What I Do Know by Alesha Sinks

There is so much unknown right now. And in a sense, the unknown has always been there…is always there. Because really, how can we foresee tomorrow?

But right now it’s the scary unknown…
Right now it’s the unknown where any seemingly good outcomes are quickly looking less likely.
Right now it’s the unknown where you begin to question everything you’ve known and believed.
Right now it’s the unknown where you realize that faith isn’t a word and instead is simply hard.
And right now the days are pressing close together and adding up quickly without anything coming to light.

When the unknowns start to permeate every corner of your heart and life, the lines between truth and lie can become blurred with the tears and the fears.

So today I’m making a list of what I know is true and holding tight to those things when everything else seems to be falling. Because when your life is filled with unknowns and unanswered questions you have to hold fast to what you know for sure.

I know for sure…
…that God is on the throne…
…that He is good…
…and that He loves me.

I know for sure that He has all authority in heaven and on earth.

I know for sure that He has a plan and that plan is good and that plan is for His glory and His glory alone.

I know for sure that He is wholly righteous and just in His actions.

I know for sure that this world is broken and fallen and evil and that I am broken and fallen and evil apart from the precious blood of Jesus.

I know for sure that He has rescued me from my brokenness.

I know for sure that through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross I am restored to a place of fellowship with God.

I know for sure that when God looks at me He sees the glorious righteousness of Jesus covering me.

…and I know for sure that in Jesus I am a beloved child of the King.

I know for sure that I am not promised and easy life, but I am promised that God will be with me in the midst of life.

I know for sure that there is nothing on this earth that can harm me beyond what God allows for His glorious purposes.

I know for sure that I am not the main part of God’s plan for my life, but that His glory is the main part of His plan for my life.

I know for sure that He will be faithful to complete the work He has begun in my life for His glory.

I know for sure that this life is short and that it is not my final destination.

…and I know for sure that my position in heaven is secure.

I know for sure that this life is a war and I am called to fight.

I know for sure that I have the power of God living inside of me, equipping me for every battle and every good work He has called me to.

I know for sure that I will make mistakes but that there is a never-ending supply of grace waiting for me when I turn to Jesus.

…and I know for sure that He has empowered me, is empowering me, and will empower me to do all that He has called me to do for His glory.

I know for sure that God’s grace is glorious.
I know for sure that my home is in heaven.
I know for sure that my identity is in Jesus.
I know for sure that my calling is to bring Him glory.

I know for sure that God is on the throne, that He is good, and that He loves me. And I’m clinging hard and fast to these truths on the days when I just don’t know…because these things I know for sure.

Be blessed,
Alesha

BACK AGAIN by Alesha Sinks

The air conditioning was broken at the Veterans Park Community Center we rent for church, and after a sticky, sweaty hour and a half service at the beginning of July, we relocated to a living room for the next three weeks while the air conditioning was being fixed.

And while we’re excited to be back in our normal brown folding chairs this coming Sunday, August 2nd, it was such a sweet time of worship the past three weeks. About twenty five of us packed into the living room and kitchen to sit on an odd assortment couches, patio furniture, kitchen chairs, and bar stools in order to worship and pray together and to hear the Word of God taught.

What a special time those services were, in all their simplicity! And our hearts might have been tempted to say, "Isn't this better? Just the "core group" worshiping together in a more intimate space..."

But Pastor Daniel reminded us over and over that we aren't called to simply worship and be fed for ourselves. We have a mission from God in our city. And while the times of pulling back and refreshing ourselves in God are important, the weekly and daily presence we have in our city through our regular service times and regular lives lived out are essential too.

Church planting isn't just about being fed and gathering intimately and worshiping privately.

Church planting is...

...serving.

...giving.

...opening wide.

...reaching out.

...being consistent.

...living love out to those around you.

And while our little group of twenty-five might seem like it's too small to make a real impact, it's really not. Because even one person living their life open and reaching out in love can make a world of difference.

So each Sunday we are called to meet in the little community center by the Intercostal. We are called to sit on those familiar chairs and to put out the same signs and to preach the Word of God every single week, so that people know that we will be there when they need us…when they need to meet with Jesus.

And each week, we're called to go about our lives in a way that's seeking opportunities to serve and give and even speak the love of Jesus that has set us free, so that people will know that we will be there when they need us.

Church planting takes consistency.

Sacrificial consistency.

Loving consistency.

Open armed consistency.

May we find the strength in Jesus to be consistent in loving and serving and being where He has called us to be.

As You Spend by Travis Sinks

Matthew 6 is a chapter FULL of assumptions. By assumptions, I mean that when Jesus is teaching, He is not saying that giving, praying, fasting, spending, and living are optional. Far from it! He is assuming that you will do all of these things, and then He tells you how to do them well.

