the quest: a spiritual community in urban columbus: August 2007

The Art of Loving

08.29.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

In the wrestling that goes on in our spiritual lives, if you are like me, you can feel very defeated. Just when we do a couple of things right, we take steps backward. And round and round it goes...seemingly not making much of a move forward.

How are you going to live is the question? Are you going to live by how you feel? Or by what is REAL? And how do we wade through our feelings and failures to get to what is real? And is reality anything comforting? Am I making progress?

Those are some of the questions that ring through my brain. I need to be brought back to what is TRUE. Here's a little list of truths that I often need to review...about me... and about you if you are a follower of Jesus:

I am the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13).
I am the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
I am a child of God (John 1:12).
I am a part of the True Vine, a channel of Christ’s life (John 15:1,5).
I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15).
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear fruit (John 15:16).
I am a slave of righteousness (Rom. 6:18).
I am enslaved to God (Rom. 6:22).
I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father (Rom. 8:14,15; Gal. 3:26, 4:6).
I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Rom 8:17).
I am a temple -- a dwelling place -- of God. His Spirit and
His life dwells in me (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17).
I am a member of Christ’s Body (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:30).
I am a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18, 19).
I am a son of God and one in Christ (Gal. 3:26, 28).
I am an heir of God since I am a son of God (Gal. 4:6,7).
I am a saint (Eph. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; Col. 1:2).
I am God’s workmanship -- His handiwork -- born anew in Christ
to do his work (Eph 2:10).
I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s family (Eph. 2:19).
I am a prisoner of Christ (Eph 3:1; 4:1).
I am righteous and holy (Eph. 4:24).
I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now (Phil. 3:20; Eph. 2:6).
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life (Col. 3:4).
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4).
I am a son of light and not of darkness (1 Thess. 5:5).
I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1).
I am a partaker of Christ; I share His life (Heb. 3:14).
I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ
as a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5).
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for God’s own possession (1 Pet. 2:9,10).
I am an alien and a stranger to this world in which I temporarily live (1 Pet. 2:11).
I am an enemy of the devil (1 Pet. 5:8).
I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns (1 John 3:1,2).
I am born of God and the evil one -- the devil -- cannot touch me (1 John 5:18).

I am not the great “I am” (Exod. 3:14; John 8:24,28,58),
but by the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10)

I needed a "reality check" today. Maybe you did too.

Press on,
Mike

PS. You can also download this list to print and read from HERE

08.22.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

Last night in our House Church we were challenged by the model of the primitive church's "devotion to the apostle's teaching" or the Scriptures. We looked at a host of verses looking fresh at what the Scriptures say about the Word of God. It was a great exercise that pushed us all further.

One passage described this devotion, or this quest, for knowing God and His Word very keenly for me. I wanted to pass it on to you today:

My child, listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.
Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the LORD grants wisdom!
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
All those action words! Listen, tune, concentrate, ask, seek, search! Our relationship with God begs us to move and to pursue Him. We can't just lay on the couch and flip channels to know God and His treasures.

Sweat equity is required! But it's not for naught. It gains you the knowledge of God! How amazing!

The challenge is on the table. The God of the Universe has invited you to search Him and His vast wisdom out. It won't come easy, but it will be engaging and transforming! Jump in!

Press on,
Mike

PS. Here's the verses...check out what it means to be devoted to the Word/Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Joshua 1:8
Psalm 1:1-6; 119:9-11, 105
Proverbs 2:1-6; 3:1-4; 4:20-22
Jeremiah 23:28-29
Matthew 4:4; 5:17-20
John 5:39
Revelation 1:3

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08.14.07 thequest UPdate

thequest family,

Ever come across something that percolates in your mind and spirit. I came across this article by our friend Ed Waken (who will be with us in October) and thought it was so appropriate to share with you today:

How Much Have You Been Forgiven?

"For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." Luke 7:47

Luke 747 (7:47) is a Jumbo Jet Verse. This prostitute knew she had done a whole lot against God's way of living. She knew she could never stand before God because of how she sold herself to men. She also probably felt horrible that she thought so little of herself and that men treated her so poorly. Read Luke 7:36-39 to get a small feel of how the religious leaders felt/thought about her. This woman needed Jesus' forgiveness and His gentle and kind touch on her heart. She certainly had sinned much.

On the other hand, the Pharisee who invited Jesus to a meal at his home thought that his life was pretty much together. I assume he knew that from time to time he made some mistakes but, he made his sin offerings to the Lord so he and God were pretty close. He was the example setter for the Jewish community, his act has better have been together.

This scenario is what brought Jesus to as Simon the Pharisee a question. Jesus said, "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?" Simon thought it over and confidently stated, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." Jesus told him that he was correct.

Jesus turned to the woman who has spilling her tears and expensive perfume on his feet and drying his feet with her hair and told Simon that this woman realizes how badly she has sinned and therefore she is repentant. She has sinned much and knows she has been forgiven much and therefore, loves much - just look at how she is loving me.

You Simon, you think you have sinned little and have dealt with it. Therefore you think that you don't have too much to be forgiven for and therefore, you love little - you would rather challenge me than worship me.

So, how much have you been forgive? Maybe a better question is how much do you realize you have been forgiven? The answer lies in how you live your life. Do you live with gratefulness and by loving others well? Or do you live by thinking you just might know better than some and try to disengage for those a little more ugly than you'd like to hang out with?

Let me suggest that you spend some time today at the feet of Jesus in silence and ponder just how much He has forgiven you. If you need some help, read Isaiah 6 and Romans 3 but end with Romans 5:8 and 8:1.

Blessings on your journey,
Ed
http://edwaken.blogspot.com/

Thanks bro. Thank you JESUS!

Press on,
Mike

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Assembly & Send Off for Dan

Tonight we had an Assembly where we worshipped God together and unpacked a bit about one of the biggest things in all of the Scriptures: Jesus in His followers which is the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27).

At the end we had a time of encouraging and sending for Dan...who interned with us this summer. It was his last time with us, and so it was a joyful time--encouraging to him and to us as we are delighted that God put us on our quest together. We are praying for his time with family before heading back to school at Moody this fall.

Closing out the Week of Summer Bible Club

We saw the storms brewing and almost called things off tonight, but instead we moved things inside. Then God cleared things up for us to get back outside!

The topic was Lead Others to God’s Promises as we looked at the life of Joshua who had courage to lead others.

Here's a review of all the Memory verses for our week:

Monday: “Blessed is the person who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.” Jeremiah 17:7

Tuesday: “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.” Proverbs 19:20

Wednesday: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Check out the pictures and fun below...

A little run with the crew!!! (click on it to see it bigger)

girls just wanna have fun!

water balloons --a sure fire fun time!!!

trying to catch water balloons from a launcher

Closing out the week in a prayer circle together.

Every kid got bonus surprises--ice cream & a backpack full of school goodies!!!

Wednesday Night at Bible Club

Wednesday's topic was Train for God’s Service.
We studied Daniel who had courage to make wise choices.

Memory Verse: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Lot's of fun again...