Planted - Encouragment for the week

Encouragement for the week - Paster Nate Holdridge of Calvary Chapel of Monterey

Planted

I've always loved the simple melodies of Psalm 1. Namely, the description of the blessed man:
"His delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law He meditates day and night." - Psalm 1:2
This simple word stood out to me again this morning. A delight for the Word of God. A delight that leads to concentration, thought, and meditation upon the Word of God. A delight that makes the Word of God your passion and interest.

Think about that truth. Is the Word of God your delight? Do you look forward to reading it, hearing it, and applying it? Is His Word a beautiful sight to your eyes and sound to your ears?
In asking those questions I know our hearts ebb and flow. Reuben, one of the Old Testament sons of Jacob, was "unstable as water" and we might often feel the same. When checking our hearts for a great delight in the law of the Lord we might find something more similar to attitudes of lethargy, ambivalence, obligation, or worse.

It is in those moments I am reminded of the cross of Calvary. I remember that my delight in God's Word is rooted in His amazing love and grace for me, a wretched sinner. Because He loved me on that cross my entire life has changed. I have been forgiven. I have been made clean. I have found new and abundant life. In short, nothing but good has come to my life from that act on the cross.

When I remember this amazing grace from this amazing God I become prone to delight in His Word. You see, if I recognize the limitlessness of His grace towards me, the power of His marvelous hand, and the endlessness of His wonder, I become driven to His Word. I then long to discover Him. I then long to hear His sweet whispers. I then long to hear His promises to a silly man like me.

Remember Jesus today. Remember His cross. Find yourself delighting in His Word.

This is our purpose...a beautiful encouragement for me today

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,

'Purpose Driven Life' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72:

- First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

- Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

- Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

- Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

God's Blessings on you today.

Posted By Jason

GOOD EATING

GOOD EATING Hebrews 5:13-14

Hebrews 5:13-14

"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

God likes food. I'm convinced that one of His greatest gifts to us is the ability to enjoy nourishment, physically and spiritually. Food and drink metaphors run throughout the Bible, from the moment Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Fruit of the Spirit...the land of milk and honey...Jesus as the Bread of life...living water... new wine...the milk and strong meat of the Word, to name just a few.

In the verse above, the writer distinguishes between "milk" and "meat," or solid food. Milk is predigested food and is especially for babies. You could have been teachers by now! the writer says. But you aren't ready. You're still living on milk and need someone to teach you the basics!

The milk of the Word is defined here as "elementary truths of God's Word." Milk teaches us the life of Jesus and what He did for us – His birth, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. The basic facts of our faith; we never outgrow our need for "milk."

But if you want to mature into someone who is discerning, insightful, who understands good and evil, and can experience the fullness of God's blessings, you need to move onto a daily diet of solid spiritual food! You need to grasp the deeper, living, levels of understanding that God Word delivers, and then learn to incorporate those truths into daily life.

Milk is hearing about the life of Jesus. Meat is LIVING the life of Jesus, letting Him build strength and character into your being. The meat is what Jesus is doing NOW in His church upon the earth. Developing discernment is vital. As we grow in the Word, we learn how to use it in our daily lives. We learn to apply it to every situation and experience, and we learn to make wise choices and judgments with compassion, understanding, and godly wisdom. An immature believer listens to any new wind of doctrine or spiritual fad that comes along. Just as our physical bodies guide and protect us, so also we need to develop spiritual "senses" that guide and protect us well. Our spiritual "muscle" can only be developed by exercising God's Word in our lives.I pray that you will make the study of God's Word your steady diet this year. Go beyond the basics, and dig in. Take in God's Word, digest it, let it nourish your soul and spirit, and enjoy it for the rich, abundant, and altogether satisfying feast that it is!"

Let your soul delight itself in fatness." —Isaiah 55:2

Do you guys remember us talking about being fat?

