HOPE in Your Heart

What would our lives and families and our church be like if we were all dealers in hope?

Think about the people who will walk into LFC this weekend. Some who had great weeks, others who have lost hope and some who will brand new and need to navigate new people, new campus, new styles and more. What we can all do is greet them with kindness and see if God will not use us to deliver hope to them – His Hope.

There is one thing we all possess (if we are followers of Jesus) we possess hope. Hope is in you if Jesus is in you.

• Colossians 1:27
  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (NIV)

Notice what this verse teaches: It is a mystery too hard to fully explain, that Christ lives in us. Yet, He does! It is a mystery to realize that we always have hope available to us. This hope of glory is not only for the future, as in glory in Heaven (which it is) but it is for glory now. Glory is the manifest presence of God in our midst. It is His being with us when we are not aware of His presence or when we cannot seem to find Him. It is our inability to see Him, sense Him and believe that he is there – not his inability to be present in the moment. There is a deep hope that comes as we realize hope lives within us, because Christ lives within us. INCREDIBLE!

One of the most powerful, energizing words in the English language is the word hope. Hope is a power that keeps us going in the toughest times of life and if Christ is in us, it is His power that provides this hope. It’s His power that energizes us with excitement and anticipation as we look forward to an event, a win, a project completed somewhere in the future. Last week I was once again honored to be included as a judge for Cabrillo Senior Projects. Last night I had the joy of presenting two of LFC’s financial scholarships at the awards ceremony. We offer these to students who plan on going on to school to prepare for ministry in the local church, mission field or in the marketplace. One of our own students, Joe Hope, will be attending Life Pacific College (our Foursquare College) as he senses a deep call to prepare to be a pastor. Wait, his name is Hope and I just mentioned him in an article about hope!

I walked away from my experiences at Cabrillo very hopeful for the future. To be fair, the students at both Lompoc and Cabrillo High Schools are amazing and are also reasons I can be hopeful.

What does hope do?

It gives us reason to live. It takes obstacles and transforms them into possibilities. Hope changes our perspective and moves us from doubt and fear to an attitude of expectation and strength and a renewed courage. “Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest. Hope motivates when discouragement comes. Hope energizes when the body is tired. Hope sweetens when the bitterness bites. Hope sings when all melodies are gone. Hope believes when the evidence is eliminated. Hope listens for answers when no one is talking. Hope climbs over obstacles when no one is helping. Hope endures hardship when no one is caring. Hope smiles confidently when no one is laughing. Hope reaches for answers when no one is asking. Hope presses toward victory when no one is encouraging. Hope dares to give when no one is sharing. Hope looks for ways to bring victory even when no one is winning.” (Adapted from John Maxell) There is nothing to do but bury a man when his hopes are gone. It’s the one thing in your life you cannot do without.  We need to help each other believe when fear arises, to hope in the midst of overwhelming fatigue and against all odds. We can encourage people toward hope by: helping them change their thinking and perspective, by helping then move toward small wins which sets them up for larger victories and by believing in someone with great enthusiasm and encouragement. Optimism is a passive virtue; hope, an active one. It takes no courage to be a dreamer, but it does take hope and courage to implement your dreams. It takes no courage to be an optimist, but it takes a great deal of courage to have hope. Washington Irving once wrote, ‘Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.’ Hopeful people learn from their losses and move on. They don’t dwell long on the past but rather embrace and work toward what is just around the corner. I encourage you today to not give up, to know walk in despair but to look up and embrace hope. As a man of faith, my hope is in my God and my Savior. He has become the origin of my hope. Where do you hope? What do you hope in? In a world that at times can seem hopeless, there is great hope. Seek and you will find. I am hopeful, how about you?

Hopeful because of Christ and because of you,

Pastor Bernie

 

Grace

Recently I read some excerpts from Justin Holcomb book on the Grace of God.

Allow me share some thoughts with you from Holcomb and some of the deeper things on my heart in regards to grace.

 “Grace” is the most important concept in the Bible, in Christianity, and in the world. The shorthand for grace is “mercy, not merit.” – Holcomb

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve and not getting what you do deserve. We hear lots of people, even Christians loosely using the word Karma today. Grace is the opposite of karma. Grace is the love of God shown to the unlovely, the peace of God given to the restless, the undeserved favor of God.

