Pastor’s Blog
On the Road
Abundant Grace International Fellowship
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Meditation based on Pastor Nate’s June 16 message, “On the road to Bethlehem” (Ruth 1:1-18)

Something happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. The Jesus hater became a Jesus lover.

Something happened to Ruth on the road to Bethlehem. She was supposed to say goodbye to Naomi, her mother in law. She was supposed to stay at home in Moab. But the goodbye to Naomi turned into a goodbye to her home and family.

It’s hard to say goodbye. When will I see you again? How can we stay in touch?

It’s hard to become an expat. How can I ever learn this language? Why do people act like this? Can I ever find friends like I left behind?

It’s hard to be an expat. Will I ever really belong here? How can I get involved here while still keeping in touch with home and family?

Ruth chose a surprising goodbye. Naomi said “Return home, my daughters!” (Ruth 1:11) Ruth wouldn’t listen. She refused to say goodbye to Naomi, but instead said goodbye to her own home.

• Goodbyes can clarify relationships. Orpah stayed at home. Ruth chose a risky future that changed her life forever.
• Goodbyes can deepen relationships. Ruth’s goodbye to the security of home allowed her and Naomi to become deep and abiding friends. Use goodbyes to deepen your relationships.
• Goodbyes can shape our future. Ruth chose a new life in Bethlehem. There is loss in leaving, but there are new opportunities for expats that can change our life for the better.
• Goodbye is a blessing. Goodbye used to be “God be with you.” But over the centuries we’ve shortened it to goodbye or just bye. Claim God’s blessing in your goodbyes.

Point to ponder: Goodbyes can clarify and deepen relationships, and open the door to a new and better future.

Question to consider: What goodbyes offer me the opportunity of clarifying and deepening relationships?

Verse to remember: “May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” (Ruth 1:8-9)

Action to deliver: Offer a prayer of blessing this week when you say goodbye.

Prayer: God, I am grateful for the security of home and family. But I want always to stay in step with your Spirit, even if it means saying goodbye. Amen.

© 2013 Nathan D. Showalter

Pastor’s Blog
Pentecost
Abundant Grace International Fellowship
Saturday, May 25, 2013

This weekend (May 25-26) at Abundant Grace:
Sat, 5 & 7pm, Grace Extended, Bob Kettering, "When God puts you on hold"
Sun, 12 noon, Trinity: Trinity Sunday, meditation by Elyn McInnis
Sun, 3pm: Bob Kettering, "When God puts you on hold"
Sun, 4:30pm: Annual Congregational Meeting

Today's meditation based on Jamie Taylor’s May 19 message, “Give me a man” (1 Sam 17).

“Give me a man,” Goliath demanded, his voice full of defiance. No need to have our armies fight. Just the two of us. May the best man win. And that will settle our conflict once and for all.

We hear such words of defiance today. New atheists challenging our hope of eternal life. Other religions challenging our confidence in the Bible. Massive environment issues challenging our message of salvation. Is Jesus really the only way?

David was passionate for God's glory. He wasn’t grasping for position, prestige or privilege. He wanted Goliath and the whole world to know that God is alive and fights for his people (vs 26, 46).

David was familiar with God’s faithfulness. He had seen God fight for him when he was taking care of the sheep. And he was confident God would do the same with this giant (v 36). “Small things are small things, but faithfulness in small things is a big thing.” (Hudson Taylor)

David knew obedience comes before blessing. David tried on Saul’s armor. He looked at Saul’s weapons. These weren’t right for him. He would fight with a slingshot, and with the armor of God (vs 39-40).

David was empowered by God’s enabling. “Only a boy named David/Only a little sling” (v 40). God’s power becomes evident when we are weak. God uses small things to show his greatness. We will never be too small for God to use, but we can be too big. Great people fight with their own strength. Humble people experience God’s enormous power.

David proclaimed the salvation of God. “The whole world will know there is a God in Israel” David said (v 46).

Point to ponder: “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I’ll move the world,” Archimedes said. God says, “Give me people who trust me completely, and we’ll change the world.”

Question to consider: What is the giant I fear to face?

Verse to remember: David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (1 Sam 17:45 niv)

Action to deliver: Discuss the giant you face with someone you trust. Ask them to join you praying for courage to stand and fight.

Prayer: God, I am inspired by the story of David and Goliath. I’m also intimidated. I don’t kill lions and bears, to say nothing of giants. I need your wisdom to know when, and your grace to know how to stand and fight. Amen.

© 2013 Nathan D. Showalter

Pastor’s Blog
Pentecost
Abundant Grace International Fellowship
Wed, May 22, 2013
Meditation based on Ravi Zacharias’s May 18 presentation at Parkyard Hotel

“Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15-16 tev)

To give an answer when people ask about our faith, our hope, is to get an apologeia. Not an apology, but an apologetic. To present our faith clearly, to give a defense, a reasoned argument in support of what we believe.

But to do it gently, with respect. Paul did this when he spoke to Felix (Acts 24).

