“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fruitful Seed Sowers,

This is my prayer for you as we travel through some of the big, bible stories together. I pray you remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray the Holy Spirit emboldens you to remain fearless and I pray that you plant all the seeds you can and that those seeds grow each season.

Do you believe these three words: GOD WITH US? or even GOD WITH ME?

How do these three words affect your life? How could these three words affect your life? 

Over the next few weeks, we will spend time together in the Old Testament book of Daniel.  Today we jump into the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and then we find our ourselves in the lion’s den with Daniel.
Get ready! This is going to be a great series to put yourself into the story! Maybe you already feel like you’re there, living the story! Maybe it feels like you have been in a fiery furnace this past year or maybe you’ve found yourself in the lion’s den with this worldwide pandemic.

The GOOD NEWS is found in these three, small, but mighty, words:

GOD WITH US.

GOD WITH ME.

Let’s set the stage for the next two weeks as we study Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel:

Babylon is the ruling power in the days of Daniel.  Nebuchadnezzar is the King of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar has already attacked the southern kingdom of Judah three times, beginning in 605 B.C. The second invasion occurred in 597 B.C. when Jehoiakim, son of the king of Judah mentioned in Daniel 1:1–2, was compelled to surrender Jerusalem and go into captivity with many of the Jewish leaders, including the royal family, the commanders of the army, craftsmen, and some of the priests like Ezekiel. The third invasion is the one I remember the most. It took place in 586B.C. when Jerusalem was completely destroyed, and the people of the land were deported to Babylon. A side note of interest is that the prophet Jeremiah was in Jerusalem at the time of this final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

Daniel and his three friends were taken in the first deportation of the people of Judah under King Jehoiakim.  All four of these young men came from noble or royal descent and were teenagers when taken into captivity. All four had been given Jewish names that reflected their families’ faith and their God: Daniel and Mishael both end in “el’ which is the plural for “Elohim.” Daniel means — “God is my Judge,” Mishael means, “Who is like God?” The names of the other two, Hananiah and Azariah, both contain a shortened form of the name Jehovah. Hananiah means “Jehovah is Gracious” while Azariah means “Jehovah is my Helper”. The very names of these men were reminders of their heritage and a challenge for them to remain faithful to the Lord. But now, they were deported into a strange, pagan land, and their names were changed. Add insult to injury because their new names contain a reference to one of the false gods of the ancient Babylonians:  Marduk, Aku and Nego. Daniel wan renamed Belteshazzar, which means “Guard my life,”  it was a prayer to Marduk, one of the Babylonian pagan gods.  By changing their Jewish names to Babylonian names, this was a way of saying that these four, young men who had been servants of the Jewish God, were now servants and worshipers of the gods of the pagan pantheon. How would you like to be renamed by a pagan system, after a false god?

I want to emphasize something here, and it’s a good “SO WHAT?” for us. The change of their names accomplished nothing.
You see, King Nebuchadnezzar had changed the men’s names, but he could not change their hearts. What does this mean for you and me? No matter we are going through, no matter how tough life is–no one can change your heart without your permission. Remember this.

The four men remained faithful to the true God of Israel.

Will we be faithful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? When life gets burning hot, will I remain faithful? (Write that down.  Think about that!)

As we begin this story, I want you to place yourself into what’s going on. We’re not in Kansas anymore. We’re in Babylon. Nothing is the same, nothing is familiar anymore; they have even changed our names to honor their gods. 

Can you relate? A year ago, things were pretty normal but not for long. Covid 19 hit us and so did masks, gloves and the rush on paper products! Life has not been normal. Life has been anything but normal this past year. And, yet, can we be more like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Can we remain faithful to God? 

GOD WITH US!

GOD WITH ME.

When Daniel and his three friends were taken captive to a foreign land and given different names did God make a mistake?  Did God forsake them?  As we are all faced with a world-wide pandemic, does God not know what is happening?  Has God forgotten us?

Has your faith begun to fail?  Go ahead and read this story. Put yourself right there into Babylon. And answer this question:

To whom or to what do I bow?

