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Discerning the Body

pexel churchWhen we partake in communion at The River, I typically quote these words from I Corinthians 11: 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.  (I Corinthians 11:23-26)

Just about every time we partake in communion at The River I use those verses before we partake of the bread and the cup.  But rarely do we ever look at those verses in context.  When we examine the context of the passage as a whole we find that Paul is confronting the church in Corinth about a problem with the way that they come together for communion.  In the early church coming together for communion involved a whole meal called the Agape or Love Meal.  This was probably somewhat similar to what we do with potlucks today.  The problem with the Corinthian church was that when they came together it seems like the food was being divided unequally with the rich getting plenty to eat and drink while the poor were going away hungry.  This implies that the rich were so focused on themselves that they were missing the needs of others in the church.

Considering this overall context there is a phrase that we find a couple of verses later that I believe is often overlooked and yet very important.  A friend of mine, Dr. David Fitch, first pointed this phrase out to me in a lecture at a pastor’s conference.  We find the phrase in verse 29: For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.  (I Cor. 11:29, ESV)

The phrase is “discerning the body.”  Now that is a bit of a strange statement.  I think typically we tend to just lump this verse in with the two verses before it which talk about examining ourselves and not eating and drinking in an unworthy manner.  Those verses are important, but think about the context of this passage as a whole.  Paul is spending a lot of his time dealing specifically with the issue of the way that when they got together some were getting fed and some were going hungry.    And in the midst of that, we find this verse.

It is also important to note that in the both the chapter before this and the chapter following this one Paul talks about how the church is a body.  We are the body of Christ.   God has brought us together and made us a church family.  We have a role to play in one another’s lives, to encourage one another, challenge one another, carry one another’s burdens, hold one another accountable, disciple one another, and also to just make sure that we are all doing okay.

I believe that in this passage Paul is talking about how important it is for us to discern the church.  Do we know how each other is doing right now?  Are we so focused on ourselves that we are missing the needs of those around us?  Do we know the specific needs that others might have?  Do we care about those needs?  And if people are hurting or needing help, are we doing our best to come alongside one another and help out in whatever ways we can?  We may not have the resources to meet every need, but maybe we can do something.  That is what it means to be a body.  That is what it looks like to be the family God has called us to be.  That is what it means to “be the church.”  #bethechurch

 

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Response to Waiting for Eagle’s Wings Post

pexel eagle1After the worship service last Sunday when I preached from Isaiah 40 on Waiting for Eagle’s Wings (see earlier post), I was approached by a woman from our congregation.  She told me that she had written a song that fit incredibly well with what I had preached that morning.  She then sang that song for me.  I was amazed at how well it expressed what I had been talking about in the sermon.  It says in I Corinthians 14:26, “What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.”  (ESV).  I believe this is something that she had to share with us, so I have asked her permission to post this song on our website.  Here is her song:

 

Lord I Need You

Rebecca Heerdt

 

Lord I need you,

I’m broken and worn down.

The battle is so hard Lord,

Can’t do it on my own.

 

Here I stand,

Worn and weak,

Waiting on You, Lord,

Your strength I need.

 

To run and not grow weary,

To walk and not faint.

To rise up with wings like an eagle.

Lord renew me again.

 

Here I stand,

Quiet and still.

Waiting on You, Lord.

I seek Your will.

 

Here I stand,

Waiting for You,

Here I stand,

I’m waiting on You.

 

Thanks for sharing that Rebecca!

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The Paraclete

Apparently Greek soldiers fought in pairs.  They would stand back to back so that they could protect one another’s backs as they fought off the enemy troops.  The other soldier was a trusted wingman, an advocate, a helper.  And he was called a paraclete.

What a great concept.  We all need a paraclete.  We could all use an advocate, a helper, a friend who has our back.  In this world, facing the things we face, it would be nice to have someone like that along with us to help us face the journey and fight the battles we have to fight.

