Galatians 5 includes an amazing verse that tells us about the fruit of the spirit which it tells us are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."
My hope is that I will see in my own life evidence of these fruit growing in my actions daily. That I will find I am naturally growing in my ability to love, growing in my capacity for finding joy, growing in my desire for peace, growing in my love for peace, growing in my desire to show kindness, growing in my care for goodness, growing in my passion for faithfulness to God, growing in my ability to show gentleness and growing in my ability to have self-control. But the reality is that those things are not something I can grit and force, they come from God's growth in my heart and are an outpouring of his life growing within me. But, strangely, while most Christians desire to see these fruit grow in most parts of their lives...we sometimes see them resist the fruit in certain zones and call them off limits? For example, a normally kind Christian might turn into a cursing maniac at a sporting event who yells obscenities at the ref who makes a "bad" call. Or a normally peaceful Christian might flip a switch and flip the bird at another driver who cuts them off in traffic. Or a normally self controlled follower might forget all about the teachings of Jesus on loving their enemies when they encounter a person from the other political party and start shouting at them in un-Christlike ways online. Why do we think that a sporting event, the steering wheel or the keyboard are fruit free zones? There is no place where the Spirit of God does not seek to dwell with us! To be a follower of Jesus means to follow Him always...even in the places where we would rather go alone, do our own thing or say what we want to say. So I encourage you to do a Heart Check. Not a literal one with a stethoscope, but an emotional and spiritual one. Dig deep into your heart and see if there are places where you have tried to tell the Holy Spirit they cannot go. Have you told God there are places or times or things that He cannot change...that are off limits? If so, you need to submit those to Him and his transforming power too! In Christ, Pastor Scott
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My wife and I plant a small garden each year. They are just a few small beds with tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, strawberries and a few other things; but we enjoy the fresh produce it brings and the joy of seeing it grow.
But, I don't enjoy the weeding and the watering it requires if we have a dry spell. I'd rather the Lord provide rain (at night if possible) so that I can skip the watering (and save money too). In my devotional today I read from Jeremiah 17 which says, "Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." If we are constantly having to seek nourishment from ourselves (self help books, meditation, yoga, darkness retreats like the one that Aaron Rogers just went on...), we will always be thirsty; but if we can plant ourselves near the stream of living water...then we will never thirst and never run dry. In Christ, Pastor Scott Marie Kondo became famous several years ago as a Japanese home organizational consultant who encouraged people to minimize their possessions and keep their homes very tidy by only keeping things that "sparked joy" in their lives. Her ideas swept America as people got rid of items trying to find order in their homes.
Recently, Marie made the news again in an interview when she admitted that as a parent she had basically given up on those same ideas. She said after the birth of her third child, "my home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this stage of my life." Like many of us, Marie has had to embrace the mess of parenthood. Kids are a blessing, but they make messes. They spill, they track in mud, they play with toys...and it creates chaos in what might be an otherwise clean home. And that is ok. Life is better with a bit of mess. It means that your life is well loved. The same is true in church. People are messy, but they are worth the mess. If you create a church where people can be real and honest about their lives, they will bring in their mess (sin, struggles, temptations, emotions, frustrations, conflicts...) and that will be messy sometimes; but that is what it takes to create a real community of faith. I suppose we could pretend we have it all together and that our church is just a perfect place made of perfect people...but it wouldn't be real and no real life change would ever happen; plus the people who really need Jesus would stay away. Remember, Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. It was messy. But, their lives were transformed as a result. So, embrace the mess. The Church shouldn't be a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners. Now, hospitals don't leave people the way they are...we seek to heal people; but we do accept the sick and help to make them whole. So bring on the mess. Be honest. Be real. We will have the broom ready because Jesus calls us to embrace the mess. Amen. Pastor Scott I admit I am stubborn. I like things how I like them. If I know how to do something one way, I will likely do it that way forever. So, they might invent a new way, but I'll be slow to adopt it because the old way still works. For example, I still like to preach from paper while many of my peers use an Ipad. If I go to a restaurant, I am likely to order the same thing I always get rather than try something new. I see this as wisdom, the whole "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of wisdom...but some call me stubborn; which is also true.