As you read, remember this:  These young men did not sit down and rationalize our their options.  They did not justify their actions.  They did not go and discuss their decision with others. They did not stop to consider the arguments of others. These young men simply remained faithful to their one, true God.

So What?
I am reminded of the great theologian and church reformer, Martin Luther, when he was on trial at the Diet of Worms. Luther was told by his authorities to recant his convictions, and to recant the 95 questions on the door of the Wittenberg Castle. Listen to Luther’s reply as his very life was at stake: “Here I stand.  I can do no other. May God help me.”

I have a long homework project for you to do this week. Read the following question. Pray about it. Think about it. You can even discuss it with people you love. Here’s the question:

What are my convictions? (Conviction: a firmly held belief or opinion.)

And now a final “So What?” homework question: which of the above convictions are worth the fiery furnace to you?

“HERE I STAND. I CAN DO NO OTHER. May God be with me.” Isn’t it just another way of saying, “GOD WITH US” or “GOD WITH ME”? 

As I close, the past few weeks have been pretty intense for my wife and I. Caring for Dad in our home has many challenges. Remember the recent MOHS surgery I had on my nose and shoulder? I’m sensitive to the stitches, the gauze, the tape that were used. I have four, dissolvable stitches in my shoulder and it’s going to take 3-4 months for them to dissolve. My entire left side of my shoulder is aflame. I’ve not been taken into captivity by any means but let’s just say, “I get Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And, I’m not bowing down to anything or anyone except the one, true God.” 

Are you there? Are you with me? 

Next week we conclude the fiery furnace and move into the lions’ den. Oh, man! I can hardly wait!

Spoiler alert for next week: there’s a fourth man in the fire and there’s another in your fiery furnace, too.

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I! 

Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Join us for worship on Sunday at 10am Pacific.  The link for the live interactive worship is:

theseedchristianfellowship.online.church

if you miss the 10am worship on Sunday you can always go to our YouTube channel and watch the complete worship service or just the children’s message for your children or the weekly sermon.

“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 5:14-16

Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fruitful Seed-Sowers,
It is my prayer that as each one of us walks through this world-wide pandemic that we will be the salt and the light of Christ to our dark world.  May we keep our eyes on Jesus and may His light shine through us.

Last week we looked at being the salt of the earth.  This week let’s take a few minutes and reflect on the call to be the light of the world.  We need to light our lamps of love, joy, faith, mercy, peace and grace into the world we live in.

Last week I challenged you to consider the kind of foundation you are building upon.  Are you a wise-builder or a foolish-builder?  Are you going to build on sinking sand or on the ROCK of Christ?  As I have been reading this week, I came across this great illustration about building on the ROCK and letting your light shine:

Eleven miles off the east coast of Scotland, in the North Sea, stands the Bell Rock Lighthouse. It has endured the ferocious onslaught of the North Sea’s violent storms since 1811. It rests upon less than one acre of solid rock. The small reef is covered by seawater 20 hours of every 24. The builder of the lighthouse, Robert Stevenson, and his band of 65 skilled artisans, had only four hours each day to chink away the stone and gouge a foundation in the rock. As a result of this painstakingly patient work, the 115-foot-tall lighthouse is still in use today–200 years later. There are usually great costs in digging a deep, Christ-like foundation.  Do it anyway. Your legacy will outlast you if you do!

