The Work Week With Christ

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Expectations

1Johnn 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

We are all called children of God, we are assured of that throughout the Bible. Let us not confuse being children of God, with being perfect like the Son of God. AS we surface form the Christmas season, and embark on a new year, we should take time to really look at where we want to go this year. It is the time of the resolutions that will last all year…or maybe a month…or maybe a week…..or maybe they have already died. When we look at things we want to change about ourselves, and the world around us this year let us make it a point to resolve things that we see to be imperfections, not necessarily what the world tell us are imperfections. We would do well to remember this verse. We are children of God, and the world does not know us.

It is important to remember this verse because what the world sees and what we know to be true often tend to be different things. The world tells us that we are fat, and that it is the upmost important thing to get skinny so that we might be accepted. However God loves fat people, just as much as he loves skinny people. The world tells us that to be successful we must become rich, but here again God loves the rich, as much as the poor. The world tells us that being popular, and outgoing is important, yet we know that the meek shall inherit the earth. As we ponder the coming year we would do ourselves, and the Lord the most justice by resolving to change what the Lord tells us is important, and not worrying too much what the world sees.

You see the Lord does not care if you are fat or thin, yet he does hate the sin of lying. The Lord does not care if you are successful in the business world, but He cares deeply in the success of your relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. God is not too concerned with how outgoing you are, He Himself used a man with a stutter to free a nation. He does care how outgoing you allow the Holy Spirit to become in your life. You tell the world these truths, and you will be laughed at, but you see their expectations are not the same as yours, for they do not know you, and they did not know Christ when He came.

When Christ came to Earth it was expected that He would be a King in every sense of the word. It was expected that He would arrive in style, with His birth shouted from the rooftops, and His entrance into this world marked with a festival of epic proportions. Yet He entered this world in much of the opposite fashion, so the world could not see Him. Much in the same way this year, the world expects you, me, all of us to rally to the call of the same old lame resolutions…the perfect image, the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect life, they will expect you to resolve to be the perfect worldly person that they think you should be. As always we have a choice to make, will this be a year of conforming to the world, or to God? Will we strive to make this life better for now, or will we work to make our lives and the lives of those around us better for eternity?

My resolution this year is to make it through the Bible twice. Of course when I share my resolution with some folks they ask why…or my favorite…for what? That is ok though, they do not know me, the One who does, knows all too well why, and for what. As you kick off this year, what shall you resolve to do? Will it be to make simple changes that effects your life today and tomorrow, possibly the year? Will it be the ones the world expects? Or will you step out in faith, will you make it a year that your resolution can impact eternity? Many will not understand, and they will not expect it, but that will be ok, the world does not know us, because they did not know Him.

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Gift

Luke 2:10 -11 10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The gift, the miracle, the undeserved answer to our prayers. The Christmas season is here, and 5 days from now we will join in unison to give thanks for the gift of life that was given to us by God. I have to share with you…..it happened today…..it happens every year, and I never know when it will show up…….but this morning there it was. Today I find myself filled with the Christmas spirit. I feel the overwhelming undeniable feeling of joy, and the need to tell people in my life how thankful I am for God, For His Son, and for having them in my life. It is truly a season of JOY!

Each and every year I promise myself that I am going to hang on to this feeling. I am determined to be this thankful, this joyful, this over the top happy to be alive, and have the chance to reach out to everyone I come across……I think I made it to about the end of February last year…….yeah, pretty dismal I know, but next year I know I will be making a run for it again! It does beg the question, how long do we stay grateful for the gift. Oh I know, don’t get me wrong here, I know most people are thankful throughout the year, but being thankful, and being full of joyful thanks, is not the same thing is it?