The fourth of these assumptions is found in verses 19-24.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[e] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

In these few verses Jesus reveals one of our greatest threats to having God be the Lord of our life: the love of money. It’s in this section that Jesus reminds us that money is to be used, not worshiped.

We love money for a variety of reasons. Some people like the security it brings, others, the pleasure, status symbol, or other benefits it promises. However, Jesus reminds us in the very beginning: it won’t last.

Jesus gives us a sober reminder that thieves and time destroy all wealth. Even today we see people laying down thousands in order to insure that their wealth is protected. Yet even with physical protection, Jesus reminds us that one day we will die and our money will no longer be ours.

After pointing out our desperate situation in regards to our relationship with money, Jesus takes it a step further. He says that not only is your physical relationship to wealth eventually going to deteriorate, but that having your eyes focused on anything other than God will only bring darkness into our lives. He tells us that where we place our desires will be reflected in the rest of our lives and heart. If we place our hearts (our “eyes”, as He says) on money rather than God, then our lives will reflect that darkness rather than God’s light.

As dismal as our situation can appear with Jesus’ harsh reminder of our situation, He brings us hope. He tells us that there is another way. Jesus says in verse 24 that “No one can serve two masters”, and later He rephrases it as “You cannot serve God and money.” In this statement He’s bringing us another option. He’s giving us the choice to repent of our past ways, to repent of our love of money, security, status, pride, etc - and to turn to God as our Master instead.

He alludes to this earlier when He encourages His listeners to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (verse 20). What a hope that we are not constrained to the ongoing problem of accumulating wealth on earth, only to live in constant fear of it being lost, and then to have it all be taken away at our death. Jesus gives us a new story to live by, one where God is our Master, not money. This story may involve riches on earth, but it may not. Regardlessly, God is our goal, our treasure, and our reward, not money.

So how do you lay up treasures in heaven? How do we turn to God as our master?

The first step would be to consider what Jesus has to say about giving. If you haven’t already, go read Part 1 in this series which talks about this subject. After learning more about what Jesus has for us in this area, obey Him in it.

The second step would be to continue to learn more about the character of God and pray that He would put that same Spirit and character into your life. Remember that money is not the only problem we have. Jesus said that "no one can serve TWO masters.” This includes money, however, it also includes the rest of life. So as you continue to learn more about God and become more sensitive to His Spirit and leading, follow Him. When you believe He wants you to give more than what is standard, do so. When you believe He wants you to serve others, talk to a stranger, give someone a ride, get a new job, or anything else - go do it.

In summary, make Jesus be your Lord in every area of your life and in doing so you’ll be storing up treasures in heaven.

An Update Interview with Pilgrim Benham

Pastor Daniel had the opportunity to sit down with Pilgrim Benham, a church planter in Bradenton, FL and talk about his church, family, and journey following Jesus and starting a church! Redemption Church has supported the Benham family and Calvary Chapel Shoreline since they began 6 months ago. We hope you enjoy this video update from Pastor Pilgrim on all God has been doing at Calvary Shoreline in the last 6 months!

As You Fast by Travis Sinks

Matthew 6 is a chapter FULL of assumptions. By assumptions, I mean that when Jesus is teaching, He is not saying that giving, praying, fasting, spending, and living are optional. Far from it! He is assuming that you will do all of these things, and then He tells you how to do them well.

The third of these assumptions is found in verses 16-18.

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

“…When you fast…”

Jesus assumes that we will fast. That we will have frequent occasions when we will give up food, pleasure, comforts, tv, video games, etc in what we call “fasting”.

He confirms this expectation in Matthew 9:14-15 when He explains that His disciples aren’t fasting because He is physically present, but that once He goes away for a time (being the time we’re currently in), that His disciples (you and I) will fast.

There’s so much to be learned about fasting, but only so much that is covered in this section by Jesus. If you want to study more on fasting, there is a book by John Piper called “A Hunger for God” that speaks on fasting in more depth. You can download the PDF for free on his website (at this link), or you can buy it there as well.

As far as Matthew 6 is concerned, there is only one thing we need to be sure to know about fasting, and that is the state of our heart. Like the rest of these teachings by Jesus in Matthew 6, we see that fasting can be used to glorify and bring attention to ourselves, or it can be used to worship God.

Jesus launches directly into the issue. He says that you should not look “gloomy” or “disfigure their faces” so that others may know that they are on a spiritual quest of fasting. He actually goes to the other extreme and says that you should be “anointing your head” and “washing your face” so that you are taking every effort to hide your fasting from others. He claims that those who have a practice of purposely revealing that they are fasting have already gained their reward from others (praise, and admiration), but that those who hide their fasting are storing up a reward from God Who "sees in secret."

