A Wonderful Thing to See!

When it was built for an international exposition in the late 1880’s, the structure was called “Monstrous” by the citizens of the city who demanded it be torn down as soon as the exposition was over. Yet from the moment its architect first conceived it, he took pride in it and loyally defended it from those who wished it destroyed. He knew it was destined for greatness. Today it is one of the architectural wonders of the modern world and stands as a primary landmark of Paris, France. The architect was Alexander Gustave Eiffel, and the tower which bears his name is still standing today.

There is another structure designed by a master architect that I would like you to consider. Jesus designed His church and from the moment He conceived it, He knew it was something special. The Church was to be the embodiment of His teachings and a place where people could encounter hope, help, and healing. Jesus turned over the blueprints for this design to an unlikely band of followers who He taught, prayed for, and defended. He gave them the incredible responsibility of following His design for this amazing structure. It was to be a structure not of wood or stone, but of flesh and bone. It was a design not located in one place but one filling every corner of the earth, touching every life with life.

Jesus used several images to help His followers understand His plans. These images help us to understand the nature of the church from Jesus’ perspective:. The Church is a family of people each connected by their relationship with God. It’s an army following Jesus where He leads. It’s a flock of sheep lovingly cared for by its shepherd. The church is a garden tended by the gardener. While there are many other images of the church, they all have one thing in common; they all describe living things that are inter connected to each other and to Jesus.

Two thousand years later we still find those faithful to Jesus’ design working to build His church. They are working to become living extensions of Jesus and His ministry on earth. They aren’t trying to build buildings, even though they do build them as tools to help do what’s really important. They aren’t trying to develop programs, even though they do as a means to accomplishing their goals. They aren’t even trying to be a political force, but sometimes they have to be if they are going to be true to Jesus’ call to make a difference in the world.

The Church as Jesus sees it is an amazing thing. It’s a beautiful bride entering the room. It’s a family filled with love, support, and healing. It’s a massive army on the move working to set slaves free and bring hope to the oppressed for a better tomorrow. The church as Jesus sees it is about people who are connected to each other in such a way that they share life together. They share its good and its bad. They support each other during the bad times and celebrate with each other during the good times. The church is a group of people working together for a common purpose. That purpose is now and has always been for each member of God’s family to become as much like Jesus in thought and action as possible and for each member of the family to help as many other people as possible discover God’s family for themselves.
Look at this description of what happened when Jesus’ followers put His blueprint for the church into practice:

41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church-- about three thousand in all. 42 They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-- 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

Acts 2:41-47 (NLT)

The Church as Jesus designed it is a wonderful thing. My hope and prayer for you is that you discover for yourself Jesus’ design for His Church.

Pressing On,

Dale

Finishing Well

When you hear the names, Richard Nixon, Pete Rose, Tanya Harding, or Jimmy Swagert what do you think of? When people talk about Nixon most people do not think of one of Americas premier foreign policy makers, or the inroads made in developing a relationship between the US and China all they remember is Watergate. When people talk about Pete Rose more often than not they don’t remember his great batting records, or his contributions to the game of baseball all they remember is his gambling. When people think of Tanya Harding their first thoughts aren’t of a very talented ice skater who was good enough to represent the US in the Olympics they think of a scandal that occupied the headlines for weeks. When people hear the name Jimmy Swagert they don’t talk about all those people he helped they just remember his visits with prostitutes.

How is it that people get off course? No one I know starts out to fail, to finish poorly but judging from the number of people who’ve started well, but ended up off course I’d say it’s a much easier thing to do than we think. It doesn’t take much to get off course, a moment of weakness, a lapse in judgment, or some bad directions and you’re looking around wondering where you are.

Everyone finishes, but not everyone finishes well. Because I think it makes a difference how we finish, I’d like to share with you one man’s plan for finishing well. His name was Paul and he was a follower of Jesus. One of his great desires was not just to finish but to finish well. Here’s his plan:

12 I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

Phil 3:12-14 (NLT)

Paul’s plan involved the following five steps:

He had a goal – Paul’s goal was to live as he was created to. He knew that Jesus’ life had been set before us as an example of the kind of lives we should all be living. Paul understood the goal of his life.

He knew where he was – Paul had taken an honest inventory of his life. He knew that he had not yet reached his goal of living like Jesus. This allowed him to focus on areas of weakness, deal with problems, and watch out for obstacles along the way.

He was willing to work hard – Paul said that he was focusing all his energy and straining to reach his goal. This is a picture of hard work and effort. Paul knew that to reach his goal it would require effort on his part.

He didn’t allow his past to keep him from his future – Paul knew that our pasts can act like an anchor that keeps us from moving forward. Our past failures can paralyze us into inactivity and our successes can take our eyes off the goal. Paul was focused on his goal and refused to allow his past good or bad to keep him from reaching it!

He believed the goal was worth the effort – Paul was convinced that his destination was worth the effort. In fact just before the above quote Paul said that he considered everything else garbage in comparison to reaching his goal (cf. Phil. 3: 8)

Everyone finishes this race called life. The only real choice we have is how we finish. If you want to finish well, you have to know your goal, know where you are, be willing to do what’s necessary to get there, let go of your past, and believe your destination is worth the effort.

Pressing On
Dale