In the passage we will be looking at this Sunday, Jesus is getting ready to leave His disciples, but He promises to send them a helper, an advocate, a paraclete.  He promises to send them the Holy Spirit.  Check out the passage in John 14:15-31 and come on out to The River this Sunday to find out more about the paraclete that the Lord promised.

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Stop Complaining

For those of you who check our site regularly for blogs, I am sorry that I have not blogged for a couple weeks.  I was away at a conference where I had almost no access to anything electronic and then I got back and was a little swamped trying to catch up.  Anyway, I’m back and hopefully you weren’t complaining about my lack of blogs because this blog is all about not complaining…

This morning in my devotions I was hanging out in the book of Exodus and I came across a verse that struck me in a different way than when I have read it before.  It was in Exodus 16, where we find the people of Israel on their way to the Promised land.  God has already brought them miraculously across the Red Sea and delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians.  In chapter 15 we see them complaining because they are thirsty and God miraculously provides water for them to drink.  Then when we arrive in chapter 16 we see them complaining to Moses once again, only this time it is because they are hungry.  They actually say that they were better off when they were slaves in Egypt, because at least there they had plenty to eat.

So God decides to miraculously provide food for them to eat and Moses and Aaron call a meeting of the people to tell them the good news.  We read about what they said to the people in Exodus 16:6b-8, “In the evening you will realize that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt.  In the morning you will see the glorious presence of the Lord.  He has heard your complaints, which are against the Lord and not against us.  The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him.  Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.” (NLT)

Typically, when I have looked at this passage I have focused on how sad it is that the people of Israel were complaining again already after they had seen God deliver them from Egypt and bring them safely across the Red Sea.  But this time, I noticed this point that Moses makes about how their complaints were really complaints against God.  I had never really thought about who they thought they were complaining against.  Maybe they blamed Moses and Aaron for the situation they found themselves in?  Maybe they blamed the land for not producing what was needed to provide them with water and food?  But regardless of who they thought they were complaining against, ultimately their complaints were really against God.  They were complaining that God was not taking care of them.

I don’t know about you, but I know that I complain sometimes too.  When things aren’t going my way, I complain.  When I do that, I think I am complaining against whoever or whatever the problem is.  For instance, I might complain against the government when they do something I don’t agree with or when they take too much taxes out of my paycheck.  Or I might complain against my job, when things are tough.  Or I might complain about the price of gas or food or whatever else I need to buy.  I figure these complaints are harmless and I am just letting off steam and looking for someone to blame, but ultimately when I complain, I am complaining against God.

Ultimately my trust is not in the government, or my job, or the economy.  Ultimately my trust is in God.  So when I complain, it shows a lack of trust in God’s provision.  And that is not an attitude I want to have.

We are reminded in I Thessalonians 5:16-18 to, “Always be joyful.  Keep on praying.  No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (NLT again)  That is the attitude that I am supposed to have.  Even in the face of tough times I am to be joyful, and give thanks.  I can pray and ask God to take care of me, but not with a spirit of complaining, but rather with a spirit of joy and thanksgiving, and complete trust in God.

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A Funny Thing Happened While Shoveling My Driveway

So we just had a beautiful Minnesota blizzard this past weekend.  For those of you who did not experience it firshand, the snow started on Friday night and kept falling all day Saturday.  Here in Chaska we got somewhere around 16 inches according to the accounts I have heard.  But what made it so bad was the wind.  I went out Saturday afternoon to begin shoveling out my driveway and when I opened my overhead garage door, I found a wall of snow in it’s place.  The drift was almost 3′ tall.  It was the width of my 3-car garage.  And it was about 5′ long before slowly tapering off to about a foot and a half.  I just stood there staring at this winter wonderland wondering where in the world to start. 

Finally I got into action and began clearing a path by scooping the snow and throwing it as far as I could.  Then gradually after I cleared a path I started picking up a shovel full and carrying it over to the side of the driveway and dumping it there.  After working for about an hour I had cleared away about an 8’X8′ section of driveway and the wind was already filling that part back in behind me. 

