No Easy Answers (Aug 23)

Posted on August 23, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood
Quote from Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

Quote from Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

August 23
No Easy Answers

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalm 91:9-16 | Job 8:1-11:20 | I Corinthians 15:1-28 | Proverbs 21:28-29

Today’s Scripture Focus: Job 8-11

“So what’s new? I know all this” (Job 9:1 The Message)

“God’s wisdom is so deep, God’s power so immense, who could take him on and come out in one piece?” (Job 9:3 The Message)

Job’s friends came with all the easy answers. In many cases, what they were saying would be true. But there are seldom “one size fits all” answers to life’s big questions. Job is a book about struggling with life’s mysteries when all the “right answers” don’t seem to fit.

We grow up learning the “Sunday school answers” to all of life’s questions. But life’s questions sometimes require more than just a simple answer. Especially when we are dealing with the mystery of suffering. Even more so when we are dealing with trying to figure out God’s purpose in our suffering.

“God’s wisdom is so deep.” Job had it right there. Trying to understand the mystery of suffering would require us to understand the mystery of God and his wisdom. Our brains would short-circuit for sure if we got close to perfect understanding of God and his wisdom.

We all have times when the easy answers just don’t seem to fit our questions. They ring hollow. What do we do? Like Job, I believe we take our questions to God. He doesn’t always give us the answers. But we do a lot of learning in the process. As our faith is stretched, as our character is developed, as we search for deeper answers, and as we just stand in awe of the God whose mind and purposes are beyond our understanding we come to know Him in a deeper way. As we learn to trust him even when the answers don’t come and when we don’t sense his presence, we learn the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings. These are lessons of trust we could learn no other way.

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Under His Wings (Aug 22)

Posted on August 22, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood
Quote from Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

Quote from Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

August 22
Under His Wings

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalms 91:1-8 | Job 4:1-7:21 | 1 Cor. 14:18-40 | Proverbs 21:27

Today’s Scripture Focus: Psalm 91

“Under his wings you will find refuge” (Psalm 91:4 ESV)

I was struck by the contrast between Psalm 91, which looks with hopeful expectation for God’s protection and blessing and the readings in Job where he is trying to make sense of a situation where he feels abandoned and beat up by the circumstances of life.

Psalm 91 is filled with wonderful promises of God’s protection and blessing for the one who loves him and holds fast to him. He describes his protection like a bird gathering up her young in her wings to protect them from danger. “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”

It’s a beautiful picture of God’s protection and faithfulness. And we’ve all walked with the Lord long enough to know that what the Psalmist says is absolutely true. God does watch over us. He does protect us. He is faithful.

Job reminds us that while all that is true, life is difficult. It’s sometimes hard to understand. We may love God deeply and be holding fast to him, only to find the trials of life intensify rather than diminish. Job wrestles with the questions brought on by his devastating circumstances but he refuses to lose hope; he continues to trust God even when he doesn’t understand. It didn’t come easy, and his friends weren’t much help in the process. But we all know that Job ultimately perseveres in his faith. And in the end, God’s blessings were poured out into his life.

Somehow I wonder if it isn’t in the circumstances like Job’s where the truth of Psalm 91 becomes most obvious. It is when life becomes dangerous and hard when protection is needed. It is then that the mother hen gathers her chicks and covers them with her wings. So in our lives, it is in the midst of the trials that God gathers us close and protects us in the refuge of “his wings.”

“It doesn’t matter, really, how great the pressure is; it only matters where the pressure lies. See that it never comes between you and the Lord–then the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast.” –Hudson Taylor–

He is our refuge. Let him pull you close today.

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Praying Out of a Grace-Based Relationship (part II)

Posted on August 21, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood

Another excerpt from the teaching session at our recent prayer retreat…

pastorjeffsneighborhood's avatarJoy in the House of Prayer

Here is a little more of a teaching session from our recent prayer retreat:

Praying Out of a Grace-Based Relationship (part II)

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Praying out of a grace-based relationship

Posted on August 21, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood

A little excerpt from one of the teaching times from our recent prayer retreat

pastorjeffsneighborhood's avatarJoy in the House of Prayer

This is an excerpt from a teaching time at our recent “rekindle the flame” prayer retreat in Twin Peaks, CA.

Praying Out of a Grace Based Relationship (part I)

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Prayers of the Bible

Posted on August 21, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood

One of the best ways to learn to pray is to pray the prayers found in the Bible. This new series on my other blog looks at the prayers of the Bible.

pastorjeffsneighborhood's avatarJoy in the House of Prayer

image-25
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:17-21, NIV)

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Hard Times (Aug 21)

Posted on August 21, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood
Quotes from Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

Quotes from Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

Aug 21
Hard Times

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalm 90:11-17
 | Job 1:1 – 3:26 | 1 Corinthians 14:1-17 | Proverbs 21:25-26

Today’s Scripture Focus: 
Job 1-3

Bad things do happen to good people. Job is a perfect case in point. He was a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil. Scrupulous about sin, he tried hard to follow God. God had blessed him with a great family. He lived comfortably and well. Then one day he lost it all.