However, as mentioned in the “As You Give” post, we can take this too far. We can  avoid contact with others for fear of them realizing that we are fasting. In reality, someone will almost always find out that we are fasting. A coworker noticing that we haven’t been eating lunch, or a spouse who knows you didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. These are not the situations that Jesus is condemning, but rather the heart that chooses to fast in order to have these people realize just how “spiritual” we are for fasting.

Fasting, at it’s heart, is meant to bring a question to the forefront of our minds: “Do I desire God more than these things?” I encourage you, if you have not fasted in the past month, or maybe even ever, to fast for 2 meals. Obviously there are medical things to consider if you are diabetic or have similar life-threatening considerations, but for the majority of us, we skip meals all the time. Jesus is asking us to take pause in our lives and to consider how important and forefront He is in our lives.

This will most likely be a time of repentance of issues in our hearts, but that’s the point. Fasting is not to attain a higher state of spirituality, but rather to show us how lowly and needy we are of God’s grace.

Two things to consider:

1. In Luke 18:12-14, Jesus tells a story:

"There once were two men. One said, 'I fast twice a week'; the other said, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.' Only one went down to his house justified.” (abbreviated)

Let’s learn from the first man’s mistake. He fasted, but in order to gain recognition. The second man had humility and was given mercy.

2. Richard Foster described fasting in this way:

“More than any other discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. If pride controls us, it will be revealed almost immediately. David said, “I humbled my soul with fasting” [Psalm 35:13]. Anger, bitterness, jealousy, strife, fear—if they are within us, they will surface during fasting. At first, we will rationalize that our anger is due to our hunger. And then, we know that we are angry because the spirit of anger is within us. We can rejoice in this knowledge because we know that healing is available through the power of Christ."

As you take time to fast, let it be used by God for your personal humbling, and His supernatural healing. God is our good physician, but only those who realize their need get to receive His healing.

An Update Interview with Cameron Barber

We just had the awesome opportunity to visit Pastor Cam and his family up in Lakewood, Washington and hear about the ministry of Calvary South Sound. Here you can watch our interview and learn more about what has been happening in the church and how you can be praying for this wonderful family and their ministry in Washington state.

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

As You Pray by Travis Sinks

Matthew 6 is a chapter FULL of assumptions. By assumptions, I mean that when Jesus is teaching, He is not saying that giving, praying, fasting, spending, and living are optional. Far from it! He is assuming that you will do all of these things, and then He tells you how to do them well.

The second of these assumptions is found in verses 5-15.

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

When you pray...

When you pray, pray like this...

The “Lord’s Prayer” (found in Matthew 6:5-15) has received much attention and rightfully so. It has so much to say, yet this will be just a few thoughts on two highlights that I hope will bless you.

Do not pray hypocritically

Hypocritically literally means "behaving in a way that suggests one has higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case”.

The example Jesus gave of praying hypocritically was of people who prayed publicly in the synagogues and on street corners. By calling them hypocrites, He was implying that this was their ONLY and PRIMARY prayer time - when others could see.

Praying publicly is not the problem here; the problem is a heart that prays only to be seen by others. We desire affirmation from people, but Jesus tells us to have our motivation be one that values God’s opinion and not people’s.

Pray as a child of God

“Do not heap up empty phrases… for they think they’ll be heard for their many words.” Jesus was saying that other people think they’ll be heard by God if they pray long… or loud… or eloquently.

Jesus says that you are not heard because of any of these things, but because you are God’s child. God hears us because, by the blood of Jesus taking our sinful state and replacing it with His rightful Sonship, we are now children of God - and a good parent listens to their child. Jesus' “example prayer” for us begins with “Our Father”, and this is in direct reference to why we even get to finish our prayer before God. It is because we are His children.

Go Pray!

Please don’t merely read about prayer, but take some time to pray. Go to God and pray - He wants you to. And as you pray, do so for God, to enjoy the relationship you have with Him.

Here’s a breakdown of the rest of the prayer to help outline your own. Don’t worry about how you say it, just say it. God wants to hear His child (you) and doesn’t want you to merely repeat another child’s “ideal” prayer. He wants YOU to come before Him and talk.

Matthew 6:9–13

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name."

Praise God for the good God that He is. He is holy (far different and set apart from us) and is to be acknowledged as so.

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

His kingdom. His rule. His reign. His way. Pray that God’s will would be done. One beautiful way to imagine this is to imagine heaven. Heaven is where God’s rule and reign is perfect. No more wars, sickness, sadness, pain, etc. God is glorified by all people’s and we enjoy His light and love perfectly. Pray for that to be here on earth as much as it can be until we reach heaven.