But some things don't change and we shouldn't try to change them. One of those is God's word. While styles come and go (bell bottoms aren't popular much anymore, but hey, they could always make a comeback), the Bible is unchanging. Some will try to argue that if we open our minds and try to see it in a new way or through a certain lens, we can adapt our understanding to allow for new ways of thinking...but often this is just an excuse to conform to society rather than to be transformed by God. No, the word of God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 says, "the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." It is not up to us to say what is good or bad, right or wrong; that is up to God and found in his word; and his word is unchanging. Society will change, culture will change; but God doesn't change and his word doesn't change. We must stand strong on his truth, while speaking it with love, but never bending our convictions to the world. In Christ, Pastor Scott Jesus trained his disciples intentionally and well for over three years in a variety of ways. He taught them, showed them, gave them hands on experience in the field and then commissioned them with clear instructions to take this message to "all nations"...and yet they almost missed the mission because of one fatal flaw in their bias. They thought the good news was just for their kind.
You see, the Jewish people (children of Abraham) were "God's chosen people" and while this is clearly true, it didn't mean what they thought it meant. If you go all the way back to Genesis 12, God told Abraham that he was blessed to "be a blessing". He wasn't supposed to keep the blessing for himself or his family or even his descendants alone; but for all people. He was supposed to share his knowledge of God with the whole world; but alas, they did not. They hid their light under a bushel basket. But now, Jesus is restating the mission once more, take it to all the world. But the disciples are Jewish and they still see the world through this same bias. It is hard for them to let go of this way of thinking that people would need to become "like us" in order to be saved. In fact, they almost miss the mission of God because of their stubborn persistence that people conform first and be saved second...but that's not how God works. We don't get to tell God who is in or who is out, His spirit moves where it pleases and in who it pleases. We can't draw lines on a map and keep God in. I urge you not to make the same mistake. Don't miss the mission that God is calling you to because you try to limit God. Nobody is ever too far for God to reach. God's love can overcome any barrier or line we might draw. So never give up. Be open to any move of God's spirit. If He moves, even in unlikely places or with unlikely people, be ready. In Christ, Pastor Scott Adam was made from the dirt, in fact his name means dirt. We are all made from dirt and when we die, we all eventually turn back into it again as our bodies decompose. That is why, at a funeral, you might hear the pastor say "we are but dust, and to dust we shall return."
But dirt and dust isn't just what we are made of, throughout the Bible they were seen as a sign of repentance and grief. When Job lost his home, his health and his children, he sat in the dirt and covered himself with ashes as a sign of his grief. He was grieving loss of life; but we can also be in grief over our sin. The season of Lent is an ancient Christian tradition, a time leading up to Easter where we consider the weight of our sinfulness and repent (turn) from it in mourning. Traditionally this has been done by taking the sign of ashes on the forehead in the shape of a cross. This shows, that like Job, you are in grief and mourning, but for your sin. You realize you are a sinner and wish to turn away from your sin and toward the life of God. Like the prophet Isaiah you might cry "I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips" but like Isaiah we hope in a God who can make us clean again and use us for His glory and in His Kingdom! Join us tonight at 7:00pm for an interactive time of prayer, scripture and repentance where you can experience Ash Wednesday in a new way. I pray it will be a powerful reminder that we are sinners, but we serve a great and loving God! In Christ, Pastor Scott Located in the small town of Wilmore, Kentucky, Asbury University and Seminary has been training Pastors and Missionaries in the Wesleyan and Methodist tradition since 1890 and named after Bishop Francis Asbury, the founder of American Methodism.
