Dumb Questions...

1.  Do you or someone you know need help in relationships?
2.  Does the Bible offer help/guidance relationally?

I begin a teaching series this Sun, Feb 4 (see info below)...this will help anyone in friendships, dating, marriage and families, because God's Word provides true guidelines. Your mission, should you decide to accept it--- invite 4 people to attend our Celebration services to hear and apply these practical and biblical messages. Please be intentional to ask people to come!

 NEW SERMON SERIES FROM PASTOR PERRY FLOYD. KEEPING RELATIONSHIPS HEALTHY

February 4: What are Healthy Relationships? 

February 11: Dealing with Toxic Relationships! 

February 25: Holding Key Relationships

March 10: Healing Wounded Relationships

********​​**********************************

         WEEK OF PRAYER & FASTING FEBRUARY 12-18

Vineyard Church needs God's presence and power. We are setting these days,  which align with Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lenten season, to pray and fast as a congregation. See prayer guide Sunday morning. We will end our fast together on Sunday, February 18 with All Church Potluck after our Celebration Service.

M W F = Monday, Wednesday, Friday = Mornings With Father A group of Christ-followers were confused and consumed with End Times – some went to extreme lifestyle changes to prepare for the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul their apostle answered the questions and gave fatherly guidance that resonates to this day – “But we urge you, brothers, to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12.

I commit to live quietly, loving my Christian community earnestly. I will mind my own business.  Today I do my job, not depending on others to do for me what I can do for myself. I refuse to be a victim or live an entitled life. Confident of His imminent return, I will seek God’s presence and power so that my journey points to the Risen One. Fill me True Vine, that I may bear much fruit, fruit that lasts.

Paul prayed...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

There's a difference between a doctrine (something we believe to be true) – and an experience (something that happens to us). Paul prayed three basic things for Christ-followers in Ephesus:

1. Power internally from God’s Spirit,
2. Rooted and Grounded in love,
3. Know the love of Christ, with the result that they would be filled with God!

God's Spirit can dwell in, fill, and control a human spirit like a supernatural battery, bringing life, energy, and power. He prayed that the bottom-line motivation, the foundation for life would be God's agape love for each of us. He prayed that we might experientially know God's love: not intellectiually, but rather actually know it personally, as the Greek word "ginoskow" means to know by personal experience. When we experience God's love, what does it do?

• It changes a person from the inside out
• It casts out fear   1 John 4:18
• It builds trust and faith in Jesus–gives me hope Romans 5:5
• It renews and refreshes my spirit
• It increases strength and endurance
• It leads to the fruit of the Spirit
• It manifests the presence of God

We need to "know" God's love, which surpasses knowledge, to overcome and endure

the challenges that our lives encounter. Pray this apostolic prayer for yourself, your 

family, and dear ones, I am. Pastor Perry Floyd

Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight...be attentive to my words, incline your ear to my sayings...ponder the path of your feet.  Proverbs 4:1, 20, 26

My Dad had a habit when I was a child: he would thump me on my skull with his middle finger and forcefully utter two words – "Son, think!" This semi-painful reminder occurred hundreds of times, as I recall. My mother's remembered habit was to point her index finger at me and with equal force say but one two syllable word, "Behave! I was an impulsive child, needing constant reminders.

Wise Father Solomon urged his sons (and daughters, I am certain) to think, ponder, pay attention, to carefully consider both their words and deeds (with or without the skull thumping, I am not certain.) My parents provided adequate instructions concerning how to live, as did Solomon. Much of my early learning came directly from the Scriptures. I now learn as an adult how to "think like a Christian" by guarding what I ponder – what I meditate upon – where I direct my thoughts.

Like you, I can place my mind where I choose, much like I can place my hands where I choose. My hands, my mind. Paul re-emphasized the concept to disciples of Christ in Philippi.  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,  whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, 

if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these  things 4:8."  It is a crucial component of discipleship, to discipline my mind. Pay attention to the best things, the higher matters; focus more on eternal than temporal. 

See the humorous commercial ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9wJxZc2KF8) with the Solomon-like question, "what are you 'sinking' about?

