Listen- Part 2

Have you ever complained that God wasn’t speaking to you? In times that everyone around you seems to be receiving divine callings and words from the Lord, have you ever felt like God was just giving you the cold shoulder? I know I have experienced this before, and while God does sometimes use silence as a tool to speak, more often than not I have found that my own stubbornness was the thing hindering me from hearing God’s voice.

This Sunday, we learned that the first step to hearing from God is simply wanting to hear from Him. While most of us would testify that we want to hear from God, I can’t help but wonder how many of us can truly say that with conviction. The reality is, while we claim we want to hear God’s voice, there are a lesser few that would actually agree that they want to hear God’s voice when He is speaking something challenging or contrary to their personal beliefs. We like our ideas and actions to be justified, and the vulnerability that takes place when we allow God to truly speak to us has the potential to deter us from opening our ears. After all, it’s risky. If we hear God and He says something we don’t like, are we just going to ignore Him?  Certainly, not hearing is better than not obeying. Likewise, we often opt for ignorance towards God’s voice as opposed to direct disobedience.

While having “selective hearing” and only listening for God’s voice when it correlates with our own ideas can become comfortable, it does not satisfy our needs. It may gratify our immediate desires, but in the end we miss out on the things God would have had in store if we would’ve just stepped out in faith.  Likewise, to truly reap the benefit of hearing God’s voice, we must submit our control to His. When we allow ourselves to hear all that God is speaking to us, as opposed to what we want to hear, we open the door to a much greater plan; God’s plan.

If you are struggling to hear God’s voice, I challenge you to assess your hearing. Are you the roadblock standing in the way of all that God has for you? If so, I encourage you to step out in boldness and allow God to speak to you, even if that means doing something uncomfortable. While we cannot see what lies ahead, when we follow God, He will take care of us and direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Written by: Tamara Sturdivant

Listen- Part 1

The verb “listen” is defined as “to pay attention to someone or something in order to hear what is being said.” While the definition of “listen” is simply understood, many fall short in execution of this task. Particularly, listening can be challenging in one’s relationship with God. So often, we, as Christians, are tempted to have a one-sided conversation with God. We present our requests and, perhaps, wait a brief period of time for an answer. Then, if we don’t receive an answer immediately, we assume God isn’t speaking and move on. This is not a healthy way to communicate with God. While waiting on Him for direction and answers is important, there is so much more to listening.

Beyond seeking answers to our questions, we must recognize that listening entails allowing God to speak freely. By definition, listening means asking about someone else’s desires and plans. It means setting aside time to hear someone else’s voice. It means averting our attention to someone else. Listening means closing our mouths and opening our ears. In a typical person-to-person exchange, overlooking the importance of listening may be perceived as rude or self-indulgent. So why is it, then, that when it comes to speaking with our very own Creator and Savior, that we often disregard what He has to say?

This Sunday, Pastor Aaron described six ways that God speaks to us.

1.       God speaks to us through the Bible.

2.       God speaks to us through gifted teachers.

3.       God speaks to us through friends and family.

4.       God speaks to us through leadings of the Holy Spirit.

5.       God speaks to us through pain.

6.       God speaks to us through silence.

Whether it be through the prophetic guidance of a mentor, the persistent voice of the Holy Spirit, or the lesson amidst a difficult experience, we are constantly given opportunities to hear God’s voice. It is often a matter of simply opening our Bible, accepting guidance from an anointed leader, or becoming vulnerable in God’s presence that will awaken us to His counsel.

While it is often easier and less intimidating to approach conversation with God in a one-sided manner, solely sharing your feelings and desires, I challenge you to open your heart, mind, and ears to all that He may be speaking to you. Of course, we all have questions that we want God to answer. However, when we set aside our desires and become vulnerable to His Spirit, He may speak to us and direct us in ways that will allow us to grow far beyond our own understanding.

Written by: Tamara Sturdivant

Edited by: De Ann Sturdivant 

The Social Church- Part 4

“My body is a temple and this and that and the other thing.” – A pretty accurate depiction of my understanding of the Son of God dwelling within me for a good amount of time.

Growing up, I never questioned my role beyond the temple. I never thought about the way that my body and I as a person, while coexistent, were not one in the same. I never thought about how it even mattered to my faith. As far as I was concerned, my job was to just keep emptying myself out on the altar to make more room for Jesus, and then stay out of the way until something happened.

Don’t get me wrong, if you make room for Jesus, He will come. He will stay. He will inhabit, just as He did at Simon’s house when the Pharisees sent their invitation, made some room, and let Him sit and eat (Luke 7:36). But the problem with this “make room and sit back” mentality I had harbored concerning my relationship with Christ was that even the Pharisees did it. So what was making me different? What was setting me apart from religion bound by superiority and culture and limitation? What does Jesus want from me, or for me, that the Pharisees didn’t see?

At Simon’s house, there was but one person who seemed to grasp what was overlooked among the others. Unlike the Pharisees or supposed “hosts” of the party, an unassuming woman enters to show Jesus hospitality. Through her humble washing of Jesus’ feet, she allowed His presence to become His ministry. As she shed tears and poured out perfume to clean his feet, she gave Jesus the honor that no one else had given.

