Do you remember what David said in our text this week—right in the middle of a very broken and troubling situation, he said, This I know, that God is for me (Psalm 56:9).  We saw him battling for belief, for faith.

How are you doing, Jubilee Family? Are you fighting for right thinking and belief?  Are you, like David, calling out  ”Be gracious to me, O God, that I may walk before you in the light of life.”  Remember, we don’t fight alone. Ask someone to help you.

Praying that you will call out all day long for help from our great God!
Dan

Do you want to find out more about 246 Fellowship Meals, or do you want to be included in these? Contact Dan Porch

246 Fellowships Schedule with Maps

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

Last week we learned that the world is like a slab of rotting meat, and we are the salt of the world. Jesus has made us to be the preserving agent in the world, and the element that adds seasoning and flavor. But if we add other things to our salt shaker, such as flour and sugar and sand, our salt because tasteless and useless.

Listen to the sermon

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, by John Erickson

Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God, by John Erickson

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, by John Erickson

I’m sure you have heard the expression “a blind leap of faith.” Somewhere along the line belief in God, or living by faith, became unreasonable, irrational, and wildly speculative, like leaping in the dark. I’ve been thinking about leaping ever since a Brazilian rice farmer, who now runs an orphanage in Ethiopia, challenged my church to “Get out of the boat.” He was referring to when Peter walked on the water with Jesus. And he was challenging us to rely upon the power of God, to do things that don’t make sense to the world.

The immense gulf between blindly leaping in the dark and the measured faith of Peter stepping out of the boat really struck me this week. Walking home in the dark, I knew how stupid it would be to walk across the street with my eyes closed. No, I checked both directions first. But Peter didn’t have his eyes closed as he stepped off that boat; he was looking into the face of Christ, the one one who created water.

Consider the evidence—the empirical evidence—the disciples had for trusting Jesus. The disciples had seen Jesus:      (Keep Reading)

How about the taste they get from your pursuits in life, selfish or God honoring?  Does peaceful strength cause their taste buds to pop with refreshment?  How about the bitterness of rejection: does that characterize as they taste your life and realize that something greater than the world is at work in your life?

You are the salt of the earth, Jubilee.  And Pastor John has walked us through some weeks of study that help us understand how that salt is to flavor and preserve the lives we lead.  Read and re-read those beatitudes. Reflect on the taste that emanates from your life.  Pray … asking God to draw you into himself so that you taste more and more like him.

May we never lose the taste that defines saltiness, a taste given to us from above!

Dan

Pastor John reminded us that the value system of the kingdom of heaven and the value system of this world are very different, and they are headed daily into a clash that is never pleasant.  We have to prepare ourselves every day for the unpleasant reality of that conflict … we are in a war … a battle for our very souls and the souls of others!  We must prepare daily for the fight by reminding one another of the life and the reward that are ours in Christ Jesus (the King of this kingdom of heaven) and by seeking him in prayer.

Don’t forget what we learned in Colossians.  Pray this around the table as you launch out into your day, as a family or as a single … a day of conflict.

Father, will you fill us with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we might walk in a manner worthy of you, fully pleasing to you, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of you?  Would you strengthen us with all power according to your glorious might, for all endurance and patience so that with joy we might give thanks for your work of qualifying us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 

Praying with you,
Dan

Here is the perfect peacemaker violently cleansing a temple, or forcefully denouncing the hypocrites.  His aim was peace!  And we know that because his goal was to see the kingdom of God established in the hearts of men … a kingdom where peace is characterized by righteousness that flows out of lives deeply rooted in dependent relationship with the Father through the work of Christ alone!

Peacemakers are sons of God, like Jesus, who battle, who war for righteousness in their own family … in their church … and in those with whom they are given influence.

Peacemakers make no sense in this world. Why? Because the world is out of sync with the King.  The world seeks solutions that are man-centered and have little to do with the true problem, a deeply rooted sin issue called pride.

Jubilee, let’s join our Jesus as sons of God. Let’s be peacemakers in our generation, in our city, in our church, in our families!

God is able … ask!
Dan

The result? We are blinded, blinded by our own need to keep up a good reputation.  We focus on ourselves and don’t have eyes for those around us.  Even on the cross Jesus had eyes for others. Why? Because he wasn’t caught up in keeping his reputation clean, he was free to show mercy.

Jesus once said to Simon the Pharisee that it is in seeing and being overwhelmed by the sinfulness of oneself, and then hearing the words “I forgive you,” that one is set free to love and show mercy to those around them.

The ones showing mercy are happy (blessed) because they know the forgiveness of a father, who has promised them the mercy of a life forever with him in his abundance.

Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy!

Dan

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!  The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  They feast on the abundance of your house and you give them drink from the river of your delights … for with you is the fountain of life, in your light do we see light.

I have been meditating on Psalm 36 the past few days, encouraged and challenged by the Word of the Lord as we head into a new year!  They say that looking back is 20/20: you are looking at the past and seeing the outcome of decisions made. Decisions that may have been agonized over but are now history, and in them the wisdom of the Lord is now seen.  Not that every outcome yielded what we wanted, but as we look carefully we often see the wisdom and steadfast love of our great God in the outcomes presented. Sometimes the revelation of the mysterious good is still future… and so we wait.

But David, in this Psalm, reviews the preciousness of God’s steadfast love and provision for his children over the years.  And then in verse 10 he looks to the new year… the future… 2012… and prays!  He asks God to continue to pour out steadfast love, to lead him in paths that are good, and bring about the cause of righteousness.  He knows the deceitfulness of his own heart and pleads with God to keep him from pride and the love of this world (the hand of the wicked drive me away).

Jubilee, as we enter 2012 let us do so with a review of the past and a projected look into the future.  Is the steadfast love of God precious to us?  Are we feasting on the abundance of his house, hungering and thirsting for his ways, his righteousness?  Do we see the deceitfulness of our own hearts and therefore recognize our poverty… driving us to call out for help as we enter into this new year?

Oh continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away…

Looking to 2012 with great delight because of our great God!
Dan