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Lent Devotional | week one This week in worship we focused on the miraculous purpose of Jesus. The account in The Gospel of Luke [ 4:16-21 ] tells of Jesus reading a prophecy from the Prophet Isaiah concerning his own purpose. He reads that the Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to do several things. As I mentioned in my message Sunday, the events immediately before this account are Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist and the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. There are a few correlations between these accounts that are helpful to look at as we think about Jesus’ miraculous purpose this week. When Jesus was baptized the heavens opened and the Spirit fell upon him and God the Father said, “This is my son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” In essence this was a public pronouncement of Jesus’ place and purpose. Jesus is the Son of God and He will be telling you things, you should listen. Jesus publicly receives the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the pronouncement of the Father necessary to fulfill his purpose. God indicates that a part of his purpose was to proclaim. When Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit he was tempted by the devil in very specific ways. He is asked to turn stones into bread, jump off and have the angels catch him, and bow to the devil and receive the power to rule the earth. All of these temptations deal with aspects of the human nature. It is our desire to have enough; enough to eat, enough to drink, enough shelter, money, and more. It is also our desire to have safety and know that nothing will hurt us. It is also our desire to have power, or control, over our own lives; and taken to the extreme—power over others. All of the temptations of Jesus are concerns of the human condition. Satan knew he could not get to Jesus through the divine, so he had to tempt the humanity of Jesus. Of course, Jesus withstood the temptation and responded each time with Scripture. Why is this important? Because it all relates to Jesus' miraculous purpose. Jesus reads the Isaiah passage to announce that he is the one who the Spirit has anointed, just as God proclaimed in the River Jordan. Jesus has also experienced and resisted temptation by the devil—the kind every human has or will face. This positions Jesus perfectly to fulfill his purpose. Jesus knew what it was like to be hungry and in need. This positions him to be able to preach Good News to the poor. Jesus was tempted for 40 days and nights in the wilderness by the devil. He allowed himself to be held captive for that time. This means he can proclaim release to the prisoners. Though Jesus was never physically blind, he experienced the blinding severity of the devil’s attacks and stayed focused on seeing only God’s will for His life. Jesus could recover sight to the blind—both physically and spiritually. He also understood the oppressive nature of evil during those 40 days and nights, which positioned him to liberate those who are oppressed in this world. Finally, after enduring this temptation, through the presence of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus could whole heartedly proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. As we discussed on Sunday, Jesus is the only one who was anointed for this miraculous purpose. He is the only one who destroyed the devil’s power and would liberate those whom the devil held captive. Jesus is the only one who could atone for our sins on Calvary. Jesus alone can relate to our temptation we face having endured and overcome temptation from the devil himself. Sunday's Message: As you think about the miraculous purpose of Jesus pray over and answer these questions: 1. How am I poor? [Poor in spirit, financially, relationally, etc.] 2. To what, or whom, am I a prisoner? 3. Where are my blind spots? [in my faith, relationships, confidence, etc.] 4. Am I allowing anything or anyone to oppress me? 5. What would it look like for me to receive the Lord’s favor? 6. In any or all of the questions above do I see Jesus’ miraculous purpose being accomplished in my life? PRAYER Jesus, you withstood temptation from the devil himself so that I could be free. Help me be more aware of the miraculous in my everyday life. Wherever there is good news, I know that is you. Wherever I am released from the prison of my own guilt and shame, I know that is you. Wherever I can see you more clearly, I know that is you. Wherever I experience liberation from oppressive thoughts or actions, I know that is you. Wherever I experience your favor, I know that is you. Jesus, help me to witness your miraculous purpose this week in ways I may not have ever before. I will be sure to give you all honor, glory, and praise. In Jesus name. Amen.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19 CEB There is been a pretty popular musical at the Straz Center currently. The musical is all about Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. In this musical there is a song titled, “My Shot” where Alexander Hamilton talks about making the most of his shot. In the lyrics Hamilton’s character sings, “Don’t be shocked when your history book mentions me, I will lay down my life if it sets us free, eventually, you’ll see my ascendancy.” While I am not very familiar with the musical I do know that Hamilton’s purpose was to help a young fledgling country begin to reach her potential. The lyric shows that he is committed to this purpose—so much so he was willing to give his life to it—and believed it was his shot to make a difference. Purpose is crucial in life. Purpose provides the difference between success and failure. Without purpose success may just be accidental. Jesus knew this well. God, the Father, had given Jesus a very particular purpose. It was foretold long before