Hello, my name is Mike Lehew and I am a Bookaholic.  I love books.  I love reading.  Not a big fan of audio books or reading electronically--I have to have the book in my hand and I am an avid highlighter.  I guess you would say this is my hobby.  A good book that I can get lost in or learn from .

With all of this, reading books is great!  It gives great insight and I have learned from people a few steps ahead of me, but this can't replace my walk with Jesus.  None of these authors can save me.  They can help me, but they can't save me.

What's your plan to get into His Word this year?

Here is my 2022 Book-A-Holic Year in Review:

1.  Live Dead Joy by Dick Brogden
This will have been my fourth or fifth year to have gone through this devotion.  It's written by a missionary in the Middle East and it has been a great challenge and encouragement to me.  You will either be encouraged or get your toes stepped on.  It challenges you to read the Bible daily and through the Bible in one year.

2.  Replenish by Lance Witt
One of my favorites as it scratches where I itch and one of my greatest struggles: to simply be still and lead from a healthy soul.  I read this in just a few days as it speaks to where I am.  Replenish helps leaders focus on the back stage, the interior life, in order to remain spiritually healthy. It helps leaders prioritize matters of the soul, develop healthy spiritual practices, 
address problems that lead to burnout, create a healthy rhythm in their lives, improve their people skills and the spiritual climate of their team, develop better systems in their churches and discover how to lead an unhurried life. 

3.  Replicate by Robby Gallaty
A book I return to regularly to remind me of the simple way of discipling someone.  It simply shows how to make disciples through the Word. It is a simple read that is easily applicable.

4.  Better Together by Jim Tomberlin
If you are not aware, through God's grace and help, Red Fork Baptist Church joined us in August of this year.   It is an amazing story of two churches on the opposite extremes coming together.   This has been a helpful resource to help guide us through this process.

5.  Adoniram Judson by Vance Christie
My grandson, Judson, was born in April and was named after this missionary to Burma.  Adoniram served for 38 years and went through hell on earth to share the Good News.  The cool thing is there are a few Burmese churches that we partner with here in the Tulsa metro area and if it wasn't for Adoniram being the first to share the Gospel, would they be here?

6.  In His Steps by Charles Sheldon
I read this every so often to remind myself to ask the simple question, "What Would Jesus Do?"  It's more than a slogan.   It's a fictional account, but what would it look like to follow Jesus so closely that our communities are changed?

7.  Calling out the Called by Scott Pace and Shane Pruitt
We are experiencing a shortage of people being called to the ministry.  How do we call out the called?  What a great challenge.  This next year, our theme is Isaiah 6:8 and our desire is to see 3,000 missionaries called out by 2030 to advance the Gospel as pastors, youth pastors, children pastors, missionaries, etc.

8.  LIFE: It's not supposed To be Like This by Emmitt McKenzie
Sarah and I met Emmitt at our first church planting assessment in 2017.  Talk about an evangelist--Emmitt is an evangelist and he has a story of tell.  You want to read it!  How Jesus changed his life from the streets in OKC to now sharing the Gospel wherever he goes is amazing.

9.  Gospel Eldership by Robert Thune
We have been going through this book with our elders in training and it is one of the best books I have ever read on eldership.  It is a needed reflection and direct questions that helps one to see if they are ready for such a responsibility.

10. Spirit Walk by Steve Smith
Though we know the Bible says to walk in the Spirit, the majority of Christians are illiterate (and even nervous) about how to practically live in His power. The result is lives marred by continued brokenness and ministries plagued by fruitlessness. In contrast, believers from Acts understood the ancient path of the Spirit Walk. That extraordinary power was not just for them, but also for us. This has been one of my favorites as I want to walk by His Spirit!  (Note: this does not have a charismatic bent and the title may turn people away but it's biblical!)

11.  Who Stole My Church by Gordon MacDonald
I picked this up randomly from our network office that was giving these away for free.  It is a fictional account of a church and it's older members thinking that their church had been stolen as a younger generation started to lead.  This is an excellent resource for churches like the one I am helping to lead to go through.  It would be good for the older generation to read to get perspective.  It would be good for the younger generation to read to understand how it seems they feel that their church has been stolen.