On Wednesday, February 8, students gathered for chapel...as they do every Wednesday; and have been worshiping ever since. In this age of social media and livestreams, we are able to watch in real time as students, staff, community members and visitors from other colleges have joined together to pray, sing, repent and many are finding that God is doing a powerful work in this place and in their hearts. I have seen video and pictures of what is happening in the chapel as well as the long lines of people waiting to go inside. I have now heard reports from various other colleges of students feeling this fire of revival. Some of my dear friends, some alumni of Asbury, have gone to see for themselves this move of God and have reported a sweet spirit of the Lord that is on the move. I think the thing I love most is that this happened on a normal Wednesday in a normal chapel service. Asbury's chapel is beautiful, but simple and old fashioned. There is a pipe organ at the front and lots of beautiful dark wood. There are no fancy lights or fog machines. No big name speakers or worship bands came to perform. There was nothing manmade to stir the hearts, only the Holy Spirit. This revival seemingly came out of the blue, but don't be fooled; many faithful people have been praying for years and decades that God would once again stir our hearts and it seems that those prayers are being answered again. And we saw it here in our church this Sunday. I loved the words of Jeni Clayton, our mission coordinator, who is about 9 months pregnant, that she felt led to share with us that God is about to birth something new here at Six Points! Will you pray for Asbury? Pray for this revival to spread? Pray for our church to catch this spirit of God on the move? That God would birth something new among us? Isaiah 43:19 "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." In Christ, Pastor Scott Back in my day, I was a decent shooter in basketball. I still like to get out in the driveway and shoot around a bit with my boys, but my days of competitive ball are probably over.
Eventually, I took up coaching and have coached both basketball and soccer. I had one kid, with some special needs, who just threw it up if he got the ball. He was never even close and the other boys on my team didn't want to pass it to him as a result. Most of his shots would have been lucky to hit the broad side of a barn. I swear sometimes he had his eyes closed. He was just hoping it would go in with no plan, no aim. Our spiritual life can be like that too. We might love Jesus, but what next? After we pray the prayer of salvation, what do we do till we go to heaven? Some would say to pray, go to church, read your Bible...all of which are good; but that's not really a plan. If you feel like you are wandering in your faith or in need of direction, there are tons of wonderful tools and resources that we could point you to to help you. There are Bible reading plans, prayer journals, spiritual gift inventories and so many more tools that are waiting to be taken advantage of. We offer classes and studies with mature teachers who can offer guidance. And I would be happy to meet, as your pastor, to provide counseling or guidance so that your life has aim and a plan as you seek to follow Jesus faithfully. We are in this together, seeking to follow Jesus together...and we would love to help you as you follow that "narrow road" to life. In Christ, Pastor Scott We just began a new preaching series this week called "The Journey" where we are going through the book of Acts and seeing how the disciples lived out the mission that Jesus gave them.
In chapters 3-4 we read about how Peter and John (early leaders in the church) were arrested and threatened to stop preaching...but refused. Upon their release, the immediate reaction of the church was to pray. Not to celebrate, not to take up an offering, not to relax...but to pray to the God who had brought them home and thank Him for his divine hand upon them! Then, in vs. 31 of chapter 4, we read this amazing statement, "After they prayed" Not before they prayed. After. God waited to act until his people prayed. God can act anytime, but He acted once His people prayed. It goes on. "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." It may be that God is waiting until we pray. So what are we waiting for? Get off your phone and onto your knees. Once we humble ourselves and pray, God may do a movement in us like He did in them. I pray that we too may be filled with His Holy Spirit so that we may be shaken, so that we may speak the word of God boldly." Amen. In Christ, Pastor Scott Like many of you, I remember as a child when missionaries came to my church and told stories and showed pictures of their work overseas. I was both amazed and shocked to hear about the wonderful things they had seen but also the scary things they had endured in order to help people far away find God.
These people, to me, where like superheroes. They must be special and possess special powers to do this work. I knew that I was not like them. I didn't have the faith or the knowledge needed to do this work. So I threw a few dollars in the plate and prayed a prayer for them...and went back to my comfortable life. That's exactly the problem. We have decided that only SOME people are missionaries and we are just normal Chrsitians. But that isn't supposed to be the case. The whole world is a mission field. Our local school is a mission field full of students who don't know God's love. Our neighborhoods are a mission field full of families who don't know Jesus yet. Our own families may be mission fields with loved ones who haven't accepted God's grace in their lives. And we are the missionaries most likely to be used to share that love and grace and truth. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that "you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light" No longer is the work of proclaiming the good news just for a few, but for all. We are all missionaries. We may never go overseas to do the work, but our mission field is all around us. Open your eyes and share the good news. In Christ, Pastor Scott |
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