I thought being a temple was all I was wanted, and that the power of the Holy Spirit needed me to be as little involved as possible. And while it is true that many times we must get out of our own way when it comes to seeking God, what I failed to understand for a long time was that this temple has a host—me.

To allow the presence of the living God to dwell within you is one thing, but to lavish welcome and praise upon a Savior that chooses to be so alive in the lives of His people is another thing entirely.

As I reflect on the story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if the people I love and care about were in the company of a Savior being honored and adored by a host like her. I wonder if I became hospitable spiritually and relationally, if I could seat my friends at my table, within reach of Jesus. I wonder if they might hear Him speak; if I could play host to the moment that they see hope.

I want that more than anything. And it will be a challenge. I’m not always nice. I’m not always gracious. I’m never perfect. But for the sake of those around me, I’m making a commitment to try and be a host. I challenge you, when you ask who is at your table, ask yourself next, how can I be a host? 

Written by: Brianna Vanderveen

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant

The Social Church- Part 3

There’s a reason a pitcher typically comes with both a lip and a handle. At times it must be held and filled up under a faucet, and at times it is the means to fill cups and goblets or other vessels. And though this metaphor is pretty transparent already, you as a Christian vessel are usually in one mode or the other in any moment – receiving from the Lord in your devotion time, or sharing his Spirit with others by witnessing or counseling those around you.  But if ever there was an opportunity to perform both functions at once, it might be practicing hospitality.

Aquila and Priscilla live out this lesson in the New Testament, in a testimony that starts and ends in Rome. First they take in Paul as a co-worker making tents in Corinth, then later they instruct Apollos in Ephesus after traveling there with Paul, and eventually they become pastors of sorts, hosting a church in the city where they were once expelled by Claudius several years earlier. As we heard in Sunday’s message, the New Testament does not give us any counter-examples of people growing in a solitary or isolated walk of faith. Furthermore, those that you help to grow also can help you to grow.

It’s interesting to note that, in Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla’s hospitality does a little more than provide a place to sleep or work for Paul, and a launch point for him to minister elsewhere. Beyond that, it becomes a platform of ministry for Aquila and Priscilla. By the time the couple is back in Rome, they are hosting a local church. “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me,” Paul writes in the epistle to the Romans after they return there. “(And) greet also the church that meets at their house,” (Romans 16:3-5). A life of hospitality certainly seems to have helped them grow their own situation.

I wish I could say I have mastered this life lesson. I know I feel a sense of growth from aiding in Love Week and the shelter team ministries, and I know I struggle less with sin and feel more grace when I’m investing in other people. I liked the example of the Dead Sea this week, which creates a harsh local climate, not because it lacks an influx of water, but because that water lacks any outlet. At times when I’m reluctant to open my home to guests because of how modest I think it is, or I cultivate solitary pursuits because I think no one wants to spend time with me, I sense my recalcitrant flesh and old natural ways reasserting themselves. Investment in others is risky, I know that, and it’s probably why I fear it sometimes. But whenever I feel that way I know it’s time to tip the pitcher again and start pouring out what God has stored within me.

Written by: Chad Halcom

Edited by: Jenelle Kelly

A Withered Hand in the Synagogue

In Mark 3, Jesus encounters a man with what is described as a “withered hand” in a synagogue. There is not much further description regarding the condition of this man. The main point is, his hand was physically injured. As it was the day of the Sabbath, many witnesses present had expectations that Jesus would not heal this man. After all, it was the day of rest! Contrary to their expectations of how Jesus would behave, He asked the man to stand up and stretch out his withered hand. Once the man stretched out his hand, he was healed (Mark 3:1-5).

While there are many facets to this story, there are two mindsets displayed that I find to be incredibly relevant to us today. First, there is the pharisaical perspective. While nobody wants to be compared to a Pharisee, the reality is, sometimes we have false expectations of how God is going to treat us. In reality, however, God’s plan is often very different than what we anticipate. In the context of this story, the Pharisees did not expect Jesus to heal the man with the withered hand on the day of the Sabbath, as it was outside the realm of Old Testament law. As Jesus was doing a new, beautiful thing amidst creation, the Pharisees were preoccupied with what they wanted Jesus to be like. This text makes me wonder how often I am too preoccupied with my own life to allow God’s plan to come to fruition. For example, while my expectation may be for God to give me a promotion, find that perfect spouse, or pay off school, that is not necessarily His plan for my life right now. If I am selfishly believing that God will fit the mold of who I want Him to be, I may be like the Pharisees in the story and miss the beauty in Jesus’ perfect plan.

Secondly, there is the man with the withered hand. Physically, he is weak and in need of restoration. To receive a healing, however, he needed to take a step of faith. In verse 3, Jesus tells the man to “stand up in front of everyone.” Furthermore, in verse 5, Jesus instructs the man to “stretch out his hand.” Taking into account that Jesus is all powerful and can heal without a single word spoken or single action taken, it may be assumed that Jesus had a specific purpose in using this particular approach. While details of the man with the withered hand’s emotional state are not identified, it is evident that Jesus wanted the man to display his trust in God by boldly stepping out in surrender. Personally, I know I have gone through times that I needed God’s help or healing but was too stubborn or hesitant to ask. After all, God is not always predictable. However, what we must not lose sight of in this story, nor in our own lives, is that God is faithful. Through the man with the withered hand’s step of faith, he was able to find healing and restoration.

