Wednesday the 20th

Luke 20: ⁵ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 

 

Why didn’t you believe him……that would be a good question would it not? That is really the choice we make daily, if not several times a day. As we grow ever closer to celebrating the resurrection of our King, the question becomes even louder…..do you believe…..do you believe in Easter? Belief is an amazing thing, I have seen people in the worst situations believe that any moment that the tide is going to turn their way, I have also seen people in the middle of a great life, hanging their head believing that their life can only get worse. Your belief becomes your reality. I believe it was C.S. Lewis who said that “I believe that there are too many practitioners in church, and not enough believers.” Heavy but true words indeed. Practicing religion without the true faith of Christ is meaningless. Yet we can easily see that there are varying degrees of this in our Churches, in our families, in our everyday lives. So this Easter week, I challenge each of us to deepen our belief, and help those around us to deepen theirs. Read about the crucifixion, the burial, the guards, and the empty grave. For those that might have doubts, study the events that took place this coming weekend, try and find a way to explain the events any other way than the way they were recorded. I know I have picked apart this weekend day by day, hour by hour when the data would allow it….each time I came away with one thing…..belief…..deep, faith filled, belief.

 

I will tell you the truth, if you think you are good, add some faith to your life, you will begin to see what it is to be greater than yourself. Dare to believe in the Lord, and see what it feels like to have Him believe in you. This Easter is about far more than chocolate, hidden eggs, and marshmallow peeps (although the peeps are pretty good) This Easter is about belief. It is about a culmination of about 32 years lived on this earth by a man whom the world hated, and His Father loved. It is about three days that forever changed the world, the lines between death, and life erased forever……and most importantly do you believe it? Because of this weekend we get what we do not deserve, and we are given it freely. Because of this weekend we now live for eternity, not just for today. Because of this weekend we are free to enjoy the countless blessings that our Father showers us with daily. Because of this weekend, you get to choose. A couple of thousand years ago a man hung on a cross, this weekend for some, will simply be a remembrance of an event that happened a long time ago. For others it will be a celebration of life over death, light over darkness, love and forgiveness, over hate, and shame…….Which will it be for you? The choice is yours, to believe, or just to practice religion…….One gives eternal life, eternal blessings, and unlimited love and forgiveness….the other gives an hour in Church, candy, eggs, and BBQ……This year dare to believe, step out in faith and shout from the rooftops HE IS RISEN! I pray that no one will ever have to hear that question “Why didn’t you believe Him”.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Monday the 16th

Mark 11: ¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

 

SO once again we find ourselves at the beginning of Holy Week. The last 5 days that Christ will spend as man on this earth. Christ Showed up on Palm Sunday, and was acknowledged for what He was. Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord. What really rests on my heart today is not that Jesus finally is publicly lifted up, not how people put palms, and their own cloaks down on the road for Him, not how He proclaimed that the rocks would cry out His name if the crowd was silenced……no this morning I find myself amazed at the simple fact that He showed up……not only did He show up, but He showed up early! I want you to really think about that. Christ, unlike us, knew exactly how this was all about to play out. Before he asked for the colt, before He told His followers where they were going, Christ knew this trip would be His last……and He made the trip anyway.

 

Every time I read something about the strength, the courage, the faith that is displayed by Christ…..I always follow that thought with “what would I do?” Could I make that trip? Would you? I think of some of the times in my life that could only be described as defining moments…..I have to admit, on more than one occasion I felt a lot more like Jonah, and a lot less like Christ! It just gets me to thinking. What if I knew this was my last week, what if I knew I was to….oh I don’t know…….let’s say, I knew that I was going to have to die in the electric chair this coming Friday in Huntsville…….I can tell you I would be sweating blood a lot sooner that the night before! You might think “Oh but if you knew that your death would save the world, you would go”……Maybe, but even then would I get there 5 days early? I think it would be a lot less painful to stay as far away as possible, then show up at the last second!

