Partakers of His Sufferings

My morning devotional from Oswald Chambers was entitled, "Partakers of His Sufferings" based on I Peter 4:13, "But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

Here is a short excerpt:

"If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across. Oh, I can't deal with that person. Why not? God gave you ample opportunity to soak before Him on that line, and you barged off because it seemed stupid to spend time in that way."

Guilty as charged!

It seems that the deeper we've gone into Life's Healing Choices, the more we realize that people and relationships most often are at the core of many of our struggles.

This week I started reading a book by Erwin McManus entitled "Soul Cravings". It's a slow read because there is so much depth to his writing. So far I've been reminded that the most dangerous place in this world is "love." In my counseling of couples and individuals and in my own life I have come to agree that our desire and need for love that God has planted in us is often misdirected, abused and neglected. A couple weeks back as we were discussing The Relationship Choice. I stated that the primary reason for so many broken relationships is that we love poorly. I think if I spend more time accepting the opportunity God gives me to "soak on that line" that many of the relationship struggles we face will be dealt with properly.

Oh Lord, help me to make the investment and teach me to love better!

P.S. Will you pray for us November 7-14th as we go on a mission trip to rebuild part of Caretta, West Virginia?

The Reality Choice

I'm not God - so why do I try to act like Him sometimes?

I have really enjoyed these last two weeks - both preaching on Life's Healing Choices and leading a couple of life growth groups. The discussion has been open and honest and I believe people are already seeing some changes taking place in their life!

Wanting to lead with integrity I have been wrestling with things in my own life and not just telling everyone else what the book says. I gave up a long time ago trying to change my past and my initial reaction to wanting to control other people was - "I can't control people, they will; do whatever they want." But then I thought deeper and realized that how I react to people who aren't doing what I think they should could be seen as a way of trying to control them. I am trying to watch that more. I do have to say (without trying to defend myself) that I believe my motives for wanting others in the game are pure. It's not as much about how it makes me look, as it is the joy I want them to experience from becoming a servant.

As for controlling my current problems - that's a daily battle. However, if I stay in the Word, commune with God in prayer and stay focused throughout my day, I find it much easier to stay on track. But when I'm hungry, angry, lonely, tired or bored (HALT-B) I'm more prone to sink back into attitudes and behaviors that are counterproductive to my walk.

This week we've been looking more into who God really is, by looking at the character of His Son. I've heard others say that what brings them the most hope is the fact that God is faithful, forgiving, loves unconditionally, and while we were yet sinners - He died for us.

There is so much more to consider, but the promise of freedom from my hurts, hang-ups and habits propel me forward. I hope you are on the journey with me!

Til next time,

Jeff

Jesus Loves You (this I know)

Several weeks back when I was mining for info off of those I follow on Twitter, I responded to Craig Gross from XXXChurch.com. He was offering pre-release copies of his new book, Jesus Loves You. He asked those who received it to write a review and to blog about the book. I was anxious to get the book and when it arrived I immediately started reading. Craig and his co-author, Jason Harper took turns writing chapters like Jesus Loves the Bitter and Betrayed, the Disconnected, the Broken, the Forgotten and more. My neon highlighter has made quite an appearance on the 196 pages which read very quickly.

The style that both authors used; personal experience and their connections to familiar Bible passages; connected me in a way that not many books have. To paraphrase a county song, "they had me from hello". I saw within the pages a frustration with parts of "the church" that have made it difficult for the disenfranchised to find their way into the body. I, like Craig, could feel myself getting angry at Christians who have done so much damage - all in the name of the gospel.

I felt convicted and challenged in much of my thinking. But ultimately I am encouraged and inspired to reach out to the forgotten, the isolated, and the discarded in our society and show them the Jesus behind the statements.

The book ends with some "What ifs". I am now more challenged to dream with Craig and Jason about being sure that the church I belong to does not divide but unites behind Christ!

Hungry?

"The Edge" at the Grove has been discussing social justice issues over the last few weeks, subjects like immigration, human trafficking, poverty and hunger.

I know I can pretty regularly remark, "I'm hungry!" But it's not that I've missed many meals (except when I planned it or something got in the way). It's just that I'm used to having my belly full. I can remember losing my job back in 1990 and the church I was attending asked Cindy and I to come down in the basement for a moment. They had collected over 50 bags of groceries for our family to help us til I found a job. That was such extravagant love - especially back then.

A little over a year ago when Jeff Jemmison, Pastor of St. John The Baptist Church invited me to see their vision of a food pantry, I was excited but not sure what The Grove could do to help. Soon after, I got the brainstorm to invite the Grove family every first Sunday of the month to take a bag home and fill it with recommended food items for the pantry. Since that time we've averaged 10-15 bags a month.

As good as that sounded I knew we could do much more. So on our 2nd anniversary every family received an envelope containing $5.00, 5 recommended food lists, and we asked them to purchase five recyclable bags and distribute them to family and friends. Then we asked them to bring them back the next week. We invited Deacon Al Jones and Deacon Cliff Bolling to come to our celebration and we could symbolically give them the food. The excitement grew as bag after bag was carried in. 20 - 30 - 40 - 70 - 90 - 100! Final tally - 107 and two boxes!