Paying more attention to God's Words, Pastor Perry Floyd

• ​** IMPORTANT VINEYARD PRAYER NEEDS **Presence & power of Holy Spirit in our gatherings
• New onsite Administrator
• Leadership development – deacons & elders, new pastor
• Financial provision in 2024 for families and congregation
• Reaching out to people, both lost, wounded and workers

 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he  it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

During their walk from the upper room to the garden of Gethsemane, I am convinced Jesus and his 11 apostles passed a vineyard; this gave rise to what John alone recorded in his gospel. The purpose of your lives, Jesus told them, is to bear fruit, much fruit, fruit that lasts. He pictured God the Father as the Gardener—Himself as the life-giving true vine--and those men – and you and I, as branches who produce fruit. Will we accept that mandate, that the purpose of our continued existence on Earth is to bear fruit? Inner fruit, the fruit of the Spirit, developing the

character of Christ—and external fruit, the result of Spirit-empowered ministry and service to 

others.

The crucial verb necessary to live as a fruit-bearer is abide, "menow" in Greek. It means to develop and maintain a strong growing connection to Jesus himself. Six things this connection looks like: 

​** Receive Christ as both Savior and Lord of my life.  John 17:3 "And this is eternal  life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

 ​** Strengthen that connection like a friendship relationship.  John 15:14-15 "You are my friends if you do what I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."

​** Understand the importance of the connection.  John 15:4-5 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

​** Make more room in my heart / mind for Jesus’ words.  John 15:7-8 "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."

​** Accept “chosen” as my identity in Christ.  John 15:16  "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should last, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."     

​** Live my life in a tribe, understanding its strengths and weaknesses.  John 15:12, 17 "These  things I command you, so that you will love one another as I have loved you."

Choosing Fruit-Bearer as my middle name, Pastor Perry Floyd

My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.  Psalm 25:15 

Several years ago I was in a real "mess," one I brought on myself. The path out of the mess involved repentance, accountability and my theme verse, Psalm 25:15.  As I fixed my gaze on Jesus, and kept it there, he truly released my feet from the trap! Recently the words trap and snare and net have snagged my attention. Trap is found in the Bible 17 times, net 29 times, snare 55 times; the phrase "traps and snares" 6 times.

There are traps ahead of you and me in 2024, some generic, some custom-designed for our proclivities. The purpose of these snares: to distract, detour, and detonate us! They attempt to pull us away from God, from our true identity, and from our purpose.

Wise Solomon counseled his sons in Proverbs 7 via a parable—he told of a young man who "had no sense" (idiot) who wandered into a seductive woman's house, only to be killed! Solomon used three animal pictures to describe the young man. "All at once  he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose  till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will  cost him his life." Proverbs 7:22-23

Verses 24 & 25 are a good description of the path to sin, not only sexual but all sin. "Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.  Do not let your  heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths." 3 steps to sin, involving body parts:

1.  Ears -- we stop listening to God
2.  Heart – our heart & mind turns toward, considers the sin's possibility
3.  Feet – we wander into places we do not belong

We know the traps/snares/nets our enemy lays for us..."in order that Satan might not  outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." 2 Corinthians 2:11  Paul expressed both the problem and its solution: But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the  serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure  devotion to Christ."  2 Corinthians 11:3

To avoid traps, to get out of them, here are three simple but not easy suggestions:

1.  Get to and remain at "pure and simple devotion to Christ" = our safe place
2.  Soak your mind with Scripture – read, hear, study, memorize, meditate on it
3.  Submit to and obey the Holy Spirit's nudges and leadings  

Anticipating snares, gaining wisdom, Pastor Perry Floyd

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Matthew 9:36

Consider Jesus' evaluation of human nature. Matthew, the hated tax collector turned apostle,recorded Rabbi's attitude toward the hoi polloi as he traveled around Galilee. The phrase "like sheep without a shepherd" is telling. Israel's great king David began life as a shepherd. The best-known chapter in the Bible is David's Psalm 23, " the LORD is my Shepherd."

Psalm 95:7 "For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand." Ubiquitous in Israel were sheep and shepherds; God and the nation's leaders were seen as shepherds, people seen as sheep. The metaphor "sheep without a shepherd" is repeated in 1 Kings 22:17, Ezekiel 34:5, Zechariah 10:2, and in Jeremiah 23, where God rebukes Israel's

shepherd-leaders for not caring for their "flocks."

Jesus saw crowds of people as "harassed and helpless." The two Greek adjectives are "eklow"  and "hriptow."  Eklow literally translates to be loosed or set free; it is used 6 other times in the New Testament and is translated to faint each time. In Matthew 9 it carries the impact of fainthearted or easily weakened. Hriptow means to be suddenly thrown to the ground. Jesus viewed people through the lens of compassion, mercy. We are weak, easily broken, prone to wander smack-dab into danger—dumb, like sheep. Sheep are valuable but need shepherds for care, protection and guidance.  