Thankfully about that time my next door neighbor came by and offered me the use of his snowblower.  I gratefully accepted and after another hour of manhandling that blower through my huge drifts I finally had a semi-cleared driveway.  I still needed to go back the next day and clear out some more areas by hand, but the bulk of the work was done. 

It was a lot of work, and by the time I got inside I literally had icicles formed on my eyebrows.  In times like those you have to ask yourself, “now why again did I move to Minnesota?”  But you know, a funny thing happened to me while shoveling my driveway.  I found myself becoming more and more thankful.  It began with just a short thought, but snowballed into more of a movement within me to give thanks to God for so many blessings that I was reminded of from this storm. 

For instance, being out there for 2-3 hours in that cold wind and snow I was more thankful than ever for the shelter that God has provided for me and my family.  Sometimes we wish our house was different.  We complain about this or that and we talk about what we would like to do differently with our home, but it is in times like that snowstorm that I am simply reminded of how good it is to just have a home where we are safe and warm and dry.

I also found myself being thankful for the work that God allowed me to do just over the last couple of months to clear out our garage so that there was plenty of room to maneuver and get the cars inside and have stuff not be in the way.  I found myself thanking God for the big driveway, even though a bigger driveway means more to shovel.  I thanked Him for the neighbor who let me borrow his snowblower.  I thanked Him for even just letting me be done and that I was warm again.  I just kept finding myself thanking God for one thing after another.

So while I didn’t enjoy the shoveling, I think our little snowstorm helped me to be thankful.  It is sad, but sometimes it take a moment like that to remind us of all the wonderful blessings we often take for granted.  I don’t want to wish on you a snowstorm to help you be thankful, but I encourage you to be thankful. 

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Thessalonica told them to, “give thanks in all circumstances.” (I Thessalonians 5:18a)  I think tough times sometimes cause us to be frustrated, impatient, angry, bitter, or discouraged and we find it tough to be thankful.  But God wants us to give thanks, no matter what the circumstances of life are.  And sometimes it takes those tough times just to remind us to give thanks.

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Rejoice!

Earlier this week I was reading in my devotions from Philippians 4 and came across verse 4, “Rejoice in the Lord alway.  I will say it again: Rejoice!”

That’s a great verse and a great reminder, but how often would that be a word we would use to describe ourselves?  How often do we actually rejoice?  When I think of rejoicing I get the picture of someone singing and dancing, laughing and shouting about how wonderful things are.  Kind of like we see Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music” dancing and singing, “the hills are alive with the sound of music,” as she glides across the Austrian mountainside.  Or like Gene Kelly in “Singing in the Rain” dancing in the streets and swinging on lightposts while whistling and crooning, “Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo-dloo-doo.” 

Now I know that I am not an overly emotional guy.  Is that redundant?  But how often do I rejoice?  I have been known to get pretty excited and even jump up and down when the Redskins or Colts win a big football game.  But that doesn’t last very long and I am not really rejoicing in the Lord so much at that time, just celebrating a win. 

So I think this is a valid question.  How often do I really rejoice?  Paul tells us in I Thessalonians to be joyful always and that seems a little more doable.  He also tells us to give thanks in all circumstances, which is difficult because of the parameter of “all circumstances,” but the idea of being thankful is something we can deal with.  However, if I picture rejoicing like Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music” and Gene Kelly in “Singing in the Rain;” then I have a little bit of a problem, because I don’t ever really act like that. 

I even decided to take a look at the word rejoice in Scripture and sure enough I found singing, shouting, playing instruments, celebrating and even leaping, as well as waving palm fronds and leafy branches referred to in conjunction with rejoicing.  When Solomon is crowned as king after David we even see the ground shaking with the sound of their rejoicing.  And in Nehemiah at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, we see that the rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.

