What Does It Mean To "Serve The Body" by Laura Williams

As a believer in Jesus, His follower, and a child of God, I find myself wanting to know Jesus more deeply every day. I want to understand His heart. I want to see the people around me as He sees them. And I want to see God’s hand working in and through my life! If you are a lover of Jesus, you know what I’m talking about. We all want more. And as His child, I want to share with you one of the most wonderful lessons I have learned about knowing God more deeply and seeing Him working in and through me. 

It starts with understanding His Church, His Body.

If you are a new Christian, you may have heard someone refer to the people in the church as “the body.” We talk about ways to serve “the body” or bless “the body.” In fact, using this terminology so frequently may cause us to forget its significance even to those of us who have been a part of the church for a long time! Do you know why we use this term? Why don’t we just say “serve the church” or “bless one another?” 

I want to share what brought this to life for me and has radically changed why and how I serve.

The Apostle Paul in Romans 12, goes to great lengths discussing our relationships to one another as members of “one body.” The point being we are all different, valuable, necessary, and designed to work together! Romans 12 is a wonderful encouragement that no matter what gifts you have or do not have, God designed you to be a special part of the church you are in. You are designed to contribute, to give of yourself, to use your gifts, to love and suffer and live life as a part of a family. A body. You are not alone. And what you do or don’t do for others has a tremendous impact on other people.

We serve one another in so many ways. When we do, we see our relationships with each other grow deeper. The closest friends in my life even from many years ago are still those built during times serving with each other. It’s amazing the way Jesus uses our simplest times—like making coffee together before an event, planning a game night, or even time praying for each other’s needs—He uses each of these for OUR good! Just as Romans 8:28 says, He works ALL THINGS for the good of those who love Him. Even our simple or small acts of service wind up being a blessing to us.

And here is the greatest thing. 

As we serve the “body,” we are in fact serving the BODY OF JESUS. It is Jesus Himself we are serving! Can you grasp that along with me? When I serve those around me, I serve Jesus Himself. When I bring a meal to someone in need, I bless my savior. It is all worship to Him! Using the term “the body” has become so meaningful to me since I connected that term back to Jesus Himself. Maybe you’re thinking that this is obvious—well, for me, it changed my heart and my inward attitude toward serving.

Colossians 1:18 says: “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”

Jesus Himself demonstrated this beautiful truth—that we are designed to worship God in everything we do! Singing songs of praise, yes! But also by living in a way that puts others before ourselves. Jesus said, “…the Son of Man (Jesus) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many people.”

I want to be more like Jesus! I want to see His power at work in me. I want to worship Him in every way I can, and to see His Church as His Body. And I want to see how God will use all these things for my good and teach me more and more simple truths as I do.

Whether you are a brand new Christian or have known Jesus for many years, I want to encourage you to serve others with this understanding! Whether it is serving guests in your home, teaching children about Jesus, helping with set-up or tear-down on a Sunday, or simply reaching out of your comfort zone to start up a conversation to help someone else feel comfortable—God will show His power and His presence to you in those moments. 

If you are wanting to see more of God presence in YOUR life, see what happens when you begin to serve others as though you are serving Jesus Himself! 

“And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Jesus Himself.” -Colossians 3:23-24

What Does It Look Like To Serve Our City? by Bryan Henderson

Gospel Communities are the heart of Anchor Church as we share our lives together throughout the week. In this post, Bryan Henderson explores what it looks like to serve our city as a family of missionaries.

As we seek to live as a family of missionaries, it is essential to have clarity about who we are reaching out to. We need gospel vision to see the opportunities God has put before us.

To help us identify this, we have asked each of our Gospel Communities to ask two questions.

1. Who are the people that God has placed before us?
God has already put people in our lives—friends, family, coworkers, that are part of the everyday rhythms of our lives.

How can we be more intentional in these relationships to move people from friends to disciples?

One way is by serving them. As we practically bless our friends, we demonstrate the love of God and live such phenomenal lives that it demands an explanation.

