How Rich Are You?

Are you rich? Do you have any rich friends? How do you rank when it comes to wealth and your perception of where you fit into society? I have rarely "felt" rich.

I come from a family where my mom and dad worked really hard to allow us to have a middle class life (more accurately, upper-middle class). As a person who has been in "ministry" my entire adult life, money has never been a major motivator. I have had to be creative and frugal in order to make things work. My taxes have attested to this fact. Yet travelling to "3rd world" countries opened my eyes up to how wealthy I really am. There is no denying the wealth of a vast majority of the people who live in this nation. Without knowing it, we are living off the poverty of most of the world. It is not productive if this just creates guilt -- but it should create more proactive responses. Gratitude, generosity, and strategic giving are some proactive ways to respond. This weekend Pastor Jim's message is entitled, “A Word to the Wealthy.” Before you exclude yourself from this conversation, you might be surprised to see where you rank. Take a look at this website and you’ll see that even if you’re poor by our standards, you’re still “wealthy” compared to the rest of the world: http://www.globalrichlist.com/.

Snoqualmie Mountain

A great hike. Levi and Shaun joined me for this adventure. There was snow from start to finish. A great sunset. We all made it back home just after midnight. http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_messner/sets/72157605725752643/

Walking With the Father

Romans 8:14-15
“those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

He is calling us to things that we never thought were possible. Things we have yet to imagine.

This passage of Scripture indicates that those who are “led by the Spirit of God” are children of God. What does it mean to be “led by the Spirit of God” Led: Present tense. Being led now means that God’s current, present leadership in your life puts you in a relationship with God that is best described as that of a son/daughter.

Trusting God with the leadership of our lives is a process. When we trust Him with the leadership of our lives we allow God to be the perfect Father to us. We let Him guide us, heal us and help us not get stuck in a holding pattern of stifled personal growth. The role of the Father is that of guiding His children through the process of growth through the transitions of life.

In an instant culture we must remember that He starts with a seed when He makes a great tree. He starts with two cells when He forms a human being. That human being grows up with dreams. The dreams grow and change as that person grows up.

I remember being four years old and my dad giving me my first bike – I felt so grown up. It had a banana seat, tassels on the tips of the handle bars, a chain guard and a kick stand. My world grew bigger with the arrival of that bicycle. In the second grade my Father gave me a Daisy single pump BB gun. He also gave me a speech and lessons on how to use it. It was a right of passage and a big responsibility. I was trusted with something dangerous. At 16 I remember my father handing me keys and driving out of town for a concert for the first time feeling like I had arrived, forgetting that in fact the car that I was driving was wood paneled Ford Pinto wagon.
You may recall the moments in your life when it felt like something changed; you grew up. It may have been the graduation party or the day your father walked you down the aisle, or the day you became manager, or the day you retired.

At the age of 18 for most of us, our father’s daily influence stopped. We set off alone with the feeling that it was up to us to make things happen on our own. I left my home two days after graduation and set out for school in California.

Although on the outside we may appear to be grown up, on the inside of our souls God desires to continue to cause us to grow in greater ways than we can imagine. No matter how good or bad, absent or present, our earthly fathers were, when it comes down to it we are all, still, unfinished men and women. In fact the absence of our fathers, which is a painful reality for a large percentage of us, may have accentuated this reality.

God is there now as we experience new rights of passage and new transitions. He is present and desires to lead us through this moment as only a perfect Father can. Some of you are looking for help in being a better father. Some are looking for help with a career change. Some are looking for help as you face an illness. Some are looking for help as you are in over your head.

Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” It is a process that stretches into eternity.

What does He desire to do in this season of your life and my life? How does He want to heal the past? Can you allow Him to influence your life at this present juncture?

Romans 8:14-15
“those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Do not fear. You have received adoption. This means you have been adopted as a son or as a daughter, which is a total break with the old family and becoming a part of a new family with all its rights, privileges and responsibilities.

I invite you this Father’s Day to make a move towards God. A move to deepen your walk with the Father.

Some need to begin that walk today. (Adopted by the Father)
Others need to be restored, like the prodigal son. (Restored to the Father)
For others, God is calling you to a deeper walk – to allow Him to be a Father to you like you’ve never experienced before. One who is present, who is healing the past and who is leading you into your future. (Walk with the Father)

The Manila Project featured in Christianity Today

It was great seeing this article in Christianity Today. This is a Foursquare Church -- one of those planted through the UCPP with the help of Eastside Church.