Two wonderful but difficult ideas to live by: 

• I / We need shepherds, both Divine and human. As the hymn put it, we are prone to wander,
• prone to leave the God we love. Left alone we self-destruct in many ways—our self-centered
• plans and "devices" most often end badly. I need shepherds, don't you?
• The best attitude toward other human beings is that of Rabbi Jesus:  compassion. Having
• sinned, I can have compassion on sinners. Having received far more mercy than I've earned,
• I may extend mercy to others who do not deserve it.

After all, who understands people more than our Creator/Designer Jesus the Christ? Looking to the new year, I choose to lay down criticism, condescension, and judgment. I decide to pick up instead kindness, tenderness and forgiveness. Mercy me! Too true is prophet Isaiah's comment: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the 

Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Thankful for our Good Shepherd and his human shepherds, Pastor Perry Floyd

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance...

1 Peter 1:14

Both Peter and Paul used an interesting word as they wrote to instruct followers of Jesus Christ in matters of lifestyle. Though 20+ centuries and several cultures lie between them and us, the word yet resonates as a proper guidepost for 21^st century disciples. The word is syschēmatizō, meaning literally to conform one's self (i.e. one's mind and character) to another's pattern, or to fashion one's self according to that pattern.

Peter exhorted his readers to resist conforming to their pre-Christian passions. Paul exhorted his sisters and brothers in Christ to "not be conformed to this world," again using syschēmatizō  (Rom. 12:2). Every culture in every age has a "fashion," a way of living that is the norm. Each culture squeezes its inhabitants into that fashion...language, customs, lifestyle. This is normal, adapt and adopt to it, a culture says. Think of a society, a culture, as a river flowing in a direction. We who follow Jesus as Lord have always been countercultural; we flow the opposite direction.

Two declarations of Jesus clarify this truth. After he told the parable of the dishonest manager, "the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And  he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.  For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God" Luke 16:14-15. He referred to Satan as "the ruler of this world" John 14:30. Cultures on Earth are, and have always been, under the dominion of our enemy, regardless of time, geography, or language. God's kingdom replaces that dominion as we welcome his rule and reign in our lives. We deliberately

conform our lifestyle to Jesus' character, rather than to our culture's.

Thus the "Christmas passage" from Isaiah 9:6-7 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace  there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it  with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of  hosts will do this." Hallelujah! Because Christ has come, his kingdom will reign forever.

Rather than conform to this world, Paul wrote, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Peter wrote, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. To play our part in a culture whose values, customs and priorities differ vastly from God's, we must square our shoulders and boldly live as holy ones, those set apart for a special purpose. We let his light shine through us, so that seeing our good works, our society gives glory unto the living Redeemer who has saved us.

Living unfashionably, Pastor Perry Floyd

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as  though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share  Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.  

1 Peter 4:12-13

In his last discussion with his leaders before his arrest, trials and crucifixion, Jesus warned that just as the world hated him, the world would hate and persecute them as they followed him. He ended with these words John recorded: I have said these things to you, that in me you may  have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. Peter heard that warning and promise; years later he wrote to scattered disciples of Jesus, encouraging them in the midst of suffering and persecution. Three key phrases:

1. DON’T BE SURPRISED AT FIERY TRIALS
2. INSTEAD REJOICE
3. AS YOU SHARE CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS

Paul echoed the idea of sharing Christ's suffering in two of his missives...The Spirit himself bears  witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God  and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be  glorified with him…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share  his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the 

resurrection from the dead.  (Rom. 8:16-17, Phil. 3:10-11)

The bottom line in coping with and responding to the suffering we endure because we follow and obey Jesus Christ? Five principles I try to keep in mind:

• I get the whole weekend: Jesus' arrest, beating, death, burial, resurrection (me too)
• Life in a war zone is difficult, surprising, painful—and I am in a cosmic war
• Because of the endgame, I can rejoice. We win the war and live forever with Him
• Suffering can increase intimacy with Jesus. I want that

Rejoicing as I follow Him, Pastor Perry Floyd

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not Luke 7:14.

Jesus had the proper attitude and feelings toward people, did he not? As God in flesh, he most excellently lived the way we his disciples are to live. Consider the gospel author Matthew’s record: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd…So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him….When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” 9:35, 20:34, 14:14. Jesus was moved with compassion. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”  

Compassion alludes to kindness and sympathy, but there is something deeper, something even more profoundly powerful, in its meaning. The origin of the word helps us grasp the true breadth and significance of compassion. In Latin, ‘compati’ means “suffer with.” Compassion means someone else’s heartbreak becomes your heartbreak. Another’s suffering becomes your suffering. True compassion changes the way we live.

