Ephesians 3:7-9 (ESV)
⁷ Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.  ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.

Paul declares that he was “made a minister” not because he was Judaism’s golden boy, not because he belonged to God’s Fortune 500, not even because he was more able or capable.   The means of Paul’s ministry was singular.  It was grace.  He writes, “to me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given”.  You see, Paul understood, as we should, that he ministered not because he deserved it and certainly not because he had earned it, but because of the wonderful grace of God given to him by the working of God’s own power.

Friends, the closer we get to the Lord, the more we realize how insufficient we are to get close to the Lord.  The closer we get, the more we see the sin in our lives that might have previously gone unnoticed.  Notice that the closer Paul walked with the Lord, the more astonished he became that God would use him in ministry.   For example, he writes in 1 Corinthians 15:9, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” or 1 Timothy 1:15, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all!” Are you beginning to see a pattern? Paul the Apostle, whose resume reads, “least of all the saints”, “least of the apostles”, “the worst sinner of all”, “unworthy to be called an apostle”.  He says, “I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace”.

Be encouraged and reflective this week!  God makes you a minister by the “working of his power”.  Draw close to the Lord this week.  Allow him to convict you, cleanse you, refresh you and empower you for his good work to “bring to light for everyone”.  Gang, God loves you and is going to change lives through you as you center yourself on Him.

God bless you this week!

Shane

Ephesians 1:1-6 (ESV)
¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Paul writes to the church whom he calls “saints”.  Of course, this isn’t because they were so “saintly”, rather, they were secure.  You see the church in Ephesus, like all others, needed to work out the kinks and wrinkles.  We know this because later in this same letter Paul reminds them to “no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds… dark and in their understanding, alienated from the life of God” (4:17-18).  Or similarly in the book of Revelations, chapter 2, Jesus himself writes to this same church a word of warning and concern about what motivates their behaviors.

And yet, for all their difficulties, there’s no doubt about the favor that God has for them.  For example, notice the language, “faithful”, “blessed with every spiritual blessing”, “chose us”, “holy and blameless”, “predestined”, “adoption as sons”.  Does it get any better?

It begs the question, how can this be? How can God accept, love and demonstrate such great favor, to a people so marred with imperfection?

Well, if I’m honest, it’s the same question I ask about myself. How can God accept me?  I am so riddled with doubt and stained with sin.  I struggle with the simplest things.  The truth is I have trouble accepting myself, let alone knowing and believing that a holy God does.

And then the answer comes.  Ringing true in my heart and speaking peace to my soul, two simple words, “in Christ”.  In fact, if you reread these six verses you’ll see that four times we are reminded that we don’t stand alone or stand apart.  We are “in Christ”.  This means that everything that God sees is “in Christ”. You see, the real struggle is not earning God’s favor or performing that he would love me. Rather, it’s conforming to what he already sees me to be!  You’ve heard the term “rose colored glasses”? Gods are blood-stained!  We are in Christ Everything I do, everything I am, everything I will ever be or achieve will be measured “in Christ”.

Leader, be encouraged this week! Stop measuring yourself against the mediocrity of your own performance and certainly don’t get caught in the trap of believing you’re doing it independently of Jesus.  Jesus said, “as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” John 15:4.  We are “in Christ” as he put it “to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved“.

God bless you.

Shane

Isaiah 10:15 ESV

Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!

Where do we get the power for effectiveness in ministry?  Jesus knew.  You might remember when Jesus walked the dusty road from Galilee toward the Jordan intent upon being baptized by John.  The scripture reads, “John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented and when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:14-17 (ESV).  Now gang, John was not wrong about Jesus.  Jesus truly had all the right to be the baptizer, not the baptizee.  But even Jesus depended on someone didn’t he?  He looked to The Father.   He knew that apart from the Father his effectiveness would be squashed.  Perhaps this is the message God was trying to convey to the nation of Assyria when he prompts the prophet to ask, “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood! You see, Assyria is a mere tool in the hand of God as are we.  Friends, God is always pleased with humility and dependence!  This is what Jesus himself was commended for!  So let me ask it again.  Where does the power for effectiveness in ministry come?  How about effectiveness as a husband, wife, friend, father or mother?  Jesus knows.  And so, for that reason, Jesus humbled himself not just before the Father but also before John.  He said, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting.” And he was baptized as a sign of dependence to Him who truly gives all the power for every good thing.  And God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”   Amen.