Let’s say you wanted a Porsche, fully loaded, free and clear, yours, tax title and licenses, you want it, you dream about it….and one day you open your door, and there it is! You are excited, you are joyful, you think you are the luckiest person on the face of the planet. Matter of fact the first month you have it you run in and pull people out of stores, movies, and work, just to come look at it, next month you are still pretty excited, matter of fact the first several months you remain on cloud nine…..then it happens, you jump in one day, crank the engine over, and it is just a Porsche. When people ask what you drive, you get a little gleam in your eye, you are thankful, but you simply respond, Porsche. We humans are bad about this, we get used to having something, and we go from appreciation, to more of an expectation mindset.

Christ (and I don’t have to tell you this) is not a Porsche. There is not one thing on this earth that can compare to the magnificence of the Lord, there is nothing that comes close to His power, His glory, or His presence, yet somehow, someway, in the middle of life, with all the hustle, and bustle, all of the trials and tribulations that come with just living this crazy life, it happens. Oh we don’t like to talk about it, we don’t like to admit it, we don’t like to say it out loud, and like it less when someone else does, but Christ becomes that Porsche. We are thankful, we know we should….but. We really want to…..but. We have the time….but……well we just are not as happy, or as joyful, or as thankful as that first day our Savior entered our lives!

That is what is so great about this Season. It is a chance to rekindle that fire into a blaze! It is an opportunity for us to recognize just how awesome of a gift that we have been given, and we get that gift not once a year, or once in a lifetime, but that gift walks with us each and every day. I am extending a challenge to each person that reads this. For at least the next five days, commit to be joyfully thankful. Write a letter, or an e-mail to someone who deserves thanks, but most likely does not get it. Tell the people you come in contact with just how great it is to have them in your life. Share the good news with those who have not heard it, and revel in the happiness with those who have. Make the next five days a reason for those who know you to take pause. Let them see what joyful thankfulness looks like. Then five days from now, see if you can make it another five, try to carry it into the new year. Write letters, make phone calls, drag people out of the stores, movies, and work, shake hands, pat backs. Let the world know to “fear not, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people”

Merry Christmas to all, and may God bless each of you this Christmas Season!

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The Ridge Fellowship

Psalm22

The Workweek With Christ

Two Way Street

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

I know that we hear all of the time from our friends, our loved ones, our co-workers, “hey, I am here for you” . “whatever you need, just let me know” “whatever I have is yours”….however most of the time this old saying holds true. We will be friends through thick and thin……but when it gets thick….I am going to thin out! That is the way most of our relationships go. As a result we become jaded, we become untrusting, we start to think that the only person that is willing to give 100% for us….is us. It is no surprise that we take those feelings and throw them right on to the Lord.

The Lord will not help me, I am all alone, God does not care. All of these feelings have little to do with what the Lord is doing in our life, and a lot to do with the fact that this is the expectation that we have experienced from the world, so we project it onto God. Romans 8 is a great chapter, we all know verse 28 that reads that God works for the good in the lives of those who love Him. This verse (32) is even more to the point. God loves each one of us so much that He gave His only Son. He did not spare Him, He did not hold anything back. He gave the most important thing any of us could think of….His own Son. Do you really think God would make that kind of commitment, then turn and walk away? Bring that thought into your own life. Think of something you have worked on, something that you have poured your heart and soul into. Did you reach a point where you just said forget it, before it was completed? Highly doubtful. Now what if it was something that you felt so committed to that you leveraged your house, your car, and all of your savings? Would you just throw in the towel when it got hard, or looked difficult? No, of course not, you have gone all in, you will give whatever is needed to make sure it works. Now think if you had to give one of your children. The only way you could see this thing through would be for you to give up one of your own…..would you quit? Would you be willing to walk away? If it was something that you loved so much that you killed one of your own children, what would it take to make you stop giving to that cause? NOTHING.

