This seems to be turning more and more into a “Monday” evening mind dump than a Sunday one. Alas, such is the workload of a church planter.
Still, a lot happened this week and I’m ready to back up the Mind truck and unload a bit.
- Seems I still went a little fast for all the resident note takers at Impact Church. So, as part of my penance I have decided to write them out for you again right here in the mind dump.
There were three points, and they were, the “Three reasons why believers should be more generous.”
- It’s the least we can do.
Think about this for a moment. When someone is utterly and hopelessly lost yet rescue comes anyway through the only one caring enough, gracious enough, and, most importantly sinless—it ought to prompt a response. And the greater the rescue, the greater the response. If someone riding shotgun in your car tells you to be careful because there is a pothole just ahead in the road. Chances are you won’t give it a second thought. You might have seen it on your own, it wasn’t that deep, it wouldn’t have done much (if anything) to your car—no big deal. Your friend was just giving you a casual ‘heads up.’ At most, that warrants a “thanks.”
But what if you found yourself on death row in a foreign country for some trumped up crime you never committed? You come to find that the people are being told you dissed their god somehow and that the outraged masses are demanding your head. None of them have ever seen you. None witnessed the supposed offense, but none of that matters because it’s too late to appease them now. Someone has to pay!
You’ve been told that you will be executed by beheading in just a few days. Deep in despair, you stop eating, stop asking for friends and family because you already have a thousand times and it all fell on deaf ears. You no longer even claim to be innocent because each time you do, several men rush into your cell and start beating you. At this point you are utterly without hope.
But then, at 11:00 PM—just one hour before the grisly verdict is to be carried out. You are allowed a visit. You expect one of the Imams or clerics who have used to come in several times a day to try and convert you, but this time it’s a friend from home. He explains to you that according to their law someone has to pay. He then gives you the news. He tells you that someone will be him instead of you. You try to protest, but discover quickly that everything has already been arranged. Hysterical and relieved at the same time, you try to reason with your friend. You implore him to try to get money from your family, get ahold of the state department—something. Anything! Just don’t let them carry this horrible sentence out! At the same time all this is going through your head, your friend looks you in the eyes and says the last words you’ll ever hear from him, “You have the rest of your life ahead of you now. You’ve been given a gift you couldn’t possibly earn. Don’t live the rest of your life like the past. From now on, live like you’re dying.”
Two days later, you find yourself on a plane back to the states. You’ve spent a total of 1 year in prison, and haven’t seen any friends or family for a little longer than that. You’re incredibly relieved to be going home, incredibly grateful for a second chance at life and incredibly thankful for the price your friend paid that you might live.
Question? Are you grateful?
Question? How grateful?
Final Question. How will you live the rest of your life?
2. The second reason we (Christ followers) should be generous is because, “It’s part of who we are.”
Seriously, as a Christ follower, you’ve transformed. You’re not the old you. In fact, you’re an entirely new creation. That’s what the apostle Paul said. Check it out,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
The third reason we should be generous may sound somewhat selfish at first, but it’s really a way to make each of us far more effective in ministering to others
3. It’s the cure for depression
Poll most Americans today and they will still tell you that we’ve come a long way toward combating depression and it’s causes.
Really?
I’d say we’ve regressed. And that’s because, in most cases we’ve come up with a “cause” that makes us feel better about ourselves but has little to do with the depression itself.
What do I base this on?
How about the fact that all the medication pharmaceutical companies keep applying to the war against depression seem to only get more people medicated but hardly anyone “cured.
And that’s because the Bible tells us that living life for ourselves and all we can get, get, get, will only create a deeper longing and need within us. We weren’t created to be selfish. We were created to love God and others. We’re broken. And in order to get fixed, we need to admit our broken state and address the true causes.
Now, before I start getting emails from armchair psychiatrists–
I am NOT saying medication is never warranted. I AM saying that every bad thing we face in this world (heartache, betrayal, evil, loneliness, disease, murder, war, etc.) is a result of the Fall recorded way back in the book of Genesis. Therefore, it’s not the way things are supposed to be. And the good news is, it doesn’t have to remain that way forever. Christians have to live through it all now, but a day is coming when we will be restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and sin and heartache will be forever removed.
Until then, some may need medicine, counseling, therapy, whatever. But there’s not a single one of them who wouldn’t do better with a little reverse living. There’s not a single one of them who wouldn’t feel better about themselves and life as a whole if they only exchanged getting for giving.
Just saying.
- Another great thing that happened this week was the first annual Impact Bowl! The adults verses the youth. Can I make a confession? The scoreboard might have indicated that we won, but the muscle aches and pains most of the men still feel 2 days later (me included) are a hint that perhaps we really lost!
At any rate, it was a blast and I look forward to the next one!
- The youth group at Impact Church continues to grow! This past Sunday saw more high-schoolers than ever! If you want more info on our ministry to students, you can contact Tim Rayborn (for high school) at rayborns@live.com and for middle school it’s Nicole Devita at nicolle@devita.me