Drink Deep

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13 NIV84)

This past Sunday, I shared that I enjoy coffee shops. It's funny - I am not a coffee drinker, I prefer tea. I also shared that when I go home, my daughter, Jessica Allie, always knows when I've been in a coffee shop. The aroma of coffee saturates my clothes and skin. When I entered the shop, smelling like coffee wasn't my goal. My goal was to slow down and enjoy a good cup of green tea. The aroma was simply a by-product.

I think this is a great analogy of what happens when we spend time "being with" Christ. While our goal is to experience His love and to love Him, somehow we end up with His aroma (presence) saturating our whole being, so much so that others begin to notice.

Will

Proclaim the Gospel

Philippians 1:27-30 (NASB95):

27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
28 in no way alarmed by your opponents-which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.
29 For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

I love sharing the Gospel. I get excited when I know someone has come to know the Lord as Savior. But there are times when I become a little hesitant and look for an excuse not to witness. Usually, in those times, it has nothing to do with the other person. I'm sad to say that it's, in those times, about me. Will I be rejected? Will I be misunderstood? Could I anger someone and they want to harm me physically?

Paul wasn't overly concerned with his welfare. He was willing to go to jail, be rejected, and beaten so that the Gospel would be known. Why? I believe he cared enough for others to risk his life to share the Gospel with them. And he valued obedience to Christ more than comfort.

My prayer is that we, modern day believers, will love so deeply that we are willing to boldly share the Gospel even if it becomes dangerous.

Have a great week.

Will

Great Message

Matthew 28:19-20 (NASB95)
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This past Sunday we heard from missionary and author, Don Richardson. I found his testimony and simple faith in God’s ability to lead him encouraging and challenging at the same time. Somehow, with his words, he carried us on a mission trip to China, India, and finally New Guinea. As I listened to him recount how God led him, his wife and infant son to the Sawi people of New Guinea, a warrior cannibalistic tribe, I longed to experience the same…well at least at that moment. But I was challenged to “go” - to make sure that I’m trusting God daily to lead me to share the Gospel with someone who doesn’t know Him. Three days later and I’m still carrying that message in my heart.

We may not be called to China, but we are called. We have a mission field – the office, PTA, recreation league, or home. We are called. So let’s follow Don’s example and pray that God will give us wisdom on how to present the Gospel.

Will Dungee

Shepherding Pastor

From Commandment to Intimacy

Deuteronomy 5:6-10 (NASB95)
6 'I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 'You shall have no other gods before Me.
8 'You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
9 'You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
10 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

When I was younger I use to get hung up on this passage. I got God's statement "You shall have no other gods before me." But I didn't get "for I, the Lord your God am a Jealous God".
It wasn't until I was married that I saw the intimacy of that statement. God was saying to Israel, "I love you and you are mine; there should be no other between us."  They were set apart for Him.

In the New Testament followers of Jesus are called the Bride of Christ. We are intimately His and He is ours. This relationship is sacred and holy.

God opened the Ten Commandments with a reminder to Israel that they were in relationship with Him. His call for them to live differently than the other nations was not a list of do and don'ts, but a call to intimacy with Him.
Today God is still calling us to live in a sacred union with Him through Christ. And this love relationship compels us to live differently than the world around us.

Will Dungee

Wednesday Check-In: Devoted to Prayer

“Focus…focus….focus!” Those are the words I heard a father telling his daughter the other day. I laughed when I heard it because I used to say that to my daughter. My daughter, Jessica Allie, is an artsy, creative, girly girl. She loves everything about the arts: lines, circles, paint, canvas, music, lights, and dance. She is also a girl who at age six actually notices every shoe other women are wearing (I know, pray for me). As you can imagine, the combination of artsy and girly girl screams easily distracted.

Recently, I realized that I am easily distracted when it comes to prayer. That is why the message on Sunday convicted me so.

Paul encouraged the Christ-followers at Colossae to devote themselves to prayer. In other words, be intentionally focused on prayer, to give yourself to it.

Colossians 4:2-4 (NASB95)
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;
4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

In order to be devoted to prayer, we must understand what distracts us. For some it will be a trouble-free season in their life. Yes, a trouble-free life can become a distraction. For others it could be that a life of hardship is distracting. You see, I think it is possible to be so focused on our woes that we forget to give them to God in prayer. On the other hand, we can have no worries and forget to pray. For me I am distracted by busyness. I think that is why Luke 5:16 really speaks to me, "But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray."

What distracts you from being intentionally devoted to prayer? Is it one of the examples I have given or is it something else?

As my daughter grows I am noticing amazing focus in everything she does, whether it is in school or creating one of her beautiful drawings. So let us yield to Christ and resist the things which distract us so that we can give ourselves to prayer.

Your brother in Christ,

Will Dungee