2. What are the needs of our local community?
When God sent Israel into exile in Babylon, he instructed them to seek the welfare of that city, because in its welfare they too would find their own welfare (Jeremiah 29:7).

As we bless the local communities that God has placed us in, we are displaying the same generous, reckless love that God first showed to us. We are praying that people will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (1 Peter 2:12).

Serving in Summer Hill
Last year, the Summer Hill Gospel Community asked shoppers entering IGA to consider buying a few extra items to bless refugees through our partnership with Simple Love. These groceries were then taken to the local asylum seeker centre to provide for the basic necessities of refugees who are unable to work and provide for themselves.

This is just one example from many of a living church that is seeking the welfare of our city!

Pray for Sydney
As we serve our city, we must continue to pray! A gospel awakening can only happen in Sydney by God’s power. Jesus promises to build his church and offers us the privilege of co-labouring with our God to this end!

Lord revive. Lord restore. Lord awaken our hearts and the hearts of people in our city to see the beauty of the gospel!

A Love For God That Is Irresistible To Others by Bryan Henderson

To understand what it might look like for us, children of God by faith, to cultivate an infectious love for Jesus we must break down and simplify this powerful exhortation into everyday terms.

Cultivation carries with it the language of preparation. Some synonyms for this word: till, plough, dig, turn, hoe, farm and work. This word is a verb or an action word and it would seem that the action is being carried out by us towards the object, Jesus.

Though there is certainly a measure of our responsibility to act in a loving way towards Jesus, the action starts far further back and is far more foundational than this.

God, who is rich in mercy, has lavished His love on us through the person and work of Jesus. The best way we can prepare ourselves to have a love for Jesus is to daily dwell and meditate on the love God has bestowed on us in Christ!

The bible tells us, “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Love would not even be possible had Jesus not displayed and placed His love on us. Foundational for us to respond in our action towards God with an obedient love is remembering and receiving His gracious love on a constant basis.

As we recall and preach this good news to our hearts, we then willingly choose to surrender more of our lives into His loving care. Others will see our infectious love for God only when we grasp the beauty and severity of His radical love for us.

In light of us being loved and made new in Christ, we boldly and enthusiastically live this in such a way that others see it, yearn for it, receive it, and glorify the Father in heaven. His love for us and our experiencing it should revive our hearts and it naturally flows out of us for others!

Practically speaking, I cannot experience God’s love for me which then flows out towards others if I do not draw near to Him and meditate on His goodness and love towards me. I must daily seize the truths of the gospel, and the best way to do this is to ground myself in the scriptures which are laden with gospel identity truths that rejoice the heart!

A Beautiful Lesson by Jason Sanchez

The Lord taught me a most wonderful, power lesson this past Sunday that I pray I will treasure all my life. Church was packed, especially because we had an extra 14 brothers and sisters from Washington and New Mexico. This missions team has come down to install a heating system in our new house as well as build cabinets, insulate and hang sheet rock, paint in the orphanage and of course love on the children.

It was beautiful seeing the church full of people singing their hearts out in adoration to our Lord. As we transitioned into the bible study, I took my usual seat in the back to usher.  Sitting about 5 feet from me was a gentleman that has come to church off and on, sometimes sober while other times drunk.  This time in particular was the latter. Not only did he smell of alcohol but also of urine and body odor from probably not showering for a few days.  The smell was almost unbearable.  My initial thought was I need to ask this guys to sit outside.  As scenarios ran through my mind of just how to go about asking him to step outside, the Lord immediately and strongly began to speak to my heart.

Who was I to ask this man to leave the sanctuary?  It wasn't like he was being disrespectful or disrupting anything.  He was simply sitting there listening to the words of Jesus.  Why was I more deserving to sit in the service than this man?  Or anyone else for that matter sitting in the sanctuary? Was it because I got to take a hot shower that morning or had clean clothes to put on?  Maybe because I showed up on time for service, sang the songs or even lifted my hands during worship?  What made me more deserving that Sunday morning than this drunk smelling man?  Absolutely NOTHING!