Are you in need of healing today? Are feelings of fear or disbelief holding you back from experiencing the fullness of God’s plan for your life? I challenge you to examine where you fit in this story. If you can relate to the Pharisees or the one in distress, I encourage you to pray and surrender your struggles to God. While we may not always know how things will pan out, God is always faithful. Furthermore, when we are willing to step out in boldness for His glory, He may bring restoration.  

Written by: Tamara Sturdivant

Edited by: De Ann Sturdivant

The Social Church- Part 2

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  Romans 12:13

As our series, “The Social Church,” continued on Sunday, we learned about the two types of “shade” described in Genesis 18. In this account, supernatural visitors show up at Abraham’s tent. In verse 4, Abraham declares, “Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.” A subsequent flurry of activity occurs as Abraham creates a safe and welcoming environment for his guests. The visit ends with a promise and a bright future.

In the next chapter, the guests make their way to the home of Abraham’s nephew, Lot. In Genesis 19:2, Lot says, “My lords . . . please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” And again, a flurry of activity mirroring what happened in Abraham’s tent begins to occur. But then things begin to go horribly awry. If you missed the message or are unfamiliar with that portion of scripture, be sure to listen to the podcast and read Genesis 18-19.

Abraham’s hospitality involved inviting the visitors into the shade of a safe environment. Lot practiced hospitality as well. However, due to decisions he had made and ways he had allowed his heart to be affected by his surroundings, his “shade” was not safe for the visitors.

We were left with two follow-up questions to ponder:

How safe are you?

What does it look like to invite people into your shade?

Many years ago, I was in the Church and without people (listen to the first podcast in the Social Church series if you’re not sure what I mean). Soon, hospitality was extended to me and I was invited into the shade. That shade ended up being unsafe. And it stung. So, I recoiled.

I had a choice to make. 1) Never step into the shade again or 2) keep stepping into the shade with wisdom, discernment and the understanding that people (myself included) are works in progress.

I chose the latter. But I also added an addendum to that. I vowed to always try to be a provider of safe shade to those I extended hospitality to. 

Believe me, I don’t think I have this “shade” thing all figured out. I err on the side of extreme caution, often at the expense of enjoying shade with others. My introverted nature and task-oriented temperament do not serve me well in this regard. I need to work on this. Diligently.

I’ve been encouraged and challenged to examine the way I invite visitors into the shade and, in doing so, providing them a safe and welcoming environment to connect and grow.

Written by: Jaime Hlavin

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant

The Social Church

Scanning a room, there is not a single face you recognize. People are laughing, chatting, and having a good time. It seems that everyone knows each other, and you are just another face in the crowd. Have you ever felt like this? I know I have. Moving from one state to another right before entering middle school was one of the most challenging times of my childhood. I left behind all my old friends, and was placed in a new school, surrounded by ALL new faces. While this was scary at first, I was blessed to have a few people reach out to me and spark a conversation (some of whom are still my friends today!)

Fast forward to my life now, in which I have settled into having a few very close friends. I am relatively comfortable with the relationships I have, and don’t typically put much thought into the fact that I was once without any friends. While I believe there have been numerous occasions that the Holy Spirit has challenged me to seek out the one in the crowd who looked a bit lonely, I am sad to say that more often than not, I have used my introversion and shyness as an excuse to bypass the opportunity of practicing hospitality. The truth is, introversion and shyness do not excuse me from the responsibility of making people feel welcome. In fact, the Bible is extremely clear in describing how we, as Christians, must approach others. As Hebrews 13:1-2 states, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” This is a command to all of God’s people; not just those who are “comfortable” with welcoming strangers. Therefore, we must take it seriously. In Matthew 25:43 this command is taken a step further by indicating that practicing hospitality (or choosing not to) is a direct representation of our care and love for Jesus. As Jesus states in a parable, “I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” In this passage, Jesus is stating that if we do not value His people, we are not valuing Him.

Coming to terms with the fact that it is my responsibility to practice hospitality, and that how I do so ultimately reflects how I care about God was a bit difficult for me. Nevertheless, I have reached the conclusion that if this is what God has called me to do, I need to be doing it!

This week, I made it a personal goal to get to know one person I haven’t talked to before. As socially awkward as I may be, this was not overwhelmingly difficult once I took the first step to talk to them. It was actually really refreshing to listen to someone’s story for the first time, as well as share my own. It is my hope that this is only the beginning of my efforts to practice hospitality. People help people grow, and introvert or not, community is a necessary part of life.

Church, I challenge you to step outside your comfort zone to practice hospitality. Whether that means helping someone with a project, giving someone an encouraging word, or just simply saying hello, let’s be a church that cares about people. Ultimately, a church that values people is a church that values God.

Written by: Tamara Sturdivant

Edited by: Brigit Edwards