by Pastor Tim

Over the next four weeks I would like to help us unpack some different ways that we tend to try to relate to God. If you remember from my last blog I talked about how we were created to be “with God” and the fact that sin broke that perfect relationship with God, but because of God’s great love for us, he sent His Son, Jesus, to restore that broken relationship. If we accept Jesus as our sin payment our relationship “with God” is restored.

The problem that arises for us is that we are still hampered by a sin nature. That sin nature still wants to act in the same way Adam and Eve acted. We want to do things on our own, we want to use God instead of being “with God”. This desire leads us to do things to try to control God and our lives. One of the ways we do this is we begin to live “life under God”. What does this look like you ask? Well, we go to Church and read the Bible looking for rules and regulations that we can keep to please God, the idea being that if I am good enough at keeping the rules then God will have to bless me. My thought process becomes if I sacrifice enough and I am consistent enough in obeying the commands of God then the result will be success. Basically, I am saying my hard work can control God! That sounds crazy, right? Yet it is often how we live life. Remember God created us to “be with him”. In Matt 11, Jesus’ words to us are that He does not want to put “heavy burdens” on us, instead He desires to “give us rest”. He tells us to “be with Him” and “find rest.”

Let me finish with a question for you. Does your relationship with Jesus bring you rest, or are you living under the heavy burden of trying to do enough right that God has to notice you and bless you? Remember, He just wants to be “with you”.

( To explore this thought more read “With” by Skye Jethani)

Have you ever sat and thought about what your purpose is, why you were placed on this earth? Have you ever had one of those days when everything just seemed meaningless? I am sure you have. If you are like most people, you find it easier to ignore the thought and keep going than to stop and try to think through the meaning of life.

Let's take a few minutes today and think through why we are on this earth. In order to do that we need to go back to the beginning of everything (that means Genesis.) Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them;…vs 26 says, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” God created humankind “to be like us.” That phrase tells us a lot. If we were to go to John 1 we would find that the Godhead is and always was in perfect unity and in perfect relationship with one another. When God says that He desires that we are to be “like Him,” He is saying He desires us to be in perfect relationship with Him and each other. God's purpose in our creation was for us to be in a relationship with Him and to enjoy that relationship. He did not create us because He lacked anything; He created us simply for the joy of relationship. You and I were created to be with God.

The reason we struggle with an emptiness of purpose and belonging is found in Genesis 3:6-7. Adam and Eve sinned, and that sin was passed to all humans for all time, separating us from our perfect Creator and from a perfect fulfilling relationship. Now our being longs for that relationship to be restored so we can once again “be with God.” Wonderfully, Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived a perfect life, and died as payment for our sins so that if we repent and believe on Him, our relationship with God will be restored.

Have you repented and believed? If you are looking for purpose, meeting Jesus is your starting point!

(To explore this thought more read With by Skye Jethani.)

Pastor Tim

If you were at church with us a few years ago, you may have heard me use this phrase as part of my sermon, “Where you look is where you go.” Let me take a few moments to unpack what I had been thinking. “Where you look” is really about the things that concern you. This is about the the events, people, circumstances that you find rolling around in your head. You may not be able to do anything about them; they are probably beyond your control, but for some reason you keep “looking” at them. The struggle is the longer you look in that direction and the more these thoughts roll around in your head the more you are drawn toward them. The more you are drawn to them the more concerned and consumed you become with them. This progression most often leads us to anxiety and discontentment and eventually a jaded view of life.

So, I have to ask the question, what have you been looking at lately? What have the eyes of your heart and mind been focused on?

Maybe that question makes you start asking what your eyes should be focused on. Let me help you.

Hebrews 12:1b-2a

“…..Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.”

Try just looking at Christ each day this week. Try letting Christ become your only concern. I think if you do, you will be surprised the change you will see in your heart, your will, and your attitude.

-Pastor Tim

I know this doesn’t sound like a great title coming from a pastor, but it is a great thought. As a leader, each one of us has to be passionate enough about our mission that we are willing to fight for it; this is especially true as Christian leaders. We see it all the time in the business world, people are willing to fight for the growth of the company or for a better return on the dollar. What if that same level of passion drove you and your leadership in the mission God called you to? What if instead of quitting when things get a little hard or go a bit sideways, you were to stay and fight? I think this is really what God had in mind for us. I am reminded of the verses in Joshua when God tells Joshua multiple times, “Be strong and very courageous and continue obeying all that is written in the law…., so that you do not turn to the right or the left.” When we “pick a fight” we are telling ourselves and those around us that we are “all in.” We are not turning to avoid what is in front of us; we are going straight at it and we will not be distracted. We will continue doing all that we need to do to make sure we meet and exceed the goal.

Where do you need to pick a fight? Is it in your personal life? At work? Or with the team you are leading?

-Pastor Tim

I was reading through a leadership book the other day, and in the middle of what I was reading this thought hit me: “It is easier to maintain than redo.” It takes a great deal of hard work to accomplish much of anything in life. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about your spiritual life, schooling, managing your money, losing weight, getting in shape, stopping an addiction or planning for your future. Everything takes work, that is just the way it is, and it is the same for all of us. Once you have done the hard work, why not figure out how to stay there instead of allowing yourself to go back and have to start again? This is called maintenance. Don’t stop reading, I know this sounds boring and I know you aren’t going to like the next things I have to say. You are still reading so here it goes: figure out a few systems to help you consistently do the things that got you where you are. Like these few ideas: If you lost weight, switch your dinner sized plate to a lunch sized plate for every meal, and you will eat less. If you always eat seconds, stop. If having a budget got you out of debt, stay on the budget forever. If 15 minutes a day of exercise helped you get in shape, move to doing 30 min day. Whatever you did to get you where you are, keep doing it and add to your growth. Don’t go back. Redoing things is so discouraging. It wastes time, energy and resources. Make it your life’s ambition to build on what you already have; remember, “It is easier to maintain than redo.”

-Pastor Tim

We serve a God who is loving, merciful, just, holy, compassionate, all-powerful, and righteous!

But there are over 3 billion people in the world who are not even aware that He exists! These people with little or no access to the news of how awesome God is, or the salvation He offers through Christ are considered “unreached.” Christ-followers have the delightful responsibility to reach them and make Him known to them.

The Moss Brook missions team has accepted the challenge to do all we can to make the world aware of our great God and the forgiveness for sin available to us through Jesus.

Want to join us in this challenge? We meet every other Friday evening here at the church building. We study the scriptures, share reports of what God is doing in the world, and we pray. We keep in touch with Holly and with our friends in Brazil. If you have a heart for reaching out in love to share the Good News with others, especially those of another culture, come join us.

Some of us on the team have had experience working with folks in other countries. Some are experiencing working with immigrants from around the world here in our backyard in Lewiston, Maine, at the Root Cellar.

If this kind of outreach is something God is laying on your heart, check us out. If it is not for you, no problem. You are not committed to staying with us. But you might be surprised and deeply gratified to see how God can use you to help fulfill the Great Commission, here in Maine, or around the world.

-David Shaw