You see that's the very message Jesus was speaking about in the gospel of Luke 18:10-14...

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Sunday morning I was that pharisee when I should have been the tax collector, asking God to forgive me and be merciful to me, to change my way of thinking about this brother next to me.

You know what probably was the most powerful part of that lesson?  While I was bearing the smell of alcohol, urine and BO, it was actually a sweet fragrance to the Lord.  Here sat one of Gods beloved, one whom He went to the cross for.  Here was a lost sinner, in need of hearing Gods precious words of life.

Isn't that the very reason why we answered the call to move down to Mexico and start an orphanage, 3 1/2 years ago?  To minister to the hurting, broken, lost, smelling children and others that are desperately in need of the very Savior that spared and saved my life.

God, please help us to not slip into the thinking of a pharisee.  May we be reminded that we are nothing more then smelly tax collectors who have been saved by Gods amazing grace, purchased by Jesus' very own blood!

Unbelief by Pilgrim Benham

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”- Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

“Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.”- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

“Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances.”  -Dr. Lee De Forest, inventor of the vacuum tube and father of television.

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”– Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

Unbelief

We are all touched by unbelief in one way or another.  Many of us see it as a harmless, healthy dose of doubt that we need from time to time. But God sees unbelief as rebellious sin! When God brought the children of Israel to the promised land, they sent spies ahead to scope out the land.  Ten of the spies came back with a report full of fear, lies, and doubt.  The people listened to these men, rejecting Caleb and Joshua’s full-of-faith testimony that God could do what He was leading them to do.

The result was that the children of Israel were given 1 year of judgment for each day the spies were gone: which equaled 40 years!  Each one of the fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, and grandparents would perish in the wilderness, with only the next generation and Caleb and Joshua being allowed to enter in.

The application here is dramatic: are you living a paralyzed life of unbelief?  What is God calling you to do?  Where is He calling you to go?  He wants to bring you into the fullness of the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, but your faith is the admission ticket! Throughout the Gospels it was unbelief that Jesus marveled at, and often would not do miracles where people were doubting.  Don’t allow Satan to whisper his lies to you anymore.  

Remember this familiar quote?

“You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” —Satan to Eve in the garden of Eden.  

 Give God your doubts, and begin living the fruitful life of faith today!

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Hebrews 3:7-8  

I Am Lost by Cameron Barber

There are few things more terrifying than feeling like you are truly lost. Not lost in a neighborhood looking for someone’s house. Not lost like straying away from camp, but still within earshot of help. What I mean is truly, and helplessly lost. So lost that no one can hear you. So lost that nothing looks familiar. So lost that you feel helpless, and truly alone. That is terror. It’s harder and harder to actually get lost today. GPS and other devices help us stay along the paths. The help us navigate to places we have never been before in a calm, clear voice. We’re hardly ever alone, and lost.

But it still happens. People try to escape the everyday, and leave their GPS and smartphones behind to get as close as possible to being lost, but stay safe. Sometimes people cross the line that divides safe and lost, never to return. Adventurers and weekend warriors have been pushing their own boundaries for decades, with large numbers of success. So what happens to get people lost? How is this possible in our modern country today? 

I recently read a story about a P.E. Teacher from Seattle that got lost for a week inside Olympic National Park fighting for her life. She had planned on climbing Mt. Rainier, but her partner canceled at the last minute, so she changer her plans. Mary O’Brien left Seattle with every intention of buying a topographical map of the area she was hiking. Her plans included an 18.8 mile loop through the North American Rain forest. Thirty hours in, she was crossing cat creek with white water surging beneath her, she was bruised, and starting to hallucinate. A few hours earlier she had encounter an early fog, darkness, and snow. Mary slipped in the darkness and as she climbed back up to the trail, she took a wrong turn.

What followed was a week long survival expedition. She was running out of food, and conditions were getting worse. She climbed up the side of a nearby mountain and started signaling for help with her headlamp. When no one responded, she took a compass bearing, and set a straight coarse for the lights. Mary eventually came to a lake where some boaters rescued her, but her story is our story in life.