Similar things happen everyday. People who seem to be living well, feeling secure, find themselves dealing with unimaginable tragedy. It all seems so unfair; a point that this book seems quite willing to concede.

How do we handle unimaginable tragedy? What do we do when our worst nightmares come true? This is the stuff that Job had to deal with. This is the stuff that this book deals with.

Some would like to follow Job’s wife’s advice: “Curse God and die.” When things get this bad, it may not seem like a crazy option at all. But Job would have nothing to do with her advice. He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (2:10).

Instead of following conventional wisdom, Job fell down to the ground and worshiped God: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (1:21).

That doesn’t mean he didn’t struggle. That didn’t mean he didn’t have questions. That didn’t mean he didn’t cry and lament the loss. He certainly did. He struggled, a lot. His friends try to comfort him with weak advice and empty clichés. They didn’t help.

If the book didn’t already raise enough questions, God shows up and asks Job a bunch of his own. In the end, the book gives no easy answers. Are there any? But it does demonstrate the struggles, the questions and the ultimate perseverance of a man of faith. A man who demonstrates how to open your heart to God in the midst of the worst this life has to offer.

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If . . . (Aug 20)

Posted on August 20, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood
Quote From Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

Quote From Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

 

August 20
If. . .

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalms 90:1-10 | Esther 8:1-10:3 | 1 Cor. 12:27-13:13 | Prov. 21:23-24

Today’s Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. [3] If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV)

Love is the glue that holds the body of Christ together despite the differences of our background, beliefs or experiences. Often people get “bent out of shape” regarding spiritual gifts. Love enables us to work together and learn from each other. Some in the body bring discernment to extremes; others help bring openness to the true working of God. As we love each other, we learn from each other. Gifts are given to build up the body, not to tear it apart. As we serve in love, that is exactly what happens.

Love is also the necessary motivation for using spiritual gifts. If we are motivated out of pride or insecurity (another form of pride–seeking attention), we lift up ourselves rather than Jesus. If we are focused on ourselves rather than on serving those we minister to in love, our service will bear no lasting fruit.

Of course, the principles of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, apply in the context of any relationship and this text is rightly read at weddings where it is applied in marriage. Yet I’m always struck that in its original context, Paul was speaking of love in the church. The topic under discussion when Paul penned these words was the issue of the use of spiritual gifts.

Until Jesus comes, we have much to do. That work needs to be done in the power and gifts of the Spirit. As we seek for His fullness, motivated by love, we will be the kind of stewards who will hear, “well done” when we see him face to face.

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Tozer on Seeking God

Posted on August 19, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood

awtTozerHead

Seeking God

“God being who He is must always be sought for Himself, never as a means toward something else.”
“Whoever seeks God as a means toward desired ends will not find God. The mighty God, the maker of heaven and earth, will not be one of many treasures, not even the chief of all treasures. He will be all in all or He will be nothing. God will not be used.”
Man the Dwelling Place of God, 56-57

The yearning to know What cannot be known, to comprehend the Incomprehensible, to touch and taste the Unapproachable, arises from the image of God in the nature of man. Deep calleth unto deep, and though polluted and landlocked by the mighty disaster theologians call the Fall, the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its Source.
The Knowledge of the Holy, 9.

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FInding Your Place (Aug 19)

Posted on August 19, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood
Quote from Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

Quote from Open Up Your Heart by Jeff Syverson

August 19
Finding Your Place

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalms 89:46-52 | Esther 4:1 – 7:10 | 1 Cor. 12:1-26 | Proverbs 21:21-22

Today’s Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 12:1-26

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; [5] and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; [6] and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. [7] To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7 ESV)

Every one of God’s children is gifted and is an important part of Christ’s body, the church. We all are important; we all have a part to play.

Sometimes people think that because they prefer to serve “behind the scenes” that they aren’t as important as those who serve with the “up front” gifts. Not so. All the places of service are important; all of the gifts necessary.

A body missing the eyes cannot see, a body missing a leg walks with a limp, a body missing an ear cannot hear well. Know that whether you are an eye, an ear, or even a gall bladder in the body of Christ, you are important to the proper function of your local church. Your church will not be as fruitful as it could be if you aren’t using that gift to the fullest.

God has a place of service for you. A place where your passion, experience, and giftedness comes together to meet a need. You are a unique but important piece of the puzzle that will not be complete until you find your place.

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Retreat

Posted on August 19, 2013 by pastorjeffsneighborhood

prayerretreat

I’m back from leading a prayer retreat. What an incredible weekend! God truly manifested his presence in our midst…and there was joy in the house of prayer!  Thanks to those who participated. Special thanks to those who prayed for us! God heard and answered your prayers!!

Jeff

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