The Greek word splagchnizomai is translated moved with compassion, from the word for bowels or guts. The Greeks considered one’s bowels to be the seat of love and pity. The plight of hurting people did not cause disgust or judgment in Jesus; he was not appalled; he was moved internally. To adequately follow our Master, we may develop a stronghold of compassion for people.

Peter instructed Christ-followers, “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble” 1 Peter 3:8. Paul wrote to friends in Colosse, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” 3:12.

Building a stronghold of compassion, according to pastor and author Rodney Hogue, involves these steps:

• Acknowledge God’s Will to Forgive
• Meditate on God’s Forgiveness for You
• Receive the Grace to Demonstrate Mercy, as God has Graced/Forgiven You
• Love With the Lord’s Love
• Determine to Forgive Before an Offense Occurs

Living out good news in one’s culture is the assignment of each generation of Jesus’ disciples. Building a stronghold of compassion helps to accomplish this. We counteract the reputation of judgmental haters as we show mercy to people, especially those who are hurt, wounded, addicted and helpless. Brick by merciful brick, let us construct a heart and will to spread compassion where we live, work and play.

Putting on my toolbelt of compassion, Pastor Perry Floyd

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7-8

Both Paul and John were astounded at how much God loves people. Paul wrote to friends in Ephesus that God's grace was "lavished" on us. John the elder apostle wrote to disciples of Jesus "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" We are lavishly loved and graced by our heavenly Father.

The Greek verb "perisseuow" is translated lavished; it means to exceed a fixed number of measure, to have in in abundance, to overflow or abound, be over and above. God does not measure out his love and grace to us carefully, squeezing from a dropper. No, he flings it carelessly, abundantly to all human beings. He is gracious to those we would not be. He loves the unlovable, the jerks and idiots of the world...like you and me. We sometimes grow calloused to the depth of his love, that he would send Jesus to suffer and die for us, knowing many of us would reject his astounding gift.

May this Thanksgiving our awe and amazement of how good the Good News actually is be rekindled. As we meditate on His holiness compared with ours, let us humbly say "thank you Lord" for the undeserved and unearnable grace and love poured on us like gravy on turkey. Gather as you will with kin and community, let our gratitude take full throat this week. PS Keep it up.

Color me thankful, Pastor Perry Floyd

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  

Joshua 1:8

I love the internet! The libraries and museums of the entire world are in my desktop, my iPad, my smartphone. I ask Miss Google any question, due to my over-crammed often-failing memory, and the answer is right there in my hand. In my high school classroom, I have a 6-foot Promethean board, a computer on the wall, with which I blast 70's rock classics to my incoming students! Yay 21^st century tech!

I hate the internet! Social media, pornography and vapid YouTube videos rot the minds of all living generations. In his book Digital Liturgies, Samuel James wrote, "As our attention span thins and our capacity for quality reflection diminishes, we begin to depend more and more on the web's tools for efficiency and attention-grabbing." Can it be, as some social scientists insist, that the normal current attention span has shrunk to less than 20 seconds?

From Mr. James's quote, will you do some "quality reflection" on what an ancient document records? God Almighty gave wise counsel to the new leader of the Israelites, Joshua, some 3,200 years ago. Meditate day and night on God's words, the Scriptures. The promised results were success and prosperity. The author of Psalm 1 gave identical counsel "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night" Psalm 1:1-2. The promised results? "In all that he does, he prospers" Psalm 1:3.

The New Testament author James repeats the idea in different language: "But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" James 1:25. Blessing in all that one does is the promised result.

Three separate instructions over three millennia, to meditate, aka quality reflection, on Scripture—with the same promised results. Hmmm. This is a seldom claimed, rarely practiced promise in the Bible; and yet I have found in 51 years of following Jesus Christ it is valid and valuable.

Whether using a metal chip-enabled device or a bound paper book, stopping life to think deeply on the words of Jesus, the Prophets and Apostles is the most fruitful habit I have formed. We must regain our capacity to muse, to consider, to ruminate on God's thoughts and ways revealed in the Book. I urge you to practice biblical meditation (not to be confused with eastern practices of transcendental meditation and the like). Thinking on Scripture helps to live out what Paul declared, that we are to be "transformed by the renewing of our minds." The internet can both help and hinder this process.  

