interesting question, based on the fact that he was reading through the book of Exodus and the plagues that enveloped Egypt while God was getting the Israelites free from Pharaoh. He was reading about the darkness plague and how the bible described as this:

 

” Stretch out you hand toward heaven, that there may be a darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.” - Exodus 10:21

 

Have you ever been in a place where you could feel the darkness?

 

My response to the question was yes, because there was a cavern that I went to when I was growing up that put us in a place like this. It was a cavern that you would hike down into the earth to see the opening to what looks like a horrifying wonderland. The stalagmites and stalactites bulged from under the ground and dangled from the roof of the cavern. You would walk back along a creek that ran in to the cavern, in some places feeling a little unsafe as the path would get smaller and smaller but it finally led you to an open area of the cavern that you just looked at in amazement. It was huge and loud and breath taking. The guide you were with would talk about how the people that discovered the cave and the cavern probably had little to light trying to find this big open space and he would turn off a little bit of the light that guided your path. Then he would say that if the people that were finding this cavern were criminals or potentially people that were trying to hide from someone or something, that they probably had no light on……….the last of the light went out.

 

That is a memory and feeling and emotion that I will never forget. The moment the last light went out the darkness caused a sudden case of paralysis that you didn’t want to move anything, even though a second ago you were looking at your feet and your hands, but the darkness caused you to forget where you were and what was around you. And then…..the guide did something that I was not ready for….he didn’t turn the lights back on, but he demonstrated what just a little bit of light could do in the darkness.

He took out a match and lit it. And for the time that the match was lit, one little match was able to light in the darkness a path for you to walk safely back to the entrance of the cavern.

 

In the beginning was the Word, the Word was Light and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

To most people in the world, the darkness that is felt inside of a cavern when the lights are turned off, is the same darkness that they feel on a daily basis.

 

They are lost. They are wounded. They are looking for answers. They are searching for peace. They are searching for a place to belong and a place to love them. To be known and loved and welcomed and cared for. Every heart on the planet, old or young is in a constant journey to find purpose and in some cases…..light for their lives.

 

Some of us will turn to our work. We will sink everything into our work. We will work day and night and never rest because that is where we feel our purpose lies. Some of us will turn to making money. It doesn’t matter what we have to do to make the money, but as long as we continue to make money we find our purpose in making money. Some of us will turn to being a parent. That everything that happens in life will be determined and predicated on the schedule of our kids and that our kids are the most important things happening and our purpose is to do everything for them.

 

Some of us will turn to the bottle. Because we don’t know what our purpose is and the only time you feel anything is when you open another bottle. Some of us will turn to drugs because that is the feeling that you need in life to feel alive. Some of us will turn to sexual encounters because that is what makes us feel alive. Some of us will just sit in darkness and walk through life like living zombies that have no emotion to anything because we are in a perpetual state of darkness……

 

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was light.

 

What if I told you that there is someone who can provide a light that overcomes any darkness. What if I told you that you can connect and listen and learn and love and be loved and be known by this someone who can provide that light. That no matter what is going on in your life or around your life, you are seen and heard. Whether you are perfect, which you aren’t, or you are filled with mistakes and regret and shame, someone looks at you with preciousness and grace and love.

 

Saul was a man in the bible that prided himself on being the person that was going to take down ” The Way” as it was known. The Way was the followers of Jesus that went on after Jesus died, was ressurected, and ascended into heaven. The Way was spreading all over the known world and Saul was zealous enough to go after The Way to kill it. On his way to destroy The Way, kind of feels like a star wars movies as I type this, but on his way to a city called Damascus, Saul encounters something that he was not expecting:

 

” Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice…..” Acts 9:3-4a

 

The Word was Light and the darkness has not over come it.

 

Even a man that is on the hunt to destroy The Way would feel the light that would overcome all darkness.

