Make Sure You Finish Well

My youngest boy Derek got engaged tonight, to the love of his life Paula Bell. In order to make the proposal special, he wrote a song, recorded it and had it played on Mix 97. Then as they drove to Paula’s house together, the song came over the radio. He pulled over to the side of the road while it played and Paula listened, then Derek got out and asked her to marry him. A few minutes later, the radio station called and interviewed him.

I will say it was a better proposal than mine to Shari. We laughed about that and I said to Shari, “I may not have started well but I am finishing well.”

When you think about it, that is what is most important. Finishing well. The Apostle Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness…” Paul may not have started well, indeed most responded to his conversion with fear and doubt, since before his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus, Paul was the churches greatest opponent, but now near the end of his life, he was able to declare that he was finishing well.

Like a sage once said, “It’s not how many hours you put in, it’s what you put in the hours that counts.” I may not have started with much class, my proposal to Shari was somewhat lackluster for sure, but what I have poured into my wife and my children has improved with each passing year. What I saw manifested in my son’s proposal tonight, is evidence I am on a course to finish well.

You see what we pour into our children, what we invest in our marriage, more than any other thing, determines the impact we will have on future generations. Our children and our children’s children will be the beneficiaries of the investment, we have made with our lives. The good news is that if you are concerned that you did not start well, by God’s grace you can finish well. If there is anything to be learned from the life of the Apostle Paul, it is that we can all cross the finish line of life, as winners.

The focus on being correct has entered the political arena where “correct speech” is the focus, and anything which doesn’t fall under the broadly accepted idea of “correct” is now considered “hate”.

Jesus was never focused on being “politically correct”, in fact his teachings and his manner of living were often out of sync with what was culturally considered, “correct” in his day. He routinely hung out with prostitutes and drunkards. He had dinner with tax collectors and sinners. He did things, which were not considered to be “right” by the religious and political leaders of his day. By conventional standards Jesus was often “not right” but by God’s standard he was always “righteous”. Which is why I have concluded: “It’s better to be ‘righteous’ than ‘right’”.

Being right should not be our passion, being righteous should be. Jesus was righteous. He lived righteously, died righteously and rose from the dead in righteous victory. In fact because of his righteousness we too have been made righteous. Paul records in 2 Cor 5:21: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Our passion should be to live righteously. As believers we have been redeemed by Christ and made righteous by his atoning sacrifice. Our life’s pursuit therefore, should be to remain in his righteousness. Our focus should shift from always being right to being righteous. The focus of remaining in his righteousness rather than seeking always to be right is liberating.

We have been made righteous by the completed work of Christ, and not by our own efforts. Focusing on always being right causes pride and arrogance when we think we have been successful, and shame and defeat when we are proven wrong. By contrast remaining righteous in Him, strips away pride and arrogance and ushers in humility and gratitude. The people of God who live in His righteousness have been freed from the burden of always having to be right and can accept a brother or sister even though they may have a different theology than us. For the righteous, relationship trumps being right and love covers a multitude of sins, theirs and mine!

So this month as we uncover the value of righteousness lets remember, “It’s better to be righteous than right.”

“Thankfulness, releases the heart of generosity”

“Compared with those who dwell on daily hassles, people who take time instead to record their reasons for giving thanks exercise more regularly, complain of fewer illness symptoms, and feel better about their lives overall. They also feel more loving, forgiving, joyful, enthusiastic, and optimistic about their futures, while their family and friends report that they seem happier and are more pleasant to be around. Gratitude is literally one of the few things that can measurably change people’s lives.”  So concludes Robert Emmons in his book “Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier”.

Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California, Davis, and Michael McCullough, a psychology professor at the University of Miami, are gathering a large body of novel scientific data on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its potential consequences for human health and well being.

“Scientists are latecomers to the concept of gratitude,” Emmons says. “Religions and philosophies have long embraced gratitude as an indispensable manifestation of virtue, and an integral component of health, wholeness, and well-being.”

It is not surprising that science is once again concluding what the scriptures have declared for millennia. Gratitude is a powerful value.

The Psalms encourage us repeatedly to, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good!” The bible recognizes the power of a grateful heart. When we are thankful we are focused on God and others and we are not focused on our selves, or our complaints.

All four of the Gospels record the story of a woman who came to the house where Jesus and the disciples were having dinner. After dinner she broke a bottle of very costly perfume over Jesus body and began to wash his feet and wipe them clean with her hair. The details vary from one record to the next, but the element of the gratitude in the heart of the woman comes through in each of the accounts.

While some at the dinner were disgusted that Jesus permitted this woman to waste such an extravagant perfume (equivalent to a years wages) by pouring it on his feet, Jesus is careful to point out the heart of thankfulness, which caused this woman to worship her Lord so generously.

The story reinforces our value statement for the month of March: “Thankfulness releases the heart of generosity”. You see you can be generous without being grateful. People do it all the time, giving because it makes them feel good or being generous out of sense of obligation. But you can’t be grateful and not be generous. Just ask Jesus.

C. S. Lewis the great Christian author and theologian of the 20^th Century, was gifted with an insight into topics, which others missed. This month we have been looking at the Desert Stream Value of “Love” and Lewis provides insight into the nature of Love too, that others often overlook.

In his classic “The Four Loves” Lewis writes the following regarding vulnerability and love:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable… The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of and perturbations of love is Hell.”

