Pullman Foursquare Church

Christmas, as well as church, as well as life, as well as all of history is all about Jesus. No more and no less. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

Missiologist George Patterson has developed a list of the seven essential commands of Jesus. (www.paul-timothy.net) These commands are being taught all over the world and are bearing fruit for the Kingdom. How are they faring in your life?

Here is an adaptation of that list.

1. Repent, believe, and receive the Holy Spirit

2. Baptize new believers.

3. Love God and people.

4. Break bread together.

5. Give sacrificially.

6. Pray continually.

7. Go and make disciples.

Last night as I worked amongst my flower beds, I was reminded how drab plucking weeds out of the beds in the middle of summer can be. My fingernails get dirty and my back and knees tend to ache from bending over. I really don’t enjoy it very much. Every spring, however,  I go to the local stores and pick out new flowers and can’t wait to get them planted and see them grow.

Isn’t that much like how our marriages tend to be. When we first marry, we are so excited about all the new things our marriage will look like and how it will grow and develop but as the months and years continue after the wedding, we find that some of the cultivating of our marriage is dirty work and not nearly as pleasant as when we first said, “I do”. If we remember the beginning……. the hopes and dreams and purposes of why we wanted to marry in the first place, we might spend a little more time cultivating our marriages in the later seasons and find that a little more effort reaps the benefits of hard work.

A little extra time in the garden every night has rewarded me with beautiful flowers and enjoyment every time I pass by them. A little extra time and effort on my marriage does the same!

There are times in our lives when circumstances bring us to a crisis point. During those times, our emotions rule us, our strength fails us, and our minds deceive us.  All that we normally rely on everyday disappears and we find ourselves in a crisis mode of feelings, thoughts and decisions. And we are never “ready” for it. In a twinkling, the rug is pulled out underneath us. Sometimes the crisis is very large, maybe a death in the family or a unexpected serious illness; a home engulfed in flames or the loss of income. Most often, the crisis is not so large or maybe it is a combination of crisis’ that still consume us…. the disappearance of a pet, the complete engine failure on your only car, or the loss of a friendship. Whether it comes in a large dose or small, it can send you into a downward, negative spiral.

I recently experienced such a crisis (thankfully a small one) and was surprised to take such a spiral in my thoughts and emotions. As I find sometimes occurs to me, I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to fall asleep again and my mind a flurry of disturbing pictures and thoughts, my emotions on the edge of uncontrolled weeping. I was reminded in a single moment of why I am so glad to be a Christian. In the middle of the darkness, I heard two words…..”dig deep”.

Now I am not totally unaccustomed to hearing God’s voice and recognized Him immediately but didn’t really understand what “dig deep” meant. As I pondered and searched over this new thought, God spoke to me about having roots deep enough to hold during whatever storm I was in. His encouragement to me was to hold fast, to rely on the truth that He has put in me through His word and to trust that those roots are deep enough to hold on. Indeed, I was encouraged and took my eyes off the situation at hand and put them on the answer to the situation…God Himself.

Thankfully, the crisis has passed and I am feeling more in balance and thinking more logically. But it would be my mistake to let the lesson I was taught to pass by unnoticed. I need to continue to dig deeper, to nurture what roots God has planted in me that will allow God to keep my foundation strong no matter what the future brings.  My encouragement to you is to do the same because sometimes you have to ”dig deep”.