Just Between You, Me, & God 6/25/2012

Call me crazy, but I enjoy mowing and working in my yard. Even during the heat of the summer, I get a certain satisfaction after I’m done by looking at the transformation of a weedy and ragged looking yard into a trimmed and cut yard that has some curb appeal. Now I’m no master gardener by any means and after last summers’ drought and heat wave I have more weeds than real grass but when watered and maintained, it’s still green and from a distance looks decent. If you want the grass to grow, you have to water and it helps to feed it also. The thing is that you can’t just water the good grass and not the weeds and when you spread fertilizer it covers everything the same, good grass and weeds. They say that weeds are generally anything growing in your yard that you don’t want. When Christ died on the cross, He bore the sins of the world, He didn’t die for a few but for everyone. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” He knew that what He had to work with was all weeds, all sinners, so if you put down weed killer and all you have is weeds, then there is nothing left, there is no hope. With Christ Jesus we have hope, His death is the transformation from an overgrown raggedy existence to a vibrant manicured life fashioned after that of the Master Gardener Himself. He brings living water and life to a world suffering from a drought and heat wave that has seperated us from our Creator who offers us our only relief, our only hope, our only salvation by allowing the only good grass to die in order that we, the weeds, may live. As we learn to live in the light and nourishment of Jesus we can be transformed into that beautiful green grass that He desires. 1 Peter 2:24 gives us growth in the knowledge that, "He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed." Refresh yourself from the drought of this life with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and then share this Good News with others so that they too may be encouraged with the Hope we have in Christ. Feed yourself daily in His Word and grow in His likeness, Pastor Dean.

Live from Fuller Seminary with Brother Ben, Day 1 & 2

Note: Pastor Ben is currently studying online for a Master's Degree in Theological Studies at Fuller Seminary in California. Twice a year he travels to the seminary campus for an intensive seminar-based training as part of the coursework.

The journey to California was an all day affair, but I survived thanks to all your prayers and strength. I promised myself I would send updates everyday live from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA.

The weather is gorgeous and comfortable here. Flowers are still blooming and there is no sign of winter to be found.

Day 1 and Day 2 are combined because of a delay of our wireless access to the outside world.

The educational seminar dealing with Organizational Dynamics is phenomenal. The beginning day laid the groundwork for what we will accomplish during this course. I am in a Cohort with 14 others from around the globe. It is international at its best and a wide spectrum of ideas are generated from their existing experiences.

Today, Day 2 was begun with a devotion regarding Haggai 1:1-15. The devotional called each one of us to self-examination, a concern for vision, a present visual of the Biblical Era that Haggai engaged as he identified with the people. Read with me about the re-building of the Temple and the description that the people offered in its long awaited, anticipated process. Perhaps do you see that Haggai engaged with other consultants along the way to help interpret God's actions?

Later, we each individually dissected our own ministry context, which for me is Living Hope Fellowship. When asked to describe our organization I responded: "A service-driven Christian organization that hopes to disciple others to grow, connect and serve the Lord." (Sound familiar?) I reported that service was a key component of the essence of our community of faith. The third question was this: What aspects, if were lost, would cause your organization to not be what it is meant to be? My response: Love that is unconditional and grace that abounds.

Today has been a rewarding and spirit-fed day for me. My question to our church is: Is this the way you see it? I welcome your comments and dialog. The day closed with a concentration on mission and vision and their definitions in respect to faith assumptions or organizational dynamics. I'll simplify later when I return home. Can you name the vision of LHF? Let me know, I'm interested.

See you along the journey,
Ben

Rev. Ben Bright is the Logistics & Administration Pastor for LHF.