That is where God is at in your relationship. There is nothing that can separate you for God loving you, there is nothing that can come between you and Christ…..except yourself. You see all too often, God does not run out on us, we run out on Him. God gave His Son. What did we give? What do we continue to give? Have you ever given any thought to the idea that God has not quit giving, we have just quit accepting? You might think “whaaat?” no way, no how have I quit taking anything offered by God. What about the love of your spouse? Do you accept that every day, or are there many days that it is taken for granted to the point that it is just an expectation? What about your family, your job (or the time given to you while you do not have one), your friends, those that come in contact with you every day? What do we do with these things? Anything? anything at all? Do we accept these gifts that are given daily, or do we just expect them to be there? As a result, we do not truly accept them, we set them on a shelf to collect dust, and miss the spectacular gift that has been given to us.

Now let me ask you this. If you have children (and if not think of when you were a kid) what do you do when you give your child gifts and the do not use them, or they waste them, or they take them for granted? Don’t you want to find a way to get them to use what has been given before you give more? Why give them another bike, when the one they have is not used? Why give them a new glove, when they will not even go outside to play ball? Starting to see the point? There is nothing that God will not give you, if you need it. There is no length that the Lord will not go to make sure you are taken care of. He is all in, He has invested His most precious asset. He has made the full commitment. Now it is up to each of us to utilize what we have been given. We have to accept the gifts given each day, we have to make the most of every day. I can promise you that you have been given a gift today….what will you do with it? Will you set it to the side while you wait for the “good” gift? The one you have been praying for, the one that YOU really want? Or will you choose to take each gift and celebrate it, cherish it, and make the most out of it? Yeah I know if we do that with every little gift we are given we will be pretty tired, and we will be pretty busy…….and we will realize that we are pretty blessed. God does not hold back, so make it a point to not hold back on God. He will flood your life, but you have to turn on the spigot. He Gave the first gift, He gave the big gift. Will it go to use, or go on the shelf? There is nothing God will not give, can we say the same about what we are willing to give back to God?

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

Whatever You Wish

John 15:7-8 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

This is a tricky verse, that is why included the verse after it for clarity. SO often we read the first verse, and when I say read, I mean skim over. The problem with doing that is many people read this verse, and are left with a feeling of less than more. We tend to miss the first part (if you abide in me, and my words abide in you) and really hone in on the second (ask whatever you wish, and it will be done). I bring this up because I believe this Christmas season there will be many disappointed “Christians” . When we take care of the first verse, the next verse takes care of itself. Am I not making sense? Let me point to it this way. Could you imagine Christ during prayer bargaining with His Father? “Father, I know you love me, and I have been working very hard down here in Your name, so how about you hook me up with a new house, you know I don’t own one now, and it would be great to have a home base to do your work”. Maybe He would have asked for God to “give” Him that new flashy tunic that just came in, or the new sandals with the sole that allows the bottom of your foot to breath…..of course just saying those things out loud is laughable, It would be hard, if not impossible to picture Jesus like that. Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, are we not all like that to some degree this time of year? I hope I get, I really want, you know what I need?

Don’t get me wrong here, I do enjoy getting gifts, just as much as, and in some cases more than the guy next to me (he got socks). What we have to be careful of is that we do not start to confuse love of any kind with the newest shiniest thing. We have to make sure that while we all have worldly desires, those desires are taking a back seat to God’s. What is more important, that your father gave you a car for graduation, but missed it, or that he gave you a 10 dollar watch, but was there to hug you and tell you how proud he was of you? Do you want your spouse to hand you that perfect gift on Christmas morning, or would you rather them have nothing to give, but that look of love and desire that they had for you the first year you were together? I guess what I am getting at is that the fancy wrapper, and the cost of the gift is what the world wants us to pay attention to; but the love, the intent, the true gift is found in the one that has given.

The Jews were waiting for that flashy gift to show up. They are still waiting today. They wanted a king, we were given a commoner. They were looking for a savior from the Romans, we were given a Savior from death. You see the gift God gave the world might not of looked like much. There was no golden palaces, no expensive linens, no grandeur surrounding this gift from God. This simple gift however would change the world, He would in fact change our lives, and eternity. The gift did not look like much, but the love, the intent, the desire behind that gift was beyond comprehension.