Jesus’ birth. Definitely long before Jesus opened the scroll in the synagogue and read the words of the Prophet Isaiah. It must have been a little unusual to read words from hundreds of years before your birth that outline your distinct purpose. Jesus was anointed by God, the Father, to do five specific things with his life. Jesus was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the prisoners, recover sight to the blind, liberate the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. These were the words most, if not all, in the synagogue would have heard many times before. Yet, on this day Jesus brings something different to the synagogue. When he was done reading he rolled up the scroll and handed it back to the assistant. Then Luke writes that every eye was fixed upon Jesus [shades of Hebrew 12]. Then Jesus told them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.” Jesus basically said, “I am the anointed one.” This was a divine anointing prophesied about by the prophet Isaiah. This was a miraculous purpose for which no one else was anointed. Jesus is the only one who could bring good news, release those who were captive, make the blind to see, and liberate the oppressed. This fulfillment of scripture is announced while Jesus is at the very beginning of his ministry. It was from this point on that Jesus would demonstrate his miraculous purpose through healing, forgiveness, peace, power, and love. All of this came out of his sense of miraculous purpose for which he was called and anointed by his heavenly father. What amazing faithfulness to the purpose God gave him. What is your purpose? Would you believe me if I told you that God has a miraculous purpose for you? I believe it for you. I believe this because Jesus made a promise to his disciples, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Jesus said you have a miraculous purpose for your life. Believe it! This Sunday we begin our message series for Lent entitled “Miraculous.” We will look at several of the miracles of Jesus and how they show the miraculous purpose of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection. This is our purpose, to follow Jesus in every way. We can choose to live a miraculous life in Jesus Christ. I hope you will join me this Sunday at 8:15|NINE45|11:15 in worship. You can also go to saumc.net and join us via livestream. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church! #miraculouspurpose #lent #aplaceforgrace

“You also must wait patiently, strengthening your resolve, because the coming of the Lord is near.” James 5:8 CEB My dad said there was a motto that fit me pretty well when I was a kid. The motto went like this—If at first you don’t succeed, force it. Evidently, I was not a very patient kid. I believe it had more to do with wanting something to work the way it should and not wanting to figure out what wasn’t working. Whatever it was within me I did not demonstrate a lot of patience. I’m not sure when it happened, but I believe I developed a little bit more patience growing into adulthood. There are still many things that try my patience. Some of the things that try my patience are when I see someone being mistreated [injustice], when I witness an unloving act, when God is ridiculed or mocked, and when something hurts one of my family members. In these things you could say that I am still impatient. Do you have any issues with patience? Being able to identify the things that try your patience is a good first step in understanding your answer to that question. Patience is something we often have to develop. Look at most little kids, they want what they want when they want it—or they throw a fit. This can also apply to adults. However, we usually want different things and the fits we throw look different. If you don’t believe me on this, you did not watch any of the coverage of General Conference. The behavior of some of our brothers and sisters in Christ was nothing short of a tantrum. Any why? Because they were not getting what they wanted. It was not limited to either side of any issue either. So, how do we develop greater patience? James writes to give his original readers, and today’s readers, some clues about patience. James tells us we must wait patiently and strengthen our resolve. If we are waiting for something—in this case for the Lord’s return—we need to remember why. Strengthening our resolve means we are remembering our purpose, why we are waiting. James also advises that while you are remembering the purpose of your waiting not to complain about each other so that we won’t be judged. Only God can do that, and James says God is standing near and watching. He also writes that we should remember those who have gone before us who demonstrated great patience. He says specifically to remember the prophets and Job. All of these things will develop greater patience in our life. Not doing these things will have the opposite effect. I was meeting with a church member at Starbucks this week and we were sitting outside. As we were talking a woman started yelling at the car in front of her. She said things I cannot write in this article. She was demonstrating an extreme lack of patience for the person driving the other car. I am certain she had lost sight of her purpose in that moment. I am certain she was not remembering the people she has known who went before her who exhibited patience. I know for a fact that she was complaining about the other driver—I could hear her from 100 yards away. How is your patience? We all need to develop greater patience with our spouse, children, siblings, relatives, coworkers, brothers and sisters in Christ, and everyone in general. We often lose our patience because we aren’t getting what we want. If you are impatient check your purpose. Reminding yourself of the purpose of the moment will develop a greater sense of resolve and a greater sense of patience. Don’t complain about others. Instead focus on your purpose and remember the people in your life who have demonstrated great patience. James writes that we should do this because the coming of the Lord is near. I believe we should also do this because it honors Jesus now. Will you develop greater patience in your life today? This Sunday we will finish our message series entitled “A Life of Joy.” This study of The Book of James has taught us that we need to live out our faith every day by putting what we believe in action. This will often require a great deal of patience as we seek to live a Christ-like life. This is our purpose, to love the way Jesus loved and demonstrate that in every way. When we choose to share the love of Jesus Christ with everyone in our life we are on mission together. I hope you will join me this Sunday in worship [8:15|NINE45|11:15]. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church! #alifethatispatient #alifeofjoy #aplaceforgrace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV Tomorrow is the start of the Special Session of General Conference in The United Methodist Church to look at a way forward concerning issues around human sexuality. I ask you to make a choice to do two things: 1) Pray for the work of General Conference delegates (lay and clergy from around the world) and 2) read the following letter from our Bishop Ken Carter. https://www.flumc.org/blogdetail/a-way-forward-a-report-from-st-louis-on-thursday-12759531 We will be discussing this Sunday how a life of joy is a choice, according to James. It truly is. I invite you to pray and to read this important pastoral letter from our Bishop. I can’t wait to see you in church. #alifeofjoy #alifeofchoice #aplaceforgrace

“Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’" 1 Peter 1:16 I wrote this article and shared it with you three years ago. I was reading it in preparation for this week’s message and thought I should share it with you again. I will tell you why at the end. Holy! What does it mean to be holy? Simply put, to be holy means to be set apart. Scripture is full of a variety of people and objects that were made holy. They were set apart for a specific and special purpose. Ultimately, the term holy points to God as the one who is qualitatively different or set apart from all of creation. The Creator is holy and set apart from all that has been created. Theologians and philosophers refer to God as the “holy other” and also the “wholly other” that is set apart from creation. This is who God is. Then how are we to apply this verse in 1 Peter that we are to be “holy, as (God) is holy.”? A secondary understanding of what it means to be holy is that God, as the holy other/creator, will set apart  someone or something for a special purpose. God, who is holy, sets apart believers for the purpose of spreading God’s love for humanity. We are set apart for the purpose of loving God and loving our neighbor. We are purposed, set apart, to be wholly devoted to sharing God’s love with the world in which we live and in which God created. We are able to do this because of God’s grace through a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Christ died to give us purity and freedom from sin. We strive to live in that freedom and share the hope that it brings to a broken world. We are a major part of God’s redemptive work in humanity. We are to be people who are set apart for the purposes of God. So what does this set apartness look like? What does it look like to be holy? We need to look at Christ as the example of how to live a holy life. It means entering into the everyday places of life and bringing the light of God’s love. It means being set apart to go to people who are far from God, broken, battered, and bruised for the purpose of helping them experience God’s grace. It means loving your neighbor in any way you can and as often as you can. The call to be set apart is the call to love like Jesus loves. This is what it means to be holy. The key to being holy is a longing to be holy. This Sunday we will be talking about the longing of John Wesley, and others in his day, to be holy—to be set apart that God might use them for God’s purposes. In the lines of the Wesley Covenant Prayer (written much later in his life), John Wesley expressed holiness this way, “I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you, praised for you or criticized for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service. And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it.” This should be the longing of our heart, to be holy as God is holy.  You see this week we will be learning from James that a life of joy is a life of humility. Humility is the key to holiness as we realize that without God we are nothing and with God nothing is impossible. In order to be holy we need God. John Wesley knew this and his humility led to the writing of perhaps his best known prayer. I look forward to sharing this important message with you and I can’t wait to see you in church this Sunday. #alifeofjoy #alifethatiswise #holy #aplaceforgrace