Heavenly Father,

As we enter into this New Year I pray for my Brothers in BITE. Lord, I pray that we continue to drink our milk, and that we continue to grow in our individual relationships with you Lord God. May we hunger for your Word and develop our spiritual muscles in a way we never have before. Let us take many BITES of meat this year, and be doers, not just readers of your Word. Help us to grow in strength and character.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen.

Two of my resolutions for the New Year are to increase both my prayer time and Bible reading daily.

My alarm was set for 5:00 AM the last two mornings. Trapper hasn't woke me up early since that one morning last July. Yesterday, and again this morning, he woke me up at 4:30. A coincidence? No, not with God.

Happy New Year Brothers, lets have a great 2009!

Jeff

A Spiritual Encouragment of the day by Pastor Nate of Calvary Church of Monterey Bay

A Year To Remember - 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

The Lord's Supper

Yesterday morning I had a chance to teach 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 at Calvary Monterey. In this exciting text Paul gives a word of correction to the Corinthian church regarding their taking of the Lord's Supper, commonly referred to by the modern church as "communion."

Apparently, the Corinthians had adopted the practice of a large corporate meal with the entire church, a good practice, but it had become corrupted on multiple levels. For one, they had become very divisive and factious as a church. Those divisions had led to a social segregation of the classes, the rich and poor separate from one another, especially in their large meal together. Basically, those who needed the meal (the poor) were slighted by those who felt entitled to eat first and most (the rich). It was an unfortunate situation in Corinth, but it became even more unfortunate when they began to believe they were practicing the Lord's Supper during that strange corporate meal. Paul stood to correct it.

Our Equality In Christ

Paul was horrified at the divisions in the Corinthian church. He was disappointed that those who had nothing were shamed by those who had much. He longed to see the poor within the church treated with dignity, honor, and respect. He knew that one message of true communion was equality, that we are all one in Christ Jesus.

As I mentioned yesterday, I believe the church has a great opportunity to bless the less fortunate during difficult economic times. Those who are well off have an opportunity to practice generosity, one of the more noble and beautiful character traits I can think of. Paul wasn't necessarily speaking of the official church, but the individual believers within the Corinthian body who had the power to help those they worshipped with. If we will pray for opportunities, prepare for opportunities, and look for opportunities to help those in need, I believe God will grant us the opportunities we've looked for.

The Real Communion

Paul then took the Corinthians back to the original intention of the Lord's Supper (communion). Like a SWAT team breaking down the door to take a fugitive captive, so Paul busted down the door to the Corinthian church and took back the Lord's Supper. He wanted them to see it for what it truly is.

In a word - remembrance. The Lord's Supper is an opportunity for us to see Jesus more clearly. Communion offers us a chance to put on the glasses of the bread and cup so that we can see Jesus Christ in His glory. Paul tells us we get to remember three main things through communion.

- Jesus' past work.

- Our current standing.

- Jesus' future coming.

When partaking in communion, recognize it as a holy moment, an opportunity for you to remember Jesus, an opportunity to see Him afresh. We ought to take the moment seriously, asking God to refresh us in His love as we remember the cross and the new covenant.

A Stern Warning

Paul closed out his exhortation with a frank warning. He exhorted the Corinthians to take the Lord's Supper correctly, not in an unworthy manner. Their raucous "love feasts" were in now way a fulfillment of the Lord's Supper, especially with all the factions among them. All of that needed to stop. They needed to come to that table sober-minded, thankful, and humble over what Jesus Christ had done for them.

What an opportunity we still have as we partake of the Lord's Supper together. It was so sweet to share in it together this past Sunday, even if I did forget my customary communion tie! To remember Jesus in that way is incredibly special, especially when it's with a church family you love and care for.

My hope is for 2009 to be a year to remember. Oh, I hope it's a great year and all, and I expect God will move mightily this year, but what I mean is that I hope 2009 is a year we remember Jesus more. I hope and pray that the cross of Mt. Calvary is fresh in our minds every day this year. The price Jesus paid for you and me...such love. Let's get the point. Let's remember Him!