In 1972, a young Egyptian businessman named Farahat lost an $11,000 watch. He was stunned when a garbage man dressed in filthy rags found it and returned it to him. Farahat asked him why he didn’t just keep the watch. The garbage man said, “My Christ told me to be honest until death.” Farahat later told a reporter: “I didn’t know Christ at the time, but I told the garbage man that I saw Christ in him. I told him, ‘Because of what you have done and your great example, I will worship the Christ you are worshiping.'”  Farahat studied the Bible and grew in his faith. Two years later he visited the garbage man’s village outside Cairo, where between 15,000 and 30,000 people were living in poverty and squalor. There was no electricity or running water. Alcohol, drugs, and gambling were pervasive. Men, women, and children sifted through huge mountains of garbage, looking for something of value that could be sold for cash or traded for food. Farahat found himself reflecting on the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” He also remembered the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:13, “We have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things.” It was soon thereafter that Farahat and his wife began ministering to people’s spiritual and material needs. They preached the gospel throughout Egypt, and thousands of people turned to Christ.  In 1978, Farahat was ordained by the Coptic Orthodox Church and became known as Father Sama’an. Now, about 10,000 believers meet in a large cave outside the garbage village. It is the largest church of believers in the Middle East. In May of 2005, a day of prayer was held for Muslims to turn to Christ. More than 20,000 Arab Christians gathered. The event was also broadcast on a Christian satellite TV network, where millions were watching. All this, because one garbage man chose to humbly return a watch that would have made him the richest man in town.[i]

Wherever you are, whoever you are–you can be the light of Christ. Build deeply into the foundation of Christ. Let Christ’s light shine in you. Go love others.

SO WHAT?
Jesus is on the mountaintop teaching us how to improve our lives.

·         You are the salt of the earth. 

·         You are the light of the world.

Do you come to church to worship the living God?  Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to RUB the love of God into your heart each Sunday?  Do we let our daily devotionals and weekly Bible Studies season our lives so that we are ready to flavor our part of the world—our home, work places, schools, neighborhoods and church?  If we had an ingredient list—how far down would the Jesus-factor be?

Jesus was onto something at the mountaintop.  From His viewpoint, he saw a decaying world.  What about you? Will you do whatever it takes to be the salt and light of your world? Remember Robert Stevenson only had four hours each day to gouge a foundation into solid rock but that lighthouse is still in use–200 years later.

The work you do in your lifetime has the opportunity to outlive you. 

When the waves of the world are crashing all around you, you can stand safely and securely in the midst of the storm.  Why? Because you have built your foundation upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

The gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 5: And the light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it. The BELL ROCK lighthouse has safely guided the seas for over 200 years. Why? Its foundation is embedded deeply into the rock it rests upon. May the same be said of you and me.

See you Sunday …

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Dear Seed-Sowers,
I hope and pray that you are all well, safe, healthy and growing in grace. I have been rereading Matthew 5 this week and reflecting on Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” Wow!  There is so much meat in chapters 5-7 of Matthew. (Perhaps a challenge for you to read these chapters for a week?) In the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, Jesus tells us that we are to be poor in spirit, called to be merciful and meek, called to hunger and thirst for righteousness in order that we may be “the salt of the earth and the light of the world.”  In essence, what Jesus is telling the people gathered on that mountainside is that they are to not to just sit around listening about HOW to be a Christian, they are to go out and BE a Christian.  Jesus clearly states the purpose of the Christian life — to be salt and light in our world!

SO WHAT? ABOUT “salt”?

SALT: PRESERVATIVE and FLAVOR
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 agents to a decaying world.

The simple principle is that you and I are called to be a preserving force in the world–wherever we are called to live, work, and play.

Think of it this way — salt that never leaves the shelf will do no good in preserving anything.  To be effective, the salt had to be rubbed into the meat.  Have you gone into the grocery store and looked at all of the “rubs” they have for seasoning these days?  In the same way, we  must allow God to use us as flavorful seasoning in 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.

The other day I went to the grocery store to do some shopping. I went to buy juice, and 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 type, were the tell-tale words: “Flavored juice blend with other natural ingredients.” The enticing picture and clever labeling were decoys to sell a diluted, blueberry-pomegranate flavored product convincingly disguised to look like something it wasn’t. I put the juice back on the shelf.  I chose the juice that was more costly—because it had more of what I was looking for.

SO WHAT? THINK ABOUT THIS:  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? This made me think, our outside packaging may look convincing. We may look and sound like the real thing but what if someone came looking specifically for Jesus and found something else?

