Wow !!  Is it really possible to be part of a strong, healthy, local church?  I believe that it not only “is” possible but that it is imperative for each one of us as believers in Christ.

What are the characteristics of a strong, healthy, local church?  (I’m glad you asked.)  Let’s take a look at a healthy church from the New Testament.

The Jerusalem church experienced both qualitative and quantitative growth. Eager for this same result, many of today’s church leaders flock to church growth seminars. I believe that it would be wiser to concentrate on church health. Why?

Because it is the nature of healthy organisms to grow.

• Jesus – first and foremost
• strong, God honoring worship
• solid biblical teaching
• in an atmosphere of true fellowship
• mixed with consistent outreach and evangelism

                    it will be healthy !!

 . . . and a healthy Christian community will naturally (and super-naturally) attract people to Christ.

We need to all ask ourselves these questions:

• What am I doing to make Westside a healthy place that will draw others to Jesus?
• Do I have healthy relationships with all those people I personally know at Westside?
• Do I always seek to forgive, speak words of life and solve issues according to The Matthew 18 Principle?
• How am I using my gifts to serve others so that God will get the glory?
• Am I listening to  . . . and obeying God in all areas of my life right now?

Having a strong, healthy, local church is possible because Jesus said that He would build His church.  But no one ever said it would be easy.  Let’s all do our part in this greatest of endeavors.  Come on Westside . . . I know you can do it !

“With man things are impossible,
but with God, all things are possible !”

Love you guys,
Steve

• Get up a bit EARLIER each day and enjoy that first cup of coffee or tea just sitting there in His presence
  • because “in His presence is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11

• Work on being AWARE of God’s closeness to you every waking moment – close enough for you to hear His whispers
  • because we are commanded to “pray without ceasing.”  I Thess 5:17

• Try to have a thankful heart BEFORE you start asking Him for stuff
  •  because we are instructed to “enter His courts with thanksgiving in our heart and into his courts with praise.”  Psalm 100:4

• Make sure you are CLEAR before Him having all of your sin confessed
  • because He promised “if you confess your sin He will forgive you completely.”  I John 1:9

• Ask Him for the WISDOM you need for each day
  • because He said He will give us wisdom if we ask for it.”  James 1:5

• Pray alone, with your family, AND also gather together often to pray with other believers
  • because we see the early church do the same thing by “devoting themselves to prayer.”  Acts 2:42

Keep it up friends – you can live a victorious life and be an effective witness of the good news in your sphere of influence.  Represent Jesus well – not in your own strength – but in the strength found only in Him!

Love you guys,

Steve

I will always remember the day my brother and I became men. Paul was about 10 years old and I was 12. We were playing in the front yard on a typically beautiful Saturday morning at the house where we lived in Santa Barbara. My dad was working in the garage with his new radial arm saw from Sears when all of a sudden there came a heart stopping, thunderous cry of “ahhhh”. . . . . .  and the sound of crashing boards that halted us in mid play.

Stunned, we fixed our eyes on each other. Something was wrong. I can see it so clearly now, my dad being thrown backwards several steps where we could see him for a moment before he darted back into the garage and out of our view to unplug the still spinning saw. Then, we watched our dad running from the open garage to the front door of our house while cradling his right arm to his chest.

From inside the house we heard a loud wail from our grandmother. Almost immediately she burst out of the front door with purse and keys in hand moaning something about: “his fingers – his fingers.” Dad was following right behind her with his hand wrapped in an increasingly red-drenched bathroom towel. But, instead of getting into the car, he marched over to the garage door and shut it. Then, as he walked to the car he looked at us and said: “stay out.” We didn’t argue.

No words were spoken by my brother or me. We were still frozen in place on the front lawn watching the unfolding scene, eyes wide, mouths dropped open, in surreal slow motion. At last, the car disappeared screeching around the corner. This all happened in less than 90 seconds. To us, it seemed like an hour.

Our dad lost two fingers and the use of a third that day.

