Community – Unity & Diversity in the Body

By Brooke Momblow

1 Corinthians 12 NIV v.6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. V.7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. V.18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. v.19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? v.24 But God has put the body together,  giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it v.25  so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. v.26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Want to go deeper? Read 2 Corinthians 13:11, Philippians 2:1-5.

We are Christ’s body, each of us a different member unique to God’s purpose for the whole.  Sometimes we can lose sight of this and only see ourselves and the parts we play or don’t play.  ‘The Hands’ might look at ‘The Feet’ and think, “Gee, those Feet sure are shaped funny and their viewpoint from way down there is so distorted from what it is up here. In fact, I really can’t relate to them at all.”  So the Hands hang out with other hands. And the Feet group up only with other feet.  The Eyes and Ears might find themselves in the shadows, isolated and alone.  None of them realizing Christ’s Hands can’t serve without the Feet to take them there, the Feet are unable to do the work of the Hands, and neither one knows where to go or what to do because they can’t hear the words of the Father or see what it is He is doing. C.S. Lewis said: "We like to think we’ve chosen our peers, but as Christians there are no chances. Christ has placed us and reveals to us the beauty of others."

Questions to Ponder  

-How do we live in unity together and work together, when God has made us so diverse from each other?

-What if relationships weren’t designed to make us happy? What if relationships were designed to make us Holy?  

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Lack of interest or concern is what amputates members, distance and indifference dismember the body, and we are all desperate to stop feeling abandoned and cut off. Help us to be the Re-membering people. You have charged us to do life together, teach us how. Show us what it looks like in the details of our lives. We are the fellowship of the broken Christ. The miracle happens in the breaking… Help us to trust our brokenness to others who are also broken, that we would be broken together with You Lord. Enable us to share in the intimate communion that comes from allowing the body to share in our suffering and our joy. We want to live given to each other the way you lived given for us and that means nothing less than radical humility and expansive trust. Continue the work you’ve begun in us. Together in Jesus we ask this, Amen. 

(prayer adapted from Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way)

God Is With You

By Phil Wood

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

The passage above, from Isaiah 43, has become my life verse. I honestly believe I heard Yahweh call my name when I was a boy. It woke me in the middle of the night. "Phillip!" The big, booming voice startled me awake; the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck were all standing on end. Long pause... "What?" I whispered timidly. But he was gone, sweeping over the housetops I suppose, calling others by name as he went.

When I came across this passage for the first time, many decades later, it hit me right between the eyes. Oh, my God! It really was you! I suspected it all along – believed it on faith even – but now I know for sure it's true. You called my name. I am yours. And you have faithfully kept your promises. I've been through some very scary times, but when I passed through the waters, you were with me. The rivers did not sweep over me. When I walked through the fire, I was not burned. Thank you, LORD, my God, my Savior.

So, am I special because I heard him call my name, and you, maybe, did not? No, because the passage is speaking to all of Israel – all of God's people. But because I've personally experienced the truth of these promises, I feel very comfortable assuring you that it's true for you.

In this time of crisis the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior is with you. He has always been with you. He will continue to be with you.

John Ortberg calls this the central truth of the Bible. It's the way he created things in the Garden. And later, Ortberg says, "The promise came to Enoch, who 'walked with God.' It was made to Noah, to Abraham and Sarah, to Jacob and Joseph and Moses and David and Amos and Mary and Paul and too many others to list."

David said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me."

"When God himself came to earth," Ortberg points out, "his redemptive name was Immanuel – God with us."

When Jesus left the earth, his promise was this: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

He is with you now.

And it seems to me that now – in this unexpected quiet time at home, away from many of the world's distractions, with the new-fallen snow all around – would be a really good time to turn off the TV, silence all the coronavirus updates, meditate on the Scripture above, and embrace the presence of the LORD our God, the Holy One of Israel, our Savior. This is exactly why he made us.

A Perfectly Safe Place

 By Pat Russell

“With this magnificent God positioned among us, Jesus brings assurance that our universe is a perfectly safe place for us to be.”  The first time I read this in The Divine Conspiracy (ch. 3, p. 66), I wrote “WOW!”  in the margin. After I heard Dallas lecture on this at the Renovare Institute I thought, “Hmmmm… Can this truly be? Dallas, what do you do with all the ‘injuries’ that come to people on this earth? Specifically, what do you do with all of my life experiences that have not felt safe?” Today, a few years later I think, "What would you do with something like the Corona virus?"