Today some awesome people helped load it all into the church van and deliver it to the pantry. We carried them down the steep steps and filled their storage room to capacity and then began filling a second. We got a tour and explanation of how they run the pantry. What we heard melted my heart. When they began an average of 25 families would show up during the 3-5pm time they were open. Recent weeks that has grown to 70-75!

They explained that when a person comes in, they tell how many members in their family. If they say 2, they get food for 2, 3 meals a day for 3 days. If its 6, then 6 for 3 meals a day for 3 days. They never challenge how many they say - they just serve and trust God to sort it all out.

I'm inspired to see what more The Grove family can do - and to enroll the support of other churches as well. Will you pay with me on how we can bless those in our community?

Ahhsummm

I am smiling and chuckling to myself right now. After watching myself on video Sunday interviewing Grovers and listening to my response so often being, "Awesome, that's awesome", I want to choke myself. My speech teacher and other word police like me would slap me.

However, The Grove is an AWESOME place. The people are AWESOME. What they did with the food collection Sunday was AWESOME! What God is doing is AWESOME! I know I overuse the word lately so I'll try to vary my responses in the future.

But there is one person who can say it over and over and I'll never get tired of it. Angus Benjamin, my 2 year old grandson is venturing into the world of words more everyday. I watched his mother's video she posted with him saying AHHsumm and my wait for them to come and visit in 2 weeks seems an eternity! If you want to smile, take a look at the video at http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1179124273881

The team I serve with at The Grove is AWESOME too. What amazes me is that they still love me when I screw up. Sunday was no exception as I had asked Carolyn to put together a slide show of our history at The Grove and then forgot to ask her to run it. I was told she was waving at me to get my attention and I, as I sometimes do, stayed in my tunnel and didn't see it. What made it worse was that she had stayed up so late to finish it. She tried to make me feel better by saying she now had more time to make it better, but I saw it and it was great in its first form.

God's grace is AWESOME and when his people extend that grace as well it is AWESOME too. Especially when you are a pastor that needs it more and more.

So year 3 has started - we have AWESOME opportunities ahead like: Painesville Party in the Park this Sunday, an outdoor baptism service at Headlands beach August 2nd, our 40 Days of Love campaign starting September 13th, and the list could go on and on.

What is the most AWESOME is the life change happening in our people and the community.

Hope you are as excited as this old pastor!

I Love My Church!

I can't believe our series on "What in the World is Going On?" is almost over - just 3 more weeks! It has caused me to look ahead to what's next at The Grove. We'll begin a 2 week series called "I Love MY Church!" as we celebrate our 2 year anniversary.

Preliminary plans are to hold an outdoor worship service on July 5th to begin our celebration.

During the following week we hope to visit all of the Life-Growth Groups and video members responses to why they love The Grove.

On Saturday, July 11th at 6pm we will feature an outdoor concert (band TBD), ice cream social, carnival games, and bonfire for the whole family.

Then we will conclude our celebration the following morning and view many of the video taped testimonies as well as a few other surprises.

Invitations are being printed, but accept this note as a SAVE THE DATE request!

Start thinking about how you would answer the question, "why I love The Grove" and let us know if you'd like to be included in this celebration. Meanwhile watch for ways to help out to make this 2 year anniversary memorable to all.

Puddle Water or Living Water?

A couple of months ago, a dear pastor friend of mine passed away (prematurely at 56). I've remained in contact with the family somewhat, more so through our facebook connection. I have been so impressed with his daughters over the years. Looking at some of their photos have given me a look into their day to day lives and quite honestly I'm ashamed of myself! Why?

Because everything I see and sense from them is their daily pursuit of God, His will for their lives, and the quest to win others to Him. Am I as diligent? What about those that attend The Grove?

That's what I hope to spark in all who attend The Grove and especially in the young adults at The Edge. In my morning devotions this morning I ran across a quote from Matthew Henry. He is a theologian and has written many a book and Bible commentary. This is what grabbed my attention.

"Nothing will supply the needs, and satisfy the desires of a soul, but water out of this rock Jesus Christ, this fountain opened. The pleasures of sense are puddle-water; spiritual delights are rock water, so pure, so clear, and so refreshing -- rivers of pleasure." Matthew Henry

In essence - if you are seeking pleasure, happiness, fun, from things in this world you have been drinking puddle water. It is pleasant for the moment but it is contaminated, will dry up quickly and harden and crack your heart. Facebook, vices, sex, naps, another entertainment experience, etc, will not fulfill the longings of the heart that God has placed there for only Him to fill.

But if you drink exclusively of the "Living Water" you will find nourishment and be refreshed and satisfied.

So why not take a moment and identify where you may be trying to satisfy a spiritual hole in your life with stuff that doesn't satisfy and ask God to heal your heart and to seek after Him every day.