Lengthening my attention span, Pastor Perry Floyd

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.  Psalm 147:1

A Christian is a "praise-er." It's how we roll. Praise is one of three components of worship; praise, thanksgiving, adoration. Three phrases about praise from Psalm 147:1: it is good, it is pleasant, it is fitting. We look good when we praise, God is beautiful, worthy of our praise. We never behave more appropriately than when we give glory to our God.

To Isaiah the prophet the Lord said, "I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise (43:20-21). Peter the apostle wrote "you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Pet. 2:9).

There are ten Hebrew words translated "praise" in the Old Testament:

1. Shabach (Ps 145:4) Shout praise. Expresses confidence in God’s ability.

2. Barach (Ps 95:6) Kneel, bless the Lord. Expresses humility.

3. Yadah (Ps 63:1) The extended hand. Expresses gratitude and surrender.

4. Towdah (Ps 50:23) The raised hand. Expresses adoration.

5. Taqa (Ps 47:1) Clap, applaud. Expresses joy and victory.                                       

6. Hallal (Ps 148-150) Celebrate extravagantly. Root of the word “hallelujah” which means “praise (halla) to jah (God)”. Expresses joy, jubilation and celebration.                                    

7. Tehillah Ps 33:1 Singing scripture to instruct and encourage.                                  

8. Tephillah. (Ps 39:12) Prayer, often sung as intercession and petition.                          

9. Kara (2 Sam 6:14) Dance. “David danced before the Lord with all his might.” Expresses joy and celebration.                                                                                   

10. Zamar ( Ps 4 and 6, 7:17) Make music by striking the fingers on strings or parts of a musical instrument. When we play instrumentally to facilitate a holy atmosphere, it’s not just church cocktail music, it’s zamar.

What's the point?  Our entire being is an instrument of praise! We exalt Jesus with every member of our body. What is praise? Giving God glory for who he is -- Why we praise?  He is worth it, he is due it -- When do we praise?  At all times. Sadly, we don't praise more because we don't feel like it, or life isn't going well. Tough reminder: our emotions are not our master nor our enemy: they are our servants. We don't live by circumstances, we live on purpose. Two challenges as you and I live with Jesus as Lord...increase our daily times of praise, and increase our praise language. We may intentionally declare His goodness and mercy often and verbally each day. We may read the Psalms to use greater words and phrases to give Him glory.  Hallelujah, Pastor Perry Floyd

REMINDER: WORSHIP NIGHT THIS WED, 6:30 PM AT VCABQ! 

SEE YOU THERE, Perry Floyd

Those who make them (idols) will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. Psalm 115:8

What does a Christian look like? A Christian looks like a worshiper. Christians develop and deepen a lifestyle of worshiping our triune God.  

Everybody has to live for something, but Jesus argues that if that thing is not him, it will fail you. It will enslave you …. Nobody put this better than the American writer and intellectual David Foster Wallace. Wallace was at the top of his profession. He was an award-winning, best-selling novelist who committed suicide in 2008. But before his death he gave a famous commencement address in which he said this to the graduating class:

Because here's something else that's true. In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism …. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And … pretty much anything you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things—if they are where you tap real meaning in life—then you will never have enough …. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you …. Worship power—you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart—you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on. **

Psalm 29:1-2  "Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness."

The Hebrew word for worship is shawkaw – literally to bow down. We recognize and express that our triune God is the greater, we are the lesser.  Three ways to deepen our worship:

1. Recognize and express God’s personality & character (names)

·        Express through saying, singing, declaring, bodily posture

1. Bow before him = acknowledge his place in the universe
2. Practice three traditional expressions: 

** Praise - who He is

** Thanksgiving – what He has done, is doing, will do

** Adoration - awe and reverent contemplation

Alone, in a small group, or gathered with other disciples, worship is our lifestyle.

Because He lives,  Pastor Perry Floyd

​**Adapted from Timothy Keller, The Insider and the Outcast (Dutton Adult, 2013); original source: David Foster Wallace, "David Foster Wallace on Life and Work," The Wall Street Journal (9-19-08)

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do... Paul to Ephesian disciples 

There is much confusion in our day regarding "what a Christian looks like." Though far from perfect, disciples of Jesus have gained (earned?) the reputation of haters, judgers, mostly-against-kinds-of-folks. We are pigeonholed politically; morally, we are practically identical to our postmodern relativistic culture. We don't live similarly to Jesus our Lord.

Paul the Apostle clarified the issue 2,000 years and 2,500 miles away in a Mediterranean culture. He "insisted" that our walk, our lifestyle be different from our culture. Through the centuries, Christians have "looked like" counter-culture people. We swim against the cultural current of our day, regardless of when/where we live.