Grace has nothing to do with me deserving, me striving or me working. If so, it would not be grace. Grace is unconditional love toward a person who does not deserve it and could never earn it. Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues. Grace is God reaching downward to people who are in rebellion against him. Grace is one-way love.

Many of us think (whether we admit it or not) that at some point, God gives up on us – at some point He has had enough. Some wonder when that day will come, when the shoes will drop and when God stops loving on us. Our natural human tendency is to bargain with God, or make promises we know we cannot keep. Grace undermines our religious attempts.

“Grace is the hardest thing for us to be reconciled to, because it implies the renouncing of our pretensions, our power, our pomp and circumstance. It is opposite of everything our ‘religious’ sentiments are looking for.” – Jacques Ellul

Religious and legalistic people don’t like grace because it messes up their position. It is hard to judge others and tear them down when you are living in a ‘state of grace.’ Grace undermines condemnation and fear and judgmental attitudes, which are the best tools for religion.

In the Christian tradition, there are many adjectives that have accompanied the word grace: amazing, free, scandalous, surprising, special, inexhaustible, incalculable, wondrous, mysterious, overflowing, abundant, irresistible, costly, extravagant, and more. Grace is a gift.

Holcomb says; “When it comes to grace and law, it’s not a matter of keeping them in balance, but using them correctly. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus intensified the law when he took the Ten Commandments and told us that it’s not just about our outward behavior. If you sin inwardly you have broken all of the law. Then, in Matthew 22:36–39, he summarizes the law with two prongs. He’s asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” He replies: “Love God with all your heart” (which sums up the first four commandments), and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (which sums up the last six). Jesus made the law even more dangerous and intense than it was in the Old Testament. He wasn’t just explaining an ethical code for his followers—he was freaking people out so they would know their need for a Savior.”

The law is a teacher, an assessment tool like a mirror. It reflects to us our problem, our condition, our need, and our death. The law is good because it shows us reality. Like a mirror, the law shows us our problem. But a mirror can’t change what it shows us. It reflects our problem, but it can’t fix it. The law cannot generate what it commands. When applied to sin, the law curses us with judgment. In the presence of the law, only a holy substitute can save us.

 

The Apostle Paul was totally honest when he shared (for all to read) “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . . There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do” (Rom. 7:24–8:3).

Jesus died on the cross in our place to take away the curse we bear for breaking God’s law. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” Because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, there is an answer to the disciples’ question, “Who then can be saved?” The good news comes when Jesus says, “With man [salvation] is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). That’s the point of the law and the gospel: with us, salvation is impossible (law), but for God, everything is possible (gospel). It’s when we face the impossibility of doing anything to save ourselves that the grace of God floods in.

In religion, you get what you deserve. It is the same with karma. Karma is all about getting what you deserve. Christianity teaches that what you deserve is death with no hope of resurrection. Grace is the opposite of karma. While everyone desperately needs it, grace is not about us. Grace is fundamentally a word about God: It is HIS extravagant demonstrations of care and favor. The cross is God’s attack on sin and self. The cross is salvation from sin and its effects.

The principle that grace motivates ought to permeate our lives, work, our marriages, our families and our church.

Grace produces great fruit and motivates others more than anything else. Live in grace, extend grace and teach grace.

Grateful for GRACE,

Pastor Bernie 

Life With God

This past Sunday, my message centered on doing Life With God. We should desire most of all a life with God! There was a section of the message that I really hope you caught (it is worth your time) and if you missed us Sunday or are not local, then I hope this helps. I have also included the script of the dramatic reading Carol Bedell provided us – she did great!

This series we are in is more than subject material to get us through until the next series, it is really something that has burned deep within me – to have all of our congregation live a life with God.  We shouldn’t want to be close to God and right with Him so that we get the blessings of God; we should want Him for Himself, most of all. Our hearts desire should be God – God Himself. We should not want God primarily so that we can get through life better, though we need Him for that. It means that we shouldn’t want God primarily so that we can go to heaven and escape hell.

• The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God.
• We need the blessings of God, now and forever. However, we should desire the blessing of God Himself more than the blessings He gives.