Shane

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Proverbs 19:17 (NIV)

Truer words have never been spoken.  Jesus reminded his followers of this when he said…

“Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me-you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:34-40 (The Message)

As far back as the Old Testament and at the dawn of the New Testament Jesus equates the love that we share with those in need with the love we have for him in the most literal way.

For that reason, it’s an honor for me to announce a service project in which we get to love Jesus by loving and helping a Fresno church in their time of need.

New Light for New Life church in Southwest Fresno needs volunteers to help with an “Extreme Church Makeover.”  We need skilled and non-skilled help with drywall, plumbing, painting, electrical, and landscaping.  This project will begin Monday July 26 and continue all that week with “Big Saturday” work days on July 31 and August 1st.  Check out the insert in your bulletin for all the details!

Thank you for all you do to make NorthPointe Church a reflection of Jesus’ love!

Blessings,

Shane

Genesis 15:5-6 (ESV) – ⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Whenever I read about the call of Abram I get a sense of opportunity and vision. God’s saying to Abram, “I’m going to do more through you than you’ve dared imagine”! Of course, that’s nothing new to our Lord. God is always in the business of moving his people upward and onward, frontward and forward.   I was reminded once again of this through an e-mail that Pastor Steve sent to one of our prayer teams. It reads:

“Last weekend I was conscious of how the Holy Spirit can really impact people through our services. I noticed a big 30 something guy who appeared to be touched by the message. He was still lingering in his seat a good 10 minutes after the service was over and was obviously in deep thought/prayer. The moment I noticed him and started moving to finish up something I was doing so I could head over and talk to him, Rick Payne, who heads up our Lounge ministry went up to him and began speaking with him. A few moments later they headed off toward the Lounge for further talk and prayer.  I was proud of the sensitivity and good work Rick and his team are doing, but also sensitive to how the Lord can really impact people deeply in our worship.”

Rick, later sent an e-mail that sheds some more light on what happened. He wrote:

“It’s funny how God uses us, its not one person doing all the work, it’s the whole body of Christ working together.  I was in the Lounge just finishing up when Brad Gage came in to let me know there was a man still in his chair that looks like he needed someone to talk to. As I was going over to talk to him my brothers were going into the Lounge to pray for another brother going through a rough time. I walked over to the man and asked him if he was ok and he said no, then he started weeping, he said he was broken and at his end. I asked if he was a Christian he told me that he was raised in a Christian home and his dad was a Pastor. This allowed me to know how to connect with him and remind him of the promises of God that He has for His children. The man said he had just gotten out of the hospital due to a stroke and his wife was divorcing him. He was truly a broken man at his end!! I took him into the lounge and saw my brothers in prayer, Big D, bald headed Mike and Wilson. I talked and Prayed with him then I introduced him to the brothers so they could minister to him.  We actually got him to smile. We let him know he was not alone, we put our hands on him and each of us prayed for him, and as we were praying he collapsed to his knees sobbing. This was his first time to NorthPointe, he said he was in Kingsburg an hour and half ago just driving around. We exchanged phone #’s and invited him to the Men’s Truth Project group we are involved in. We also let him know that we would love to have him come back to church. He came to church the following Sunday and connected with the guys and got to talking about when we prayed over him and stated that he felt many more hands on him than were there. That’s how God works; He gives you nuggets to hold onto!!  The man told me that the songs Todd and the worship team sang deeply touched him and the Message was talking directly to him.”

It’s a powerful God working through a yielded person that makes lasting change.  Keep believing God for what he can do through you through your life!  For the Scripture readings, ^“And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. ”

Have a blessed week!

Shane

John 13:34-35 (ESV)
³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Acts 6:1-6 (ESV)
¹ Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.  ² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.  ³ Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.  ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”  ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.  ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

Philippians 1:1 (ESV)
¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Romans 16:1 (GW)
¹ With this letter I’m introducing Phoebe to you. She is our sister in the Christian faith and a deacon of the church in the city of Cenchrea.

Ephesians 6:21 (GW)
²¹ I’m sending Tychicus to you. He is our dear brother and a faithful deacon in the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening to me so that you will know how I’m getting along.

