Weekly Update
Photo: Katie Sturgeon
Highland Tribe,
It was so good to gather with you and - “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” - (1 Peter 1:3-4).
Loved being with you,
Rob
I’m excited to gather under the name of Jesus, Highland-tribe.
Rob
Restart Reminder
Highland,
We resume our Sunday services this Sunday. There will be one outdoor gathering, starting at 10am. I look forward to gathering under the name of Jesus, lifting up His name in praise, together.
To review the Restart Plan, click here.
I love you,
Rob
Two weeks ago, I saw a 16 year old boy die in the street. He had just been shot and he laid in the street, dying. The scene of his death was so still and quiet, it was eerie. Bystanders, including Carrie and myself, stood as we watched the investigation take place, while trying to know how to feel about the whole situation. We knew this young man. His name was Lamarion. He walked by our house daily, on our sidewalk. We fondly greeted one another each time he passed us; he was such an enjoyable and respectful young man. Now, as we stood there helpless, the hopelessness that seeped in was heart-wrenching. All we could do was pray - and we did, continually. The Lord literally directed our feelings, our words, our next steps. He had to because, apart from him, we were at a loss.
That sadness and the inability to properly know how to deal with tragedy continues, as all of us, over the last couple of weeks, have seen our nation ravaged by the tragedy surrounding the death of George Floyd. Many people have reached out to our church and to Truth Spring asking us for direction on how to make sense of it all. Our own children have been among those searching for answers. We now have a teenager who is very aware of what is happening around him. Without proper guidance at such a crucial time in his life, what he sees and hears could cause him, and others who are also searching for answers, to come away with wrong ideas and wrong conclusions.
Highland, it is very important that we know what we are to be about it during times when the world around us is raging. We need to learn what it means to live out Christ’s words when He said, “I am about the work of My Father”. Think of all the “causes” Jesus could have been about - poverty, social injustice, rights of slaves, rights of women, etc… Jesus could have made His time on earth about a “cause”, but He didn’t. His time on earth was about a purpose and that purpose was reconciling ALL mankind to Himself. So what does that mean for us? As we have talked with our children about all the recent events surrounding our lives, from the death of 16 year old Lamarion, to the death of George Floyd, to the riots around the nation, we have kept the dialogue centered on one thing, the heart of man. We have opened up the Word of God, which is our only source for answers in times like these, and we have read and talked through Jeremiah 17:9-10 which states:
“The heart is deceitful and above all desperately wicked and incurable — who can even know the depth of its wickedness? I, Yahweh, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve.”
It is so easy for us to think of Christianity as a moral code that leads to good behaviors. But we MUST know and believe that Christianity and the Gospel are so much more than a moral code. The Gospel is POWER. It’s power is in the ability to change a heart! If the heart is the well-spring from which every thought, every action, every emotion flows and if the Bible defines our hearts as being “desperately wicked”, then we desperately need the power of the Gospel. We have reminded our children that, without the Gospel giving us a new heart, a heart that is in alignment with God’s heart, then we are capable of being the ones who are standing on the neck of the weaker man who is begging for his life. Because the wickedness of our natural hearts will ALWAYS lead us to take advantage of someone weaker. We have reminded our children that without the Gospel giving us a new heart, a heart this in alignment with God’s heart, then we are capable of assaulting police officers, lighting things on fire, destroying everything in sight. Because in our anger (even when that anger is justified), sin causes our anger to turn to hatred, and hatred ALWAYS leads to destruction. Because apart from the Gospel, our hearts are “deceitful and desperately wicked — who can even know the depth of its wickedness?”.
That is why Christ was not about a “cause.” A cause could never be the solution for a wicked heart. And that is why, in times like these, Christians must remember that we are also not called to be about a cause, but rather a purpose —and that purpose is the message of the Gospel. Through Christ, we are called to offer a broken world the opportunity to be reconciled to God. We are called to offer the world the opportunity to have a new heart.
The world’s solution to injustice is more injustice. Where there is a wrong, a wrong is returned. When sin fuels anger in the life of any person, it produces evil. Sin-induced anger leads to and demands personal rights - rights to protect oneself and to avenge others in the face of wrong-doing.