Paul listed eight-character qualities of the culture in Asia Minor:...in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.  Reads like our culture as well.

He used verbs we utilize daily with our clothing—put off and put on. Put off your old self and put on the new self, which is renewed in the spirit of your minds. A Christian is a person who continually grows to become more and more like Jesus. This process occurs when we daily put off and put on. Receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord changes everything! The old has passed, the new has arrived. Learning to shuck my old self like dirty, worn-out clothing, then donning my new self, renewed mentally as God the Holy Spirit fills and controls me -- that's how we roll.

Statements that guide me in my walk, my lifestyle:

START IN YOUR HEAD—THINK DIFFERENTLY, BIBLICALLY

SPEAK THE TRUTH TO YOURSELF

ASK GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR HELP!!

RESPOND TO HIS NUDGES & GUIDANCE

CHOOSE TO ACT LIKE A NEW PERSON

This is how you and I become more like Jesus, loving God, our neighbors and our enemies. Changing clothes, Pastor Perry Floyd

 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 2 Timothy 2:20-21

Finding no one stationed at the front desk to check them in, a group of late- arriving travelers decided to help themselves—and others--at a Nashville La Quinta Inn on September 13. Without a room and nothing better to do, the trio decided to pitch in and run the hotel's early morning shift. "So instantly, we're like, manager mode," one of the friends explained on social media, noting all three run businesses back home. Before La Quinta staff arrived three hours later, the trio answered phones, dealt with customer complaints, and set out the hotel's complimentary breakfast buffet. **

Serve others and be ready for every good work, Paul instructed his padawan Timothy—and us. It's a good thing to live as an instrument useful to our Master, the Lord Jesus. The trio at La Quinta that morning had "nothing better to do," so they served. May I assert that we disciples of Jesus normally have nothing better to do than to serve those around us? Our mantra is "my life is not about me, I am a servant." The higher we climb on the ladder of success and leadership, the more we claim the title servant, remembering Jesus' words (Mark 10:45) and his example.

Living to serve includes shedding unnecessary baggage; Paul wrote that we cleanse ourselves from common things in order to prepare to be used—to serve. The author of Hebrews put it this way: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race out for us Hebrews 12:1.

We are in, as Paul related, a large house—which requires servants doing our best. I encourage you, and me, to clean up, put on the towel, and look for people and situations in which we may simply serve. It's how we roll.

How can I help you,  Pastor Perry Floyd

** WORLD Magazine, Oct. 21, 2023, p. 22

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this:  that one has died for all, therefore all have died.  2 Corinthians 5:14

Four of the greatest motivators these days are fear, guilt, anger and love. We must ask ourselves regularly, "What motivates me? What drives me?" For many Christians, the internal voices from our religious training as young Christians say, "you should, you ought to, you need to do more..."

Paul gave other instructions in two of his letters. He wrote to the Romans these wonderful words: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit  of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled

in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4

5 Big Ideas from Romans 8:1-4:

• I am free from condemnation because I am "in Christ"
• The law of the Spirit of life has overcome the law of sin and death
• Jesus lived a sinless life and died as the perfect sacrifice for sin
• In Christ, all the requirements of the law are fulfilled in me
• I now live or walk in a new way - the way of the Spirit, not the flesh

From these truths I can "kill the shoulds" in my mind and live free from guilt and condemnation. When convicted by God's Spirit of sin, I repent, I turn around. Condemnation comes from our enemy; to it I speak the truth, that I am in Christ, that my life is hidden in him (Col. 3:3).  God deals with me by my faith rather than my performance. I have the righteousness of Christ.

To the Corinthian Christ-followers, Paul described his motivation as the love of Christ. He did what he did not out of guilt, but from his love for Jesus and Jesus' love for him. The love of Christ "compels" us. The Greek verb "sunechow" is "compels" in the ESV. It literally means to hold together with constraint, to compress -- to press together with the hand. Paul lived for  Christ from the internal pressure of God's love.

The Spirit has unlimited love to pour into our hearts (Rom. 5:5). Like Paul, we can live/minister from the internal motivation of agape love. Some people are hard to love, truly. God may be hard to love when a child dies, or a years-long prayer goes unanswered. Yet we can live loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves, as we receive and share Christ's love. This is our calling, to reject "religious shoulds" arising from guilt and condemnation and minister from the foundation of God's love. We can do it.

