Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,

After Easter worship, my wife and I jumped on a plane! That’s right, as soon as worship services and the egg hunt were completed, my wife and I flew to Texas in order to show up for five of our two grandsons’ baseball games for the week. What a joy and blessing it was to be there. Our younger grandson plays high school base ball and had two great games.  Of course, I could brag and show you videos and pictures. His older brother is a freshman in college. If you don’t know this, college sports are a whole other beast of athletism. Mason is a lefthanded pitcher. He is one pitcher on a team of 20 pitchers. Freshman usually have to pay their dues and that translates to: we sat in the stands and watched an all-day during double hitter and only saw our grandson warm up! We left Waco at 10 am, drove to Dallas, spent the day and returned home at 10 pm. It was a long, 12-hour day. Our grandson may not have gotten the chance to pitch in the game but the important thing is that we showed up. We cheered the team on (they won one, lost one.) We were able to watch our grandson snag balls during infield practice, and warm up in the dugout. After the first game, he was able to talk with us for a few minutes in the stands. He apologized for not playing and that we drove such along way for that. We told him, “Mason, just remember to show up. Life isn’t about showing up because you’re the star of the game. Life is just about showing up no matter what.”

When Jesus met Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in the garden by the empty tomb, He told them not to be afraid, but He actually told them more. Listen to Jesus’ words … Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:10

If you have read the Bible, you know that there are many resurrection appearances of Jesus that have been recorded. The New Testament indicates that there were at least ten appearances of the risen Lord, plus another appearance to Paul some years later. As we noted in our opening reading of the Gospel of John, Jesus appeared in the Upper room not once but twice. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus appears to the disciples walking down the road to Emmaus after the resurrection.  In John we find Jesus appearing to the disciples on the seashore in Galilee and cooking fish tacos for their morning breakfast. We hear of Jesus forgiving Peter three times by asking Peter to love Him and feed His sheep. Did Jesus do that so that He and bff Pete were “even up” for the three times that Peter denied knowing Jesus? Maybe.  In eight of these appearance accounts, Christ gives an explicit commission, and in five of the eight he commands his followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Our reading in Matthew comes after breakfast by the sea. Some scholars suggest that the timing of Matthew’s account is some fifty to fifty-five days after the resurrection. We could spend some time trying to put all the pieces together chronologically, but I do not think that is what we are called to do.

In Matthew, Jesus gives some powerful action points that are necessary for His followers to follow in order to fulfill their supreme mission on earth–to reach the mountain peak of their calling, as it were. These action points I would like to address over the next few Seeds of Faith: show up, worship, obedience — go make, baptize, and teach.

Notice the ending of verse 10 and the action in verse 11.  The women were told to go and tell the disciples (hiding in the upper room) to go the Galilee for there they would see Jesus. You know what the disciples did? They went.  That is what verse eleven tells us. They showed up, they were available.

I wonder how often I have failed to show up. I try and listen to what God is trying to tell and ask of me through the Holy Spirit each moment of each day. Sometimes I miss the boat and the result is I miss the opportunity to see God at work in my life and in the lives of others.

While we were in Texas, my wife and I went to one of my favorite Christian book stores (Mardel) to walk around and browse the books and Christian art. We picked out only a few books this trip knowing that we only had so much room in our 48 pound suitcases! We were standing in the checkout line—which was long—and my wife started waving all the other people behind us to go ahead of us. They only had one or two items and we had 7 books and we were in no hurry. The lady just in front of my wife thanked us because she only had a small amount of time before she had to go pick up her kids and she had prayed that she’d get in and out in record time. You know my wife, they talked about kids and then my wife noticed the title of the two books this woman was buying, The books were by Lysa Terkeurst! She was buying Lysa’s newest book called, “You’ll Get Through This”. The woman saw my cross and asked if I was a pastor. Then she shared with us that she was going through a messy divorce. They had been married 35 years and he just left for another younger woman. By now she was crying. Jac asked her about the books she has read by Lysa. Turns out, she has read almost all of them—except, she missed GOOD  BOUNDARIES AND GOODBYES—the very study our SEED BOSSY women are studying this Spring! Jac was like, “NO! NO! You need to get this book before you get that book! This boundaries book is the precursor and foundation of that book! First, you need to know about boundaries and good byes!” You got it, I had already left the line and had gone to pick up the study guide and the book. Jac is leading the women’s study at the SEED. While I was gone, the woman told Jac, “OK. I will go home, go to work and make more money and come back and get that study in two weeks.” After the woman checked out, Jac asked her if she could wait just another moment for a blessing. You got it. THE SEED bought this woman the tools she needed to finish her mountain climbing for this season. Oh, how she cried. After we were done checking out our own 7 books, we went off to the side of the checkout aisle and prayed for this broken-hearted person. Jac wrote down an encouraging note in her book, showed her how to access the 6 videos online and left her cell phone number.

SO WHAT?

Point number one!  Show up — be available. As we were listening to the Christian radio in Waco, a caller shared that she had participated in the local PAY IT FORWARD TUESDAY last week. You know, you’re in the drive up line and someone pays for the car behind them? This person drove through the bistro and said, “ I want to pay for mine and for the car behind me.” The next Tuesday this woman showed up again and the bistro told her that the last time they paid it forward—20 cars!