My brother Paul and I, still looking at each other, took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. Our shoulders relaxed a bit, we stood up straight, and slowly looked toward . . . the . . . garage . . . Then I said: “well, we’d better go look.”

We crept in the back door of the darkened garage, strips of light coming through the double door cracks. With eyes wide open, we were searching ever so slowly . . . for . . . “the fingers.” There was no Alfred Hitchcock music playing in the background, but there might as well have been. I’m not sure why we didn’t just turn the light on. I guess it wouldn’t have been as much of an adventure.

Then, we both spotted “it” at the same moment. Simultaneously, we “jumped a 180” and ran screaming for the door like a couple of kids running from a monster. I pushed my brother through the door and we both tumbled to the ground, shrieking, grossed out, and laughing all at the same time. We did it. We were men.

Here’s the thing. The Sunday before this, my dad had preached on the text from Romans that says: “All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” All the way to the hospital the words kept going through his mind: “all things work together for good . . . all things work together for good.” He said later that it was those words that kept him going, that kept him encouraged. It was a painful recovery process. But he didn’t let the ordeal get him down.

Thinking back years later, I’m not quite sure of all the things that “worked out for good.” But I know they did. My dad wasn’t perfect . . . none of us are. But he softened a bit I think. He loved people and he and my mom would always welcome guests into our home. Many a teenager without a decent home life sat at our table. They were welcome to just “hang out.”

On the day in 2002 when he passed into the arms of Jesus, there were over thirty of us kids and grandkids crowded into his room singing his favorite hymns. Do we all have struggles? You bet. Do we all need to mature a bit? Yep. Have things worked out for the good of those who love Him? Without a doubt.

How about you? Have you trusted God to take the stumbling blocks in your life and turn them into stepping stones? Have you kept your heart pure and free from bitterness? Have you been able to keep pressing forward in spite of the storm? If you are right smack dab in the middle of a big trial, trust Him. His Word is true. He is faithful. He will carry you in the toughest times. I know it. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it.

Keep looking forward, I’m standing with you.
Love you guys,
Steve

Romans 8:28 (MSG)
That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

P.S. I suppose it’s been the season for me to reflect on some turning points in my life. I have been recalling some great moments in my childhood that made an impact on me and changed the direction of my life. Last time it was “my brother the hero.” This time it is “my dad the hero.” Next time it will be “Jesus my hero.” See you then.

Too much stress is not a good thing.  What do you think about most?  What might you worry about …in the middle of the night or during the lonely daytime hours?  Is it something bad?  Is it guilt?  A difficult relationship or maybe deep regrets?  Is it a longing for something from the past or something you may never get in the future?  Is it constantly putting yourself under the load of unrealistic expectations?  What takes up most of your private thought life?  Does it cause you stress?

Prolonged and relentless stress is even worse!  God designed our bodies to adapt instantly and protectively to dangerous situations.  He never intended us to live in a constant state of tension and anxiety.  When we experience an imminent threat or danger, our hypothalamus region at the base of our brain instantly releases a cocktail of hormones that give our body the ability to think, act, and respond almost super-humanly.  If you have ever been the brunt of someone else’s joke and experienced a momentary fright you notice that your heart continues racing for a few minutes.  If quick thinking is needed to flee a fire, our body responds appropriately.

Adrenaline and Cortisol can be our friends in such situations.  But, if our minds and bodies are constantly on edge because of excessive stress, we may face serious health problems as a result.
Like:
• stopping healthy functions that wouldn’t really be needed in a fight-or-flight situation.
       – suppresses our immune systems,
       – suppresses the digestive system,
       – suppresses the reproductive system,
       – weakens our heart and vascular system
       – and much more!

Stress can mess us up!  God never designed us to live that way!

Do you know what the most repeated command in the Bible is?

Fear not.

Yep, that’s it.  Don’t be afraid.  It’s not, “try” not to be fearful or anxious.  It’s . . . “don’t be.”

Jesus said in Luke 12:22-28:
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.