by Dave Jans 22 See, his faith was at work along with his actions. In fact, his faith was made complete by his faithful actions. James 2:22 Fridays are my day alone. Every Friday, Ashleigh heads to work, I get Wesley on a bus and take Luke to daycare, and I have the rest of the day to myself. The day is full of possibilities after that. If I get to do what I want I have an opportunity to catch up on reading, binge a show on Netflix, or adventure through Hyrule on the Switch completely uninterrupted ... if I get to do what I want.  Most Fridays don't turn out that way though. Most Fridays, I have a list of things I need to get accomplished: cleaning around the house, shopping that needs to be done, and home improvement projects. There are always lots of things that need my attention, and I know they do because of the list that Ashleigh makes for me before she leaves for work in the morning. We sit down with our coffee, go over the priority of the items, and set expectations for what can reasonably be expected to get done. I usually get to a fair amount of the items on the list, but recently I accomplished almost none of the items I committed to. It was a rough week beforehand, and I was not feeling the Honey-Do list. All I wanted to do was to rest and shut my brain down for a while, but I also wanted to do these important tasks that Ashleigh and I discussed. My intention was to do a few of the items, but to get some rest as well, so I told Ash that I would get to the house cleaning items, but the rest would have to be pushed off to another day. She agreed and left for the day. I intended to get to the list, but first I was going to eat breakfast and watch an episode of West Wing. That episode turned to three, but I still had the rest of the day, so I didn't worry. I took my cereal bowl to the dishwasher, put it in, and closed the door, looking over the dishes in the sink and on the counter. I intended to get to the list, but I was still so worn out from the week, so I went to take a nap for a quick 30 minutes. That turned into a two-hour nap, but I still had time to get to things and the tasks weren't huge, so I didn't worry. I got up and threw the covers up on my bed, not making it fully. I'd get to that later.  I intended to get to the list, but it was time for lunch. I made a sandwich and sat down to eat. While I was eating, I scrolled through Facebook to catch up on what my friends were doing. I scrolled for an hour, a bit more than I intended, but I still had a bit of time to do what I needed to do. I took my dishes to the sink and started to load the dishwasher, but an alarm went off. I forgot that I needed to pick up Wesley early for an appointment, so I stopped loading and went to get him. I returned home hours later, now with Luke in tow as well, and began the evening routine of dinner, baths, and bedtime. After the boys were settled and sleeping, I went to the kitchen to start on the dishes. That's when Ash came home. She was understandably upset with me, asking why I didn't get to anything I had committed to do. I tried to explain that I had intended to work on the list, but I was just worn out from a rough week and got off track. Ashleigh, surprisingly calm considering how disappointed she was, simply said, "I understand all of that, but you said that you would do these things and I trusted you."   When it came down to it, my intentions didn't help at all. Without actions to match, they were useless. We've all been there at some point. We've promised what we couldn't deliver. We've fallen short on our word. All of us know what it means to have good intentions, but fail at putting those intentions to work, and God knows that we tend to do the same with our faith life.  This Sunday, we'll continue in our study of the book of James and talk about how God is calling us to move beyond the intention to follow Jesus and into the active, dynamic life that actually following leads us to. I hope to see you on Sunday! #alifeofjoy #alifethatworks #faithwithaction

“22 You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves. 23 Those who hear but don’t do the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror.” James 1:22-23 CEB Every week in church I ask you to allow me the opportunity to pray with you before we begin the message. In that prayer I almost always pray something like this, “Lord, help the words we have read not just be words that we read and understand. Help them come alive to us in the power of your Holy Spirit so we may live them with our life.” When I was a young Christian it was impressed upon me to be sure to live what I believe. There is nothing more disheartening than to have someone get on their soapbox and preach about how important something is and then not live it. I learned throughout my education and process of ordination that we must have a consistent and lived theology. If we say God is loving and merciful, we must do our best to demonstrate God’s love and mercy to others. We don’t want the words of Scripture to be simply ancient words recorded long ago that we read and understand. The greatest desire of a Christian is to have those words come alive so others can see what they mean as we experience living it in our life. Whenever I go to the golf course there is always at least one person that doesn’t get it. They are the one who is decked out from head to toe. They look just like a professional golfer with the complete outfit, expensive golf clubs, fancy golf bag and everything. Just seeing them walking around you might think they were a professional golfer. They probably even eat, drink, and sleep all things golf. There is just one problem—they can’t play. When it comes to swinging the clubs and making the shots, they stink. There are a lot of areas of life where this principle applies. I’m sure it happens at work where someone plays the part, but doesn’t actually work very hard. I’m sure it happens in homes where a parent is present but not really fully engaged in their kid’s life. I am sure it happens in a lot of places in our life. The questions is should it exist? I believe it should not, to the best of our ability. This is what James is talking about when it comes to our faith. James opens in the first chapter with a call to be real. He says it is not enough to just hear what is right, we must do what is right. He goes as far to say if we say we believe and understand, but we don’t do what Scripture says, we mislead ourselves. We are deceiving our own sense of what it means to follow after God when we only believe. Our belief needs action. We must do what the word of God says also. Maybe the next question is why? It’s not just so that we can be better Christians. We