What I’m trying to tell you is that you don’t always go out and say, “Here I am. Showing up!” Sometimes you simply are nothing but available. You’re there and ALL OF A SUDDENLY…there’s an opportunity to watch God work…and God may even be using you to do just that!

That’s what Jesus is commanding here. “Go tell the family of God to JUST SHOW UP. I’ll take care of the rest.”

See you Sunday!
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave

www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

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“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers,

It is my prayer that you are staying healthy and are walking with Jesus as you season your world.

This a two-part message. This week will talk about being a little salty. Next week, we will see how light can shine.

In the days of Jesus, and for many centuries thereafter, salt was the most common preservative used. There were no refrigerators, no deep freezers in ancient times. Salt was used to keep things from going bad and becoming rotten, particularly meat. When Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot” Jesus was telling His disciples that they were called to be the preserving agent in a decaying world.

This simple principle from Jesus is that you and I are called to be a preserving force in our world–wherever we are called to live, work, play and worship.

Think of it this way — salt that never leaves the box on the shelf will do no good in preserving anything. To be effective, salt has to be rubbed into the meat. Have you gone into the grocery store and looked at all of the “rubs” they have for seasoning your steak? In this same way, we must allow God to use us as flavorful seasoning (rub) for our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, families, and churches. A small amount of love and kindness goes a long way in making our world a better place.

Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride–common table salt–the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor.

Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various, contrary doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, truth can turn people away from the gospel. But when truth and love are combined in an individual or in a church then we have what Jesus called “the salt of the earth,” and we are able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith.

The other day I went to the grocery store to do some shopping. I went to buy juice for home communions, I came across an insight on flavoring. I was holding a bottle of Blueberry Pomegranate Juice. There was a picture of a ripe pomegranate spilling its exotic, glistening seeds onto mounds of fat, perfect blueberries. I read the ingredient list: “Filtered water, pear juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, grape juice concentrate.” Where was the blueberry? Where was the pomegranate? Finally, I found them, fifth and seventh in a list of nine ingredients.

By law, food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. Meaning a product contains the greatest proportion of the first ingredient on the list and successively less of those farther down the list. According to the jug in my hand, it contained mostly water—a few other juices, with just enough blueberry and pomegranate for flavor and color.

In the bottom corner of the front label in small, easy-to-miss, were the tell-tale words: “Flavored juice blend with other natural ingredients.” The enticing pictures and clever labeling were decoys used to sell a diluted, blueberry-pomegranate flavored product convincingly disguised to look like something it was not. I put the juice back on the shelf. I chose the juice that was more costly—but it had more of what I was looking for.

So What?

That jug of juice made me think, what if we had an ingredients list printed on us?

Would Jesus be the main ingredient?

If not, how far down the list would He be?

Would our “label” accurately represent our contents?

Or would we falsely project a misleading outward-appearance that cleverly masked our diluted ingredients? Our packaging may be convincing. We may look and sound like the real thing but what if someone came looking for Jesus and found something else?

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertaker.” (Today In The Word, June, 1988, p. 13).

More than a hundred years ago the atheist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche reproached a group of Christians. Nietzsche said: “Yuck, you make me sick!” When their spokesman asked why, he answered, “because you redeemed don’t look like you are redeemed. You are as fearful, guilt-ridden, anxious confused, and adrift in an alien environment as I am. I am allowed. I do not believe. I have nothing to hope for. But you people claim you have a Savior. Why don’t you look like you are saved?” (Brennan Manning, Souvenirs of Solitude, 2009, Colorado Springs, NavPress)

Every Sunday my loving wife prays for me before church. Every Sunday she concludes with the same prayer, “Lord, help Dave to be funny. Let him reflect the peace and joy he has in knowing you. Amen.” Knowing Jesus really is the best part of my life. And Jesus wants us to be SALT to our world. He wants us to RUB off on others. It only takes a small amount of salt to flavor whatever we are using it on; the same way with us—it only takes a small amount of the love of Jesus to rub off on those in our tiny sector of the world. That’s our job: to be the SALT of the earth.

I leave you with your “SO WHAT?” homework:

• Am I the SALT of the Savior? Divide my life into who I am, what I’m doing, and where I’m going—and let’s spread the love of God everywhere we are.

• What if I had an ingredients list printed on me? Would Jesus be the main ingredient? What do I need to do in order to be more like Christ?

My prayer for you today: Be funny! (Just kidding.) Seriously, let’s take some time to sit with this SEED OF FAITH. Let’s look at our lives. If I’m the SALT of the EARTH, am I RUBBING off on those I live with? work with? worship with? Everywhere I go, am I seasoning others with God’s tremendous love? “Dear Father, I want others to know you and to experience your grace and love and forgiveness. Help me to fill my heart, mind, soul, spirit, body and strength with your living words of life so that I can be a living, walking, talking gospel of Jesus Christ. I don’t want Jesus to be the last ingredient on my label; I want Jesus listed first. Help me to be more like Jesus. Amen.” 

See you Sunday! 

God loves you and so do I,

Pastor Dave

www,theseedchristianfellowship.com