We go through life with out really thinking things out. Planning for the treacherous journey, and making sure we stay on the trails. Mary failed to bring a map, or even leave a note in her parked car, so no one knew where she was. No one could even look for her. So often we stray off God’s path. We slip and fall, get disoriented, and try to pull ourselves back up. Only to find they we have wandered so far off the course, we start hallucinating visions in the wrong direction. We end up chasing ghosts, and wind. When were lost, the sense of panic sets in and we make worse decisions. Mary decided she needed to climb up to see light. She got her bearings, and went straight for it, no more side trails, no more change of direction, no more wandering.

If you feel lost, you can look out and see God. Maybe you can even remember where you strayed, but can’t get back now. So what can you do? You start by looking in the right place. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” ESV. Then go to Him. Mary knew she needed a map, something that would have guided her to safety. We have not just a map, but a living God. John 16:13 Jesus tells us, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard.” NLT. Our map is a person. A guide to truth. Truth that is contained in the Bible.

Mary O’Brein was found by boaters that carried her to the lights that she saw shining in the darkness long ago. As the church, who are you finding that is lost. Wandering around in the darkness, longing for God. They might be bruised, broken, and so lost that their minds are playing tricks on them, but they need a rescue.

Make today the day you look for lights. Today the day you want to get out onto the path. You can be rescued, and He has a name, it is Jesus.

Story of Mary O’Brien can found on the backpacker.com site under the survival tab.

4 Ways To Handle Rejection by Pilgrim Benham

Have you heard of the “Rejection Hotline”? Apparently it’s no longer active, but for over 10 years, up until 2013, if someone asked you for your phone number but you didn’t have the gusto to say, “I really don’t want to give you my number, but thank you”, you had the option of giving someone an actual phone number to call. And if they indeed called it, this is what they would hear as the phone picked up:

“Hello, this is in not the person you were trying to reach. You have reached the Rejection Hotline! The person who gave you this number did not want you to have their real number. I know this sucks, but don’t be too devastated. So, why were you given the Rejection Hotline number? Maybe you’re just not this person’s type. Note: This could mean short, fat, ugly, dumb, annoying, arrogant or just a general loser. Maybe you suffer from bad breath, body odor, or a nasty combination of the two. Maybe you just gave off that creepy overbearing, psycho-stalker vibe…Regardless of the reasons, please take the hint. Accept the fact you were rejected, then get over it. And please, do your best to forget about the person who gave you this number, because trust us, they have already forgotten about you.”

At their height, the Rejection Hotline was a 2.5 million dollar annual company with over 60 million callers being rejected or at least calling the number to get in on the joke.

Rejection is a terrible thing, isn’t it??

Maybe you’ve been rejected by someone you thought would be a perfect future husband or wife. Maybe you had a business proposal that was turned down. There’s no doubt that someone reading this has been fired because you weren’t what the boss was looking for.

We have all faced rejection at some point. Especially those of us who survived middle school.

Even though rejection is very difficult and can be discouraging, rejection can also be the catalyst to redirection.

Jesus, in Mark 6, went back to His hometown of Nazareth. However, the reaction of the people Jesus grew up with was worse than indifference. It was rejection. Can you imagine? Jesus was rejected by the very people who should have known Him best. So how did Jesus handle the rejection? There are 4 things that Jesus does in that moment that are very instructive for us:

1. Shake it off.

Jesus says to His disciples as He sends them out: “And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them” (v.11).  Jesus is equipping His disciples to go and do what He was doing. If Peter and James went into a town and the people rejected them, they were merely to shake the dust off their feet and go to the next village.

Isn’t there a popular song recently about shaking off the haters? Jesus is saying that dust represents their rejection and shouldn’t even stay on your feet. Have you been rejected by someone you cared about? Did a potential spouse or business partner or company turn you down? Do what Jesus did! Leave their rejection with them and move on.

