Missing the Mark part 3

The past 2 blogs we have looked at some pretty gloomy stuff. We've talked about the definition of sin and the result of sin. Sin always brings death and separation. We've also looked at the sacrificial system the Israelites used to do in order to be in right standing with God.

Now comes the fun part...Jesus. Jesus death and resurrection was a monumental moment in history that changed our lives forever.

Romans 3:25 says God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.
Hebrews 2:17 says For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people

Even though Jesus was God He didn't cling to His rights as God but humbled Himself and became a servant, obedient until death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). Jesus left amazing heaven to become born in human flesh simply to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (missing the mark). He walked this earth in complete obedience to His Heavenly Father and lived without sin (Hebrews 4:15). When He died on that cross, He was shedding His blood to cover our sins once and for all. HE WAS THE ULTIMATE SCAPEGOAT so we could be forgiven.

Now the Jesus has done the hard part, it all boils down to our part. The Bible says that with out faith it is impossible to please God. We must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder for those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11). Our part is accepting His love and sacrifice and putting our faith and trust in Him. Our part is coming to the realization that we have missed the mark and we need His love and forgiveness.

As we come to this Easter weekend I pray that You are overwhelmed with the love and grace of Jesus Christ. I pray that you realize how valuable you are and that you were worth Christ dying for. May you embrace Him and open up your heart to Him. May you put your faith and trust in His sacrifice.

Missing the Mark part 2

The previous blog we looked at what missing the mark means and how sin separates us from God and others and how sin brings death. The question we ended with was, "so what can we do about it."

As we approach Easter this weekend, we approach more than a yearly holiday or Christian custom, we approach a reality that offers true hope and forgiveness. In order to truly appreciate what Christ has done we must go back to learn the history of forgiveness.

Romans 5:14 connects with Genesis 3 and reiterates the time and place when "missing the mark" (sin) entered the world. Once sin entered the world the separation and death we talked about began to happen. Because God is so holy and so loving He developed a way for people to have their sins atoned for. Atonement means appease or satisfied.

There were lot of sacrifices and rules that required the bloodshed of animals (remember sin brings death). However, Leviticus 16 reveals to us the concept of the "scapegoat." The priests would lay their hands on the head of the goat and confess and pray for all the sins of the people. After they had prayed they would then send that goat away into the wilderness never to be seen again. The sins of the people were "transferred" onto the goat and he left the camp into the wilderness.

Sacrifices were made daily and the scapegoat and "Atonement", repentance of the people's sins happened once a year. This was a constant reminder of their sin and that they could never measure up. It was a constant reminder that sin separates and sin brings death. It was a vivid picture of the result of mankind going its own way and missing the mark.

Check out the next blog as we see the amazing and exciting reality of how Jesus became our eternal scapegoat and paid the ultimate price!!! Easter Sunday is so significant!

Missing the Mark

There is a church word that has been tossed around for years. It has been tossed around for so long even those who don't believe in God or go to church know the word. Have you guessed it yet? It's the word sin.


Even though we hear that word a lot, what does it really mean? Does the truth and reality of sin line up to our perspective of it or what we have heard?


One of the main Hebrew definitions of the word sin simply means missing the mark. How many times have we played darts or archery. We get so excited when we get a bulls-eye because it doesn't happen every attempt.


God has a standard (the bulls-eye) but unfortunately we miss the mark (sin). Check out a verse from the book of Romans founs in the new Testament...Romans 3:23. There isn't one of us who meets the standard. We all miss the mark. What is the effect of our sin?


#1--Sin Separates--we see in the book of Leviticus that those who miss the mark are cut off from the rest. Even though we don't practice removing people from churches who sin (because there would be no one left including the preacher) SIN STILL SEPARATES. SIN (missing the mark of God's standard) always causes separation in relationships.
#2--Sin brings death--Leviticus 8:35 & Romans 6:23--the ultimate goal of sin brings death and the ultimate goal of God is to bring us life. So the way God has designed us to operate and His principles that have been set into motion, actually bring life and freedom while missing that mark brings death.



So now that we know what sin actually is and the results of it, what in the world are we to do about it? Over the next few days I'll try to dissect the significance of Jesus and what He did to remove our sin.

Is it good or bad?

The other day I was driving down Southfield Rd. in the midst of all the crazy construction and traffic. I was running late and of course in a hurry. Then all of a sudden a semi-truck pulls over into my lane and cuts me off. I was starting to get frustrated since he was going so slow and getting in my way (lol). He pulled over back to his lane and that's when I saw clearly. There was a cop in the right lane trying to catch someone speeding and the truck actually saved me!!!

So many times we go through certain situations and circumstances and are quickly to judge good or bad. Whatever you are facing today, hey you never know, could end up being a blessing tomorrow!!

Sabbath is spelled T R U S T

When we hear the word Sabbath we all have different thoughts or pictures come to our mind. Some have no idea what sabbath means? Other's think of a legalistic set of rules to follow on Sunday. Some may think of simply going to church in the morning.