12.  The Gathered and Scattered Church by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
I read this about 8 years ago well before we planted our church but if someone were to ask, "What is Church Inside Out all about?", this would be the book I would say is close to what we are trying to accomplish.  It gives a good balance of gathering as a church, but also living on mission.

13.  Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger
I started this book while we were in Colorado.  Tod offers a combination of insights and  tools to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world. How does one lead with confidence and courage in a church world that for the most part does not exist?  Lewis and Clark being used as the backdrop, it's an interesting read to manage uncharted waters.

14.  Inalienable by Eric Constanzo and Daniel Yang
I love the fact that the author is a friend and pastors a church here in Tulsa and is on the frontlines of advancing the Gospel with refugees. 
In order to return to health, we must decenter ourselves from our American idols and recenter on the undeniable, inalienable core reality of the global, transcultural kingdom of God. Our guides in this process are global Christians and the poor, who offer hope from the margins, and the ancient church, which survived through the ages amid temptations of power and corruption. Their witness points us to refocus on the kingdom of God, the image of God, the Word of God, and the mission of God.

15.  TurnAround by Jason Allen
Jason serves as president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College.  My daughter, Hannah, and her husband, Kendall, graduated from there and two more of my kids, Grace and Elijah, also attend there now.  I love reading the turn around story of Midwestern.  It used to be the seminary that didn't have the best reputation, but now is making a huge difference!

16.  On Guard by Deepak Reju
With the scandals that have hit our churches, we must protect our kids.  Deepak Reju examines why child predators target churches and offers eleven straightforward strategies to protect children from abuse and to help young victims recover if it does happen. On Guard recognizes that the church's response to abuse must be more comprehensive in line with her calling than a simple legal policy or clinical analysis. On Guard moves church staff and leaders beyond fearful awareness to prayerful preparedness with an actionable plan.

17.  ReThink by Brad Brisco
This is one of those books that I read over and over again to remind me to stay out of the box and rethink the why.  This is a great read to help churches get unstuck.  I thoroughly enjoyed going through this as I went through it with a group of pastors.  This was one of the highlights of my semester.  We even had Brad come and share with our group.

It is an e-book that you can download for FREE and it won't take long to read, but it will take a while to digest.

For those that are book-a-holics like me, what books would you recommend?

Happy Reading!

Mike

 Saturday, December 24....A Holy Night

It was four months ago that Red Fork Baptist Church voted to come under our leadership.  In that short amount of time, it is amazing what the Lord has done.

We have seen the baptism waters stirred.
We are raising up elders.
Kids are seen and heard.
Students are being raised up!
We are preparing for this space to be lighthouse to the community.

It is a hard work.  It is a worthwhile work.  Tonight, is just a reminder that God is in control.

May we continue to be in awe of what He has done!

​Church attendance will stunt your spiritual growth.

You were never meant to just attend church. You were meant to be the body of Christ.

If the only thing I do is attend, my spiritual growth will be stunted. It’s when we
-engage with the Word
-obey the Word
-serve Jesus by serving others, -take the time to abide in Christ through spiritual disciplines that we will grow in our faith.

You have heard me say that you are an instrument. Each instrument plays an important role in a symphony. Played alone or sitting in its case, the instrument doesn’t sound good and the music suffers.

You are meant to be a part of the church, the instrument, to create an amazing piece of music (through the church) that glorifies Jesus. When every “instrument” is not played in church, it sounds a lot like my ninth grade marching band: terrible.

The Church Growth Movement idolized numbers and attendance. What we win them with is what we keep them with. We are seeing the fruit of this as we can’t keep doing what we won them with because of Covid.

​Jesus didn’t say, “Go make church attenders of all nations teaching them to come and sit and listen to a sermon and a good worship set.”

He said, ““Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Even Jesus last words in the book of ACTS(notice it is not the book of SIT) is purpose declaring, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in (your neighborhood, your job, your family, your city, your state and the nations) Acts 1:8

Holy Spirit resides—>you will be my witnesses—>the overflow of this is making disciples
(This is not something we can do in our own strength-it’s through His)

There is this power that resides in us, but it sits dormant because we have been enabled to sit, listen and never go beyond the threshold of the church door to proclaim the majesty of Jesus.