You see that is the difference between asking for a worldly gifts, and wishing for Godly desires. It is hard to glorify the Father when we are more worried about glorifying ourselves. It is hard to bear fruit if you are not watered with the life giving Word of God, It is hard to be a disciple of Christ, when we are disciples for ourselves. When we align ourselves with the Word of God, when we work to live our lives chasing after the Lord, our desires turn from what do I get to what can I give. When we abide in the Lord, we will begin to see more worth in the gift giver than the gift itself. Oh don’t get me wrong, we all have lists (an Orvis reel with a 8 – 9 ft. graphite fly rod if anyone is asking) but what we must remember is hopefully in the end we have given more than we were given, and no matter what shows up….if anything at all. We know we are loved, we know that the true gift has already been given, and it is one that while it might not of looked like much, turned out to be one of immeasurable worth. Christ did not ask for much, but always had what He needed. He was always ready to give, even when love was returned with hate. Jesus did not ask for new sandals, He asked for love. Love for Him, and for us to love each other. As we enter into this season, that is my wish for all of us. May we feel the love of the Lord, may we seek to love those around us, even if it is not returned. Way we all have a blessed Christmas season.

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

Why?

Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

Times are tough, there is little doubt about that. People are hurting, and they are feeling alone. I hear, now more than ever, the one question that resonates. Why? Why me, why now, why does it have to be hard, why can’t it just come easy? When I hear that question, I often think of this verse. I talked to a fella that works with various metals, and I asked him just what it means to “purify” silver. He told me that if you purify it, you have taken all of the slag out. The junk, the stuff that is just filler, and fluff, but not silver. When you get all of that out, then you have purified the silver. I asked him just how he goes about doing that. He told me that you put the silver in a smelter, and crank up the heat, as the silver gets hotter, it pushes out the impurities, and they rise to the top. He then takes a tool and pulls the slag off the top. He continues to add heat and pull off the slag. I asked him how he knew when he got all of the slag out. was there a temperature that must be reached, was it a specific time that it had to be done for, just how do you know. His answer pretty much sums up what the Lord is telling us here. The man looked at me and said “I know when I am down to pure silver because when I look into the smelter, I see my reflection”. Wow, with enough heat, and enough time spent pulling the junk out he can see his reflection.

That my friends is what the Lord is doing. Now as it is pointed out we are not put through the same fire as silver. Humans don’t keep well when exposed to high heat. However we have a different furnace. It is the furnace of affliction. Yeah, I know…..no one likes to hear about the furnace of affliction. I do not particularly like it myself. It is hot, it is uncomfortable, and typically I end up losing some stuff that I was fairly sure I needed. However, in the end, when the Lord gets all of our slag out, guess what? He can see Himself. Now that is worth the work; and knowing that God is working to get all of the junk out of us, should also remind us that we are not alone. The Lord is standing over that furnace, pulling out the slag as it comes to the top. Have you ever stood over a furnace, or smelter? Have you ever splashed a little slag onto you while pulling it off the top? It is not easy work. It takes time, it takes sacrifice, and it takes having to put up with a little pain. Yet there the Lord is, diligently working to get the slag out.

I often think how frustrated God must be with me sometimes. I can just see Him, standing over the furnace of my life, sifting out the slag….almost done, getting clear, starting to shimmer….then bam! Another round of slag pushes up to the top. I can almost hear Him exclaim “good night! How much junk does this guy have to burn out?” Really? More? Yet He does not tire. He does not throw up His arms, and say just forget it, let’s pour this one out, and get a new one. No, He does not. He patiently stands over the furnace, waiting for the next round. Knowing that as long as I am willing to put in the work, sooner or later, that last bit of slag will float up to the top, and he will pull it off to reveal His reflection. He will look at me, and see Himself, He will look at my heart, and see the heart of His Son. At that moment, both the Lord, and I will know that every hardship, every bit of pain, grief, turmoil, disappointment, and every set back, was needed to bring me to this moment.