A little further down He says:

“Wherever your treasure is,
there the desires of your heart will also be.”

You know what we’re really afraid of?  Whatever will take away our treasure . . .

• If we love life – we’re afraid of getting sick or dying.
• If we love stuff – we’re afraid of misplacing it or it getting stolen.
• If we love power – we’re afraid of becoming powerless.
• If we love fame – we’re afraid of losing it.
• If we love the admiration of people – we’re afraid of becoming unpopular or losing our good looks.
• If we are insecure – we are afraid of losing our friends, money, health, or anything that place our trust in.
• If we idolize our kids – we fear them growing up and leaving.
• If we love ourselves – we’re afraid of growing old.

Jesus said:  Fear not!  “Don’t be afraid my little ones.”

Jesus said that no one can take away our treasure that’s stored in heaven.  I love Eugene Peterson’s take on this passage in Luke:  “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bank robbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it?  The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be.”

Let’s be people whose treasure is being stored up in heaven!  Let’s be people who treasure the King and the Kingdom.  Let’s be people who are grateful for what we have and generous with others.  Let our hearts dwell in eternity!

Love you guys,
Steve 

The faint sounds of singing resonate through the pitch black night as you stoop down low and feel your way through roughly chiseled solid rock tunnels.  The air is heavy, damp, and overflowing with the stench of human misery, open sewage, and death.  You blindly approach the music, slowly moving past door after door.  Each within has it’s own distinct sounds of; pain, muffled anguish, the soft sliding of heavy chains, bitterness, or silence.  The obvious question emerges: “Why on earth would anyone be singing at midnight in the depths of this hell-hole?”

Get the picture?  (If you didn’t, please re-read the first paragraph.)

You’ve been told this story before you know . . .

Don’t remember?

It’s the story of Paul and Silas singing in prison after having been beaten and locked up for preaching the Gospel.  You can read all about it in Acts chapter 16.

Now, if I had just endured an unjust and severe flogging and then thrown into a cesspool of a jail I don’t know if I would then begin to sing out . . . “How great is our God, sing with me – how great – how great is our God.”

I think I would probably shout: “MEDIC !”  Then, call my lawyer and get the whole lawsuit thing going.  But sing?  You gotta be kidding me!

Why were Paul and Silas different?  Why did they sing in the middle of horrific pain and immeasurably gruesome circumstances?  Answer:

They trusted in God instead of themselves.

Do I do that?  Do you? I hope you do . . .

Here’s my point:

Why not take God at His Word

instead of always trying to do it our way

• The Bible says that when we take our focus off our problem and worship God He will fight on our behalf.  Paul and Silas knew that and they trusted God.
• The Bible says He is our provider.  Trust Him for that.
• The Bible says to be anxious for nothing.  But instead, pray and give thanks.  Have you tried that lately?
• The Bible says to honor your father and mother that it may go well with you.  How “well” is it going?
• The Bible says to give and it will be given back to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.  Well . . . ?

“How on earth can we disregard God’s Word and either go our own way, or outright disobey and then expect Him to bless us?”

The Bible says that us men should love our wives as Christ loved the church and gave (i.e. died) Himself for her.  Are we doing that men?

The Bible says that from the abundance of the heart – the mouth speaks.  What’s in our hearts?  (answer: whatever we are worshipping)

The Bible says that we are to trust Him with all our hearts and acknowledge Him in all our ways and He WILL direct our paths.  Got direction?

What was the result of Paul and Silas’s obedience?  A few verses later the jailer (position of influence) invited Jesus to be his Lord and Savior . . . and his whole household!

Again, why do we expect Him to make exceptions for us?  Why do we do an “end run” around His ways and still expect His blessing?

• How about looking to God first.
• Pray first.
• Put Him first.
• Go to the Word first.

Instead of trusting in ourselves . . .  (the “creation” rather than the “Creator”)  let’s trust Him!

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Matthew 6:33

Keep looking to Jesus!  Love you Guys,

Steve