 

It is this picture of Christ, showing up in town 5 days early, spending those precious last few days, teaching the Word of God, breaking bread with His friends, reassuring others that all will be well….this is what spurs me on to strive to more like Christ. The Faith that Christ displayed His last week here is a picture of Faith in action. It is a reminder that first and foremost, once again Christ has done something totally for others, and nothing for Himself.

 

And there it is, that question again what would you do? One week to live, one week left to walk the earth…..Think about that as the week progresses, each morning wonder out loud what would you do with your last few days……Would you show up early, try and take care of other people, make sure that everyone was secure, and ready as they could be to go through what was about to happen? It is a selfless life to pick up the cross, and walk with Christ, it is a life that He so perfectly gave example of while He was here. As we read, pray, and meditate on the coming week, imagine it is you that is on this journey this week. Let us all strive to be as selfless, as caring, as available, and as faithful as Christ was to everyone (especially to His Father) this week. We have about 100 hours left….what will we do with it?

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Friday the 15th

Genesis 4:9  ⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Am I my brother’s keeper? How often do we ask ourselves that question? I suspect if you are like me, the answer is not often enough. Better yet, how often do we live out the affirmative to that question? Christ came into this world on behalf of every sinner. He is our adoptive brother. He showed us what the answer is, because He is His brother’s keeper. That is how He lived His life here, and that is how He continues to be a part of our lives today. So are we our Brother’s keeper? When we walk by a group of people, and they are spreading lies, and unfounded gossip…..are we our brother’s keeper? Do we step in and take up for the unrepresented? When we see others wronged, and have the connections, and the knowledge to make things right, are we our brother’s keeper? Suddenly that phrase carries a lot of weight. We have to look out for each other, we have to take care of each other. That goes well beyond taking care of those select people that we like. It goes for each and every person that draws a breath, could you imagine Christ bypassing the leper, leaving the blind in darkness, condemning the whore, or leaving the man stuck on his mat? Of course not! Now here is the crux of the problem for us. While Christ is still very active in our lives……he is no longer physically present here on this Earth…..guess what? That means that we are His proxies. We were given the signet ring, we are the physical body of Christ. We will not be perfect like He is, we will struggle, stumble and we will bicker among ourselves, unlike He did……but If we cannot imagine Christ turning His back on the unloved, the uncared for, the unspoken for, and the unrepresented masses……then just by simple logic we cannot imagine ourselves turning our backs on them! Feel overwhelmed yet?! It is a huge task, but the Lord trust in us….yes He does trust in you! We know the harvest is plenty but the workers are few! We are our brother’s keeper, We are the change that so many are seeking, we are the body of Christ! Where is your brother?

I want to leave you with a prayer that was written by a lady in a prayer group for our school. It is a prayer for each of us, and I pray that the world never has to ask is we are our brother’s keeper, I pray that the answer will be as simple as looking at our lives.

"We confess that, like the early disciples, we struggle to grasp the ways of the Kingdom that Jesus taught. Shaped by the thinking and values of our culture, we fail to see others as you see them. We easily brush them aside as having no value or significance. Carrying our own deep-seated shame, we cling to those things that we think will give us standing in the eyes of others...Create within us your servant heart that we might love and serve others with your compassion and grace."

Amen!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Thursday the 14th

Matthew 4  ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

 