"Give us this day our daily bread,"

It is good to ask God for things, however so often we ask for things that would feed our flesh and not our souls. We are told to be content with today’s blessings and provision and to not be anxious about tomorrow.

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

We need to have repentance to be a part of our prayers! As Martin Luther wrote: “A Christian’s life is one of daily repentance.” However, Jesus takes this opportunity to remind us that we too are meant to forgive. He emphasizes that point to the extreme of telling us to pray that God would forgive us just as we’ve forgiven others. Do you want to be forgiven only to the measure with which you forgive?

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Pray for strength and guidance against temptation. Jesus told His disciples to “watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” And to Peter, Jesus said that Satan desired to sift him like wheat, but to not fear for He had prayed for him. We are to actively pray against future situations, ones we expect to encounter, and we are to pray that we will be free from temptation and evil in our hearts during the many surprises of life as well.

CHURCH PLANTING: THE SMALL MOMENTS by Alesha Sinks

…this.
….these moments.
…these collections of things and people and places and conversations and actions and chores that make up our lives each day.

We can’t afford to miss that this is it.
The work we do.
The daily life we live.
The streets we drive.
The songs we sing.
The relationships we have.

The smallest of moments we live each day…
…this is church planting.

And I want to remember this.
The small times.
The seemingly insignificant times.

The days when a team of five adults and two kids can set up for church in just over an hour.

The days of hauling equipment out of a back closet.

The days of taking an empty, uninviting space and turning it into a place where people come to meet with Jesus.

The days of one tiny kids room in the back, only separated from the sanctuary by a pulling divider.

The days of folding chairs and folding tables and black curtain dividers.

The days of wiping play mats on hands and knees.

The days of ten-year-olds holding hands with three-year-olds and learning about Jesus together.

The days of events that take every person in the church to accomplish.

I want to remember the small days and the small moments and the big things Jesus did in and through all of the smallness.

I want to remember this and I want to be thankful for it now, in the midst of the smallness. I want to remember and celebrate that God is somehow working through all of the small.

I want to remember that all these small things are the big things…that they are what church planting is made up of.

Church planting is all the little things that happen in the little moments of life that we can so easily miss if we don’t take the time to notice and celebrate.

Be blessed,

lesha

As You Give by Travis Sinks

Matthew 6 is a chapter FULL of assumptions. By assumptions, I mean that when Jesus is teaching, He is not saying that giving, praying, fasting, spending, and living are optional. Far from it! He is assuming that you will do all of these things, and then He tells you how to do them well.

The first of these assumptions is found in verses 1-4.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Jesus ASSUMES that you will give. He assumes that you will give generously. He assumes that you will give to the church, to family, to friends, and to complete strangers. The question isn’t if you should, but HOW you should. Jesus starts with a summary of the problem:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” -Matthew 6:1

Jesus does not condemn us for wanting a reward for our giving. However, He is saying that you only get a reward from either God or man, but not both.

So often people think that doing something for the reward or result is wrong, but Jesus doesn’t say that. When His disciples argued over who was the greatest, He didn’t rebuke them for desiring to be great. Far from it! He instead told them how to be great in God’s Kingdom. (Luke 22:24-30).

We see the same concept here: Jesus isn’t upset at our desire for reward, but He warns us that to gain a heavenly reward, we need to remove our desire for early ones.

When we give, we need to have the mindset of showing God’s love to others. When we give, we need the priority of doing God’s work on earth. When we give, we need a heart of gratitude for all that God has first given to us.

On the flip side, an extreme view of "giving in secret" can be damaging to many Christians. They take this passage to mean that if anyone finds out you gave, then all rewards from God are gone. This leads to people who are constantly in fear of their reward being stolen away and are trying to cover up their tracks in order to preserve their reward. Was this the kind of obsession Jesus meant to create?

I think not.

Jesus emphasized that the problem comes when people give in order that “they may be praised by others.” People in His day, and ours as well, would give with trumpets sounding before them and with other large demonstrations. This was all to gain the praise of men.

The issue isn't if someone finds out, but what the motivation is. You could have a heart of desiring someone to catch you putting money in the tithe box, but then no one does. The Bible teaches that your reward in heaven can be taken away even if no one sees you give, because it’s a matter of the heart.

So what do we need to take away from this?

1) We are expected to give.

2) We only get a reward in heaven if our motives and desires reflect the heart of God.

3) With all of these expectations we are given by Jesus, we need to remember that they all require the power and working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Money is naturally a snare because it feeds our sinful hearts in whatever way we desire. Power. Pleasure. Security. Fame. Popularity. Etc. When reflecting on what God would desire you to do with the money He’s given you and how He would desire you to use it, make sure you leave time to pray and seek God’s wisdom, guidance, and power to act in a way that will glorify Him.