(Now, this is no fault of the preacher , unless there is no emphasis on the going, but it is up to each believer to act upon what we hear)
‭‭
Your identity has been restored to pre-fall conditions when you come to know Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 5, we are given identity and purpose: we are a new creation and we are created for a purpose as an ambassador of Christ.
(Note: Many of us are better ambassadors for our political candidate than we are for Jesus.)

This power, who is the Holy Spirit, will rise up and give you the ability to proclaim.
We either proclaim Him, silence Him out of fear or silence Him out of unbelief.

Attending church has silenced the church.

• It’s time to Unmuzzle the church to be the church
• It’s time to recognize our identity and purpose to be the church.
• It’s time to move beyond the seat to the frontlines in advancing the kingdom.
• It’s time to abide in Christ so the power of Christ can work through us.
• It’s time to be serious about being a disciple and making disciples.

Don’t just attend church, BE the church! If you are sitting dormant-go to your pastor and ask how you can help BE the church-don’t wait for him to come to you!

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:8-10‬
​
Let’s go!

​Today was a MONUMENTAL day for Red Fork/Church Inside Out/ Mobile Missions Network!

A year ago this month, we asked you to pray for a space for CIO/MMN.

Over the course of this year, we have been meeting with the great leadership from Red Fork Baptist Church to see if it might be possible for our two churches to come together and advance the Gospel in the Red Fork area.

After many meetings, praying and conversations, Red Fork Baptist Church voted to come under the leadership of Mobile Missions Network/ Church Inside Out!

AMAZING! Words cannot express our gratefulness to God-only by his Grace!!!

An on-ramp was provided to see if it might be a good fit starting back in March. Since March over 300 missionaries have come through the doors to sleep and then advance the Gospel in the Tulsa metro area. Over 100 people have surrendered their hearts to Christ!

This on-ramp and us meeting on Wednesday nights have us an opportunity to see if it’s a good fit for both churches.
And it turns out it was. We are blessed to be able to love the people of Red Fork! Our hearts were knit with the transition team from Red Fork!

The name of the campus will be Mobile Missions Network and the church will be Church Inside Out at Red Fork.
I know it has been a difficult decision for Red Fork as they just celebrated 102 years, but the one thing we have in common is seeing the Gospel advance and with that I am thrilled.

Thank you CIO for your encouragement and faithfulness. Thank you to our mission teams and friends of MMN that have prayed for us! Thank you Red Fork for stepping out in faith!

Thank you Paul Taylor for your leadership!

Pray for us: one church determined to become a family of missionary servants sent to our neighbors, communities and city to make disciples who make disciples!
​
All Glory Be To Christ!
Let’s Go!

​Because we live a missionary lifestyle as a church, there are moments we literally have to simply pause all of life to get back to center.

Even as missionaries, we can fall off the wagon and forget why we do what we do.

So, we have, as a church, intentionally created moments of pause to where we have the freedom to simply reset, worship and resume.

We call it Family Worship Sunday.

Today is a day for our house church and family to reset.  In ministry, we can be so consumed with meeting the needs of others, that we forget our first calling.

People ask me all the time, “so what do you do for Family Worship Sunday?”

We rest, we worship together, we read the word together, we pray and we eat, enjoy one another and rest more.

We do house church but just with our family.  We get to tend to the specific needs of just our family.

We get to examine where we are spiritually as a family.  We get to pray for one another.

But shouldn’t you do that on another night?  We could and we do.

But when you live a missionary lifestyle, worship and missions is everyday, not just Sunday, so the important thing is that there is a rest and a Sabbath.

“Aren’t you afraid that people won’t come back if you miss a sunday of gathering?”  Our model of success is not attendance on Sunday mornings.  Our model of success is how many are abiding and how many are advancing the Gospel by living as an everyday missionary.

We don’t commit to attending. We commit to one another.  Because I commit to people and not attendance, I will be back because I love the people God has called me too.

I need today a Sabbath.  My family needs it and am grateful to be able today to simply pause, breathe, and resume.

  This year again, I admit, am a book-a-holic.  I love to read.  I love to turn the page in anticipation of what is next.

