Faith Steps

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

This past December my father-in-law graciously had a garage built next to our cabin in western North Carolina. It looks like a barn, so Julia and I like to pretend we’re real country girls by referring to it as “the barn.” Julia of course wishes that we really could put horses in there but instead it houses an old truck, tools and a bunch of wood. There is a loft in “the barn” but instead of having the contractors build a staircase, David and his dad wanted to build it themselves.

“How are you going to build a staircase?” I asked. David answered, “one step at a time.” And that’s what they did. They put together the first step, then the next, then the next and so on. After some time there was a sturdy, good-looking staircase up to the loft.

Our challenge for the folks at Spring of Life this year is to ask yourselves, “What is your next step?” What is your next step in your journey with Christ? You can’t just take one or two steps on a staircase and reach your final destination. You have to keep taking one step at a time.

I love the quote above by Martin Luther King, Jr. reminding us that we’re called to take steps in our faith even when we’re not sure where we’re going or how it’s going to turn out. That’s the essence of having faith in God.

If you’re unsure about your next step in faith, here are a couple of tools that might help:

1. Sunday, February 5 (which is Superbowl Sunday for those of you that don’t have this marked on your calendars!) we will be asking folks at Spring of Life to “Get In the Game.” We will be highlighting different ways you can serve at Spring of Life. There will be people there to answer questions you might have about these opportunities to serve and help get you started.

2. Have you thought about the unique ways that God has gifted you to serve? If not, a helpful thing to do is to take a spiritual gift assessment. This is a simple tool to help you think about how God has gifted you, so that when you take your next step, it can be in an area that really interests you. Go to this link on the United Methodist Church website to learn more about spiritual gifts and take an assessment. It only takes a few minutes.

We look forward to journeying with you.

What's Your Next Step

Charlie Brown is at bat and strikes out again. As he trudges back to the bench, he laments: “Rats! I’ll never be a big-league player. I just don’t have it! All my life I’ve dreamed of playing in the big leagues, but I know I’ll never make it.”

Lucy turns to console him: “Charlie Brown, you’re thinking too far ahead. What you need to do is set some more immediate goals.”

He looks up and asks, “Immediate goals?”

Lucy says, “Yes. Start with this next inning when you go out to pitch. See if you can walk out to the mound without falling down!”

Do you ever feel like that spiritually? Many of us wonder if we’ll ever be in the “big leagues” with our Christian faith. But it’s overwhelming to think that we might have to read the whole Bible or go to Africa or something way out of our comfort zone. So therefore we become spiritually stalled to even take a small step in our growing with God.

If you ever feel like you’re spiritually stalled, you’re not alone. Many people feel like this. Either they’ve gotten comfortable with where they are in their walk with Christ or they don’t know what their next step should be.

A complaint I hear about the church sometimes (the church in general, not specifically about Spring of Life) is that it isn’t challenging enough. The church just wants people to feel good about themselves, live happy lives, and doesn’t challenge people to act or think any differently than the rest of the world.

I hope at Spring of Life we are challenging you to get out of your spiritually-stalled-stage. Don’t be afraid to take the next step that you feel like the Holy Spirit is calling you to take. I was reminded this week in some reading that Jesus didn’t say “think about me for a while,” instead he said “follow me.” If you’re stuck in the thinking stage, take the next step in growing in God by taking some action to follow God. Be intentional. Spiritual growth is intentional, not automatic.

Have you ever looked at a mature believer and wished you could be like him or her? Wouldn’t it be great to know the Bible and know how to pray and be able to lead people to Christ and exhibit joy and peace and goodness and knowledge and self-control and perseverance and godliness and kindness and love? Most of us want instant growth, forgetting that what is behind a godly life is a person who has gone through struggles and trials. Spiritual development only comes through practicing spiritual disciplines like time in the Word, prayer, fellowship, sacrificing, giving, and serving.

There are two truths to balance as you ponder taking the next step.

1. God is committed to our growth. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” God is committed to our growth because He’s the one who planted us. Isaiah 60:21: “They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.” When we grow we show God’s splendor to others.
   


2. We must take responsibility for our growth. Check out 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…” 1 Peter 2:2: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” Paul reminded his readers in 2 Corinthians 10:15 that when they grow, the scope of the gospel grows as well: “Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand.” And Paul applauded the Thessalonians for not being stalled spiritually in 2 Thessalonians 1:3: “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.”

It’s not all up to God and it’s not all up to us. God has designed it so that we work in partnership with God. Philippians 2:12-13 captures our part and God’s part very clearly: “…Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling [that’s our part] for it is God who works in you [that’s God’s part] to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

What’s your next step?

Remembering MLK

I appreciate the fact that Martin Luther King, Jr. is remembered as a national holiday. It is interesting to me that a nation who defines power in the way that we do would dare to set a day apart to let this man's voice be heard. There is hope for us yet. 

This morning I read this excerpt from MLK's sermon on November 6 in Montgomery, Alabama and was challenged, amazed and encouraged to lead the church at least to take up this "most durable power" to fight ongoing injustice and oppression within and without. I've copied it here for you to read.