Living out His love,  Pastor Perry Floyd

Great Video/Song by Brian Doerksen "Creation Calls"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28sqs5H5hao

Creations Call HD with Lyrics

www.youtube.com

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I  come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in  one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.  

Philippians 1:27

Moving from convert to disciple is an important step of growth. Choosing to follow Jesus, to welcome changes in my life and personality through the Spirit's transforming work, is a big deal. To then join Jesus on his mission of worldwide evangelism is a next level choice.

So what does a "real Christian" look like? How to describe the genuine Christian life? Paul the apostle uses an unusual phrase to describe it in three of his letters to followers of Jesus; the phrase is "walk worthy."

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, -- Colossians 1:10  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; -- 1 Thessalonians 2:12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Walk is Greek "peripateow," to walk in a circle, walk around = lifestyle. Worthy is Greek "axios," suitably, appropriately, or with the same weight. The picture of scales helps me understand this word -- when the weight on both sides of the scale is identical, they balance. Our lifestyle, if we follow Jesus, is to have the same weight or impact as that of Jesus. Wow!  

In an article in Scientific American magazine, the famous psychotherapist Carl Rogers observed  that many people are asking “Who am I, really?” The latest research finds that … "many people  report authenticity when they … express compassion toward others or are living for something  bigger than themselves."  This quote from a man who does not follow Jesus describes the Christian 

lifestyle of walking worthy. When we live compassionately, showing mercy to all people, we emulate Jesus. When we live for something bigger than ourselves, the good news of Jesus' gospel, we walk worthy. Loving God with all I am, and loving people well is the essence of following Jesus.

In your daily walk and mine, may we "follow the leader" and so embody what a disciple of Jesus Christ looks like in real life. Then we may experience divine appointments to share the great  good news of His gospel.

Walkin' it out, Pastor Perry Floyd

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Many Americans never make the shift from Convert to Disciple. We pray the prayer receiving Christ and his gift of eternal life, according to Paul's declaration in Romans 10:9-10, 13: "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved...For  “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

We must learn and live out the word "follow." Matthew's gospel records (4:18-22): "While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 

Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.  Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."  It is a crucial step to choose to follow Jesus as his disciple, and pay whatever costs arrive.

Descriptions of a disciple of Jesus Christ from Matthew 4:19 -- A DISCIPLE FOLLOWS JESUS, meaning she takes on the role of learner, apprentice to a mentor. Jesus is our teacher, leader and example of how to conduct one's life. That is following. The disciple John wrote this near the end of his long life: "By this we may know that we are in him:  whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

A DISCIPLE IS CHANGED BY JESUS – I will make you fishers of men meant that those men would be changed into something they were not. To be a disciple includes lifestyle transformation. God changes our hearts, habits, and character. As we follow Jesus, he makes us anew.

A DISCIPLE JOINS JESUS ON HIS MISSION -- Jesus came to seek and to save the lost; he proclaimed his mission on Earth clearly and simply. Followers of Jesus do the same. Regardless of how we make a living, no matter who signs our paychecks, we live to see God's kingdom expanded and the good news proclaimed and received by all people. These are challenging but true descriptions. Each American who has been converted by receiving Christ must also accept the identity and lifestyle of a disciple. We follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus,  Pastor Perry Floyd

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Psalm 32:8-9

After David repented of his sin in the Bathsheba/Uriah matter, he wrote Psalm 32 as one of two songs concerning his sin and God's forgiveness. God answered his confession (verses 1-7) with verses 8 and 9, in which He promised three wonderful things:

1.  I will instruct you: satchel = to cause to consider, give insight, teach
2.  I will teach you: yarrah = to point out, show, to direct, teach, instruct
3.  I will counsel you: yahatz = to advise, consult, give counsel

But then came the warnings: don't be stubborn, like a mule. Don't be skittish, like a horse. Be guide-able, be teachable, take godly counsel. I am surprised at how many are stubborn and consider it a positive character quality. God speaks to his children. Jesus declared in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me." Those who know Jesus personally have the capacity to hear God, to receive his guidance, counsel and help in this life. Often the issue is not that God is not speaking; rather, we are not listening. We actually live by our own understanding, ignoring the possibility that God might have a better idea.

I love Jeremiah 1:11-13, wherein God asks Jeremiah twice, "what do you see?" What Jeremiah "saw" was used to show the prophet two key insights regarding God's character and the coming judgment on idolatrous Judah.

God even used a pun, a play on words to instruct Jeremiah!