Life is a dance, country music sings about it, rock and roll has songs about it. Perhaps it is because we are constantly moving and shaking through life, at a distance, it does look like a dance. To put it pointedly I will borrow a phrase form Flogging Molly (Irish rock band) “We are all just dancers on the devil’s dance floor” Now the actual context of the song is different, but I do think it does sum up our life here well. The devil offered Christ Himself all of the kingdoms of the world…why? Because they are his to give. Each day we wake up and dance on the devil’s dance floor. We set our foot onto the floor, and we do the most important thing we do each morning……we choose a partner to dance with that day. We choose our spiritual partner to take to the dance. Oh I know you’re thinking Brian, when I get up, all I am worried about is getting a cup of coffee, and getting myself to work…..and to that I would say that you have already made the choice. So pick your partner to take to the dance wisely. It is not just your spiritual partner you pick, but several times a day you choose a partner to dance one song with. Will it be a partner that needs you to lead, or will they lead you? Will they be graceful, just learning, or maybe they are one of those that step on your toes, and are always out of time.  Here again, it is your choice, and it is those choices that will decide how your dance plays out. Have you ever danced with someone that seemed to run into everyone around them? Maybe they act like they own the dance floor, and try to force their way through the crowd. They are slick, fast on their feet, and seem to know exactly what they are doing, but man that dance was ROUGH.  You walk off the floor after that dance and you think never again! …..but they were good looking, or they are popular, or everyone else like dancing with them, maybe I am doing it wrong……that is how our day goes, we want to choose a good partner, we want to surround ourselves with people who are looking to make a change, and people who are wanting to make that change possible…..but you know what? They are not always the best looking ones at the dance. They are not the most popular in terms of the world, and sadly, since they know that they are not perfect, they might stumble a little. Who will you choose? Those choices will greatly effect that tout come of each day. Who are you taking to the dance?  Will you choose to take Christ, or the world? Who will you dance with while you are there today? Will it be those who are struggling to do it right, or the hip, slick, and cool who only know one dance? Will you lead, or will you choose to follow. We are all just dancers on the devil’s dance floor…..that does not mean we have to dance with him.

 

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Tuesday the 12th

1 Peter 3: ¹³ Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”

 

Have you ever written something, and as soon as it is down on paper, or the screen you think….well that is not entirely true, I better clarify.  This is what Peter is doing here. Who is going to hurt you if you try to do good? At face value, well… no one would hurt someone who is always trying to do good……unless doing that good causes someone to feel slighted, or shamed, or put upon. Have you ever seen a situation starting to get out of hand, so you jump in to try and “help out” maybe you point out that someone’s anger is only going to cause more problems, or maybe you see someone hurting and you try to bring comfort, or maybe the good you bring means that someone is going to have to do more, be more, or extend themselves beyond what they think is possible.  Guess what? Those people are not going to be happy to see you, they will not want to hear what you have to say, and a lot of times they might lash out, and yes, they will hurt you. That is why Peter follows that statement up with even if you do get hurt, do not be frightened. In other words do good anyway. As Tom Petty sings “you can stand me up at the gates of hell and I won’t back down”. That is what it takes to be eager to do good. Unfortunately, it is easier to sing about it, than it is to do it. That is why we keep our mouths closed, we miss the opportunities in our life to help, because we are afraid that we might offend, we might be threatened, we might be hurt in return…..we must do good anyway.

 

I want to tell you about a fella I know. He was a pretty cool cat. Seldom if ever would you find him doing anything for himself. HE was always always always out doing good. He had a kind word when needed and a firm rebuke when warranted. He could be found helping out the old, and the sick. He took time out of his day to talk with and encourage the people that society forgot, or condemned. If anything could be said about him, it was that he always did good. He never feared the fall out, he just always did good……..you know what he got for his good works? They killed him.  Yes they killed Him, and they did their best to try and forget Him. In setting His life course to only do good, to only do the will of His Father, He was spat upon, beaten, lied about, and hated…..but He did good anyway, and He gave salvation to a dying world in spite of all that was done to Him. His last moments, His last breath, was spent doing good.

 

Know this, when you do good, when you try to reach out, when you try to help, most of the time it will be a great experience. However you too, just like Christ, will feel the sting of the world when you try to do good sometimes. Do not fear the threats, do not be frightened. We should never fear those that can only kill the flesh……do good anyway.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Monday the 11th

1 Corinthians 4: ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

 