The blessings, or “presents,” of God are good and necessary, but we should want the presence of God more than the presents of God! We should seek His face and not simply His hands. I, for one, don’t always desire God as much as I desire what God can give! I catch myself praying for Him to do things for me, to help others that I am praying for, to impact our community with the efforts of our church and so on….I need to make time to be with God, just to be with God. I need to come and praise Him and listen to Him more than I ask Him to do for me. Even my prayer — “Lord, I want you most of all” — may not always be truthful. I may have to back up and pray, “Lord, I want to want you most of all.”

• The best way to want to be with God more than anything else is, to seek to have a greater grasp of how awesome He is.

“Those with an incomplete or tainted vision of God either want to use Him or dismiss Him. But when a full, clear, and rapturous vision of God is presented, we will not settle for anything less than being with Him.” 

- Skye Jethani

Dramatic Reading:

Just think about God and how amazing He is! God, infinitely great and wonderfully glorious! A star becoming a super nova creates a blinding light that’s just a dark smudge against the brightness of His glory. He holds the vastness of the cosmos, 14 billion light years big, in the palm of His hand.  He knows everything about everything, from a subatomic particle to the largest galaxy. Distances mean nothing to Him, because He’s all places present. Time doesn’t limit Him because He was and is and is to come. This Creator and Sustainer of the vast cosmos has given us humans the ability to know about Him and to respond to Him. He seeks nothing less than to embrace us in a relationship with Him that’s supremely personal. 

To this end He came to us, who inhabit this speck of dust and drop of water we call planet Earth! God in human flesh! Immanuel, God with us. God – a baby! God – eating, sleeping, talking, walking, dying! Yes, God-in-the-flesh dying for us, then living again! What is the invitation from this God with us? 

To embrace Him as we do nothing else. His delight is in sharing Himself with us; His delight is in our delighting in Him! No matter our frailties, our problems, our limited perspectives………This is true: Earth’s greatest treasure is His presence. Heaven’s greatest attraction is being present with Him! How awesome is our God! When we begin to understand how awesome He is, we begin to want to be WITH Him most of all!  For us to desire to live life with God. This is God’s desire for us, for each of us. May we allow it to be so.  

The call on our life is to be with God. To spend time with Him and look for His presence and not His absence. It is what is called: Practicing His Presence. Now, practice sounds like an odd word when used in conjunction with God. In the 1600 Brother Lawrence coined the phrase: Practicing the presence of God. He is remembered for his teachings on being With God and for his life…..

 

I began to live as if there were no one but God in the world. All I do I do with God at my side and I place myself as a worshipper before Him.  – Brother Lawrence

 LIFE with God is more than reading our bibles, though that is an essential part of it. It is more than prayer and worship, it is an awareness of HIM and opening to HIM a listening to His Voice……Looking for His presence…. It is being connected with God. One thing I did not speak about in this past weeks message was the sin of pride. How pride keeps us from connecting with God since pride is something that God resists. We come to God in humility, in an understanding that He is ultimate and supreme in our lives. Jesus spoke about HIS union with God in John 14 and later of our union with Himself and God in John 15. He said: “The Father is living in me and I live in Him.  He works through me, He gives me words to speak and power to live and do miracles.” This is a picture of communion with God. Jesus tells us in John 15:5: I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (NIV)

Notice the deep connection that God intends for us to have, like a branch connected to the vine. Underscore the fact that we are not called to live and serve and raise a family, live out our purpose and ministry apart from Him. Actually, apart from Him we do nothing of value. We might be busy, active and tired but apart from Him we missed it all. Read the Gospels and you will see that Jesus did LIFE WITH GOD….It was constant communion. While Jesus did His work of teaching, touching, healing and helping he was in ongoing communion with the Father, always aware of His presence with Him and in Him. This type of communion begins with a change in our thinking, a change in our perception of daily life. It takes practice to put God first, to recognize we need Him and to allow Him to lead us. Think about the fact that God is with you and you are with Him! Focus on that and allow His presence to impact you, today. It is the way of life that Jesus modeled for us.

• There’s nothing as wonderful as living from the perspective and posture of your life WITH God!