No matter how right we may be as a person defending ourselves, or human-made laws, or how right we may be in avenging the unjust death of another person, to carry out that right in the wrong way will ALWAYS produce an evil outcome. Under the reign of a sinful heart, a person will abuse even good causes and just stances. Romans 12: 9-21 is work of the Holy Spirit in the human-heart. It sheds some light on how to move forward:
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
To ask for justice to exist in mankind means that a source of justice can first be found. Can justice be found in the hearts of man? Human history answers with a very loud “no”!
“But the Lord sits enthroned forever; He has established His throne for judgment. He judges the world with righteousness; He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Yahweh.”
- (Psalm 9:7-10).
So, then, if justice isn’t here, then the source of justice has to exist in the presence of God. Preaching in one of the most oppressive periods in all of human-history, Jesus models for us how to pray, having us look to the name of the Lord and HIS kingdom as the source of justice. Then, he tells us to ask for the just-will of the Father to be revealed on earth!
“Our Father in heaven,
Your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus then explains to us that the justice-system of the Kingdom of God is founded upon mercy and forgiveness:
“Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over — will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:36-38,HCSB).”
Highland, the Lord, alone, is just. Only when our hearts have been put in right alignment with Him can we consistently honor another person by offering them equality and dignity. Micah 6:8 clearly tells each Christian what the Lord expects from us:
“He has shown you, mankind, what the Lord requires of you: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Your God.”
When Jesus arrives on the earth, He then demonstrates the words found in Micah 6:8 as He tells us how to actually put Micah 6:8 into action. The way to put Micah 6:8 into action is to follow the commands of Christ as He says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart AND love your neighbor as yourself.” That Highland, is how we live out justice in an unjust world. We do this one word, one act, one life at at time, therefore cultivating justice in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Highland, I love you. I am grateful for the small but mighty tribe we remain, under the power of the Holy Spirit. Throughout our days, I want each of us to take our lead from Jesus, as Peter tells us:
“…He did not revile in return;
when He was suffering,
He did not threaten
but entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly” (I Peter 2:23).
Discuss what it looks like for your family to live out the instructions found in Micah 6:8. Conclude your time by praying and asking the Holy Spirit to empower you and your family to daily put on display Micah 6:8. Then end by praying for our nation. Ask the Holy Spirit to move in power, thereby, bringing many sons and daughters to salvation!
We love you!
Rob and Carrie
This is a read-aloud of this devotion.
Oswald Chambers is an author that has made a tremendous impact upon my life. 18 years ago, I read through: “My Utmost for His Highest” - a devotion that is a collection on his spoken devotions, which he offered as a Chaplain during World War I. When I worked at Baker Middle School, I read through the devotion during my lunch-break and, as I read, I would just weep, because I was falling in love with God’s Word. When I got married, my friend, Mike Hare, gifted me with Oswald Chambers’ Complete Works. Throughout my life, I have been working through the book, which brings me to today’s devotion. Currently, I am reading through a book Chambers wrote called: “Our Brilliant Heritage - Growing Up into Him.” In this book, he makes the point that the love of God cannot be found in our natural hearts, rather that the love of God is solely the work of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives. He then offers “three springs” of God’s love that flow out of hearts regenerated by the Holy Spirit:
Love Where You Cannot Respect: “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)!
Love Where You are Not Respected: “For what credit is there if you sin and are punished, and you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God. For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps” ( I Peter 2:20-21).
Love Wherever Redemption Reaches: “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).
For our time together, let’s reflect on each of these “springs of Christ’s love.” Below, are points of reflection and passages that provide for our discussion upon each point.
God’s love in us does not simply help us love other people that we find friendly, or familiar, or family-like. The love of God enables us to deepen our love for those that we like BUT also compels us to love those that we do not like, too. “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:43-48).
Discuss a time in your life that you’ve chosen to love someone you struggled to respect.
God’s love enables us to love a person who has offended or violated us. It’s this spring that requires the most of our prayer life. In the face of violation, I know I am constantly asking the Lord to show me how to love my offender in a way that honors His name. In matters like this, I often think of Hannah, who was the mother of the prophet, Samuel. Unable to have a child, she was laughed at and ridiculed by another woman. She then goes to the temple to pray. In her anguish, she asks the Lord for a son but only that her purpose (having a son) may exalt the name and purposes of the Lord. Leaving her request before the Lord, she then offers her son to serve the Lord all the days of His life. Her offense becomes an offering of praise to the Lord.
Discuss how we can seek to honor our Lord by loving someone who does not respect us.