Only the Lord can judge us, for it is only the Lord that truly knows our heart. Only He knows what we are capable of. Only He knows our full potential. The Lord truly knows us, better than we, or anyone on this earth knows us. That being the case, we then know that only the Lord can limit our life…..and in case you have not noticed…..He is not in the limiting business! I was called out the other day by a friend. We were talking about my daughter’s upcoming tournament, and I made the comment, “well it is her first tournament, so I don’t expect her to do that well”. My friend just looked at me and asked, “why would you put that out there?” Good point…..very good point my friend! I spend a lot of time talking about how we have to have faith that God will work in our lives, that He will reach out and make the impossible, possible….yet I could not extend that same faith to my own daughter. Who am I to judge what she can or cannot accomplish? I know her because she lives with me, I have raised her (well my wife has done more, but I have helped!), what I do not know is what she is capable of with the strength of God inside of her. That thought transfers to every person that comes into our lives. Christ looked at fishermen, and saw disciples. He looked at a man who was killing Christians, and saw a prolific writer, and encourager. Our potential is only limited by what we will allow God to do. Our growth will only be stunted when we believe in what others say about us, and quit listening to the promises that the Lord has spoken. Every accomplishment you have made in your life started out as a thought, a dream. You imagined it, and the Lord put on His work gloves and led the way for you. Do not limit your dreams! Those dreams are little snapshots…not of the impossible, but of some of the things that are possible with the Lord. More importantly do not try and limit the dreams of others. While we might think we know them, we might think we can judge what they can and cannot do……only the Lord can judge, and only the Lord can limit…….and the limit He places on our lives is eternity.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Tuesday the 5th

Luke 17: ¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?

 

Jesus had just healed ten men with leprosy. All ten men were infected, all ten men had the exact same ailment. Yet once healed only one showed up to give thanks…..furthermore, Jesus even points out that the guy that did show up was a foreigner! Someone who not only did not follow Christ, but being from Samaria, most likely had not even worshiped the one true God.  Yet this is the man that came back to give thanks. Where were the other nine? Were they not blessed as well? Were they not healed by the same undeserved love? This is a very convicting passage, because in today’s world we too take the blessing, yet forget the thanks. The very people who follow Christ are just like the nine guys in this passage. All too often we are more than happy to receive the blessing, then it is off to show it off to the world. We are so excited, so  happy, so thrilled……yet we forget the easiest part of the whole exchange, give thanks. This also transfers into our everyday lives with each other. If we are to treat each other as Christ would treat us…..better yet, if we stop to realize that Christ is alive in each of us, do we not find ourselves guilty again by not thanking each other? It is a simple acknowledgement, that is so often overlooked. I was talking to a friend just last night, and he was telling me about how he had bought lunch for a large group of kids that had gone to a UT tennis match. He did not take this group, they just happened to all end up at the same restaurant, and they were all on the High School varsity tennis team. So, being the guy that he is, he bought them all lunch. HE did not think about it, he just did it. However, as they parted ways and headed back to the courts, only one kid thanked him. Sure it is easy to say well they are kids, but at 15 – 17 years old, I think the term kid begins to wear thin. Now my friend was not upset, but he just could not believe that he would drop close to $200 bucks, and receive very little thanks for it. We all know how that feels don’t we? We go out of our way, or we stop and help, maybe we give up our time for ourselves, so that we can pitch in somewhere else, and in the end we get no thanks……now I do not bring this up, because I think that if we are not thanked for what we do, then we should stop doing it….no that would be quite the opposite actually! I bring it up because I want us to thank about how frustrating that can be sometimes. We get a little upset, we might even get a little angry, we almost always feel a little resentment……So…..how do you think God feels? We HAVE to remember to give thanks, give up the praises for the Lord! You want your life to improve, and it does….give thanks….you want that relationship to improve, and it does….give thanks! There is nothing that the Lord will not do for you, He gave His only Son……give Him the thanks that He deserves, for the blessing that we most likely do not. It reminds me of the guy who is looking for a parking space in a very crowded lot. He is driving around aimlessly, having no luck at all, so he begins to pray, Lord, if you will just help me out here, I am running late, I need to find a spot, I will start going to church again, I will start reading your word again…….oh wait a second…..never mind , I found one…….  I can promise you that we are not half as good as we think we are, and the Lord is far better than we can even begin to imagine. Give up the thanks today. Let the praises flow from your lips. Let it spill over into your life…..while people might be able to say you are a lot of things….never let them say that you are not thankful.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com