1.  The “Deacon” is both Biblical and Valuable.

Acts 13:5 (KJV)
⁵ And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

2 Timothy 1:16 (ESV)
¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains,

Acts 19:22 (KJV)
²² So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.

2. The Deacon is measured by Character over Competence.

1 Timothy 3:8-12 (ESV)

“Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.”

• Dignified, Not Double Tongued
• Not a Drunk
• A Devout Believer
• Not for Everyone Immediately
• Measured by their Personal life more than their Public life.

1 Timothy 3:13 (ESV)

“For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 4:7 (GW)
^“I’m sending Tychicus to you. He is our dear brother, trustworthy deacon, and partner in the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening to me.”

3.  The Deacon Gains External and Internal Rewards.

1 Timothy 3:13 (ESV)
¹³ For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

God’s Sanctuary

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (Montgomery NT)

Do you not know what you are, God’s sanctuary, and that the Spirit of God is dwelling within you?  If any one tears down God’s sanctuary, God will tear him down; for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are.

I have to admit something to you, I don’t think about it nearly enough.  How about you?  Ok then, do me a favor.  Read the scripture above once more.  But this time, let God have his way with you.  Quiet your heart and still your mind.  (Pause for Reading)

Well, did you do it? Ok, now, consider the implications.  First, you’re not alone.  Ever!  This is what Jesus was talking about when he said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷ 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.” God is always there with you, making his dwelling inside of you.  Now, that should hit to the heart of your loneliness.

Second, speaking to the church, this is not so much a statement about what you do, as it is an acknowledgment about who you are.  You are a house for the Holy Spirit.  You are his address, his property, his space.  He’s got the pink slip, the property agreement, and the owners manual.  So, with that said, how are you treating his property?  Could this be the heart of what the Apostle Paul was getting to when he wrote these words?  He goes on, speaking to the church, “If any one tear down God’s sanctuary, God will tear him down; for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are.” I think it’s safe to say that God is serious about how we handle what’s his.

Finally, you are holy.  Not, “you can be holy” or “you should be holy” but YOU ARE HOLY!  Why?  Because you’re His sanctuary; and “…the sanctuary of God is holy and that is what you are”.  What an encouragement!  He has made you holy.  Now, if I can be so bold, live as he has made you!  If you are holy, be holy.  In other words, live in sync with who he has made you to be.  Does your life ever feel out of sync?  Maybe this is a clue.  God has intended for you to be his holy habitation.  Anything else is just clutter.  That’s why this week I’d like to invite you to join me in a little house cleaning.   Is there an offense to forgive, a sin to confess, a habit to break, a direction to follow?  If so, do it today and live as you’re meant to.

God bless you.       

Shane

Quote from Jesus taken from, John 14:16-17 (ESV)

Joshua 3:5 (ESV)
⁵ Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Consider with me for a moment when Jesus turned to his troubled disciples and said “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do…”  Wow.  It’s quite a statement isn’t it?  Jesus certainly doesn’t set the bar low.  He says to his followers, not only will you do ministry like him, but your ministry will be even “greater”.  Now, stop and think.  What are your expectations for your ministry?  Do you expect great things for God?  How about “greater things”? Or I’ll raise you, how about your marriage, your family, and your children?  Do your expectations match Jesus?  Now, travel back in time with me 1400 years and look again at Joshua when he said, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you”.   Now, still thinking about your life, what are your plans for tomorrow?  Where will you go?  Who will you meet?  Greater things?  Wondrous things?  So Joshua said, “Consecrate yourselves”.  In other words, get ready!  In fact, the word “consecrate” used here in the Hebrew is qadash which means to keep yourself apart or prepare yourself.  Let me illustrate.  You fill a container that has rocks in it full of water.  But there’s a problem.  The capacity of water in the container is limited by a number of rocks already in there.  What do you do?  Do you just keep pouring in more water?  Is that the answer?  I don’t think so.  You see, if you just keep pouring water in, it’ll just spill right out.  So what do you do?  Well, it’s not a trick question.  If you want to get more water in, you’ve got to take the rocks out! And here lies the crux of Joshua’s message, which is a spiritual truth to this day.  It’s not just about what you put in; it’s also about what you take out.  Greater things, wondrous things, God expects them.  And so should you.   Think on it.  Next week we’ll spend some time looking at how to get the rocks out.

