we need to humbly embrace grace. Jesus says, “I bear/ed the burden for your failure…your sin…so you don’t have to. you can’t do enough anyway. when (not if) you fail, come to Jesus. The alternative is penance. You can’t do both. We say, “Jesus, i hope you love me now…i beat myself for my failures, issues and sins.”  To which you might imagine Jesus saying (for the sake of this metaphor), “Oh, well then, you don’t need me. You took care of it yourself.”

But if we choose Jesus/grace over penance, I feel indebted to him…like I owe him. Right!  But we want to feel “all-square.” Sure we do. Especially if you want Jesus to love you because your awesome, instead of Jesus loving you because…well, because…he loves you.

Beware of practicing subtle penance, it subtly leads you away from Jesus. Have you fallen behind in your 40 Days agenda…or in anything? So? Remember, we’re pursuing Jesus, not a successful execution of our 40 Days plan. The plan is to meet with Him…where HE lives. Thank Jesus for his love and grace in your life…and just pick up where you left off. And enjoy him in the rich moments of grace and faith.

Back to confession. This weeks message Closing the Distance engaged the discipline of confession. In short, we talked about how a lack of forgiveness in our life impedes our relationship with God and others – in potentially very significant ways. It’s worth a listen if you didn’t catch it. One of the questions that arises is, “What are the sorts of things for which I need to confess and seek (or offer) forgiveness?” It’s very difficult to answer this for another person. But if, as we have suggested, we suffer from having redefined sin (as not sin) and from a lack of awareness (ignored or forgotten), how do we proceed??  Well, herein lies a central rationale for the Inward Journey…the point of many of the spiritual disciplines we hope to introduce…  Come near to God, and he will come near to you (James 4:8). The Spirit of God is our counselor, comforter, guide and the convictions within our soul. When we earnestly draw nearer to God, he is gracious (yes, gracious) to show us the error in our way, the blockades in our life, the sin we need to deal with, the forgiveness we’ve failed to receive…in the order and time and magnitude that is best for you. As you read your devotional book…listen. As you read scripture…listen. As you pray…listen. He speaks. You’ll hear and know what to do. And then, again, you will need the Spirit…to strengthen you for the task. Never fear,  “…I am with you always…(Matt 28:20),” in the hearing and the doing. What’s Jesus saying to you today? What’s he compelling you to do?

One final warning and encouragement: Expect to be opposed. When you decide, in any discipline, to step up there is an opposing force ready to knock you down…to keep you from the goal. In this case, to keep yo from knowing Jesus more. Truth be told, we’ve all thought things and done things that, maybe rightly so, should keep us from God, but Paul reminds us, “...that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” What separates you from the love of God? Nothing. What?? Nothing. Enjoy his mercy as you spend time with him this week…

“Just like basketball players must practice free throws over and over daily in order for them to become the most natural motion they possess on the court, we, too must wake up daily and have these foul shots of faith in our consciousness. Think of how much different each day would go for you if you held these truths right in front of your face every minute – that you are loved without regard for your performance, totally forgiven, wrapped up in the faithfulness of a God who won’t ever let you go, and given undeserved gifts and privileges. It’s not hard to see how our daily interactions are radically different when we build the rest of the life upon this foundation.”

“Which one of the four free throws of faith is the most challenging for you to hold onto?

1. God is unconditionally loving.
2. God is always faithful.
3. God gives complete forgiveness.
4. God is full of grace and mercy.”

“Holding onto such life–altering truth with fervor is enough to bring healing to our lives. However, we are also brought deeper into God’s restorative process when we rest our identity solely on God. So often, we look for our definition of who we are in other people, in circumstances, in possessions, and in performance, wondering why we feel so out of sorts so often.”

“If you recall reading the children’s book Are You My Mother?, you remember that the little birdie is roving around, desperately asking everyone and everything if it is his mother. From a cow to a crane in a junkyard, the poor tiny thing is never at rest until it finally encounters the one who birthed him. It’s the same with us. Until we rest our identity squarely on what the one who created us says we are, we will simply be on a fruitless search, constantly discomfited by our lack of security.”