After discussing Jesus' words in Matthew 6, “My advice would be not to worry about what is going to happen to you…,” Dallas writes in his book, “This bold and slyly humorous assurance about all the basic elements of our existence – food and drink and clothing and other needs of life – can only be supported on a clear-eyed vision that a totally good and competent God is right here with us to look after us. And his presence is precisely what the word heaven, or more accurately the heavens in plural, convey in the biblical record as well as through much of Christian history… Nothing – no human being or institution, no time, no space, no spiritual being, no event – stands between God and those who trust him. The heavens are always there with you no matter what, and the first heaven, in biblical terms is precisely the atmosphere or air that surrounds your body.”

I must admit that I come to this idea with two thoughts: the first is very cerebral, “Yes, of course, God is present everywhere and watches out for me.” The other thought is from my life experience of two cancers and a major heart issue, not to mention several life dreams that have never been realized. It goes something like this: “Can I really believe that he notices me, that he is out for my best. I have not really been safe from pain and major disappointments. And it may be that I will not be safe from the Corona virus, either!” 

But then, maybe I have been safe. After all of the onslaughts from being on this earth, I find that my soul is still intact. My mind is more grounded in the reality of the statement by Dallas, "I am an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God's great universe." My body is not in the best shape, but I sleep with less worry and that in turn nourishes my body. And my emotions are moving into a more positive direction as I dwell on His steadfast love and mercy. Hmmm, maybe “safe” is not the “safe” I have expected out of life. Maybe it is something much bigger and deeper and higher and wider than I ever comprehended. 

Lately I have been spending time meditating on Paul’s conversation with the Athenians in Acts 17. I am so taken up by his quote from their own poets as he explains the unknown God to these thinkers: “For in him we live and move and have our being.” I have walked out onto the Colorado hillside next to our home in the early morning hours just as the sun is coming up. I stand under a beautiful blue canopy, sometimes bedded in clouds that are like the hands of God gently covering me. He is as near as my breath and nearer. I live and move in him. In truth, I cannot fully take that into my being, but sometimes, sometimes I feel so very, very safe.

How do you understand Dallas’ comment about the universe being a “perfectly safe place for us to be”?  What has happened to you that makes this statement believable or unbelievable for your life?

What Is Truth?

By Phil Wood

Scripture:  John 18:37-38, John 14:6, Isaiah 45:19, John 8:31-32

My friend who asks hard questions wants to know, "What is truth?" I've spent a lot of time thinking and praying about this lately.

When Pontius Pilate asked that question, he was dealing with much the same situation we're dealing with today: people ignoring the truth; people spinning the truth, people creating and disseminating their own "truth" to protect themselves and their own little kingdoms.

It's no wonder my friend is confused. In this current age of fake news, as it was then, we sometimes get to see only the part of the truth that somebody else wants us to see. Or we hear a "truth" that is totally made up, but repeated so often that everybody believes it's the truth.

In this scenario, as with the pharisees, it would seem that certain powerful people are above the law. In today's language, the truth of their actions is "redacted" and there is no prosecution.

Others, who have committed no crime, are "tried" in the court of public opinion with no consequences for libel or the misrepresentation of truth. Crucify! Crucify!

What is truth?

I picture Pilate asking that question with a bit of a sneer on his face. He found no basis for a charge against Jesus. That was the truth!  But it didn't matter. The lies had already been spread.

The truth was right there for all to see. But it didn't fit the narrative, it didn't further the cause. It didn't help prove that somebody was right and somebody else was wrong.

The way I see it, there are two kinds of truth: God's truth; and the world's truth. What actually is, and what people say it is. And God has given us a way to distinguish between the two.

Those of us who love Jesus and keep his commands have been given an advocate to help us and to be with us – the Spirit of Truth. "The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and is with you."

The truth is not a thing. It's a person. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Jesus is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Jesus tells it like it is. Not how the world says it is.

When we see or hear something that doesn't match up, deep inside where the Spirit of Truth resides, we know it. We can tell if it's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If it's a partial truth or an out-and-out lie, we can smell it. And we can avoid being deceived.

Of course, this can't happen if we're not listening to the Spirit. If we only hear what we want to hear, it's a whole different story.

Father, you are The Great I Am. You are what is. You are light. You are love. You are truth in its very purest form. Help us to see you for who you are, and to see the world for what it is. And may the truth set us free. In the name of your son, the perfect and true representation of you, Jesus the Christ, amen.

Good Friday

By Phil Wood

Scripture: Psalm 23

Today, Good Friday 2019, marks my second full year of life since the night my heart stopped. It was sudden, out of nowhere – no warning, no pain. I lay down for a minute before heading to the Good Friday service at church and, when I lifted my head back up, everything was swirling.

There's a gadget in my chest now that takes over whenever my heart tries to pull those shenanigans but, for me, there's no longer any getting around the truth that any given moment could be my last. I'm not conscious of this 100 percent of the time, but darn close.