So, this year, again, I share some of the books I have read that have challenged me.  I have read books that have helped chart the course for next steps.  I have read books that I disagree with, but above all, they have all challenged me.

These are in no particular order other than the first one that really helped me consider next steps in my own discipleship and others.....so, let's go.

1.  Replicate by Robby Gallaty
​Helped us to establish a process of establish a culture of disciple-making.  It was very practical in helping me know the How-to's of disciplemaking.  This is a great book that gave very practical advice to help me move our church towards making disciples who make disciples.

2.  Missionary God, Missionary Bible by Dick Brogden
This is my first year to go through this 365 day devotional.  This is a one-year devotional based on a chronological reading of the Bible. Each day author Dick Brogden builds the case and the message is reinforced: He who is holy delights to be our God. We are to be His holy people that He might dwell among us. His glorious presence will wholly bless us in order that all nations, every distinct people group, might be likewise blessed. This grand plan, centered on and culminating in Jesus as Savior, Lord, and eternal King over all nations, is what our faith, our Father, and our future is all about.

3.  Be Mean About the Vision by Shawn Lovejoy
My friend, Rusty Gunn, recommended this book years before we ever started Church Inside Out.  An incredible reminder to stay true to what God has said.  There have been those who will and have tried to hijack our vision and they will try to hijack your vision of what God wants, but we must stand firm and be "mean" about it.

One thing is certain—if our church or organization is going to accomplish its mission, we’re going to need to be: Determined. Resolute. Intentional. We’re going to need to be willing to do whatever it takes to keep the vision from being detoured or derailed. Where there is no vision, people perish. They wander off in random directions. On the flip side, when everyone understands and embraces the vision, there is life, passion, growth, and success! And God will be glorified.....thus, Be Mean About the Vision.

4.  Church Forsaken by Jonathan Brooks
I am not for sure how I heard about this book, but the fact that he expounded on Jeremiah 29--one of my favorite passages of Scripture.  Coming from the context of the inner-city ministry, which is different than mine, it did simply remind me I must be present, not just in person once in a while, but over the long haul.

Church Forsaken challenges local churches to rediscover that loving our neighbors means loving our neighborhoods. Unpacking the themes of Jeremiah 29, he shows how Christians can be fully present in local communities, building homes and planting gardens for the common good. His holistic vision and practical work offers good news for forgotten people and places.

5.  Disciples Making Disciples Level 1 by Timothy Initiative USA
I called my friend Charles Campbell from the North American Mission Board asking him if he knew of anyone that was training up leaders to multiply in a house church network model.   A few days later, he connected me with Pastor Dan Brendly, Pastor of  Cross Point Church, Farmingdale, NJ.  He graciously gave me some time to talk through things and this was how our Training Center got started for CIO/MMN to start raising up leaders who multiply.

 Disciples Making Disciples lays the groundwork for a disciple making movement. Combining solid biblical teaching with hands-on-training exercises, those who train through DMD Level 1 are given simple and reproducible methods to begin reaching their community with the Gospel.

6.  Church Plantology by Peyton Jones
I like Peyton Jones' books.  He has a missional outlook and it spurs me on to keep seeking the lost in our context.  I picked up this once it came out because I enjoyed all of his other books.  It is a great that has great perspective and tools that I can immediately use.

The Apostle Paul was a veteran church planter who "laid a foundation like a wise and master builder" and there is much we can learn from his example. Paul indicated that there were basic skills and experiences required to successfully plant a church. Church Plantology examines the wide variety of church planting methods and ideologies in contemporary pastoral practice and outlines a biblical model based on the New Testament.  During his time in prison, Paul spent much of his time writing to Titus, Timothy, and others who'd served alongside him in the trenches to complete their training as church plantings. We can continue to apply these time-tested, proven methods, following the pioneering example of the early church.  Church Plantology by Peyton Jones is a robust guide to planting that will help planters to provide the foundation necessary to survive beyond the initial first years so that they don't end up a walking statistic.

7.  Growing Up by Robby Gallaty
Another home run by Robby Gallaty that simply lays it out very straightforward in how to be a disciple who makes disciples.