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 don’t believe. I have nothing to hope for.  But you people claim you have a Savior.  Why don’t you look like you are saved?”[ii]

Friends, it is our calling as Christians to be the salt of the earth.  We are called to bring love, joy, peace, hope, mercy, kindness, and grace into our families, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, churches and wherever we go. I think about the people who are serving us in the drive up. I can’t tell you how many times I pull away without something I ordered and paid for. The other day my 89 year old father-in-law taught me a life lesson. The drive up forgot his honey mustard sauce for his chicken nuggets.  We were going to go park and take in the majestic beauty of the San Gabriel mountains while we ate our drive through. No honey mustard? Dad said to me, “It’s okay. The mountains are still beautiful.”

I’m trying to say, be the light and the salt of Christ in a world that’s missing the honey mustard sauce!

As you read the living word of God, I’m praying it becomes a great seasoning salt that’s rubbed deeply into your being.  I’m praying that you are conformed, and transformed by what you read in your Bible. It’s a new year–pick a book (there are 66 of them) and read a paragraph, or a chapter a day. This week: be the salt of the earth. Lord knows, the world needs us!

See you Sunday.
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Dear Faithful and Fearless Seed Sowers,

At The Seed it is our hope and prayer that you come to know the love of God, grow in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and go into our world sowing seeds of faith. The SEED wants you to SOW SEEDS OF FAITH in your world.

Know God’s Love!
Grow in Christ’s Grace!
Go in Power of the Holy Spirit!

We sit at the brink of a New Year. The canvas of this year is mostly clean (except for a few weeks). Can we allow the Holy Spirit to help us go in His power to sow seeds of faith, hope, mercy, grace, and love? And, if so, what does that plan look like for each one of us?

January 17th marks the 23rd year of my ordination into full-time ministry. My goal from the very beginning was to serve our mighty God in full-time ministry for at least 25 years. I went into seminary at the ripe, old age of 40 (like Moses)! When people would ask me why I made that career change, I would answer that I had 25 good years left in me! You see, I was a Good Year tire dealer, and the choice was to dream God’s dream or play it safe and sell tires for the next 25 years. I’m so glad God placed that giant-sized burden of ministry onto my shoulders way back in 1994. My prayer as I begin my 24th year of ordained ministry serving in a church is that God will lead me all the way. I want to finish these 25 years of ministry STRONG! I want to press on and reach the goal. I don’t want to slow down and coast past the finish line. God gave me a plan and I’m in it to win it. How about you? Perhaps you are 40 years old and you are being called into a brand, new career, too? My only advice for you:  read your living WORD, pray and obey.

And so, for the 23rd year I have been doing just that. I’ve been opening my Living Word, praying and seeking God’s heart on what my 2021 preaching schedule could look like. I’m always open to the Holy Spirit changing my plan but, as of yet, God’s plans have worked! And so, at the end of December, I sat down and spent time seeking God’s voice for The Seed.  “What do you want me to preach on in 2021?” To be boldly honest with you, I am extremely excited to begin a New Year and a new sermon series: “God With Us.”

All during Advent, the Holy Spirit put it on my heart, “Dave, with all the world has been going through, stop and reflect on the three little words of Christmas:  “God With Us.”   Isaiah* 7:14 — “Therefore the Lord himself will give you (this pronoun is plural it include you and me) a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (which means God With Us.)  *Just a quick invitation — I am teaching the book of Isaiah on Wednesday nights in our Get-A-Life group.  We are doing this study by ZOOM at the present time.  If you would like to join our study, send me an email at pastordave@theseedchristianfellowship.com and I will send you a ZOOM invite. (We begin at 6:30 pm Pacific Time; believe it or not, we have people from the east coast who join us.)

This Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled when the angel Gabriel showed up to Joseph and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife.  Listen to how Matthew records this in Matthew 1:20-23:

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:20-23

Did you hear those three, little words?  GOD WITH US!   Three little words with big meaning. All wrapped up in one little Hebrew name, “Immanuel.”

Maybe a good “so what?” question before we dig into our message for this week is:

Do you believe those three little words — GOD WITH US? How do these three, little words affect your life? Is God with you?