Take heart, and stand fast, this current season of pain, will give way to a season of joy. The pain will turn to happiness, and the disappointment, will turn to elation. You are simply in the process of pushing out some slag, and make no mistake about it….the Lord is right there ready to snatch it up, looking to see how much of Himself he can see in the reflection.

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

Nov 15th

1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Did you read the paper today? Maybe you listened to the radio on the way in, or you caught the news on the T.V. before you started your day. Pretty amazing stuff. We have people rallying against people who make too much money, we have people going to individuals houses, and calling them out. We have Politicians picking the personal life of their opponents apart, trying everything, and every angle to tear down the person. It is a pretty amazing sight. I am sure with a little thought you can come up with countless other instances in the news….maybe in your own life, where you see one person attacking another. What does any of that have to do with this scripture? Well first many of these people will be found in a Church this Sunday, and second I have yet to see an act of love generated from any of the actions listed above.

You see, if we are to make a difference in this world, if we are to “fix” things, if we are going to spread the love and light of the Lord……We are going to have to understand the difference between the issues, and the person. We are going to have to understand that tough love is not the same as defamation, and assault (and no that does not just mean physical assault). When did it become OK to go out of our way to hurt someone “just to prove a point” when did there become an acceptable amount of pain that we are allowed to inflict? We are allowing our world to turn into a cesspool, and I say we are allowing, because even if you sit back and say “well I am not doing any of that” Just what exactly are we doing (myself included) to stop it?

It hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. You see, I am part of the problem, I don’t want to be, and honestly I am not sure how I became involved, but looking back, I am fairly sure it had to do with me wanting to fit it. SO what do I mean? Well we did not just wake up and say “hey, starting today it is going to be OK to hurt people, or attack them” No, it started much more innocently than that. The devil is not one just to bang in the door, he is much better at just creeping in. Looking back, I see that I am not much different that a lot of people. It used to be that I had a lot for problems with many issues, but then the problem quit being with the issues, and became more about the person. It is a theme that I hear repeated often. Oh, so and so is for this, and did you know that they filed for bankruptcy, and they cheated on their spouse, and they lied on their taxes, and they…….wow! Now it seems like we are less interested in showing what is wrong with the issue, and a lot more interested in tearing the other person down. Worse yet, I don’t hear much about trying to help fix any of the problems that I have just been so eager to share with whoever will listen. How about you? Are you guilty of the same thing? Do you see any love in any of that statement? DO you find a shimmer of the love that God holds for that person in my wonderful assessment? Sadly, neither do I. It brings me to the very upsetting revelation that I am missing the mark. To use my favorite archery term….I am sinning.

We have got to make it a point to start leading with love, even when we are encountered with people who lead with hate. Even when we find it so easy to drill down on the short comings of the person, instead of sticking with the issue, or trying to find a way to help instead of just continuing the process of degradation. It is up to each one of us to re direct the conversation, to stand up for the person, while point out the shortcomings of the issue. We must act in love, and we must start today. We live in a world where many people would love to see the name of God removed, and eradicated. Looking at the way I have behaved in a few instances….who can blame them? No one has seen God, and if people cannot see Him, and His Son in us then what are we doing here? Were we not called to spread the good news? Looking at the news, I don’t see much good news being professed. Listening to the water cooler talk I hear little good news, and more talk of isolation, despair, and struggle. How can God work to produce a perfect work in us, if we are working hard to go in the opposite direction? How can God light the world, if we refuse to light our hearts? Jesus hung on a cross, and his last act was to show love those that killed Him, He met hatred with forgiveness. Yet I have a hard time forgiving my neighbor? I have a hard time not talking negative about them? It would seem that I have some work to do, and I don’t believe I am alone on this. Hopefully, I can work to get my heart to look like Christ’s

God Bless,

Brian Thetford