Becoming a Christ!

I am to become a Christ to my neighbor and be for him what Christ is for me.[1]

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.[2]

What does it mean to be Christ to someone else? Our answer must be with the full knowledge of what Christ has done for us. Only as we know who Christ is and what Christ has done for us can we truly become Christ for our neighbor. We find our "job description" as we experience Christ within our own being.

The Holy Spirit has prepared us in exactly the way we need to minister to those people drawn across our path. You are equipped! You are able!

Have you been alone and without friends in a strange place and had to rely on the relationship with Christ alone? If the answer is yes, then your command is to be Christ to the lonely and those without friends.

Have you been afraid and wanted comfort more than lecture about your fear? Then your presence is the Christ you bring to those in fear.

Remember when you made such a mess of some decision in your life? What you wanted was someone to listen as you expressed your frustration rather than remind you of what their advice had been and how it had been the opposite of what you decided. Knowing that, are you able to be present as a pastor/caregiver before you put on the role of professor, teacher, or corrector. 

How did you want Christ to be present for you in your time of need? More than likely, that is how you may need to be present for the person standing before you in their moment of need.

Yes, Christ does come to us at times as the corrective person when we have gone against his command for us. Yes, there are times when we are called to pull a sibling in Christ aside and, with the same compassion Christ would have used with you, issue that corrective word to another member of the family of God. Yet, it is always with the full compassion of Christ that we come to this moment. We begin and end with compassion. We always seek to restore the brother or sister to their place in the family. We show forth Christ in our life in such a way to draw others to Christ, always prepared for the person and the time when we are called to demonstrate how present Chris is within us.

 Pastor Craig

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[1] Martin Luther

[2] 1Peter 3:15

There Is No Darkness

It is not darkness where we move, for God is Light. It is not loneliness, for Christ is with us. It is also not unknown territory, for Christ is already there.[1]

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.[2]

Why would we ever doubt? Why would we ever be afraid? If Christ is already in our future, if he is present in the dark where we think we should fear, if he is always with us in every situation. . . how can we be so ineffective as disciples?

We live our lives as though Christ is not risen, as though we would have to face our gloomy days without hope, and as though the sun would never rise and displace the darkness that seems to surround us. Hebrews 11 is the great chapter of the heroes of the Old Testament. We would long to travel in the company of people who were so strong in their faith. However, that chapter leads into the thought that we are the ones they envy. They look at us as the possessors of the great mysteries of the faith which they longed to see but never fully realized. The twelfth chapter claims we are now center stage and these Old Testament heroes look upon our journey and ask, “What will they do with this great treasure that we never saw?”

At times it seems the answer is, “Little!” We live as if it has not happened. We talk about the obstacles before us and forget the Savior that stands with us. We continue to fear the dark. We continue to feel like Elijah and claim, “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too!”[3]

Jesus Christ has not deserted you. He has not left you to battle your doubts and fears alone. He does not leave you to an uncertain future. No, he leads you and me towards a future that is bright with hope. It is bright with hope because it is bright with his presence. It is hopeful because he is already there. We question and doubt because we listen to the words of Satan when he tells us we are too weak, too few, too incompetent to handle such an awesome task as taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to a lost world.

What we have just read tells us that he is so wrong. May we accept Christ’s leadership for us into the future of bright hope and love.

Pastor Craig

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[1] Charles Kingsley

[2] I Thessalonians 4:13

[3] I Kings 19

Against the Anger of My Foes

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. Psalm 138

I hope you took time to read the verse above slowly. Probably the first thing you felt was protection. I hope so. The Psalm is telling you that even in the midst of your crisis God’s protective hand is upon you, saving you.

I hope you also noticed exactly what God’s hand is against – the anger of your enemies. I don’t want to overstate the case here, but I think we often view God as having sides and because we count ourselves among the righteous, that means God is opposed to those who stand opposed to us. We can find many Psalms that speak about God in more aggressive ways concerning our enemies. However, this one seems to speak against the anger of our foes.

The word is about frustrating the plans some may have to harm us, to bring disgrace on the name of our God through the negation of his blessings to us. The verse from Psalm 138 speaks not so much against our enemies as against their plans for us, because, as hard as it may be for us to grasp, God loves those who oppose us too.

Yes, that can be an uncomfortable realization. God loves our enemies. He may not love what they do to us, what they say about us, or how they might work to nullify his purposes in our life, but he loves them. Why does God call us to love and forgive our enemies? Because that is what he does with them!

Imagine that person you have been at war with for years, the person that, regardless of the issue, the two of you are on opposite sides. God loves that person and wants to work in their life to bring blessings and peace. This may mean the two of you begin to agree on things, but it may not. God will work in their life to bring about his own purposes and glory, not just to make your life easier.

So, the next time you find yourself in a friend – foe situation, remember, your foe may still be God’s friend. Love and forgive them because God himself has done that very same thing for them as well.

Pastor Craig