So what do I do with that?  Paul is challenging me to rejoice in the Lord always, but my life is not a Broadway musical and I feel a little silly dancing up the stairs, twirling around lightposts, and singing at the top of my lungs.  How about you?  Well, maybe that’s our problem.

You know in the early church we see a contagious Christianity.  We see people being added to their number daily.  It was like people saw these early Christians and said to them, “I want whatever it is that you’ve got.”  And Christianity spread like wildfire.  But eventually that victorious rejoicing gave way to traditional practice and we as Christians became much more refined and proper.  We do church well, but how often does the world really see us rejoicing?

When you stop and think about it, we have a lot to rejoice about don’t we?  Just even think about what we are celebrating this month.  We are celebrating the birth of our Savior who came to earth to die for the sins of the world.  That is worth some singing, dancing and shouting isn’t it?

How much more effective witnesses would we be if the world saw us walking through this life rejoicing?  We would be much more contagious.  I guess that is my challenge for us this Christmas season.  Let’s really rejoice.  Let’s treat the Christmas message like we used to treat waking up on Christmas morning and running down to see the presents.  Let’s let the world see in our faces the wonderful message of the Gospel.  Let’s “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!”

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I Make the Pies in Our Family!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I like getting together with family and friends, being thankful, watching football and eating too much.  Those are 4 of my favorite things to do all wrapped up into one holiday.  It is also nice that Thanksgiving is a 2-day holiday instead of being relegated to the 1-day holiday status like Labor Day and other national holidays.   Actually, here in Minnesota they have even thrown in Wednesday as well, so the kids got 3 days off from school.  I, didn’t get Wednesday off, but I did go home early.  Basically because I needed to make some pies. 

That’s right, I make the pies in our family.  Are  you surprised?  I was!  One day, when I was working as an associate pastor in my first church back in Indiana, I came home and declared to my wife that I was going to make a pie that evening.  You see, as a pastor, there are many times when it feels like you are not finishing anything, but only adding more things to your to do list.  And that can be frustrating.  I wanted to take on a project that I could begin and end that evening.  Something that would allow me to be creative and expressive and that would allow me to enjoy the fruits of my labor after I was finished.  Is that too much to ask?

And I did it.  It took me about 5 hours and at least 2 trips to the grocery store.  But I made 2 apple pies, completely from scratch.  I peeled the apples, made the crusts (top and bottom), got everything prepared and in the oven, and finally got to bed close to midnight after the pies had a chance to cool. 

And believe it or not, I enjoyed it.  And that got me interested in baking.  Since those first 2 pies, baking has become a bit of a hobby for me.  I don’t do pies often because they take a lot of time, but I enjoy experimenting with different kinds of cookies.  Just ask my children who makes the best chocolate chip cookies!  Along the way I have had plenty of flops.  One of the nice things about having 4 kids is that even when a cookie experiment doesn’t turn out so well, as long as it’s got sugar in it, my kids will eat every last one of them.  So while I sometimes have cookies that don’t turn out the way I would like them to, they never get wasted at the Mapstone house.

So this year for Thanksgiving I made a French Apple Pie (the kind with the crumb topping) and a Caramel Apple Pecan Pie.  Both turned out pretty well.  Most people are surprised when they find out that I bake a “mean” apple pie.  I guess I just don’t look like a baker?  But I found out that you never know what you might be good at until you try it.  And who knows, you just might find that you like doing something that you didn’t expect.  The same is true in the church.  There are all kinds of jobs that need to be done.  Some of them require specific gifts in order to be done well, but others just need someone who is willing to give it a try.  As a church body, we need to be willing to get out there and try some of these things.

I didn’t become a pastor until I was almost 30 years old.  Before that I was a graphic designer.  But before going into full-time ministry I have served in the church in a whole bunch of different ways.  I had handled the sound board, led games at AWANA, worked with the youth group, cleaned the church, served in the nursery, taught Sunday School, headed up a small-group, drawn cartoons for the church newsletter, coached the basketball team, redesigned the church bulletin, served on different committees, and been a deacon.  Some of those things I was good at, some not so much, but all of those provided opportunities for me to serve and to find out what I was good at.  Each one of those opportunities helped prepare me for full-time ministry.  Yes, even serving in the nursery helped prepare me to be the pastor I am today.