It is so easy for us to write our secret qualifications for who should receive the love of God and who shouldn’t. When we read the Bible, we quickly learn that our qualifications for who God should love fall terribly short of His redeeming love. Jonah comes to mind for me. Jonah did not think the Ninevites were worthy of the grace and love of God. So much so, that when God told Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach repentance, he ran the opposite direction of Ninevah. Jonah believed their barbaric practices should disqualify them from God’s grace. I guess being in the belly of a whale for three days has a way of changing your perspective. Once Jonah obeyed and offered the barbaric nation of Nineveh the Lord’s message of judgment and mercy found through repentance, the people of Nineveh responded by turning from their evil ways and God redeemed them.
“When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he issued a decree in Nineveh: By order of the king and his nobles: No man or beast, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. Furthermore, both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from the violence he is doing. Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
“Then God saw their actions — that they had turned from their evil ways — so God relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.”
(Jonah 3:6-10, HCSB)
Jonah was then agitated with the Lord because He offered his redeeming love to the people of Nineveh.
"But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. He prayed to the Lord: “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster.”
(Jonah 4:1-2, HCSB)
Redemption is defined as the release from the consequences of the offense for the person who committed the offense. The redemption of God reaches ANYONE who repents, declaring Jesus as Lord.
We are in the midst of troubling times within our world and specifically, right now, within our nation. These times compel us, Highland, to offer the gospel-message of redeeming love, repentance, and unfailing mercy, in Christ alone.
Discuss how some of the current events within our nation can serve to remind us that, as Christians, we are to love wherever redemption reaches.
Discuss ways that we can "live out” that message in our words and in our actions.
Highland tribe, let us remain a people of prayer, a spirit-filled people seeking to love others as God loves us. This is absolutely not something we are capable of doing in and of ourselves. We must be on our knees regularly, praying for more power from the Holy Spirit and for more of His guidance and direction, as we navigate these uncertain times.
Close your time today by praying, as a family, asking the Holy Spirit to empower you to love those whom you struggle to respect, to love even when you are not respected and to always offer others the far-reaching, redeeming love of the Lord.
Sourced by : Superbook
We love you,
Rob & Carrie
Tony is moving into his own place as of tomorrow! He is in need of household items, such as a couch, tv, mattress, etc...
If you’re in the position of passing along any household items like these mentioned (or others), please contact us.
Thank you,
Rob
Highland,
This opportunity for testing is happening at our church June 2nd. It’s free and it provides us a chance to be informed throughout this pandemic.
Highland, Below, you will find our tentative plan for restarting services. For all gatherings listed below, we are taking as many precautions as we can to be considerate of others. We will be holding our largest gatherings outdoors, encouraging social distancing and masks will be available for those who would feel most comfortable wearing one. If you have a mask, please bring one for yourself to use.
We ask that you stay home when you are sick. We also ask that you cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Also, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Finally, keeping your hands clean using sanitizer or by washing them with soap is vital. If you have a personal bottle of sanitizer, bring it and keep it on you for your personal use throughout gatherings.
June 13th: Chicken and Rice resumes
June 14th, 10am: First Sunday Service, at 10am. It will be an outdoor service. It will be held on our back field. This service will be a picnic-style service! Plan for bluegrass, Bible and BBQ! Bring your camping chair, or a blanket and plan to set up on the field for our service. Then, at 11am, grab a plate of barbecue to-go. You can eat on the lawn or take it to-go. Our services will remain outdoors for the foreseeable future. Service start-times will be 10am each Sunday that we meet outdoors.
- Van route options still being considered (windows down, masks worn and no more than 10 on a van).
- Children’s Ministries, Life Class & Breakfast will not resume until a later date.
July 1st, 6pm: Men’s Bible Study resumes
July 8th, 6pm: Women’s Bible Study resumes
July 15th, 6pm: Prayer Meeting resumes
July 18th, Pillow Party resumes
*All proposed plans remain contingent upon medical information available to us throughout the foreseeable future.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
I rejoice over you, Highland. I love forward to being with you again.
I love you,
Rob
To all who have served to secure our freedom, thank you.
This video is a read-aloud of this devotion.
Highland, let us continue to live according to the Spirit. As we do so, we demonstrate our love for the Lord and, also, a growing maturity of our faith in Him. Today’s devotion helps us know what it means to live according to the Spirit. We start our journey through God’s Word in Romans, chapter eight.