 

We live in a world right now that feels like there is a lot of darkness. Deceit, lies, political war, physical war, bombings, child trafficking, sex trafficking, suicide, mental illness, physical illness. So many things in our world that, make some of us feel the darkness, just like the Egyptians did during the plague of darkness. Can I invite you to something if you are feeling this darkness….

 

“ So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another no did anyone rise from his place for three days……but….all the people of Israel had LIGHT where they lived.” - Exodus 10:22-23

 

Jesus is the light that can overcome the darkness.

 

Jesus desires for you to know him because Jesus knows you.

 

God sent Jesus to the earth to live a life that is worth learning from and then sacrificed him so that we could have a relationship

with God.

 

The light of the world is in the person of Jesus.

 

Jesus is worth a follow.

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January 10, 2024
in Discipleship, DTOTD, Jesus
by Brendon
0 Comments

DTOTD – Thought 1

” Behold, the dwelling place of God is with Man…..’ and Behold, I am coming soon……Behold, I am coming soon…….I, Jesus have snet my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches…..Surely, I am coming soon.” Rev. 21:3b, Rev. 22: 7a, 12a, 16a and 20b

 

  Life.  

 

What is it? Why is life the way it is? Where did life come from? How did we get here? What made the earth so beautiful? What made the earth so cruel? Is there a system for life? Is life random? Can we predetermine life? Can we determine our own outcome? Why does bad things happen to good people?   These amongst others, are some of the most asked questions in history. These are questions that people have asked that have led to incredible discovery, adventure and knowledge.  

 

I love a good question. One that makes you think and ponder and research and read and learn and underline until you come up with your own answer. Some of the questions listed above might be one of those questions for you. Maybe you have other questions that keep you up at night.  

 

As my kids get older, the more inquisitive they become. They also are beginning to ask a lot more questions. Some good, some bad and some that just don’t make any sense.   However, I am trying to foster a place in our home where questions are welcomed, which means I have to keep myself in check when one of those ridiculous questions comes out.   One of those questions or maybe we can consider it a thought, was this….  

 

” dad, can I really believe that God created the world when everything else tells me that it was something else other than God? “

 

  I got to baptize my son a few years ago and part of me wonders if I should have waited, but part of me also knows that Jesus has his life in his hands and he is now learning and growing into his own belief. My role in his life now is to guide him always back to Jesus.   We were lying in his bed before bedtime talking about this and we read out of his big encyclopedia on how the people that put the book together thought the earth was made.

 

And we began to talk about it more and more until we got to a point in the conversation where he understood that in order for him to really dive into his faith he had to wrestle with 5 words….  

” In the beginning, God Created……”

 

  The first five words of the bible. That is what my son was wrestling with.   I have a feeling that most of us in our present context, feel the same way. We are all wrestling with whether or not there is a creator or whether this is a bang.  

 

There are seasons of life where we will lean on our faith in an understanding of that God created life. But then there are seasons of life when we question the very reason for life. Some of us battle that question so hard that it leads us to unimaginable pain and confusion.  

 

But if there is a first thought that we can have each and every day…..it might be a good way to start with this:  

 

Thought 1 – God, desires to be with you.

 

Whatever the season of life that you are in, God desires to be with you.

Whether you are in a good season or a bad season, God desires to be with you.

Whether you are happy with what you see in the mirror or hate what you see in the mirror, God desires to be with you.

Whether you are in the job you love or a job you hate, God desires to be with you.

Each and every morning when you wake up and shake off the sleep grog, God desires to be with you.

Even when things are hard and you don’t know what is next, God desires to be with you.

If you are going to start your journey off with a thought, start with this one.  

 

God, desires to be with you.

Let that be your rock.

Let that be your anchor.

Let than be your life line.

Let that be your compass.

Let that be your prayer.

 

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From the HCC Outreach Team:

Thanks so much for stopping by the Harvester Christian Church Outreach Team’s blog! We hope you find this resource helpful, insightful and encouraging as we strive to Unleash the Hope of Jesus back into our world!

This resource belongs to Harvester Christian Church in St. Charles, Mo.