Our Foundation

Over this holiday weekend we choose to go to my parents church with them. It has been a very long time since we have been there. This is the church I grew up in. A small, simple church filled with generations of families that have been worshipping there for years. There are not many frills in it's building's structure nor the service. No flashy videos or back drops to the speaker. No bands or choirs but lots of Bibles, hymnals and people. People who notice when you come and haven't been there for a long time. They even know who you "go with".  We didn't need to tell anyone we were Howard and Carol's kids. They knew.  They notice when my parents aren't there. They pray for and keep track of each other as much as you will let them. When our son-in-law was ill with cancer, they prayed and supported my parents as grandparents of a young man with terminal cancer. We didn't have much energy to give them but their church family did. 

I sat in the pew and sang Christmas carols led only by the piano played by an accomplished pianist who humbly gives her time on a weekly basis. As I sat there I realized the simplicity of the church I was raised in gave me a very strong foundation to weather the changing seasons of life. My family's church is not perfect, none of them are. But it's strength is it is based on the Bible, God's word. It's not dependent on one pastor or music, sports or after school programs.  Those things can be good and I have participated in, led and taken my family to all of those kinds of programs over the years. But what I realized this weekend is, I can do that because I learned to trust in God, first. As a kid I was taught that the Bible told us about God and that God wanted to have a relationship with us.  I, like Abraham in Romans 4:19 am "fully persuaded that God has power to do what He has promised." In fact there is a hymn that uses that verse for lyrics and I learned that at church as a kid. I can still hum the melody.

That belief has carried me through each "adventure" in my life, the good, the bad and the ugly.  We're bumping up against some circumstances that aren't "fun" right now.  But, as in the other times in my life, I know that God has promised to care for me, to teach me, and to protect me in the process. He didn't promise to magically remove all difficulties in this life. He did promise to never leave me or forsake me. I am "fully persuaded that he is able to do all that He promised.  Knowing that makes all the difference. It allows me to not give up on relationships, or circumstances even when I can't see how it is all going to work out. That has served me well in my lifetime.

As 2011 comes to a close it's a good time to reflect on your core beliefs. To give thanks for lessons learned that you can build your life on. Can you name one person or circumstance that you recognize today as something that helped you build your foundation?

Commitment

Commitment, that's a "sticky" word for most of us.  We want the people around us to be committed to whatever we are working on. We want them to show up when they say they will and to finish the project we are working on. On the other hand, we ourselves don't want to be "stuck" doing something that we really don't want to do so we answer requests "I'll be there if..."  We have an old friend who when asked to bring something to a meeting would answer "I will if I remember." He meant it. It wasn't very helpful. You never knew for sure if you would have what you needed from him at the time you asked for it.

In the past few weeks we have met and talked with many old and new friends. In one form or another this subject kept coming up. Someone had "let them down." Or they just didn't think they could be a part of that group or their marriage anymore because someone had "let them down." Some people are not actively a part of a local church because they don't like the way Christians talk or are portrayed in the media. They don't want to be associated with "hypocrites." Those people disappointed them.

While studying for teaching on marriage at the Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference I challenged the term "marriage covenant".  I asked pastor-friends. I looked up all the verses I could find using covenant in my concordance. (well maybe not ALL of them) I also studied the Biblical definition. What I learned is that a covenant is a commitment. When you enter into a covenant you are agreeing to stick to the deal, whatever that might be.  The clinker is that when you enter into that agreement you are agreeing to keep up your part no matter what the other guy does.  In Genesis 15 the Lord makes a covenant with Abraham that his family will inherit the Land. The Lord made the covenant. He will carry it out. Abraham had a part - it is to believe and obey but God's covenant is not based on Abraham's participation.  He also did that through His son, Jesus. God made a covenant to love us and save us from our sins.  He did His part. He sent His son to die to cleanse us from our sins. We choose whether or not we will participate (recognize our sins, repent and receive His forgiveness) but He did it irregardless of our reaction. He loves us that much. He is that committed.

Kindof puts a new slant on our life commitments doesn't it? When my co-worker doesn't hold up their end of the work and I bail out because "they aren't helping" I'm really not very committed am I? Or even more importantly, when our spouse doesn't behave the way we want them to and we react with retaliation or just give up on the relationship - we're not carrying out the covenant we made with them when we got married.  I'm even thinking about our commitment to the Body of Christ.  When we don't join in a local church on a ongoing basis it seems to me we're not very committed to the Body of Christ. We just want to use it when it's convenient or helpful to ourselves. I believe we are missing out on lots of great though maybe at times hard things. Deep relationships, support, encouragement, and love are built over time.

What's your commitment level?

Time Together

So following  our 9 days at the fabulous Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference we had a few days "off" and then we joined "Weekend On the Farm" in southwest Iowa.  Having just returned home last night we haven't even had time to process the whole experience yet but I really want to begin to share with all of you the thoughts the Lord keeps bringing to mind.

I'm aware that many people don't value gathering together on a regular basis with other believers - some people call that gathering "church". Some of those people are close friends and/or family to me. Some of us (yep, that includes me) have been hurt in/through experiences happening at the local church we were attending. That's sad, very sad but it shouldn't stop us from gathering on a regular basis. To me it's much like my experience with exercising.  We all know it's good for us to get aerobic exercise on a regular basis in our life. So we start out, but when we start out on our own we often slip back into our old routines and soon our great plans have failed and we are watching tv all evening again! (maybe that's just me but I don't think so) However, I've found when I involved someone else in my plans I am SO MUCH BETTER about actually keeping my plans. The results are..., well there are actually results. (rather than no results because I didn't do it.) I feel better mentally and physically. I might lose a few pounds or inches and I've gotten to know someone better. It's great.

An excuse I've heard for not gathering is that "they are not where I am at". You know what? Hopefully that is true! In a gathering of believers there should be a full range of levels of belief from those who don't know what they believe to those who are well seasoned and are very learned. That's the beauty of it. We all learn from one another.

This past weekend we gathered with about 70 other people from across the nation in a tent on a farm in southwest Iowa. I don't know what church most of them go to when they are at home. I know one gentleman didn't have a church he called home. Some people taught us regarding God's heart for different aspects of life. Others shared what God is teaching them through their life experiences right now. Some of the talks really spoke to me. Honestly, some of them didn't so much. But the truth is I did learn.  I am challenged as I leave for work today to really "do life" with those I work with. To be willing to "get my hands dirty" as needed to share the love of Jesus with those around me. Why? Because I spent time with other believers.

I've heard it said that church, and I'm referring to the gathering of believers on a weekly basis should be like a vitamin for us.  I believe that. Our relationship with God is ours to develop, feed, care for but like our physical body we need the input of others to help us do it right. None of us knows everything but when we "pool" our knowledge, encouragement, and energy we are powerful!

Do you have a church home? Are you there enough to not only learn but to help someone else?