2. Go where you’re received.

Jesus immediately turns from Nazareth, and Mark 6:6 says, “He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.” Jesus departed from the places that rejected Him and continued to minister, this time in places that would welcome Him. If you’ve been avoided for a job offer, don’t sit and sulk. Go and apply at another company that will pay attention to your resume! It’s important that we don’t waste time kicking doors that simply will not open. Does that friend not call you back? Keep persevering; but also look for relationships where you are valued and accepted, and where your friendship is reciprocated. And if you’re really really bold, just unfriend them. It’s hard, but so worth it.

3. Focus on your gifts and strengths.

Jesus doesn’t look at what their criticism was: “He’s just the carpenter. We know His family. We know His history. He won’t amount to anything. His past will define His future.” Criticism can be very instructive, even from those who are our enemies. But if we dwell unnecessarily on the critique, rather than our strengths and gifts, we will stay unproductive and bound. Jesus moved on to do what He did best: teach. So should we.

4. Use your energy to equip others.

Jesus could have sat in a corner lamenting His rejection. But He immediately begins teaching and then equipping His disciples to go and minister. I’ve found the greatest way to escape discouragement is to pour into others. At King David’s most desperate moment, as he was hiding out in the cave of Adullum, running from Saul and other adversaries, he begins to realize he is overwhelmed and in despair. Psalm 142 was the song David wrote while in the cave, and he feels completely alone. However, right after that, a large band of troubled men went to join him:

1 Samuel 22:1-2

David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.

David began to lead these men, becoming ‘captain over them’, and then begins to rebound from his discouragement. If you’ve been rejected, find some people who receive your ministry and begin to pour into their lives. Rejection isn’t easy to handle, but we can follow Jesus’ example and allow rejection to become redirection in our lives and ministries!

An Update On The House of Blessing

God is continuing to build and bless the House of Blessing Orphanage in Mexico! You can read the latest update from Jason and hear more about the new children who have come to live with them, their summer adventures, and the plans for the new school year below.

Back to school is in full effect here at the Casa.  The children started school last week and so far so good.  Wow, it was a bit crazy getting 13 children (including our daughter) prepped and ready for school.  But, with our great staff and a lot of work, everything fell into place and the kids are loving the new school year.  We have 4 kids in Jr. High, 7 kids in elementary and 2 in kindergarten.  Our staff was just as excited as the kids, for school to start because now we have 8 hours of peace and quiet each day.  I do miss the kids, but I too am enjoying the quietness. Now I know why my mom was so excited all those years for the 5 of us kids to start school.

The elementary and jr high kids are all set!

We had quite the busy summer, and time FLEW by.  Our Casa family continues to change and grow constantly.  At the beginning of summer, I think we had 14 kids.  Most of the children were able to spend part of their summer vacation with their mom's and extended family.  Overall, the kids enjoyed their time.  It is usually a challenge when kids come back from vacation because they are use to the freedom and lack of rules with their family.  However, for the most part, the kids have adjusted just fine being back at the orphanage.

Mary, the mother of Delia, Zuley and Victoria, also went to spend time with her sister in Chihuahua city.  We were really hoping and praying that they would come back to the orphanage by school time, however, they decided to stay in Chihuahua.  There are mixed feelings and emotions about this.  Obviously it is hard when children leave, but, in this case, Mary has found a job and will be living with her sister.  We are very thankful for the time the Lord allowed us to minister to this sweet mother and her girls.  Please continue to pray for them!

We also had a surge of new children come to the orphanage.  This past week, 3 new precious kids joined our family.  Natalia (age 6) and Valeria (age 5) came to the orphanage 6 days ago.  Both of their moms live locally here in Bachiniva, but need to travel to try to search for work.  They were wanting the girls to get a chance to go to school, but couldn't do that on their own.  These two girls are beautiful and have already been a blessing thus far.  Valeria is in the same class as our daughter Ayantu and already they are best friends.  

Valeria (on the left) and Natalia.  Sweet little princesses!