Rickshaw Gospel
A pastor supports his church in the Manila slums.
Text and photos by Seong Joon Cho

In the shadows of Manila's glitz and glamour, pastor Expedito P. Macarine is preaching the gospel. Macarine, 40, established his church in the garbage slums of Tondo, despite the area's bad reputation. Other pastors who tried starting evangelical ministries in the slums were killed or run out by violence.
Tondo was the capital of a kingdom hundreds of years ago. In the late 1500s, it was conquered by Spanish Manila and is now a district of the capital city. It has about half a million people and one of the highest population densities in the world. It is also known for having some of the most violent slums in the Philippines.
Every Sunday, about 20 locals come to worship where Pastor Macarine is preaching. Outsiders are often shocked by the impoverished surroundings of the church, which looks more like a one-car garage than a place of worship. The church doesn't have enough chairs, Bibles, or floor space for all who come to the fellowship.
During the week, Macarine is a tricycle rickshaw driver, where he earns 6000 pesos a month. His earnings go first to support his family of five children and then to his ministry. Out of his own pocket, Macarine pays 1500 Philippine pesos, about $40, to rent the church building, as only 120 pesos come from the offerings. The area is so poor that Macarine says it is hard to find Christians who can help support the church's operations.


Link to the article





Slideshow

You can learn more at www.ucpp.org.

You can also donate to this project at www.eastsidechurch.org (through the Secure Give link).

It is a joy and an honor for me to serve these men and women!

West Defiance, a.k.a. Putrid Pete's Peak

West Defiance, aka Putrid Pete’s Peak

On Thursday evening I joined 19 hearty hikers and about 10 canines in pursuit of scrambling West Defiance Peak, better named as Putrid Pete’s Peak. This trail is near exit 45 as you approach Snoqualmie Pass. I’m not sure why it’s called Putrid Pete’s Peak, but it isn’t far from Dirty Harry’s Peak, which I know was named after someone who logged that area. Maybe this one has a similar history.

It was my first time with this local group of hikers called the Thursday Night Afterburners. Turned out to be a great hike on a beautiful evening. We left the trail at 6 p.m., returned to our cars at about 10:15 p.m. One of the hikers had car trouble (his transmission went out a half mile from the trailhead) and I was able to give him and his Jack Russell Terrier a ride back to Redmond. It was nice to be able to help him out especially after recently getting a ride back to my car after unintentionally getting lost and coming out in Issaquah while running on Tiger Mountain. I was home by midnight. I hope to join this group again on Thursday nights as often as possible.
To see a slideshow of the hike visit this link. I have posted about 50 photos.

Distance: 5 mi r/t

Elevation Gain in: 3000 ft

Maximum Elevation: 5100 ft

Thoughts for Father's Day

My dad taught me how to fish, shoot a gun, change the oil in a car, work hard, cook, be a man, how to fight (compete) and how to love.
He taught me these things without using many words. He taught me these things by modeling. He didn’t talk to me about what it would take to be a good father. His method was just to model it for me.

Most men are not taught how to raise babies. Furthermore, this is one skill that never was modeled to me since I was still young when my little brother was born. Women tend to think more about that. I thought about it for the first time when I heard my wife was pregnant. Recently I was in a novelty shop and a picked up a book on baby care for a friend just discovered his wife is preganant and they are expecting their first child this fall.

Pretty helpful stuff. But when it came to heart issues, I had a hard time talking to my dad. This had more to do with my personality than it had to do with him. I wanted to please him so badly that I was afraid to share with him my struggles, my weaknesses, my failures and my humanity. I closed off some of the deepest areas of my heart and my life, from him. Why? Because I didn’t want to lose a façade of perfection that I was trying to uphold. What would happen if I “got real” with my dad? The truth be known, I believe we would have had some great conversations and an even greater understanding of each other.

With Father's Day right around the corner I want to invite you not fear "getting real" with you Heavenly Father. He already knows what you're doing, what you're thinking and what you need. All pretense can therefore be lost and acceptance is the place where the conversation begins.

Sermon Audio: The Answer to Your Questions