If you are serious about being a disciple of Jesus Christ—really, truly serious—a discipleship group can help you achieve that goal. Jesus established this model for us by forming and leading the first discipleship group—and it worked. The men who emerged from that group took the gospel to the world and ultimately laid down their lives for Christ.  In Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples, Robby Gallaty presents a practical, easy-to-implement system for growing in one's faith. This guide offers a manual for making disciples, addressing the what, why, where, and how of discipleship. D-Groups, as Gallaty calls them, can teach you and others how to grow your relationship with God, how to defend your faith, and how to guide others in their relationships with God.

8.  The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I have had this book for a really long time, but honestly seemed to be a daunting read and "am I up to the task".  It has proven to be a very challenging, to the heart, read as I question and examine my heart.   There is a demand and a sacrifice for discipleship.  There is cheap grace where most people tend to live.....and then there is a steep reality of living a lifestyle under the umbrella of costly grace.   I am still reading and processing this great work.

What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."

9.  Live Dead Joy by Dick Brogden
This will always be on this list each year as it continues to step on my toes when needed and encourage me in my deepest disappointments as Brogden brings the Word front and center.  If you are looking for a devotional to move you beyond the shallow end, I encourage you to pick up a copy.

Every Christian is called to live the crucified life (Galatians 2:20). In that sense we are all dying daily―dying is how Christians live. We die to ourselves, our wills, our comforts, and our reputations for the glory of Jesus. The wonder of applying this biblical principle to everyday life is that it brings life and joy in the process. This daily devotional celebrates a lifestyle based on the example of Jesus, who showed us how to live dead―not with dread but with great gladness.

Written in a deeply personal style that provides a fresh perspective on the disciplines of the Christian life, each one of the 365 devotions is based on a suggested Bible reading. This devotional will put you on the path to a life of deeper faith and stronger dedication to Christ.

10.  Church Discipline by Jonathan Leeman
I grabbed this handy book at a For the Church Conference at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  I am grateful for my church.  The question for us is not if there will be issues that arrive that will call for church discipline, but , When?  There has always been tension arise when we talk about church discipline, but a better way to consider it is, "How does the church protect the name of Jesus?"  Not that He needs protecting, but we are salt and light--how do we present Jesus well to a lost world and what happens when people sling in the mud the name of Jesus? How do we use a theological framework to love people back to Christ?

Leeman helps us face the endless variety of circumstances and sins for which no scriptural case study exists, sins that don’t show up on any list and need a biblical framework to be corrected appropriately in love.
Here is a contemporary and concise how-to guide that provides a theological framework for understanding and implementing disciplinary measures in the local church, along with several examples of real-life situations and the corresponding responses.

11.  Church Membership by Jonathan Leeman
Another book I grabbed as we consider Church Membership.  I am not a fan of what Church Membership has become, so I have been praying as to what it should be according to Scripture.  Leeman gives wisdom in this matter of church membership.  I am excited about this next part of the journey for Church Inside Out as we set out to live out the vision God has given us.

"Salvation and my following through with Baptism publicly recognizes me as a child of God.  Church membership publicly recognizes I am a kingdom citizen."

Becoming a member of a church is an important, and often neglected, part of the Christian life. Yet the trend these days is one of shunning the practice of organized religion and showing a distaste or fear of commitment, especially of institutions.  Jonathan Leeman addresses these issues with a straightforward explanation of what church membership is and why it’s important. Giving the local church its proper due, Leeman has built a compelling case for committing to the local body.

12.  Grasping God's Word by Scott Duvall and Daniel Hays
I am not inclined to read textbooks or am I an astute theologian.  Books like these are daunting as I am not a deep thinker, but they do such a great job making it applicable and understanding.    It challenges me to keep learning and helps me know that I still have a lot to learn.  I want to keep learning and this challenges my mind.  I don't want to become lazy in my thinking, so I need books like this to challenge me.  This for me is an on-going read continuing into 2022 as I want to marinate in it and apply what's being taught.

 Grasping God's Word has proven as an invaluable help to students who want to learn how to read, interpret, and apply the Bible for themselves. It will continue to serve college-level students and lay learners well in their quest to gain a firm grasp on the rock of God’s Word.  Old Testament scholar J. Daniel Hays and New Testament expert J. Scott Duvall provide practical, hands-on exercises to guide students through the interpretive process. 