A point of reference. Paul was on the defensive. The leaders who had come from Jerusalem to Caesarea were out for blood. Paul is a troublemaker, they said. He stirs up riots among Jews all over the world. And he even tried to profane the temple (vs 5-6).

Paul took a chance. After giving his credentials and defending his integrity, he focused on the resurrection. “It’s because I believe in the resurrection that I’ve been hauled into this court!” (v 21) Felix, whose wife was Jewish, was well acquainted with the Way, and was interested in hearing more.

A point of relevance. A few days later when Felix called for him, Paul talked about faith in Messiah Jesus. Felix was comfortable with the Greek focus on philosophy and the Roman commitment to law. Like people in the West today, he was comfortable with an absolute law that protected relativism in personal morality. Felix needed that freedom. Would Jesus offer him freedom?

A point of disturbance. Paul responded to Felix’s curiously. Jesus calls us to a life of moral discipline. Jesus challenges us to be ready for the coming judgment. Now Felix began to squirm. His personal life was a shambles. And he was actually hoping Paul might offer him a bribe. “That’s enough for today,” Felix responded. “I’ll call you back when it’s convenient.” (v 25)

Point to ponder: Jesus offers us freedom to change, freedom from wrong behavior.

Question to consider: Who needs to hear about Jesus from me?

Verse to remember: “Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15-16 tev)

Action to deliver: Talk to someone this week about the reason for your hope. Do it with gentleness and respect.

Prayer: Jesus, I want to talk about my faith. I need your Spirit to show me the right person, the right place, the right time. Amen.

© 2013 Nathan D. Showalter

Pastor’s Blog
Rooted: School’s out
Abundant Grace International Fellowship
Thursday, May 3, 2013

This weekend(May 4-5) at Abundant Grace:
Sat, 5:00 & 7:00pm, Grace Extended: Josh Cales on "Rooted: Who's the boss?"
Sun, 12 noon, Trinity: Sixth Sunday of Easter
Sun, 3pm: Tom Mitchell on"Rooted: Who's the boss?"

Today's meditation based on Peter Yoo’s April 27-28 message, “Rooted: School’s out” (Colossians 2:6-15)

We are more and more deeply rooted in Christ as we celebrate our identity in him (v 9-12).

Colossians knew about mystery religions and secret initiation rites of membership. And Jewish babies were circumcised as a physical mark that they belonged, not just to their parents, but to God and his people. Paul reminds the new believers in Colossae that followers of Jesus are baptized as a sign, not of what we can do but of what God has already done for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

“Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin” (v 11 msg).

Being rooted in Christ means being reminded every day that we are marked and that our identity is in Jesus. But this identity and new way of life isn’t something we do on our own.

“Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s Cross” (v 12-14 msg).

God makes us new people. Evil powers no longer control us (v 15). We are free!

Point to ponder: We are free to live the resurrection life that is God’s gift to us through Jesus.

Question to consider: Have I thanked God today for the new life gift he’s given to me?

Verse to remember: “God made you alive with Christ.” (Col 2:13)

Action to deliver: As you go through today, remember that you are a marked person, and that Jesus is living his life in you.

Prayer: Jesus, I sometimes want to blend in with the people around me. Sometimes I want to hide my identity as your follower. Thank you for marking me as a person who belongs to you. Let me celebrate that identity throughout the day today. Amen.

© 2013 Nathan D. Showalter

“You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it!” (Col 2:6-7 msg)

In the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” a soldier cowers in hiding as his buddy is slowly, excruciatingly killed by an enemy knife. He could have saved his buddy’s life, but was immobilized by fear. As a high school student, my faith was immobilized by fear and self-doubt, and I even contemplated suicide.

The Colossians cowered before false philosophies, and Paul writes this letter to help them overcome their doubts and fears.

How could the Colossians, and how can we in Shanghai, grow strong in Christ in the face of deceptive philosophies and opposing ideologies and worldviews? We grow strong as we receive Christ and are rooted in him (v 6-7).

Redwood trees have a shallow root system but can reach up to 350 feet tall. They grow tall and strong because their root systems interconnect with each other. Alone they could not withstand the storm, but rooted with other trees they live for hundreds, even thousands of years.

When our roots in Christ are connected with other Christians in Christ’s body, the church, we grow strong and tall, able to withstand storms.

“Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk” (v 8 msg). We need to be careful where and how our roots grow. My cousin got caught up in a cult in high school, and it spoiled her faith. Even today she refuses to go to church.

Point to ponder: Rooted in Christ and his body the church, we grow strong and resilient.

Question to consider: How am I being rooted with other disciples at Abundant Grace?

Verse to remember: “I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6 tev)

Action to deliver: Spend time with another Abundant Grace member this week, or with your small group. Deepen your roots in Christ’s body.

Prayer: Jesus, I want to be rooted in you and to connect deeply in your body, the church. Help me organize my life so that you and your people are at the center of my schedule. Amen.

© 2013 Nathan D. Showalter