Like everyone else I have been waiting and watching all that has been happening in our world in this world-wide pandemic and again I am watching with all the political upheaval. These days are tumultuous, turbulent, trying and terribly frightening.  There seems to be confusion in the chaos. Friends and family members are getting sick and some are dying.  Businesses are closed, schools are shutdown and moved to online, Even our churches closed and moved online. Relationships have been limited and stretched to the limits. Families have been isolated and quarantined from one another.  Many people are struggling with depression, doubt and despair.  Some are asking — “How Long — Lord?”   Fear, frustration and anxiety and anger seem to be the emotions that are being expressed by so many.

Do you believe those three, little words — GOD WITH US?

How do these three, little words affect and impact your life?

There is a story told of two missionaries who were captured and imprisoned in the same cell but forbidden to speak to each other. Christmas came. One of the missionaries, shivering and silent, sat on the floor covered with hay. As he was playing with bits of hay around him, he thought that he discovered a silent way of communicating with his friend. He spelled out the word Immanuel. As soon as his friend saw the word, immediately he lit up with joy. They were captives, but they both believed that God was with them and that ultimate triumph would be theirs.[i]

Listen, if you are all alone: the SEED has spelled out for you in the straw of life: IMMANUEL! GOD IS WITH YOU!

So What?
Over the next few months as we make our way to Easter, I am going to share some of the famous stories in the Bible, stories where God showed up despite dark, dismal days.  God was with Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego in a fiery furnace. God was with Daniel in a lion’s den.  God was with David when
he faced a giant named Goliath. God was with Elijah when he was confronted by hundreds of prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. God was Elisha when he raised the dead son of the Shunamite and filled the widow’s olive oil jar to overflowing. God was with Jonah in the belly of the big fish. God was with Samson, Gideon, Isaiah, Jeremiah and all the prophets. The entire bible is filled with stories that beat the odds.  God has not left us! GOD IS WITH US!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

This is my prayer for us as we journey through 2021.  No matter what, I want you to know that GOD IS WITH YOU. He’s with you whether you have small children and are losing your mind being encapsulated! God is with you whether you are sick and need medical care. God is with you even if you are all alone and feel as though you are dying of loneliness.

GOD WITH US.  SAY IT OUT LOUD. SAY IT WHEN LIFE IS HARD: GOD WITH ME. SAY IT WHEN LIFE IS GOOD: GOD WITH ME. PRAY IT OVER YOUR FAMILY WHEN THEY ARE STRUGGLING:  GOD WITH US.

Every day my wife and I care for Dad in our home. Andy celebrates his 89th birthday on MLK Jr Day! He’s ordered a prime rib, corn and baked potato dinner cooked at home. Jac’s been busy getting cards from people who know Dad. We will hang up the HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign and put 89 on top of his chocolate cake. You see, Dad suffers from end stage Alzheimer’s and the past few months have take a toll on his mind and body but not his spirit. Every night as Dad and I head down the hallway to his bedroom, Dad tells me, “Talk about forgiveness, Dave. No baggage.” Dad is aware that I preach on Sundays and record messages for the radio and you tube. After 23 years of ordained ministry, I pray I never forget: GOD WITH US. I AM FORGIVEN. NO BAGGAGE. Amen.

It’s not about our power, it’s about GOD’S POWER at work IN us. There.  Do you see it?

GOD WITH US. Amen.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” Matthew 2:10-12

Dear Faithful and Fearless Seed Sowers,

Happy Epiphany! The twelve days of Christmas have come to end.  January 6th (of every year) is the day the church celebrates Epiphany. Epiphany means “manifestation”. Manifestation means an event, action or object that clearly shows or embodies a theory or abstract idea!  Epiphany is the day celebrated as the manifestation of Jesus to Gentiles with the visit of the wise men from the East. I encourage you to read the story of the wise men and their visit to see the Christ-child born King.  You can find the story in Matthew 2:1-12.

The story of the wise men visiting the Christ child is an intriguing one. These magi waited, they watched and when they saw the promise of the star fulfilled, they went and worshiped. There’s a group of poignant words for today: waited, watched, went, worshiped.