If God truly is our treasure and if we have faith that through Christ we have been untied with Him, then our prayer, worship, financial giving, bible reading, service and obedience cease to being duty and become joy because we see God as our treasure. Through Jesus He becomes that to us.

Let’s do life with God,

Pastor Bernie

People are a Work in Progress

He was delivered from the fish, saw a great revival, but still missed the point of what God was doing in his life. God could so easily have turned his back on Jonah, but He didn’t  God loved him enough to keep working on him. God feels the same way about you. He is not done with you, He has more for you and He is committed to seeing it happen. My hope and prayer is that we will do whatever it takes to allow His work to happen in us.

GOD IS PATIENT

When I look back over my own life, I’m amazed at God’s patience. God has always known what’s underneath, the real stuff we are made of and yet, He never gives up on us. He loves to see us grow, and every now and then He uses methods we may not like to get us to realign our hearts with His and be able to grow and produce more.

Take Jonah for instance. Jonah sat outside Nineveh, the sun climbed high in the sky. As the temperature rose, Jonah wondered how long he would have to wait in the heat before God judged the Ninevites. God looked down on him, took pity, and “appointed a plant” (Jonah 4:6). The vine grew over Jonah and gave him much needed shade. Jonah was “exceedingly” happy with this expression of God’s grace. Jonah was not so happy when God decided to show grace upon the Ninevites. God appointed a worm to chew through the vine, and also sent a scorching east wind increasing Jonah’s discomfort (Jonah 4:7-8).

God loves all people and is committed to winning and transforming them.

In his grace, God appoints circumstances for us. Sometimes he gives you a plant (you make application) to protect you and show you that he is taking care of you. Sometimes God removes the shade and sends a scorching east wind to blow down on us. (you make application) The same loving God who desires to do Life With Us and yet works in totally different ways. God’s Goal: Transform us and make us more like His Son, Jesus.

Discomfort from the east wind

Have you encountered any scorching east winds recently? As I write this, we have fires burning to the south of us and the predictions of hot winds coming in the night and tomorrow will only make things worse for those living in the area and of course for those on the fire lines.

When the discomfort comes, you long for protection, for shade and you wonder since it was there before, where is it now? Life’s uncomfortable. Sometimes the east wind seems to come from nowhere. We face difficulty and opposition, and we cry out for God to give us shelter and strength. But God replies, “No. In my love, I’ve appointed this season for you – it will be a growing season. What I know about these seasons is, you can learn from them or repeat them. But you will go through them.  Like the East Wind, they will come.  What we know is that Jonah hated the wind and complained against it.

EAST WINDS SHAPE YOUR CHARACTER

The Apostle Paul’s attitude to his “east wind” was totally different. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited (2 Corinthians 12:7). God removed his protecting hand and allowed Satan to harass Paul to keep him from becoming proud because of the great revelations he had been given.

Three times Paul pleaded with the Lord about this…..”Come on God remove it, but God replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul caught the lesson quickly and went on to say: I will gladly accept this and boast in God and kick up my worship of Him. Paul would do anything so that God’s power could rest on him. (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul allowed the east wind to shape his character and bring glory to God.

• Since God appoints circumstances to change your character, don’t fight everything that comes your way.
• Don’t be closed minded or stiff-hearted.

Remember Philippians 1:6; God has begun a good work and He will continue it…..He is at work in you!

• Pray and ask God to work and learn the lessons that He intended.
• God has a bigger plan in mind and it is to use you for His purposes.

Let’s keep growing as we do Life With God,

Pastor Bernie

Fighting the Tendency to Blame

We all have to fight the tendency (no matter how small) of blaming others. You may have every right to point to others or to circumstances for the plight in which you find yourself, your family, your career, company and more. And you may be mostly right. But if your desire is to grow and develop your life, then you are shooting yourself in the foot. Someone has said; “When you blame others, you forfeit the opportunity for personal growth.” Just think about the lack of personal progress, relational equity that is lost as we blame others. “Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly.” – Lawrence Lovasik. He did it! She did it! It was them! It was their fault! Maybe you’ve heard statements like these before, or perhaps you’ve even said them yourself. It is an easy thing to do. It’s easy to point the finger at others and let them take the fall for something. Or worse yet to lobby others to have them side with you in regards to casting blame on someone. But as easy as it is for people to blame others for something, I wish it were that easy for us to take responsibility for our shortcomings, failures and mistakes as well. Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great, refers to what he calls, “The Window and the Mirror.” He encourages leaders to look out the window and give credit to others for success and to look in the mirror to apportion responsibility when things don’t go as planned. We have all heard leaders blame their followers when things go wrong and take the credit for the win of the team. The lesson for us all is that we can look harder out that window and encourage others while making sure we take time to clean off and use our mirrors.