I guess what I am saying is that too often when someone asks us to consider doing something at the church, our default answer is “no.”  I decided to say “yes,” to a lot of things that I might not have tried, and it eventually led to me becoming a pastor.  Who knows what God has in store for you?  I never thought that I would be the one who makes the pies in our family.  But I gave it a try and I found out that it was something that I enjoy doing and I am actually pretty good at it.  Who know, you might find the same thing if you are willing to try something new?

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We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore!

I don’t like November 1.  Why?  Because it reminds me of the consumer spin that we have put on Christmas.  You know what I am talking about.  The day after that “trick or treating” holiday, while the kids are still nursing tummy aches from eating too much candy, all the stores begin to tear down the pumpkins, costumes and candy from their seasonal shelves and begin to put up their Christmas decorations. 

I don’t like this day, but it isn’t because I miss the pumpkins and other treats that that have been up on the shelves for the past month.  The reason I don’t like this day is because once the Christmas decorations go up, we begin a fast paced slide toward Christmas that is anything but the peaceful journey it is meant to be.

Between November 1 and the end of the year we have two holidays that are meant to turn our eyes toward our Heavenly Father with thanks and praise.  But instead of peacefully and joyfully celebrating this time of year, we have filled it with a flurry of gift-buying, party-going, card-sending, house-decorating, consumer-driven madness, that leaves Thanksgiving and the real meaning of Christmas wallowing in the carnage.

In just a little while we will be standing in the early stages of 2011 and looking back with dazed confusion at the blur that was supposed to be the holiday season.   It happens every year.  It seems like we go to bed on October 31 and wake up on January 2 and an entire two months have passed and we hardly had time to enjoy any of it.

I guess that is why I don’t like November 1.  The stores all rush ahead to try and be the first to get out their Christmas stuff and begin this feeding frenzy that we call the holiday season.  They push it by so fast that all we can do is reach out, grab hold and hang on for dear life. 

So my challenge for all of us this year is to get off the carousel.  This year, let’s stand up and say, in the immortal words of Twisted Sister, “We’re not gonna take it anymore!”  I’m not generally a big fan of quoting Twisted Sister, but this phrase fit so well that I just had to use it.  Anyway, we need to be intentional about getting off this crazy carousel of Christmas confusion.  We need to decide that we aren’t going to get taken for a ride anymore by what the stores and the media and the world in general have done with this time of year.

I encourage you to take your time this holiday season.  Walk a little slower.  Don’t rush.  Enjoy this time.  And make it a point to reflect on what it’s all about.  Take time to give thanks between now and Thanksgiving.  Count your blessings.  Remember what God has done for you.  And then turn your sights on the birth of the Savior.  Take time to consider this Jesus who came to earth as a little baby to become the sacrifice for all our sins. 

This is a special time of the year.  Let’s not miss it just because we are too busy.  Take your time and peacefully enjoy this Christmas season.

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Open Wide Your Mouth

Today in my devotions I came across Psalm 81:10, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.  Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”  That is a beautiful and powerful verse.  When I think of it, I get the picture of a nest of baby birds with their mouths wide open toward the sky waiting for their mother to feed them.  They have their mouths so wide open that you can’t even see their face.  They are hungry and they know that food is coming.  So they are straining with every ounce of muscle they have to be ready to receive that food.

Today I had a conversation with a woman whose husband has been out of work for several months and they are not able to pay for this month’s rent.  She has been trusting God and knowing that He has a plan, but she is tired.  She is ready for this to be over.  She is ready for God to come swooping in and give them what they need.  She is waiting and wondering where God is in the midst of this.