We have been waiting for this worldwide pandemic to be under control.  We have been waiting for our families to come back together.  We have been waiting to go back to school in person.  We have been waiting for our churches to open so that we can come and worship together in community.

What have you been waiting for?  What are you watching for?  With the lockdown and quarantine, I am sure that many have had the opportunity to watch a lot of TV programs. Some of us had the opportunity to go outside in December that watch Saturn and Jupitar align and give us a bright star.  Nasa called it the Christmas Star, or the Star of Bethlehem.  The next time these two planets will align like they just did will be in 800 years. I wonder if this is the star that the wise men were watching for? But the real question for us is: what are you watching for?

Can you comprehend this story of the wise men from east?   This traveling caravan of wise-men and servants began a long trip to Israel simply because a particular star was in the sky, alerting them to the birth of the King of the Jews.  They traveled for several months before they finally met the Christ-child.

I believe that this story is more than a story to entertain us, it is a story to teach us about our own personal response to Christ, “the child born the king of the Jews.”

Maybe a good little “so what” for each one of us — “what is our response to the child born King of the Jews?’

So what do the wise men have to do with us today?  What can we learn from them?  I believe that. at times, we are a lot like King Herod—uncomfortable. King Herod was uncomfortable … “he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him.”   The verb used for “frightened” in the original Greek is very descriptive and has been translated into English with many different words like “disturbed, terrified, and frightened.”  The verb is in the active voice and it literally means “to shake, stir up, trouble or agitate.” the Bible says that he was terrified of a new king, even if that king was a baby.

I also believe that, at times, we are a lot like the chief priests and the teachers of the law–unwilling. They new that the Messiah was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem, five miles from Jerusalem.  Yet, they were unwilling to go five miles.

My hope and prayer is that we will learn to overcome our uncomfortableness, unwillingness and become unleashed in our faith as the Magi were.  

Unleashed with the news of the birth of the Christ child.

Unleashed like the wise men to bow down and worship the King with the gifts of our lives.

We sit at the brink of a new year.  The slate is clean. The canvas of 2021 is blank.  Are we going to be uncomfortable, unwilling or unleashed in 2021?

Jonathan Edwards, the 18th-century revivalist, sat down at age 17 and penned 21 resolutions by which he would live his life. He added to this list until, by his death, he had 70 resolutions. Edwards put at the top of his list: “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions.…Remember to read over these resolutions once a week.”[i]

Edwards did not casually make New Year’s resolutions with an expectation of eventually breaking them.  Each week he did a self-check. He regularly summed up how he was doing and sought God’s help in the process.

What are our resolutions for this New Year?  What are we going to write on our slate for 2021?  What are we going to paint onto the canvas of our life in 2021?  What are our resolutions for our church?    What are our resolutions for children’s ministry, youth ministry and adult small-group ministries for 2021? Where is God calling us into fellowship and mission work? You all know we have supported Children Everywhere for 20 years. In 2010 we began having NOISY SUNDAY and have just passed the milemarker of raising $25,000 for our rescue homes in Zambia. Today our leadership board voted to begin investing in a new ministry from India. How in the world did God lead us here? Byron was walking by the house with his dog. Jac and I were outside and my wife felt this overwhelming impression that this man was a special person in God’s eyes.  “Hey, what do you do for a living?” Not your average thing to say to people walking their dog by our house. I can honestly say she’s never asked that another person in her entire 66 years of life. Byron stopped and we pursued into a deep and meaningful conversation about ministry. A month later, our board is on board to support women in India. Is this a fulfillment of a life of learning to WAIT, WATCH, WENT, WORSHIP? Should I mention my wife’s word of intention for 2020 was WAIT?

When I became a Christian my mentor and pastor asked me to pick a life verse.  The first verse that I memorized was Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

But the verse I chose as my life verse was from Paul’s letter to Philippians … Philippians 3:10-11:

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul continues to encourage the church in Philippi while he sits in prison

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Paul the Apostle wrote in his letter to the Philippians that he wanted to forget what was behind and he wanted to strain for what was ahead.  He wrote that he wanted to win the prize of the high calling of Christ Jesus.