“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Seeing that the law could not satisfy God’s disapproval of sin and sins’ affects in us, God sends His son, Jesus, to become a sin-offering for us. The cross of Christ crucifies condemnation! My punishment and your punishment for sin were satisfied in the cross of Christ!
To be condemned is to stand before a judge and to be found as offensive, therefore guilty. If we are condemned before God, then we are found guilty of our sinful offenses. Jesus willingly laid down His life as our sin-offering. He bore our offenses on what should have been our cross, crucifying all condemnation for those who are repentant of their sin, declaring Him as Lord. When we do so, the Holy Spirit then fills us, helping us to know and honor our Lord and holding us, securely, until the day of His return.
Have you personally experienced being set free from condemnation (the guilt and punishment of sin)?
If so, can you describe a time in your life when you felt freedom from the guilt of sin?
How does the Holy Spirit help us to do what is right in the eyes of God?
Knowing that Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death, we now are freed from the requirements of the law as we walk according to the Spirit, not the flesh (Read Galatians 5:16-25 for more info about the flesh and the spirit). In this next verse, Paul tells us how we know if we are walking according to the flesh or the spirit:
“For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit.”
Highland family, we think about the things that we love. If we love the “fruits of the flesh”, then we think about the things of the flesh. If we love the fruits of the Spirit, then we think about the fruits of the spirit. When we desire something and we constantly find ourselves thinking about that thing we desire, that is called “dwelling.” In short, we dwell when our mind and our heart love something at the same time.
When I was 7 years old, I remember seeing “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.” I was captivated. I instantly fell in love with the movie and it was all I could think about for months! I hummed the theme-song and I pretended to be Luke Skywalker all the time. For my birthday, my parents bought me a Darth Vader Faced Watch - I cherished it. I still have it to this day. The things we dwell upon shape our time, our beliefs, ultimately, our lives. So then, if we are to live according to the Spirit, we must train our minds to dwell upon the things of the Spirit.
Give an example of how dwelling on Scripture has helped to shape your thought-life.
Our minds often drift. When we receive the Holy Spirit, one fruit that comes from Him is self-control. Describe how self-control helps you to dwell on the Lord, as opposed to drifting all over the place in your mind.
“For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so.”
Our mind-set is formed by what we dwell upon over time. The decisions we make and the deeds that we do flow out of what we dwell upon. So, as people, if we set our minds on the things of the flesh, then the decisions that we make and deeds that we do will be of the flesh: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I tell you about these things in advance — as I told you before — that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). The work of sin through the flesh destroys life and leads to death.
As repentant sinners, our mind-set must remain submissive to the Holy Spirit’s convictions and counsel. This results in the Holy Spirit being able to grow and cultivate shalom (see our Family Devotion from last Sunday) in our thought-life. As we remain tempted by the enemy to sin, we must learn how to battle against Satan, who wants to find a stronghold for himself in our thought-life! We have to cast down every sinful thought that comes into our mind!
We cannot allow sinful thoughts to build our mindsets. If we allow distorted, sinful thinking to be the material that we use to build our mindsets, Satan will make that his fortress of attack against us! If this is happening in your life, repent! Submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit, asking Him to tear down this stronghold. Then, through the power of the Holy Spirit, stand firm and guard your hearts and thoughts against sin by dwelling on God’s word. If we are to guard our hearts and our minds then we must learn to fill our hearts and mind with the truth of God’s word. Paul tells us exactly how to do that in Philippians 4:6. Paul tell us to dwell on (let your mind set upon) ‘what is true’ - “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise — dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:6).
What is one scripture that you dwell upon in order to keep your mind and heart focused on what is true?
What is one area of your life that Satan tries to trick you into believing a lie?
How has learning to meditate on God’s word proven itself to be a defense for your mind and heart in that area?
Side-note: The way that I started training my mind was to ask the Lord for wisdom. I asked Him to help me fall in love with His Word (He sent me Carrie who helped me!). I then began to read Scripture. I read through the New Testament over time, each night. In the mornings, I read through Psalm 119 - a portion each morning - until I completed the Psalm. The Lord took over from there.
Our series just for kids continues. The Series is called: The Bible in Four Weeks. Click the button below to see part four of this series:
Highland, we are blessed to have you in our lives.
We love you,
Rob & Carrie