And I don’t blame her.  I understand how she feels.  How do those two pictures go together?  God says “open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”  So what’s the deal?  Is her mouth not wide open enough?  Where is the filling?

Have you ever felt like that?  Have you ever wondered where God is in the midst of what you are going through?  Have you ever wondered what God is doing and when He is going to come along and provide what you are hungry for and in need of?  Those are tough times, are they not?  So how do we wait for feeding time?  How do we hang on for God?

Let’s consider this verse from Psalm 81 a little closer.  Notice that first we see a reminder of who God is.  That God is faithful and more than capable of providing for our every need.  We have seen God at work over and over again and we can know that He is able to care for our needs today just like He did for the Israelites so many years ago.

So the first place we need to start is with trust.  We need to trust God.  He knows our needs and actually knows even better than we do what is best for us.  And He is fully capable of meeting those needs.  He has proved Himself faithful time and again and we can trust in Him.  But I believe the second part of that verse carries this concept to a whole new level.  Opening wide our mouths is an action for us to take.  It is us saying that we know that God is powerful, and faithful, and that He will provide, and us actively putting ourselves in the position for God to pour out whatever we need from Him.

Now along with that goes an understanding that we are vulnerable in that position.  Think of the birds for a moment.  They opened their mouths so wide that they couldn’t possibly see what was coming.  They trusted their mother to not only feed them, but to give them what would be good for them.  The mother bird could put anything into their mouths at that moment and they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.  Opening our mouths wide in expectation puts us in a position of vulnerability before the Lord.  And I believe that vulnerability is key.

When we are in that position we are saying to God, fill me Lord, I trust in you to give me whatever you choose to give me.  When we get to that position we are abandoning our plans and putting ourselves completely in His hands, trusting that whatever He gives us will be exactly what we need. 

Many times we want God to feed us or help us, but only as long as His plan comes into line with what we want for ourselves.  We want Him to feed us, but we want to choose the menu.  But God wants us in this position we see in Psalm 81:10, with our mouths so far wide open that we are completely trusting Him to give us what we need.

I know some of you out there are hurting and hungry.  I want to invite you to open wide your mouths to the Lord.  Remember His faithfulness and power, and trust Him to give you exactly what you need.  Open wide your mouth to the Lord and let Him fill it.

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Remember, Rejoice, Reflect

So the holidays are here.  What are you looking forward to?  The turkey?  The shopping?  The family time?  The parties?  The holidays are full of all kinds of things and mean different things to each of us.  One of the greetings that we use with one another during this time of year is “happy holidays.”  That’s great.  I hope you are happy, but even more so, my hope for all of us is that this holiday time would be a time to remember, rejoice and reflect.  What a wonderful way to wrap up one year and begin the next one. 

We start with Thanksgiving which is a time to remember.  It is a time to look back and consider all the ways that God has blessed us and provided for us.  It is a time to consider all of those things that we take for granted everyday.  It is a time to pause in the midst of our busy lives and give thanks.

Then we move on to Christmas.  The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a time to rejoice.  It is a time that can easily be consumed by all the hustle and bustle of buying presents, going to parties, and everything else that comes during the commercialized portion of the holidays.  But instead of focusing on all of that, it is a time for us to rejoice in the true meaning of Christmas.  It is a time for us to rejoice over the baby who was born as the perfect gift to a lost and dying world, so that our Heavenly Father, who loves us so much, could bring us back to a right relationship with Him.  Christmas is a time to rejoice over what has been done for us and the hope that we have in Christ.

Then we move on to New Years.  The time between Christmas and New Years is a time to reflect.  A time to look back over the year that was and look forward to the year to come.  It is a time to reflect over God’s faithfulness to us and to renew our hope in Him for the new year.  God is good and He knows the plans that He has for us.  Entering into the turn over from one year to the next is a perfect time to reflect.

Remember, rejoice, and reflect.  What a great way to celebrate the holiday season.  Instead of wishing you a happy holidays, I wish for you a time to remember, rejoice and reflect!