This past Sunday, another young boy named Osvaldo (age 10) joined our family.  Osvaldo's mother works locally here at the nursing home.  It's a blessing that she has a steady job, however, she works anywhere from 60-70 hours a week.  Whether its the morning shift or graveyard shift, Maria works constantly which forces Osvaldo to be home alone most of the day.  We were able to enroll Osvaldo in school and he is doing great.  He is a very nice and polite young man.  He has already become friends with the boys here at the orphanage and is adjusting very well!

Osvaldo

Not only were we busy with children coming and going, but also with activities and missions teams.  This summer we were able to host 2 different missions teams.  Our first group consisted of 16 individuals from Horizon Christian Fellowship and Immanuel Christian School, both located in El Paso.  Then earlier this month, we hosted 8 individuals from Cottage Grove Calvary in Oregon.  Both teams did an amazing job loving on the children, serving, encouraging and working hard.  The focus for both teams was laying the foundation and plumbing for our new offices.  We are SO exited to have these as it will free up space and allow for further growth.

Golfing in The Pacific Northwest 

I had the chance again, to travel back to Seattle for our annual golf invitational.  This year we had 81 golfers come out for an incredible day and we raised over $6,000.  I was absolutely amazed and had an incredible time with so many people supporting the ministry!

GOD IS FAITHFUL...

and continues to show that to me every single day.  Most recently, it has been in His financial provision.  I am absolutely amazed at the individuals, families, churches, businesses and even people I've never met, who give to the orphanage.  When Paul encouraged us that God would supply all our needs, he was speaking wonderful truths.  Anytime we've been in need of something, be that a vehicle, clothes, school uniforms and supplies, washing machine, utility bills, food, etc for our ever growing family, GOD HAS PROVIDED.  He has put it on the hearts of so many individuals who tirelessly give, pray and support us.  To all of you, we thank you from the bottom of our heart.  Truly, we could not do this without your help and support!

Questions To Ask Your Spouse by Laura Williams

Being married is one of the most wonderful and challenging adventures that I think we get to experience during this lifetime. We get to share the most intimate parts of our personality, our secrets, our bodies, struggles, our weird senses of humor, our quirks and phobias…and all of these together create a bond that cannot compare to any other human relationship we will ever have. There is so much comfort in having a spouse who gets you. But this isn’t something that just “happens” once you say, “I do.” Marriage takes work. And sometimes, I’ve found, the longer you are married, the more work the “knowing each other” can be. 

There is a comfortableness that assumes you may already have told all your stories, shared your deepest fears and joys, and maybe you’ve simply run out of new things to say. But our entire lives are meant to be spent learning and growing and loving each other deeper than before. Daniel and I have made a habit of asking one another some of these questions from time to time just for the sake of learning something new about the other person, and let me tell you, there are still surprises. :) We are far from perfect, but we have begun to understand the value in becoming reacquainted with the person we married. We married very young, and many of our answers to these questions have changed over time. Maybe yours will too. 

Knowing that God created marriage, it makes sense that He wants to continue to grow and shape us into His image throughout our married life, regardless of which stage you may find yourself in. The more we are able to experience of each other, the more we seem to find new levels of intimacy and unity that we didn’t even know was there waiting for us. And the more beautiful the work of Jesus becomes as you see your spouse through His eyes. Just like newlyweds believe nothing can top the euphoria of new romance and passion, we find deeper intimacies waiting for us at each new bend in the road. So, take some time to ask your spouse these questions and to answer some yourself. Even if you think you know the answers, listen. 