There were no literal or proverbial mirrors in the Garden of Eden but there we get a glimpse into the first blame game ever recorded. God confronts Adam and Eve. The story unfolds in Genesis 3:11-13, “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Adam blames God for the fact He gave him the woman and Eve then blames the serpent and neither one takes responsibility. Since there was no one else around, there was no one else to blame or most certainly they would have. Pointing fingers at others and blaming them for things is easy to do, but be just as quick to take responsibility for things you need to. I think blaming others for things will never stop, but one thing we can do is to make choices that move in wisdom and responsibility rather than blame and irrationality. It is not God’s intention for us to blame others and when we do it really diminishes our need to ask for forgiveness and to repent. If all the wrong we do and the sins we commit are someone else’s fault then we refrain from going to God and asking Him for forgiveness. We also will refrain from asking others to forgive us our debts – our failures and our moments of difficulties.

Let’s not go around pointing fingers. Let’s do it together. It’s time to put your fingers back in their holster.

Let’s look out the window and clean up our mirrors,

Pastor Bernie

Thinking and Praying

God is doing amazing things at LFC. This week we had our Discover Faith class, youth night, Life Groups, Illuminate, today we honored our Lompoc Police Department by providing them a lunch that we cooked and served as they held their annual awards luncheon in our connections building. Last Sunday many people returned from Easter and the list goes on and on. LFC people still amaze me as we commit to growing deep and strong in our faith, in the word and in serving others – living heart-first. Thank You!

Allow me to share some random thoughts with you this week:

Several years ago our church utilized Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life as the basis of a series of messages and small groups here. There were churches all across America that did the very same thing. If you participated then you no doubt remember the following points. If not, they are straightforward and helpful.

Warren clearly explains God’s five purposes for each of us:

• We were planned for God’s pleasure
  • so your first purpose is to offer real worship.
• We were formed for God’s family
  • so your second purpose is to enjoy real fellowship.
• We were created to become like Christ,
  • so your third purpose is to learn real discipleship.
• We were shaped for serving God
  • so your fourth purpose is to practice real ministry.
• We were made for a mission
  • so your fifth purpose is to live out real evangelism.

I encourage you to take a look at these and use them as a simple assessment tool as to how you are living.

As you do, take a read at my random thoughts below:

Existence: Why do we exist? It is a question we should ask often as it will keep our lives in focus. There is so much distraction these days and things that are pressed to pull us away from our calling and our purpose. If we respond to that question appropriately it can help us accomplish what we believe our God-given assignment is. Do you know what on Earth you are here for? How do you define yourself? That is a very thought provoking question. I have a friend who was a high ranking officer in the military. His position, assignment and uniform defined him and now in retirement he wonders who is supposed to be and what his existence is all about. We can confuse doing with being and as you know there is a huge difference between the two. How do others you trust define you? Noah is defined very clearly in the Bible; “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (NASB) We need to spend time clarifying our existence and answering these questions.
Be Your Best: There is a great quote by Soren Kierkegaard who said: “Now, with God’s help, I shall become myself.” God has the capacity to assist you at becoming the best version of yourself.  While we may be pressured to act like, look like; be like others, we should celebrate who God created us to be. We have enough copies and mimics in our world. You are one in a million – enjoy that.
Being your best, and being a blessing to others, means paying attention to what is going on inside. God is not only concerned about what we get done; He is also concerned about us not being ‘un-done’ while we are doing it. Watch the gas gauge – you can’t run on empty – stop – and fill your tank daily! I am working on this one too. There are lots of demands and needs, but we must be aware of our warning systems that allow us to know when it is time to refuel. Encourage Someone: Recently I witnessed first-hand what encouragement can do in a person’s life. It truly transformed them. There is someone that undoubtedly needs your encouragement today. Say it. Write it. Don’t just think it. I took the time to communicate a couple of encouraging things to friends recently. I know it is easy for us to become too focused on our needs and challenges and on our needs to be encouraged, but someone needs encouragement from you. We are all broken people (at some dimension) and God places us in relationships with others. Together we make a pretty incredible mosaic. It’s beautiful! And it is most beautiful when we encourage, support, serve and add value to others. I need encouragement! You need encouragement! 2 Corinthians 9:6 – you reap what you sow. Who are you going to encourage? What are you going to say? When are you going to do it? It is one of the ways you can be at your best.
May God’s great grace be a reality to you and through you today as you live out your purpose and encourage others. Give ‘em Heaven.