My “so what” question for you today as you make your New Year resolutions: “are you in it to win it?”

Are you going to forget what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead?

As the wise-men waited, watched, went, and worshiped–can you answer this question: Am I ready to wait, watch and worship?  Am I in it to WIN it?

Whatever our personal resolutions may be, whatever our resolutions for our church may be, I pray we all seek God’s help, regularly check up on how we are doing, and I pray we become unleashed to be in it to win it — to finish the race that is set before us.

My prayer for each and every one of us is that we all would be unleashed!  Unleashed to seek Christ!  Unleashed to ask for directions!  Unleashed to worship in spirit and truth!

Let us make one resolution as God’s family:  Let us resolve to simply follow like the wise men and then  return home a different way!  Let us offer God our blank slates for our lives in 2021.  Let us agree with Jonathan Edwards, “Being sensible that we are unable to do anything without God’s help, we humbly entreat God’s grace to complete everything that Christ has planned for us.”  Hey, it could be as honest and simple as asking the dogwalker, “What do you do for a living?” Paul preached Christ–and strained for what was ahead. Who knows what 2021 holds for each of us? GOD. GOD KNOWS. Wait. Watch, Went. Worship.

Let us pray — God of creation, your love is so amazing.   Help us not to be like Herod—uncomfortable because we only have enough room for one king–me, myself and I.  Help us not to be like the chief priests and teachers of the law—unwilling to let the news of Christ rule in our hearts but let us become unleashed like the wise men.  Foolish to abandon ourselves fully by following the newborn King!  May we all be unleashed to seek you, to follow you, and to find you.  May we be unleashed to worship You in spirit and in truth!  Give us dreams and visions of Your great love and lead us by Your guiding light.  We pray we will wait, watch, and worship.  We pray our gifts will be a gift fit for the newborn, CHRIST CHILD King!  Amen.

See you Sunday!

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love.
Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701  

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” Isaiah 42:9

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” I Peter 1:3-5

Dear Faithful Friends, Saintly Seed-Sowers, and Courageous Covid-Warriors,

Above are a few passages of Scriptures that I turn to as I prepare for each New Year.  I think of all we each had to walk through in 2020.  Who would have imagined that a world-wide pandemic would shut down our lives on a dime? I also like to reflect on the new year and on the “new things” that God will do in my life, your life, and in the lives of all of us during this new year: 2021!

I love the passage from Revelation: Write them down for they are “trustworthy and true.”  What powerful words to reflect on!  What words are your hearing? What words are you reading? What words are you thinking on?

Did you know that the word “new” is used 192 times in the Bible? The word “new” is used with the words — “new moon, new wine, new harvest, new king, new treasure, new tomb (Jesus’ burial), new command (love), new life, new song, and new name” to name just a few.  The Hebrew word for ‘new” is “חָדָשׁ chadash” and it means “new, fresh, to reveal.”  The Greek word for “new” is a combination of two words — kainos (καινος), neos (νεος).

As we sit on the brink of this NEW Year, think about this. The slate is clean for this New Year.  The pages of your life in 2021 have yet to be written. I read this devotional thought from Robert G Lee:

“If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400, that carried no balance from day to day, allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and finally every evening canceled whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. what would you do?

Draw out every cent—of course!

Well, you have such a bank, and its’ name is “Time.” Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off—as lost—whatever of this you failed to invest into good purpose. It carries no balances. It allows no balances. It allows no overdrafts. Each day the bank named “Time” opens a new account with you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.”

One gift that COVID-19 has given me is the gift of time. My wife and I are caring for her elderly father-in-law with severe Alzheimer’s. We are aware that each day contains 86,400 seconds and, yet we are blessed to be able to keep dad at home. Have you thought about what gifts this pandemic has blessed you with?

This year I am hoping to end my day with this question: Did I spend my 86,400 seconds wisely?

Here is to a very Happy New Year!

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His everlasting and His mercy that is NEW every morning.

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.