First Covenant Church of Sacramento :: online devotional: January 2009

online devotional

Every Thursday, a different ministry staff member will be posting a devotional, so check back here often. You can also subscribe to this devotional by clicking the link to the right.

Judging Others

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Read Matthew 7:1-6.

Verse 5 has been grabbing my attention the last couple days...

We always read about the plank and the speck as telling us not to judge people. This is true, but I am not too sure we have read verse 5 for all it's worth.

"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (vs. 5)

This says something very influential to me. This is saying more than just, "Don't judge people! 'Cuz you ain't perfect!" That is what we have always read this to mean.

There is more! The whole thing is Jesus' challenge to work through your issues SO THAT you may be able to see your brother's speck, his issues, more clearly.

This is not telling us to leave our brothers and sisters alone to continue living with their speck. The direct challenge is to remove my own plank so I may see clearly to remove my brother's speck.

This means I have to realize what my plank is. My plank could be a sin I am struggling with, but it may also be an issue I have; a wound, a hurt, an issue to be healed or repaired. Once I do the work of finding healing or repair for the issues in my life, I become able to see more clearly the people around me. I become capable of compassion because I now see them more clearly. I can actually help remove their speck; walk along in their wounds, and hurt, and issues. But I can only do that if I have removed the plank that hinders my ability to truly see.

As many Christians, I can commonly do whatever I can to "help" others with their issues, but only because if I'm helping someone else with their issues, I don't have to pay any attention to my own. If I am looking at other people's issues and trying to help heal them I can do so without doing the work of finding healing and help for my own issues, wounds, hurt, and sin.

We then call this “compassion” or “benevolence” or various other Christian terms, but if I am not or have not done the work to pursue healing and repair for my own issues, it is really just what we call CO-DEPENDENT…

posted by:
PC Walker
Pastor of College & Young Adult Ministries

The Bigger Picture

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Last week, I met a man named Tony. He was completely broken, feeling as though life had thrown one too many curve balls at him… a broken engagement, a strained family relationship, countless medical problems, and the news that he was about to be laid off. He didn’t know how much more he could handle. He prayed, but said it seemed as though God wouldn’t answer. He cried, but felt as though God didn’t care. So I introduced him to a man named Job.

The book of Job has always been one of my favorites. It is an incredibly painful story about a man whose suffering can teach us great lessons. The Bible says Job was “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.” Job definitely had everything a man could ever need.

Then, one thing at a time, God allowed Satan to take it all away. His servants were attacked; his sheep were burned in a fire; his camels were carried away; his house collapsed; his children were killed; and his body was covered with sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Everything he had was cut away, while hardship, sickness and suffering pounded every corner of his life.

When we encounter tough times and wonder whether our faith is strong enough to carry us through, we need to remember that Job’s story had an incredible ending. God restored his life with people and possessions—blessing him with herds and flocks, ten more children and several generations of grandchildren before his death. I’m sure Job never forgot about the shock, pain and losses he suffered. But God’s love and care for him were enough to overcome those life obstacles.

God doesn’t always deliver us from our troubles; sometimes He delivers us through them. That’s a hard truth for us to accept, but it represents a reality about how supreme God’s plan is. In the midst of Job’s trials, he struggled to understand why God would allow Him to suffer. After all, he lived a righteous life and didn’t deserve the troubles that came his way. But Job couldn’t see the bigger picture; he could only see his current circumstances.

Continuing to trust God is tough, especially when we lose people we love or possessions we have worked so hard to get. Just like Tony, we have all experienced moments when God seemed distant, no matter how diligent our prayers. But during those moments, maintaining our faith isn’t impossible. God doesn’t promise that our lives will be easy. But He does promise to remain faithful. All we have to do is keep trusting Him.

posted by:
Grant Cox
Communications Director

Risky Faith

Thursday, January 15, 2009

I’m scared of water! Let me be more specific. I drink water, shower regularly, water the lawn, and boil water for tea. My wife and I have a large fountain hanging in the entryway of our house which allows water to cascade over a large piece of slate. I was baptized at the age of 10 (although the church I attended at that time used the “sprinkling” method). I love Lake Tahoe and love getting in the ocean, especially in warm climates. But nothing freaks me out more than submerging my head under water! As a youth pastor there have been a couple of occasions over the years when a group of wild teenagers decided to throw me into a pool… we won’t talk about the consequences of their actions!

This abnormal fear I have of putting my head underwater can be traced to a frightening incident I had as a child, and I’ve never gotten over it. I’ve never learned to swim. For this reason, I know I will never be the next Michael Phelps. (Ok, there might be some other reasons I’ll never win eight Olympic Gold Medals!)