13.  The Starfish and the Spirit by Lance Ford, Robert Wegner, and Alan Hirsch: ONE OF MY FAVORITES!
I loved this book as it presented a different way of leadership moving from a hierarchy to a decentralized leadership empowering others to serve and lead.  It was different and intriguing and has helped me rethink ways I can empower my church.  I don't have to be THE guy, but how can I empower many.
​
The Starfish and the Spirit is about creating a culture where church leaders view themselves as curators of a community on a mission, not the source of certainty for every question and project. It's about creating a team of humble leaders "in the middle" of the church, not at the top--leaders who naturally reproduce multiple generations of leaders, from the middle out.

​So....there you have it.  Some of the books I have read that have been challenging!  Just pray my wife let's me get more bookshelves!!!

(If you are interested, I am starting a Live Dead Joy devotional group to discuss what God is teaching us as we read His Word in 2022.  Let me know if you are interested!)  mike@mobilemissionsnetwork.com

​“My eyes have seen your salvation.” Luke 2:30

Words spoken by Simeon as Jesus was being presented in the temple 8 days after his birth.

Hope had been born and Simeon lived to see this “light for revelation to the Gentiles”.

Again, a thrill of hope to a weary world, to a weary soul, Simeon.

He waited and waited and waited.

He was now here….Immanuel…God with us.

In reading this passage, you read past the words to the heart of Simeon—a heart fill of joy and thankfulness—-a heart thrilled with hope.

My eyes saw salvation when I was 16 and every day I am reminded that I was once an enemy but am now a citizen of heaven.

As I reflect on his birth, I am reminded there is a lot of life between his birth and his death and his resurrection.
And now too, I must not move on from the birth of a Jesus, but now must live as He lived.

It’s not enough to celebrate his birth and his death/resurrection.

WE MUST ALSO CELEBRATE HIS LIFE HE LIVED BY LIVING OUR EVERY DAY LIKE HIS!

It’s called discipleship. It’s called following Jesus.

What now does it look like to live as Jesus lived and walk as Jesus walked? (Reflect on this and marinate on this question.)

You really want to give Jesus a gift? Walk as he did.

I think Paul sums it up well as how we should walk in Christ.

“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:10-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬
​
(Today at Church Inside Out we have Family Worship Sunday-an opportunity to bring the Word into our homes and an opportunity for moms/dads/husbands/wives/students/children to share the Word. Our prayer is it would become a habit on a regular basis. This time also gives a rest for our house church hosts-thank you for opening up your home her week!)

​CHRISTMAS REMINDS US OF OUR RESCUE!

“Behold, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, humble and unassuming and riding on a donkey. The Lord their God will save them in that day...”
Zechariah 9:9, 16

*Note: he rode on a donkey before His birth with Mary and before His death(triumphal entry)

“For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a SAVIOR, who is Christ the Lord!” Luke 2:11

Our rescuer has come!

Christmas represents our rescue-we know that we will be delivered but there is still a battle to fight.” LIVE DEAD JOY
Jesus came to my rescue when I was 16.

When did He rescue you?

“Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:7-8‬ ‭
​
Merry Christmas!

​“No one stood with me, but they all deserted me.”

The words of the Apostle Paul.

Notice what Paul doesn’t do: he doesn’t leave the church nor does he disband his faith.

If this was many of us, we would be out the door, find another church or leave the faith all together (or so it seems to be many times)

He goes on to say, “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened and empowered me, so that through me the gospel message might be fully proclaimed and that all the Gentiles might hear it and I was rescued from the mouth of the Lion” 2 Timothy 2:17

This is reminiscent of others who were deserted at their greatest time of need:
Job.
David.
Daniel.
Jesus.
They were deserted and too rescued from the “mouth of a lion”.

But they didn’t abandon ship. Their hope was in a person, not people.

A few lessons:

1. Nobody cares. I am all alone.
These are sentiments that are valid. I have been there. I have heard these words from my sheep but are no excuse to leave the church or disband your faith.
Lean in on Jesus. Recognize who is behind the lies.
You are NOT alone. You will never be alone. If you never learn to cherish the Savior, you will always feel alone.
If you never learn to abide in Him, you will always feel alone.