must do what God teaches in Scripture because that is how others will know about the Good News about Jesus. We live in a world that needs a big old dose of hope. When we live out our beliefs, what we have learned from Scripture, we are shining a bright light of hope into the world in which we live. We are showing people just a glimpse of God’s great love for them. We show them God’s love by the way we love. So we must be doers not just hearers of God’s word. Faith is not just the words we say, but also the works we display. What will you do today? I pray that we will all spend some time in God’s word today. Start with James and at least read chapter one. Be challenged to not just read for understanding. Instead, read also for action. Ask yourself, “What is this calling me to do today?” I believe James is challenging us all to do what Scripture says. The overwhelming place to start is to make sure we love. Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Love your neighbor the way Jesus loves you. This is a great place to start doing what Scripture says to do. Let’s be doers of God’s word today. Let’s spread some hope and love today. Whatever and wherever and with whomever the Holy Spirit leads you to do today—be a doer! May it be so in our life in Jesus name. This Sunday we begin a new message series entitled “A Life of Joy.” This is a study of The Book of James in the New Testament. As I will be leading our Men’s Mission Trip to Costa Rica, we will be challenged by a good friend of mine Rev. Keith Harcombe, who is one of the Pastors at Bay Hope Church. He will help us look at what it means to live our faith. When we choose to share the love of Jesus Christ with everyone in our life we are on mission together. I hope you will join us this weekend in worship. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church! #alifeofjoy #maninthemirror #doers #aplaceforgrace

“He also said to them, “Imagine that one of you has a friend and you go to that friend in the middle of the night. Imagine saying, ‘Friend, loan me three loaves of bread because a friend of mine on a journey has arrived and I have nothing to set before him.’” Luke 11:5-6 CEB Like most kids I used to imagine what it would be like to be a professional athlete. What would it be like to make the winning three-point basket in the NBA Championship? To sink the winning putt at The Masters? To make the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl? To hit the winning home run in the World Series? To stroke the winning ace at Wimbledon? I believe that most young boys and girls have active imaginations where they try and put themselves in the spotlight moment—if only in their dreams. Imagination is a wonderful thing. Imagination can take us to places we may never actually go. Imagination can help us talk to people we may never meet. Imagination can help us enter situations and circumstances we may never experience. There is power in the positive use of an active imagination. The true power of imagination is the ability to help us feel things we may never feel, but that others are feeling. Imagination is the key to empathy. Empathy is the ability, or capacity, to imagine feelings that one does not actually have. We can extend the definition to include thoughts and experiences. In other words, I will most likely never sink the winning putt at The Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club. However, I have imagined what that would be like, feel like, and what thoughts would be running through my head. Empathy is about putting yourself in someone else’s place to the best of our ability—or the best of our imagination. The power of imagination will help me to enter those feelings, thoughts, and experiences. To be clear, it is not the same as actually having those feelings, thoughts, or experiences. Empathy is the willingness to try and imagine what that is like. When Jesus was illustrating the importance of persistent prayer he told his disciples to “imagine” themselves in a certain situation. He invited them to imagine what it would be like to be in the situation. He also invited them to imagine what it would be like to hear certain response and how each of these things would make them feel, and how they would respond. Jesus says this to them knowing they more than likely had not been in that situation before. Jesus wants them to feel the feelings and enter into the experience as much as their imagination will allow them. By doing this He knows they will be better able to understand his point. Jesus also knows that this will be an important lesson for them to learn in all aspects of life and ministry. The more empathy they have toward others and their feelings, thoughts, and experiences the better able they will be to help them. How is your imagination? Are you able to imagine what others are thinking, feeling, or experiencing? If we will cultivate our imagination in this regard we will build our capacity for empathy. When our co-worker is frustrated with a situation at work or home we will be better able to imagine how they are feeling. No matter what the situation the ability to empathize with someone will help us in all areas of life. We are experiencing this in the greater United Methodist Church today. Not everyone sees eye to eye on many issues. Our ability to imagine how others feel, think, or experience the different issues is crucial to a deeper understanding. Our capacity for empathy deepens our capacity for understanding. The more we understand each other the better our relationships will be. Jesus knew all of this when he asked his disciples to imagine this particular situation. Imagination is the key to empathy – empathy is the key to understanding. Will you work on your imagination today? Will you grow your empathy today? Jesus asks us to imagine the difference this would make. This weekend we will talk about the power of empathy. When we imagine what others are going through in order to connect with them there is great relational power. I hope you will join us this weekend in worship. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church! #empathy #aplaceforgrace