Pastor Bernie

Applause Necessary

“The truest test of a servant is how we respond when we are treated as one.” — Wayne Cordeiro

Growing up in Burbank, California had its advantages. Great schools, wonderful parks programs and studios. I grew up around actors like Ron Howard and Manuel Padilla Jr. and more. I also had the privilege of attending lots of shows, from Jerry Lewis, to Johnny Carson, I was even on Laugh-In, twice. During these times I remember the big applause sign. It would light up when it was time for the audience to applaud an incoming guest, a great statement or some musical performance. They  programmed the audience so that they would not miss their cue to applaud. Well, I am putting up the applause sign. If you were with us for Easter weekend, you could not help but applaud. From the incredible hospitality team with their more than continental breakfast (and I truly mean more than…) and the greeters, guest services team, ushers, choir, drama team, musicians, young Jaycee Jacobson singing (she was great) our technical people, sound and video, lights, our incredible children’s ministries team and more. So, we applaud them and rightfully so since they were serving so well and from the heart. We also need to applaud all of you that invested in and invited your friends. I met so many new people at LFC and it was because of your invitations that they came. Sure we advertised and created over 4,000 invitations, but so many of you utilized them and made personal invitations. We had our highest attendance in church history and saw 49 people say YES to Jesus for the first time with 38 of them picking up YES packets. The responses to Easter are still coming in and everywhere I go someone is bragging to me about our Easter weekend – so I am applauding. Frankly, I need no sign to remind me. I saw the hearts of our church, living heart-first, (applause) connecting all we did back to souls. So many first-time servants stepped out to serve and impact others – (applause) and people coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus and believing (huge and long applause) in Him and willing to do life with Him (huge applause). Some may describe our Easter as awesome; of course that is an older word or the over-used word, epic! And of course, more applause needed. Our lives are to serve God with all we are and all we have and not just on Easter, but every time we have opportunity. . Not because we are trying to earn points with God but because He is worthy of our serving. We serve out of love to Him and appreciation for all He has done for us and when we do, it impacts others deeply. I am so honored to serve the Lord with so many wonderful people at LFC, who are willing to risk, attempt new things, reach out to our community and treat our military like family, because they are.

As I keep applauded our servants, I hope you will join me. I also hope you will keep looking at ways to serve the Lord by serving others. Serving is a gift. Our culture has redefined it as a lowly, unwanted role. We applaud the stars, the celebrities and the rich and famous. But our applause should be for the servants. Those who have decided to give and bless. The world says if you are a servant then you are the bottom of society’s totem pole. It is a place you start and hope to never stay. But Jesus showed us that serving is everything and we should devote our lives to it. God sees serving as the greatest role of all.

What is the definition of serving then? It is simply this: to give life. Jesus said, I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) Jesus poured His whole life into serving because it was going to yield life for so many others. Serving is not just performing tasks, but being like Jesus and impacting others (see Matthew 5:16). The driving motivation of our serving is not for our own glorification, for us to achieve fame and fortune, but to point people to God.

And now the big applause (applause forever). To our God who loves us, to our Savior who gave His life for us and the Holy Spirit, our Guide who is with us. Without them, there would have been no Easter and no reason to do all that we did. Thanks Lord and thanks LFC for having a God-like heart.

Let’s keep applauding God, each other and serving from the heart!

Applauding you,

Pastor Bernie