Anyone who has taken a spouse, or conceived a child knows about the vulnerability of love, and they will attest to what Lewis has written. To love is to be Vulnerable. Whenever we truly love, we expose ourselves to a myriad of pains. Your love can be rejected. Your love can be taken for granted. Your love can even be missed entirely.

Vulnerability is the very posture of love, because true love comes with no guarantees, love therefore often leads to pain. When you are rejected, taken for granted or separated by death from the one you love, pain is the natural consequence. As a result many who have loved make vows to “never love again”. Yet the human heart was meant for love. God created us as the objects of his perfect love, and he has gifted us in his image, to be able to love just as he himself does. When God, in love created us, he made himself vulnerable. No one has suffered more rejection, has been taken for granted more often or had his love missed entirely by so many as our Lord. Yet by his very nature He loves us still. That is unconditional love.

God has chosen to love us. In spite of the potential pain he remains vulnerable and committed to love. If our desire is to be like God then we too must remain vulnerable, we too must be committed to love. If we say in our hearts, “The pain is too great” and decide to close our hearts to love, then we will no longer be fit for Heaven. As Lewis simply states, “The only perfectly safe place from all the pain of love… is Hell.”

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.    

That word of instruction, from the letter written to Jewish believers through out Asia Minor in the first century, is the memory verse for our month on Faith. Because the author was writing to a Jewish audience, he went on in the rest of chapter 11 to draw examples of faith from the Old Testament. Hero after hero of the Old Testament is brought forward, as examples of those who possess faith and pleased God. In each case, their faith was demonstrated by their acts of obedience. Each Old Testament hero was identified as such because of what they did. They were the original “Action Heroes.” Men and women who understood that faith is not passive, it is active, it requires you to move!

Look forward into the New Testament and the foundation principle of faith being active and not passive continues. Peter exercised his faith when he stepped out of the boat. The centurion demonstrated faith by boldly declaring to Jesus that He did not even need to come to his home, but only speak the word and his servant would be healed. The woman with the issue of blood reasoned that all she had to do was reach out and touch Jesus’ garments and she would be healed – and she was right.

If we desire to be men and women of faith, we will need to leave the comfort of our easy chairs and step out into the unknown. Our first steps may be small and shaky, but that is okay. If we will take that step of faith and trust God for the answer, then we will witness the miracle working hand of God and our faith will grow.

The thing that really matters is that we step out or step up, so that God can step in!

Join us on Sunday, January 15 @ 7 pm at Desert Stream for a special viewing of “Courageous” ~ Admission is free. Canteen will be available.

Please note: This movie has a PG13 rating and is not suitable for little ones.

To view the trailer for this film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emyBSTL2zjw, or visit the Courageous Canada website at: www.courageouscanada.ca

“Fatherlessness is widespread and its effects are far-reaching. Children from father-absent homes are more likely to struggle with drug abuse, live in poverty and engage in criminal activity. From the creators of the faith-based film Fireproof comes a new movie Courageous calling fathers at every stage in life and from every social background to renew their faith in God and become more engaged in the lives of their children and families.”

Values are a person’s principles or standards of behavior; they are a testament to what a person deems important in life. As the name suggests they are also principles of behavior which add “value” to the individual who possesses them and to those around them, which explains why no negative qualities, make the list.

Because values are also worth more when we pass them on, it is important to be proactive in sharing our values with one another, especially with future generations. There is nothing more important to share with our children then the values which form the foundation of our life.

I have been teaching all fall about the “Kingdom”, we have decided to spend 2012 continuing to share about the Kingdom, but more specifically, we want to share Desert Stream’s “Kingdom Values” with the world. So for 2012, we will share 12 “Kingdom Values” of DSCF, one value per month for the entire month. The list is not exhaustive by any means, for certainly there are values we as a church possess and endeavor to pass on, which we did not include as part of the twelve. However the 12 Kingdom Values we will focus on are ones which we have woven into the fabric of our existence over the last 16 years and which have become the foundation of our ministry as we move into the future.

So in advance we say “Thank-you” for taking this journey with us in the coming year. It is our prayer that whether you live in Belleville or whether you are following this journey from a far that these values will become as integral to you as an individual as they are to us as a body.

Join us in 2012 for our Alpha courses on Tuesday evenings @ 6:30 pm starting on January 10.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  -  Matt 2:1, 2 & 11

Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. They discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother.

The first said: “I built a big house for our mother.”

The second said: “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.”

The third said: “You remember how our mother enjoys reading the Bible. Now she can’t see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot recites it.”

Soon thereafter, their mother sent out her letters of thanks.

“Milton,” she said, “the house you built is so huge. I live only in one room, but I have to clean the whole house.

“Gerald,” she said, “I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home so I rarely use the Mercedes. And that driver is so rude! He’s a pain!”

“But Donald,” she said, “the little chicken you sent was delicious!”

With all the retail hype around the holidays and the stress caused from searching for the “perfect” gift for that “special someone” have you considered what you will give Jesus this year? After all it’s his birthday!

Like the Wise men who came that first Christmas, we too, should come in worship bearing gifts.

So let me ask you a key question, “As a son, a co-heir and a brother, what gift are you bringing to Jesus on his birthday, this Christmas?”

You could bring a gift of love, or passion, or service, or devotion, or sacrifice, or even your time. Whatever it is, like the wise men so long ago, the gift we bring is going to royalty, so we should give our best and give from the heart.

What are you giving Jesus this Christmas?

Merry Christmas