“To the one who is able to protect you from falling, and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence, to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, belong glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, now and forever. Amen.” Jude 24-25 CEB The other day we lost power at the church. This is not a metaphor for some spiritual or theological issue the church was facing. We actually lost power from TECO. The lights weren’t working, the phones weren’t working, the computers were not working. I arrived in the building at 7 a.m. looking to get a good amount of work done before others arrived. My best plans were thwarted by this power outage. Thankfully, I had brought my laptop, which had a full charge remaining, which meant I could continue to work. The interesting thing to me was watching everyone’s reaction to the power being out as they arrived. Some took it in stride and went to working on things that did not require power. Some jumped to working on fixing the problem. I even heard one person say that we might as well go home since there was no power. Eventually, within maybe an hour or so, the power was restored and we were back to normal. It’s amazing what power—or the lack of power—means to us. Because I am a pastor, the power outage came at a time where I saw it beyond the simple lack of electricity. I had been thinking about this particular week and message when it happened. Spiritually speaking it is amazing what power means to us. Too many times we don’t think about the power source in our life. We simply try and do our life without thinking about the power supply to which we are connected. Maybe put more simply we try and do life in our own power. We look to simple things like coffee, caffeine, energy drinks, or some other supplement for our energy and power. There is another source to which we must be connected to receive power that coffee, caffeine, energy drinks, or supplements will never be able to supply. When we rely on self we will experience a power outage spiritually. We will only be able to generate so much power, spiritually speaking. When we connect to the power source we have in Jesus we will experience infinite, eternal power. We will experience Jesus power. Have you been experiencing a power outage spiritually? If you have, it probably means you are trying to generate your own power. I want to encourage you to connect your life to the infinite, eternal power supply available to you in Jesus. I would imagine you would ask, “How do I do that?” The first step is to surrender your life to follow Jesus with your life. The second step is to know Jesus better through Scripture, prayer, a life group, and worship. The third step is to choose the power supply to which you connect every day, every moment, every situation. The main thing is to be aware of the power of Jesus available to us and be intentional about living in that power. We receive the power of Jesus when we live in the power of Jesus. Will you live in that power today? Imagine if we were to fully live in the power of Jesus available to us every day. Imagine what the power of Jesus would be able to release in our community of faith, the communities we serve, and around the world if we chose to receive it fully. This power is available to us by God’s grace through a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. One of the greatest benefits of receiving the power of Jesus in our life and allowing it to be released through us is the power glorifies God for everyone to see. When we receive and release the power of Jesus people see power that is different from any other power source available. So, will you connect to the infinite, eternal power of Jesus available to you today? I believe you will experience a phenomenal difference in your life if you will. Jude ends his letter to his fellow believers by writing, “To the one who is able to protect you from falling, and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence, to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, belong glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, now and forever. Amen.” May this be so in the power of Jesus. This weekend we will talk about the power of Jesus available to every follower of Jesus. When we choose to follow Jesus Christ, there is power given to us and all we need to do is surrender and tap into that power. I hope you will join us this weekend in worship. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church! #beloved #thepowerofjesus #aplaceforgrace

“These are faultfinding grumblers, living according to their own desires. They speak arrogant words and they show partiality to people when they want a favor in return.” Jude 14-19 CEB What if we all accepted a challenge in 2019 to reduce the amount of time we use three key words in the English language? Could it be possible to improve your life and the life of others by simply reducing the usage of a few words? I believe that this is possible. If you and I will commit to using three simple words less in 2019 we will experience improvement in our attitude, our service, our relationships, our compassion, our empathy, and our faith. Wow! That is a strong belief, isn’t it? I am willing to guarantee my belief. If you will reduce, and nearly eliminate, your use of just three words in your vocabulary you will see significant improvement in all these areas of your life. Of course, there is a little more to this, and I will explain below. So, are you game? Are you open to giving this a try? If so, let’s explore this together. There is no need to keep you wondering any longer—let’s jump into these three