Blessings,

Shane

Second scripture used in this can be found in John 14:12 of the English Standard Version.

Philippians 4:6-7 (CEV)
Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.  Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

“Don’t worry about anything…” Easier said than done!  Sometimes worry comes so naturally, so effortlessly, that I don’t even realize I’m doing it until I’m neck deep in my own nervous energy.  Have you been there?  That’s why I like what Shawn wrote last week, “When life gets too hard to stand…Kneel”.  It’s great advice.  And so, like Shawn, the Apostle Paul echoes a timeless encouragement to “pray about everything”.

Some time ago a newspaper headline read, “Missing Hyphen Blamed in Rocket Failure.”  It was a fascinating headline because it was hard to believe that just a little hyphen would cause the destruction of such a powerful rocket.  Upon further investigation however, it was discovered, “The hyphen gives a cue for the spacecraft computer to ignore all data the ground computer feeds it until radar contact is made. But, when that hyphen is left out, false information is fed into the rocket.”  In this case, the computer fed in hard left, nose down”.  And down it went!  All because of a missing hyphen.   Who left out the hyphen? Who knows?  All we do know, is without the hyphen, things went haywire!

Life can be like that.  Sometimes the things that seem the most insignificant are the most important!    I think this is what Paul was getting at.  Maybe you’ve heard the old proverb: “For want of a nail a horseshoe was lost; for want of a horseshoe, a rider was lost; for want of a rider, a battle was lost; for want of a battle, a war was lost.”  Well, there’s more truth to that than you might think.  Friends, don’t ever underestimate the value of prayer.  The scriptures read that through prayer, “…God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.” In other words, prayer operates like an internal guidance system for the direction of your life!  That’s why God wants for you to lay your heart before him over your ministries, small groups, families, children, financial strains and familiar sins.  It may just be the missing hyphen needed in your circumstances right now!

In Christ,

Shane

We Are The Light!

Matthew 5:14 (ESV)  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

In giving the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus enlightens us on the reality of discipleship. Not just in church, but in the everyday world. Jesus shares piercing metaphors to illustrate the impact that the disciples will have on the world around them. In a world full of darkness, we are the light!

Jesus follows the statement above by saying, “Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”  Matthew 5:15 (ESV) The typical la

mp in a Jewish home was fairly small and was placed on a stand to give maximum illumination throughout the dwelling. As believers who have the light within ourselves, we should make every effort to let it shine to its maximum potential for those around us; for those in the world who do not yet have the light.

I’ve found in my own life that just like a lamp, I can choose to let the light shine or turn it off. It is up to me to make that decision daily. What will you do with your light each day this week? Will you put it under a basket, or will you put it on a stand and let it shine?

Let your light shine this week!

Shawn

What Does it Mean to Trust?

Joshua 6:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it.

The people of Israel were reveling in the spoils of victory.  Having conquered Jericho, they were now on their way toward possessing what God had given.  And what a victory it was!  You see, Israel didn’t win the battle because of their ingenuity or strength.  Their victory was born out of their trust.  Such is the way of all who follow Him.  The prophet said “…not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” Zech. 4:6    It’s an important lesson. God brings the victory.  We bow in dependence.  And then comes Gods words, “But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction…” In other words, God is saying, don’t cling to what I have purposed for calamity and don’t value what I despise.

Have you ever found yourself clinging to something God has told you to cut out?  I have.  Bad habits, wrong relationships, destructive decisions; all one has to do is take a passing glance at my life to see that I’m no stranger to the struggle.  But you know, it never turns out well.  He says, “…lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it”.  Ouch!  What’s the end result of keeping what God says to cut out?  You guessed it, “trouble”!  You don’t want trouble in your life?  Trust Him.  In other words, depend on His instruction and do what He tells you to do.  Trust means, following God’s lead without knowing where; expecting a miracle without knowing how; waiting for God’s timing without knowing when; trusting God’s purpose without understanding why.   Gang, in this you will never be disappointed!  Follow the instruction of the Lord and leave the where, how, when, and why to Him!.

God bless you.

Shane