What are YOU afraid of? Strange sounds at night when you’re home alone? Jumping out of airplanes? Walking under ladders? The current economy?

More importantly, is there something you feel like the Lord has told you to do, but you’re too afraid to do it? Have you felt a Spirit-nudge to start a conversation with a not-yet-believing co-worker, or to befriend a neighbor who practices another faith, or to feed the homeless in your community, or to start tithing, or to go on a missions trip, or to get involved in working with youth or children at the church? What are you afraid of? What’s holding you back from doing what you believe He’s asked you to do? Are you afraid of failure?

I came across this quote in a book I was reading last week. Christian leader, author and missionary J. Oswald Sanders said, “A great deal more failure is the result of an excess of caution than of bold experimentation with new ideas. The frontiers of the kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution”. His words challenge me. And so do the words of the Apostle Paul when he told a young man he was discipling, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).

So why not go forward with that spirit of power? Why not be bold in your faith? Why not step out and do something that’s a little bit crazy for Jesus? Why not try going against the flow? Why not take a risk and live differently than our culture tells us to? What’s the worst that could happen to us: rejection, ridicule, failure? Would that really ruin us, or would that only make us stronger?

Maybe you feel that God has asked you to do something impossible. Face it: it is impossible for you! But not for Him working in you! Go ahead and love the unlovely, give more than you can, serve the one who annoys you, reach out to the one who doesn’t seem interested in your Christian faith. Let’s participate in advancing the Kingdom of God! Let’s believe that He still is a God of miracles!

Who knows, some day I may even learn to swim.

posted by:
Mark Shetler
Pastor of Student Ministries & Missions

Christmas Has Been Officially Renewed

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Christmas has been officially renewed!!! Now don’t get me wrong. I have always loved Christmas. I love everything about it. I love being with my family, the lights, the trees, the presents, Santa Claus, the music and, of course, taking time to really appreciate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

But during the last 10-15 years I haven’t really spent much time truly appreciating the season. I think what was really happening was that I had experienced it so many times that I allowed it to lose its youthful excitement. Growing into adulthood and the responsibilities of being a “grown up”, I lost the anticipation of this incredible day. This year from the moment Thanksgiving ended I was able to celebrate everything that Christmas is about and I owe it all to my son, Styer.

Having a three year old who really understood Christmas for the first time brought so much excitement, anticipation, and true celebration of the blessed day. He loved coming home to a house filled with lights. He loved listening to Christmas music in the car. He loved seeing the decorations all over town—pointing out every single display as if he were in Rockefeller Center. He loved seeing for the first time the Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty, and of course my favorite—A Charlie Brown Christmas (thank you DVR!). And he loved coming to church and joining in on the celebration of baby Jesus. He loved the Christmas Eve service. His eyes were as wide as they possibly could have been when Santa Claus entered the worship center. He just sat there staring in amazement when Pastor Ted (his grandpa) interviewed Santa Claus. Although I was really hoping that he would experience a life-changing moment when Santa Claus shared the gospel message, afterward in a very solemn moment he turned to his mom with a very concerned look and asked, “Why does Santa like the Forty-Niners and not the Raiders?” Holly and I just looked at each other and laughed.

He loved getting up early on Christmas morning and running downstairs to see that Santa had eaten the cookies he left out…and left him a light saber under the tree. He was actually jumping up and down screaming, “I can’t believe Santa got me a light saber!”

So for me, Christmas has been renewed. For the first time in a while, I was able to anticipate and celebrate Christmas through the precious eyes of a three year old. But honestly… I loved coming home to a house that had lights on it. I loved listening to Christmas music in the car. I loved seeing the decorations all over town, pointing out every single display as if I were at Rockefeller Center. I loved seeing for the 100th time the Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty, and of course my favorite—A Charlie Brown Christmas. And I absolutely loved coming to church and joining in on the celebration of baby Jesus. I loved the Christmas Eve service. I sat and cried while Steve Pearce sang a beautiful rendition of O Holy Night. I loved watching my son listen to the Good News of Jesus Christ from Santa Claus. I loved the fact that my son loves the Raiders so much that he was disappointed to hear that Santa likes the Niners. I loved for the first time in a long time getting up early on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. I loved jumping up and down screaming, “I can’t believe Santa got me a sky caddie GPS unit for golf!”

I believe that it is good to take some time—even though Christmas is over—to praise and worship God specifically for the gift of his son Jesus Christ. I also believe that, although New Year’s Resolutions often are for such things as losing weight or saving money, it is a great opportunity to look at how you lived this last year for Jesus and make some commitments for spiritual growth in the New Year. I hope that Christmas was a wonderful celebration of Jesus with your family and I wish you a very happy new year!

posted by:
Jesse Smith
Associate Pastor

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