simple words. The words are Me, Myself, and I. Why these words? The reason is quite simple—they are self-centered, egocentric words. These three words center your thoughts, speech, and feedback on you. Of course, there really are not that many people who intentionally use these words in their everyday language because their egos are that big. What happens is we over time begin to think more about our wants and desires than the wants and desires of others. In modern culture we might simply label this as looking out for our own best interests. We have even heard phrases like, “If you don’t look out for yourself no one else will.” While this statement is absolutely true, it should not be the only way in which we view the world. The goal in reducing, and/or eliminating, these words from a Christian’s vocabulary is to be less egocentric and more Christocentric. The greater question to ask before accepting this challenge is—Do I want my life to be about me or do I want my life to be about Christ? The writer of The Book of Jude says that those who focus on their life being about them are not experiencing what God desires for them. Even worse they are causing harm to themselves, others, and the church. The author writes, “These are faultfinding grumblers, living according to their own desires. They speak arrogant words and they show partiality to people when they want a favor in return.” You would think that these people would not exist in the Body of Christ. However, we all know they do—and sometimes they are us. When we allow our life to be more about me than Jesus we lose sight of Christ. Being filled with self means we are not being filled with Jesus. This is the danger of self. It is the danger of the three simple words me, myself, and I. The danger is being egocentric and not Christocentric. Will you accept the challenge in 2019? Will you reduce the amount of times you use these three key words in the English language? Of course, there is more to this challenge. Reducing the use of these words is more about developing humility, compassion, and empathy than anything else. The goal needs to be more about focusing our life on Jesus and not on us. There is a saying that I just became aware of that puts it this way—Jesus, others, you. In other words, put Jesus first, put others second, and yourself last. If you do this, you will experience great JOY across all areas of your life. I believe that this was the way Jesus thought while walking the earth. Jesus put the will of God the Father first, above everything else. Jesus put others, you and I included, second and gave everything on our behalf. The last thing Jesus considered—primarily in the Garden of Gethsemane—was himself. This is the greatest example for us to follow. Will you reduce the number of times you use me, myself, and I in 2019? This weekend we will begin a two-week message series on The Book of Jude. We will be talking about the danger of self and the power of Jesus. We will continue to help lead all people to experience God’s grace through a growing relationship with Jesus. I hope you will join us this weekend in worship. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church! #beloved #aplaceforgrace #thedangerofself

“This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” John 13:35 CEB Happy New Year! It’s difficult to believe that 2019 is already here. 2018 went by at an incredible pace. I pray this New Year brings you health, happiness, and a new measure of God’s grace as you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. May 2019 be the best year yet for your relationship with Jesus. Do you have a favorite place to shop? A favorite company where you buy either goods or services? Most of us have our favorites. Debbie and I were talking the other day about how we are loyal to Publix. Having grown up in Florida, and worked for Publix as my first job, I do almost all of my food shopping exclusively at Publix. Their slogan is “Where shopping is a pleasure.” But, do you know their mission? I had to look it up. On their website they state, “Our mission is to be the premier quality food retailer in the world.” I haven’t been around the world shopping for quality food, but I think they are doing a pretty good job of living into their mission. The mission of Coca-Cola is “To refresh the world … To inspire moments of optimism and happiness … To create value and make a difference.” Again, I think they are doing a good job of living into their mission. A mission in life is important for a company, a group of individuals, and individual persons. Have you given any thought to what your personal mission in life is? When I first gave my life to Jesus, in 1986, I was led to create my own personal mission statement. I feel like God led me to understand that my mission was “to help people grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus Christ.” What do you believe God is leading you to do as a follower of Jesus? What is your mission? If you have never considered adopting your own life’s mission, I would encourage you to consider this. A life mission can be like a giant compass in life keeping you on course and helping you to head in the right direction. A mission is the very thing Jesus gave to all his disciples—including you and me. Jesus’ life mission was to seek and save that which was lost. [Luke 19:10] Jesus told his disciples their life mission was a little different. In John 13 verse 34 Jesus told his disciples to love each other. He then said, “This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” I know Jesus also said to love God and go and make disciples. I believe that our love for God is not as much a mission as a response to God’s love for us. I also believe that the Great Commission is the way in which we express our life’s mission to love each other. Truly loving each other means we are wanting the very best for each other. Wanting