No matter what comes to mind God created Sabbath to be a day of delight, rest and refreshment. Life is busy, hectic, hard, fast pace, stretching, exhausting, and sometimes painful. God understands that and has actually implemented and created a princple called the Sabbath.

Exodus 24:21--6 days you will work but on the 7th day you will rest, even during theh plowing season and harvest you must rest.

Here are some simple thoughts on God's princple of the Sabbath

*Taking a day of rest (delight) reminds us that we aren't god. The world doesn't revolve around us. The world still goes on even if step back from our Blackberry's for a day

*Taking a day of rest is about trust. God commanded Israel to take Sabbath even during the most crucial work season possible...plowing and harvest. But God, if I take a break and spend time with you and others less work will get done. God say's "not really...if you obey me and follow my Word, you will get more work done because you will be refreshed."Do I trust God?

*Taking a day of rest goes again this culture. In a world of 24/7, God's princple allows us to be different and allow His power and presence to be revealed.Have you ever taken a true Sabbath rest before? I challenge you in the next 7 days, set one day aside and answer the following questions...

#1--What should I not do on my Sabbath (what would distract me & still be work)

#2--What shoudl I do on my Sabbath (what will refresh my relationship with God &

my family)

First Ever Preview Service

It's official...we have secured a meeting place for our first ever Sunday morning service.

Sunday, April 11 @ 10:30AM

Washington Elementary School

1440 Superior Blvd. Wyandotte

(between 14th & 15th st. with entrance to
parking off of Vinewood)

The theme will be "Alive"

We will have worship, drama, and an illustrated message. It is going to be a fun day as we move forward in planting this church in Wyandotte.

Timing

TIMING is everything! The timing of God is the one thing followers of Christ and even those who haven't crossed over yet to a relationship with Christ struggle with! We don't understand God's timing. Because we don't understand it's easy for us to get mad at God and try to remind Him what's at stake here!

We are currently going through this ourselves with the sale of our home. It's been a year and our house hasn't sold yet. It's easy for us to get impatient, frustrated, confused and even disillusioned. However, we can rest assured that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do!

John 2:4 we find Jesus at a wedding in Cana. The wedding reception is going full force and they run out of wine. So Jesus' mother tries to get Him involved. He replies, "Why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.?

We also read in Acts 3 about the amazing miracle of the crippled beggar. This beggar had been sitting at the gate beautiful (the favorite entrance to the temple court at Solomon's Colonnade). We know from Acts 3:2 that the beggar who was crippled from birth went to the gate everyday to beg. We also see in John 10:33 that Jesus had walked into Solomon's Colonnade. So, if Jesus passed by this gate and this beggar, WHY DIDN'T JESUS HEAL THAT MAN?

If we continue to read Acts 3 we see that God used Peter and John to perform a great miracle and the crippled man was healed. Because of this healing, Peter and John had the platform to share about Jesus' death and resurrection and that He was alive! God's perfect timing created a platform for His glory to be displayed.

Do I understand God's timing, NO! I wish I could but I'm glad I serve a God who is smarter and more powerful than me. If I could figure out God and He was at my level the whole world would be in trouble. We see in Isaiah 55:8 that God's thoughts and ways are so much higher and greater than ours. So, as you walk this day out, know that you can lay your decisions, stress, struggles and pressure at Jesus' feet. You can rest in His care and perfect timing...even if you don't understand.

#1--What situation are you facing that seems like God isn't listening or paying attention?
#2--Read a few of these verses in this blog and let God's peace reassure you that His timing, even though we don't understand, is good!

Present

Being present in every situation in our lives is harder to accomplish then ever before. In the age of multi-tasking, we have been trained to believe being present and fully engaged in the moment is a waste of time. However, Jesus was the master of being present wherever He was.

John 11 is the famous passage of Jesus' good friend Lazarus. He gets deathly sick and his sisters Mary & Martha send a note to Jesus about Lazarus' condition. Instead of worrying and being frantic, He actually stayed where he was for 2 more days. This astounded and confused everyone around him for they knew Jesus loved Lazarus.

Everywhere Jesus went He was fully engaged and present with the people He was with. He gave those around Him His undivided attention. He calls all of us to do the same! If we were honest with ourselves, the #1 temptation and challenge to being present is worry. Worry unpackaged is simply a lack of trust in our Heavenly Father. We have a hard time being present because we worrying about the future, worrying about what other people will think about us, worrying about our image & reputation and even worrying about our basic needs.

Jesus says to us today...don't worry, trust in Me and be present everywhere you go today (Matthew 6). When we spend time with God praying and reading our Bible, let's trust our Heavenly Father with our needs and be present. When we are at work and around gossip, negativity and worry, let's trust our Heavenly Father and be present. When we are with our children, let's trust our Heavenly Father with our needs and lets laugh and play and be present.

Being present is actually where God's power and presence is revealed. As we move foward toward April at WFC and even beyond, let's be known as people that are present. When we are present we will be more aware of other peoples needs and what God is doing. We will find ourselves being used by God to love others, serve others and sharing our faith more often. Have a great day being present!