1. Name one thing I do that makes you feel loved.
2. What could I do to cause you to feel more loved?
3. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel respected/honored.
4. What could I do to cause you to feel more respected/honored?
5. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel understood.
6. What could I do to cause you to feel more understood?
7. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel secure.
8. What could I do to cause you to feel more secure?
9. Name one way I serve you that brings you great joy.
10. Are there specific ways that I can serve that I am not already doing?
11. What attribute would you most like me to develop?
12. Name one attribute (or mannerism or idiosyncrasy) that you most like me to change?
13. What attribute would you like me to help you develop in yourself?
14. What achievement in my life would bring you the greatest joy?
15. What mutual goal would you like us to accomplish?
16. How is our sex life?
17. Is there anything I can do to make our sex life better?
18. How are we doing with our family budgeting and finances?
19. What is one thing we can do to improve our budgeting and finances?
20. Name one personal goal for your life that I can help you achieve this year.
21. Name something new we might do together that would bring joy to our marriage/family? 
22. How are our relationships with our extended family (parents, siblings, etc.)?  Name one thing I can do to improve one of these family relationships.
23. Name one way that God has blessed our marriage.
24. Name one way that we could make our marriage more Christ-like.
25. Name one sin that you continue to struggle with.
26. What could I do to help you with this struggle?
27. Name one sin you see that I continue to struggle with.
28. What would you encourage me to do to deal with struggle?
29. Is there some way that you can help me with this struggle?
30. What would indicate to you that I really desire to be more Christ-like?
31. How has your love for God grown?
32. How is your devotional time going? (Specifically Scripture study & prayer)
33. Is there another spiritual discipline that you would like to develop? (fasting, " scripture memorization, etc.)
34. What can I do to help your love for God grow?
35. Name one thing about our church that brings you great joy.
36. Name one thing that would increase your joy in church?
37. In ten years where do you hope to be spiritually?
38. In ten years where do you think I should be spiritually?
39. Name one way that my leadership/submission has strengthened our marriage. What could I do to lead/submit better in our marriage?
40. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our marriage? What would make our marriage a ten? 

It's A Process by Cameron Barber

We live in a culture of instant gratification.  We want new, and we want it now.  I remember being told many times that patience is a virtue.  Maybe it’s a virtue we’ve lost.  I know that I can speak for my generation when I say that we want to get results fast.  We’ve got streaming video, constantly updating facebook, instagram, and twitter feeds.  Our smartphones keep us in touch with the now, and we like it that way.  We want the body of action hero’s in the time it takes to microwave a tv dinner.  Those things don’t go together.

Things take time.  If you want to loose weight, you have to be diligent in working out, and eating right, and no those abs are not going to appear overnight.  It’s a work in progress.  Your mindset is changed, and you’re committed to change, but the results are not quite there yet.  Time is a funny thing.  Some days we want to slow down, and sometimes we want to speed them up.  But we’re stuck.  Time will not pass any faster or slower for you.  We have the time that we have.

In the movie “Click” Adam Sandler plays an overworked architect.  He has a wire and two kids that love him, but he’s always working.  He promises and promises that once he makes partner in his firm that he will have the time to spend with his family.  So, he gets impatient.  He starts wishing he could just fast forward life, and get to the point he has been working so hard for.  He meets Christopher Walkin’s character and receives a universal remote.  One that can actually fast forward his life.  Of course things get out of control and Sandler ends up an old man in about 20 minutes and his whole life has flashed.  He ended up ruining everything he was trying to build.

Sounds like a cool thing to have at first.  A remote that could just fast forward time to the place we want.  Problem is, we need all of this time.  We cannot be like Jesus instantly, and we can’t expect others to be either.  Jesus works on us over time.  Like a master sculptor, He chisels away at us.  Breaking off pieces until we are a masterpiece.  That takes time.  Paul says, “I am confident that He who began a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus.”  Philippians 1:7.  Jesus starts a good work in us when we turn to Him.  But, perfection is something that we will not see until the day of Jesus.  It’s a process.  We are an unfinished work.  God’s not finished with us yet.  He’s not finished with any of us yet.

Sometimes it seems like we let our desire of instant gratification to take over.  We see Jesus changing people and wonder why He is not changing us, just like them.  We should all realize that we are all messed up in our own special little ways.  You are unique.  My Pastor , Pat Kestell, explained it like this, “If someone is a drug addicted axe murderer, maybe Jesus takes care of the axe murdering part before the drug part.”   Makes a lot of sense.

We are a work in process, and God is working on our hearts and lives every second of every day.  There is no reason for us to be anxious.  He will change you, if you let Him.

In Him,

Pastor Cam