This excerpt is from a sermon King preached in Montgomery, Alabama on 6 November 1956, just seven days before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Alabama's bus segregation laws.

"The Most Durable Power"

Always be sure that you struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. Let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Always avoid violence. If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos.

In your struggle for justice, let your oppressor know that you are not attempting to defeat or humiliate him, or even to pay him back for injustices that he has heaped upon you. Let him know that you are merely seeking justice for him as well as yourself. Let him know that the festering sore of segregation debilitates the white man as well as the Negro. With this attitude you will be able to keep your struggle on high Christian standards.

Many persons will realize the urgency of seeking to eradicate the evil of segregation. There will be many Negroes who will devote their lives to the cause of freedom. There will be many white persons of good will and strong moral sensitivity who will dare to take a stand for justice. Honesty impels me to admit that such a stand will require willingness to suffer and sacrifice. So don't despaire if you are condemned and persecuted for righteousness' sake. Whenever you take a stand for truth and justice, you are liable to scorn. Often you will be called an impractical idealist or a dangerous radical. Sometimes it might mean going to jail. If such is the case you must honorably grace the jail with your presence. It might even mean physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent life of psychological death, then nothing could be more Christian.

I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may.

I still believe that love is the most durable power in the world. Over the centuries men have sought to discover the highest good. This has been the chief quest of ethical philosophy. This was one of the big questions of Greek philosophy. The Epicureans and the Stoics sought to answer it; Plato and Aristotle sought to answer it. What is the summum bonum of life? I think I have discovered the highest good. It is love. This principle stands at the center of the cosmos. As John says, "God is love." He who loves is a participant in the being of God. He who hates does not know God.

Taking the Next Step

“What is the best thing that you could do for your family, friends, community, nation and world?” When I heard that question this week it made me stop and think. The fact is, most people don’t think about that stuff. We’re dealing with getting through the day to day – taking care of kids, trying to make some money, making the grade at school, dealing with crisis, looking forward to the weekend, whatever.

What is the best thing you could do for your family, friends, community, nation and world?

This answer is what you might expect from a preacher: Take the next step where God is leading you.

Seriously, when was the last time you sat down for 5 minutes and asked God to show you the next step He wants you to take? What if you did?

Some of you are thinking: “When was the last time I sat down for 5 minutes that I wasn’t driving, looking at my phone, eating or in the bathroom?”

In Jesus, we learn that God is interested in being involved in our lives – far more than we realize, and if we’re honest, maybe more than we really want.

God is relentless in His pursuit of us and foolish in his love for us. (See Luke 15).

God wants to include us in his mission to set this broken world right. (See Mark 1:16-20).

God has a way of getting what God wants in spite of hardheaded disciples. (See Mark 9:2-8)

God will direct your steps.

King David said, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” Psalm 16:11

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:6

So, why not stop reading this blog and ask God: “What is the next step you have for me today?”

Figuring this out and pursuing it passionately is the best thing you could do for your family, friends, community, nation and world.

Happy New Year

“Never clutch the past so tightly that it leaves your arms unable to embrace the present.”

On New Year’s Day we went out to dinner and as we sat waiting for our food David asked Julia and I what our goals for the New Year were. I hadn’t really thought about it. David talked about possible physical goals for the year (run another marathon, a triathlon), goals of spending more time with Julia (a regular father-daughter “date night”). Julia talked about just wanting to make it through the FCAT and finishing her fourth grade year. I thought about what my goals were…lose weight? Sure. Exercise more? Sure. But what I really want to do is to be more joyful.

So much of our lives are filled with anxiety. It is easy for me to think of things I am anxious about: taking care of my mother as she gets older, Julia growing up too fast, church finances (just to name a few!). And the world seems to run on anxiety. The busier we are the better. Where can we find joy in the midst of the chaos?

I have always relied on the idea that happiness comes and goes with changing circumstances. We can be “happy” one day because something good happened at work. The next day we can be “unhappy” because we had a bad day at work. Happiness comes and goes with circumstances. But real joy is found deep inside of us where the Holy Spirit resides. Fear and anxiety motivate us to put our faith and hope in resources other than the Holy Spirit. We have lost sight of our Lord in our anxious attempts to fix problems by our own efforts. Yes, we need hard work and creativity and conversation with one another in order to respond to the Spirit’s guidance, but we also need to always be praying, “Come, Holy Spirit, come.”

So how do I temper my sense of anxiety with true joy? I am resolving to begin each new day by praying for the Holy Spirit to remind me of God’s grace in my life. When we worship together this is a reminder to us that we are not alone. When we pray in our own quiet time it is a reminder that we are not alone, that the Holy Spirit is with us. As I enter 2012 I invite you to join me in letting go of the anxieties that we hold so tight and open our arms to the movement of God in our lives and the joy that is found in resting in the promises of God.

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize.” The Apostle Paul, Philippians 3: 13-14