the very best for someone who has not accepted Jesus is helping them come to faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Wanting the very best for someone who is a fellow Christian is helping them grow deeper in love with Jesus. Jesus said our mission was to love each other. This is how the world will know we are disciples of Jesus. The question for us is does the world know? Is there overwhelming evidence that we love each other? To be on mission together in 2019 we must love each other. Not just any kind of love, but the type of selfless, self-giving love that Jesus demonstrated for us. The way John Wesley believed we demonstrate our love for God and for each other was in covenant relationship. Every year John Wesley led a renewal service where the following prayer was prayed: I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside by thee. Exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen. To love God and love each other we must live in covenant relationship together. I hope you will pray this prayer at the outset of this New Year. We will pray this prayer in worship together this weekend at all services. I, also, pray that we will all live by the mission Jesus has given us—to love each other. May the world know—without a doubt—that we are disciples of Jesus Christ! This weekend we will talk about renewing our covenant with God and fulfilling our mission. When we choose to share the love of Jesus Christ with everyone in our life we are on mission together . I hope you will join us this weekend in worship. The best is yet to come. I love you all and can’t wait to see you in church! #aplaceforgrace #onmissiontogether #loveeachother

“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” Philippians 2:12b NLT He was a master carpenter and custom home builder by trade. He could create things with his hands that most could only dream of in their imagination. He moved to the United States from Sweden and made a successful life for himself. While most knew him for his selfless attitude and care for the people he loved, there was more. I used to watch him work each day. By the time I was able to watch him work he was well into his retirement—perhaps even into his early 80s. I would watch him repair things, build things, and create with what seemed like great ease. What I may have been too young to know is that all this talent and skill was the result of both great talent and incredible hard work. The man we all affectionately called “Gramps” was one of the hardest working people I have ever known. In later years folks would share stories with me about how meticulous Gramps was when he was building homes. He worked incredibly hard and took great care in doing things with excellence. This is what I will always remember about my Gramps. Over the years as I have talked with my dad, Gramps [a.k.a. Arthur Teglund] was a big influence on his life. When his parents divorced when he was 16 my dad moved in with Gramps. My dad had two jobs as a high school student to earn money. My dad is one of the hardest working people I have every known as well. In part, he learned from Gramps what it meant to work hard. I would like to think that, especially in my adult life, I have learned from both men. I believe I am a hard worker when it comes to my vocation and helping others. This comes from a long line of hard workers passing down their work ethic and striving for excellence. Who are the people who you have known in your life who demonstrated the value of hard work? What have you learned from them and how are you better because of their influence? There is another aspect of our life where hard work is important. Our faith journey is a life that requires hard work as well. This is what The Apostle Paul was saying in Philippians 2:12b when he wrote, “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” Gramps showed the results of his hard work through amazing carpentry and custom homes. My dad showed the results of his hard work through the best sales results in the company. Paul is urging us to work hard to show the results of our salvation through obedience and reverence. Paul goes on to say we should do everything without complaining or arguing. We show the results of our salvation through living lives that are pure and innocent before God. Lives that shine bright in a world where the bright light of Christ is needed. Paul indicates that the hard work of our salvation is holding closely, or firmly, to the Word of God—who is Jesus Christ. When we work hard to show the results of our salvation we look more like Jesus. If we want to have the best year yet in 2019, we need to work hard to show the results of our salvation. We need to work hard to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We need to work hard to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We need to work hard to be the light everywhere and in everything. When we put in the hard work of showing the results of our salvation we will experience the best Jesus has for us. Working hard on our faith life allows Jesus to do amazing things in and through us. We will be more open to the Holy Spirit’s direction and guidance. We will experience the best Jesus intends for those who love Him. Paul reminds you that as you work hard, “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” [v.13] We work hard every day in so many ways. In 2019 will we work hard to show the results of our salvation? Will you work for your best and trust God with the rest? If you will, the best is yet to come! This weekend at all four worship services we will be discussing how the best is yet to come. We will discuss how to make 2019 the best year yet. I hope you will join us this weekend and every weekend for worship. The best is yet to come for St. Andrew’s as we are on mission together. I can’t wait to see you in church! #aplaceforgrace #thebestisyettocome