2. Humans will fail you. That is a fact. Pastors will fail you. Church people will fail you.
I have heard these words directed at me many times-where was I….why didn’t I visit enough….etc.
We are human. Pastors are human. Pastors are not omnipresent. They have the same 24 hours as you do.
Sometimes we assume people know the details of a situation in a persons life, but that is not the case in most situations, so the enemy uses assumptions or the thought that people should know what you are going through. Don’t let assumptions cause you to go into a deeper depression.

Sometimes our aloneness is meant to be as it creates an unsettledness and is in essence a test—will I lean on Jesus or will I lean on my feelings?

3. I am sorry for any hurt that has been intentionally or unintentionally inflicted on you because of seasons of being alone. There are legitimate hurts from the body.
I don’t want to water it down or sweep it under the rug.
Just don’t stay there. Get in the Word. Spend some time with Jesus. CRY OUT TO HIM!
One of my favorite things to do when it seems like I am alone is I read the Psalms. David encountered desertion. He lived it a lot of his life and you can see that his example always cries out to God.
I would encourage you to reach out to someone that you can trust.
I would also encourage you to get involved in a small group of believers that will encourage you in the faith and hold your accountable.

4. Run to Jesus.
Elijah ran after his monumental Mountaintop experience to depression and a cave but he eventually ran back to God.
Job confessed after destruction came to him.
““I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.””
‭‭Job‬ ‭42:2-6‬ ‭

The disciples deserted Jesus but he willingly went to the cross because He knew salvation would come to all mankind.

And back to Paul…..

He didn’t leave the church. He didn’t leave the faith. He stuck to what he knew and WHO he knew.

Today, you many feel alone. You may feel like you have been deserted, but you have not. There is SOMEONE far greater that is in you beside you and with you.

He has not deserted nor will He as a believer and we can find this in His Word:

“Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up), nor will I forsake or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!” So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently say, “The Lord is my Helper [in time of need], I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?””
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:5-6‬
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As a believer, you are NEVER alone.

​The thrill of hope…..

It was 10 years ago that we found ourselves exhausted, confused and worried about our son, Judah. He was put in NICU shortly after he was born due to respiratory issues.

I will never forget the day after a grueling few days and I snapped this picture.
At the time, I didn’t see the significance or the hope or the promise.
But when I went back to look at the picture was the cross in the lights. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
I went around to the other stations as I thought it would be seen in the others, but it wasn’t there.

A thrill of hope.

A reminder of God’s faithfulness in the midst of hard circumstances.

A promise to hold on that on this side of heaven or actually in heaven, Judah was going to be ok.

My faith moved that day. A thrill of hope overcame my circumstances.

Mary faced even more dire circumstances in that the news se received was shattering as the consequences of pregnancy out of wedlock was punishable by stoning and even death.

I can’t imagine the feelings that went through her head and heart.

The thing is though she didn’t stay and believe the feelings, but she immediately submitted, “Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; may it be done according to your word.”

Her anxiety turned to submission and her submission turned to obedience.

And her obedience turned to praise as we see in Luke 1:46-55. It’s a model for us when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances.

This praise wasn’t just words she spoke but came from the depth of her soul.

This praise wasn’t just a token word , but was a lifestyle lived as much of this prayer is from Scripture. She was not a novice when it came to her faith.

This praise came from an understanding that she needed a Savior-Yes, the mother of Mary, needed Salvation. She rejoiced in God HER Savior.

This praise came from remembering God’s faithfulness in the Old Testament. She recalled the great things He had done for her.
This praise came from an understanding that God is holy. There was such a reverent fear and awe that she had.
She heard. She submitted. She obeyed. She praised.

What an incredible model for us to worship this week. What an incredible model for us to follow when we face difficult circumstances.

What an incredible Savior we serve who is our hope.

This thrill of hope is knowing that Immanuel resides within us.
This thrill of hope is knowing that He has come to seek, save and redeem!
This thrill of hope is knowing the world is not our home and just as Jesus came to live here temporarily, so do we.

May you experience this thrill of hope found only in Jesus!!!
​
“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:2-5‬