(Soul Healing Forever, An Interactive Study Guide for Life Change in Christ, Tammy Smith, PhD, p. 23, 2009)

First, i misspoke Sunday regarding the Forever Changed conference this weekend. My intention was to draw a distinction between the last conference which was predominantly a women’s conference and this one which is designed for everybody. I chose the word “couples” to confirm the inclusion of men, but that choice violated a key value the conference team has worked for for months – inclusion of everybody. Even the breakout session Tammy and I will be doing will be geared toward relational dynamics, not specifically couples. Bottom line: everyone will benefit from this conference – don’t miss it. Sign up online today!

Regarding Haiti, I wanted you to enjoy the good words Vanessa shared with me last week. The back story is simply that upon learning of their family’s unexpected need to return to Haiti (Brad, Director of MOH, was already there, Vanessa and their 4 kids were still stateside), I asked if we could be of help regarding their travel costs. It turned out to be a timely question – their cost-free option had just evaporated…

Hello again Pastor Mike,  I would like to thank you once again for helping me and the kids get HOME to Haiti!!!  We are so grateful to you and your church family for loving and supporting us and most of all for your prayers.  We have had a very difficult week taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of loss and death but God is so good!  He is showing us the path every day to New Hope!  Praise the Lord. Mission of Hope is here for such a time as this!  A time that most people cannot even comprehend but God is sovereign!  He knows everyone. It has beet difficult to rest, but by the grace of God we will.  Thank you for being a part!  God bless!!!    ~ Vanessa

Finally, let me again offer my thanks to Pastor “And” Sieberhagen for bringing a powerful message that challenges not only with regard to Muslims, but to the core of our heart. In some cases, many of us were faced with a major paradigm shift in 40 minutes…let me encourage you again to face your questions honestly…don’t back away from your immediate apprehensions and concerns if you had them. Heart surgery is no matter to be taken lightly, and heart issues are where Jesus specializes. Some of you expressed a desire to contact Pastor Andy, and here’s the article he referenced. Jesus said, “…love your enemy…” and radically differentiates his followers from others. Some of our enemies are easily identified, others are not. The question is, Are you loving… radically? It’ll cost you.

Mission of Hope has distributed 1.5 million meals to the Haitian people since the earthquake hit. Last Thursday they distributed 391,056 meals almost doubling the efforts of the UN. They do all of this through indigenous church leaders and Christian ministries that make up over 1000 distribution points in a network MOH initiated called Haiti One. Haiti One represents 40 Christians NGOs, and hundreds of smaller missions and Haitian churches with more than 5000 full-time staff represented in it. They are rallied around the vision to reach the nation with the Gospel and during this difficult time have been extremely effective at bringing relief where it is most needed, distributing food, water, and temporary shelter. They were already in place and operating this network prior to the disaster and that is why they have been so successful. It is primarily driven by Hatians which is also the reason for their success. It is their own people meeting the needs. They know their culture, context, and the need.

Pastor Mike,

I felt lead to email you as I know that your people are covering us in prayer.

After much prayer but just a few short conversations Brad and I have decided that we need to be back in Haiti as a family.  It looks like we will be reunited with Brad next weekend.  We are all very excited.  We have no definite travel plans yet but the decision has been made and we are just working out the details.  Hopefully we will be leaving on Friday. J

Thanks for showering us in prayer.  Haiti needs it now more than ever before!

Praying the words from Psalm 61!

Vanessa Johnson

Mission of Hope

We are still uncertain when Brad will be able to come back to the States but he is leading the charge for a new Haiti.  God has created us for this defining moment.  Haiti will come to know and trust our Lord and Savior.  We have always believed that.  Praise God!

Isn’t it great to hear from Vanessa?! Don’t forget to check this out: NBC: Brian Williams