This may sound like a terrible way to live but, actually, it's not. It's the best way to live. Every moment is a gift to be cherished.

Recently I came across a quote from a man named Pedro Arrupe, a Basque missionary who happened to be in Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Years later he had a series of strokes and wrote this in his journal:

"More than ever I find myself in the hands of God. This is what I have wanted all my life, from my youth. But now there is a difference. The initiative is entirely with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know and feel myself to be totally in God's hands."

And so I find myself, not walking in fear, but walking in faith. God and I have a deal: as long as he keeps sustaining me, I keep walking and trusting and pouring myself out. It's that simple, and that beautiful.

For many, it takes a lifetime of baby steps (with lots of backsliding) to even approach such a level of trust and surrender. For some it takes an atomic bomb and a series of strokes. For me it took a frightening stoppage of the heart. And I still forget frequently!

But as my new favorite writer, Anne Lamott, once wrote, "To have prayed to know God's care firsthand, without mediation, and to give thanks for the gift...to know that God's maternal hands hold one's life, like a baby...that is so not me, and is really all that I want."

Amen

It's All About Me

By Phil Wood

Scripture: Mark 11:15-17

One of the big Aha Moments I've had over my years studying Scripture is that, basically, the entire Bible is about me. Well, it's about God, and Jesus, but after that it's about me. Now, before you start with, "Oh boy, here we go again, it's all about Phil, everything is always about Phil, now even the whole Bible is about Phil," consider this.

I believe the entire Bible is also about you. Whether it's telling a story about millions of Jews in the desert, or about any of the singular biblical characters who populate its pages, or about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, himself, the story is a message from God about whoever may be reading it. In your case, that would be you. In my case, that would be me.

Jerusalem is me. The wall of Jerusalem is my body. The temple is my heart. The whole Bible, from beginning to end, is the story of God and the relationship he wants to have with me. Like the Jews, I keep turning my back and wandering away. He keeps calling me, drawing me back. He keeps trying to show the Israelites how important it is that he be at the very center of the loving community he's trying to build. He keeps trying to show me how important it is to keep him at the very center of my being. 

Now, whenever I open my Bible, I stop and reflect for a few moments before starting to read. I need to be still, and know the great I Am is about to speak directly to me about something in me that I, personally, need to think about. This has made a huge difference in the way I read the Bible.

This morning I read the passage from Mark 11 about Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers and driving folks out of the temple who were buying and selling there. "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?'" Jesus asked. "But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"

In my former days I thought this was a story about the righteous anger of Jesus and how wicked it is to do unholy things in the place that has been designated for prayer and communion with the Holy of Holies. But this morning I remembered the temple is my heart.

O, my God! I have allowed so many unholy distractions to clutter my heart, day in and day out. Politics. Worldly desires. Social media ramblings. And on and on and on. Father, overturn the tables and benches, drive out the buyers and sellers of distraction and the robbers of my soul. Make my heart a place of prayer as you have always intended. Make my heart a place of communion with you. In Jesus name, amen.

The Demon of Doubt

By Phil Wood

Scripture: Mark 9:14-29, Matthew 17:14-20

I have a friend who asks hard questions. "How can I give myself," he asks, "how can I surrender myself to Jesus when I can't see him and I can't hear him?"

I think my friend is a believer and what I think he's saying when he asks these questions is, "Help my unbelief!"

When Jesus heard a man express this prayer, "Help my unbelief," he ordered an evil spirit to come out of the man's son, and with a shriek it did. That man saw Jesus in the flesh. He experienced the healing of his son before his very eyes. He witnessed the end of a problem that had been tearing him apart for years. I'm going to surmise the man went home that day no longer struggling with unbelief.

But what about my friend?

Later, the disciples asked Jesus, "Why couldn't we drive the demon out? In Mark's version of the story, Jesus answered simply, "This kind can come out only by prayer." In Matthew's version of the story, Jesus' answer was a bit different. "Because you have so little faith," he said.

The man whose son was healed had also demonstrated a lack of faith saying, "If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." When Jesus called him out on that lack of faith, the man (unlike the disciples) immediately recognized how small his faith was, and prayed for help: "I do believe; help my unbelief!"

Jesus answered that prayer immediately. In an instant, he not only healed the boy, he healed the father. 

I know my friend has to pray this prayer for himself, and I hope he does, over and over. In the meantime, I'm praying it for him, and for myself, and for all who are occasionally possessed by demons of doubt:

Lord, help our unbelief! Help us recognize when our faith is shallow and to pray for help immediately. Cast out the demon of doubt. Give us eyes to see, and ears to hear your amazing response. Amen.

P.S. Isn't it great to know you're praying for something that you know for sure is in the Father's will?