So when you or I slow down, focus to listen to God, read the Scriptures to gain insight and guidance, and listen for the quiet voice of the Spirit, what do we see/hear/intuit/recognize? Of course, the most often way God speaks is via the Bible -- He does not say one thing in my heart/mind/spirit and an opposing idea in the Scriptures. But he does speak. Am I listening? Have I learned to quiet my soul from all the busyness and voices so that I can hear my Shepherd more clearly? It takes focus, quietness of soul, and a desire to hear with a "Yes, Lord" ready as my answer...but it is part of the relationship between forgiven followers of Jesus. You can hear your Shepherd. 

Learning to listen, Pastor Perry Floyd

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary,  bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9

It started with Abram; God for some reason picked him. Told him to move to an unknown destination. Told him to bring his wife and nephew, slaves and cattle, and move. Abram did as he was told. Perhaps the accompanying promise helped him obey. God promised Abram: I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

Jesus picked up the idea, and said to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (Luke 6:27-28)

Apostle Paul repeated it in Romans 12:14 -- Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. And then Peter in his letter above reminded those who follow Jesus that this our "calling." Like Abram, like Jesus, like Paul, we have been specifically directed to a certain type of lifestyle: we bless, and we are a blessing. The Greek word for bless is "eulogos." Eu is good, logos is word. A eulogy in a funeral is when one brings a good word regarding the one who has died. We're not to tarry or neglect the calling until she/he dies; we are to share good words in all situations to all people. It's how we roll. We ARE a blessing and we GIVE blessings. It's in our new nature; it's how God rolls. 

This is not easy. We must be filled with supernatural power and fruit in order to fulfill this calling. We are self-centered and want to BE blessed! Peter pointed out that obtaining (receiving) the blessing comes after and due to giving the blessing. Fill us, Spirit of God, with such love and mercy that we become blessings. Use us to re-present the God-Man Jesus to those among whom we live, work and play.

Called to be and give blessing, Perry Floyd

David wrote, “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done (143:5). Asaph echoed him “I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds” (77:12). In both songs, “consider” is Hebrew “see-akh” meaning to ponder or say to yourself. “Meditate” in both songs is Hebrew “hawgaw” meaning to murmur or mutter to yourself. Prayer with Father includes telling ourselves repeatedly what is true about God, life, situations/circumstances, and us. We tend to forget what is true, and we are SO easily distracted.

We’re living in an extraordinarily distracted age.** 64% of car accidents are caused by distracted driving. The average student can focus on a given task for only 2 minutes. The typical Internet user’s online screen focus lasts for an average of 40 seconds. The average 25 to 34-year-old checks his or her phone 50 times per day. The average 25 to 34-year-old spends 2.5 hours per day on social media, while the average 8 to 18-year-old child spends 9 hours on social media per day. Excessive device usage is leading to decreases in marital and relational satisfaction. 

Loneliness is an epidemic, with 54% of people saying they always or sometimes feel that no one knows them well. On average, we spend 650 hours per year reading and responding to emails. We touch, swipe and tap our screens an average of 2617 times per day. We are a distracted culture; focusing on God for extended periods of time is just not in our wheelhouse – with terrible consequences. May you and I relearn how to consider, to meditate, to ponder on God’s character and his wondrous deeds. This really matters. Pausing, pondering, thinking as deeply as we can on God's goodness and character, his love and power, and our history in Jesus -- this is a large part of the transformation process. For the sake of God's kingdom, our city and world; consider, meditate, ponder.

Learning how to think deeply, Perry Floyd

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.  Jesus, John 15: 7

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;  in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. David, Psalm 5:3

We are instructed to ask God, Old Testament (Jer. 33:3) and New (Luke 11:9-13). Frustration and disappointment fill our hearts when God does not answer, and the heavens are silent. There are four difficult truths we must recall:

• Earth is a hostile environment for followers of Jesus; we are in the midst of a kingdom clash, as God's kingdom overtakes the kingdom of darkness, one soul at a time
• Discernment is required to parse the many voices in the air and in our heads.
• This life is "boot camp," preparing for the next when we will rule and judge.
• We must increase in the skills of hearing Jesus' voice and waiting on the Lord.

There are at least three hindrances to answered prayer: our sin (Isa. 59:2), spiritual resistance (Daniel 10:12-14) and fleshly asking (Gal. 5:13-15). One passage that has helped me personally is Psalm 25, wherein David, as a man in a mess, appeals to God for help.

Practical suggestions to receive more answers to prayer:

1.  Learn and increase in "abiding" in Jesus; let his words have great  space in your heart.'
2.  Learn and increase in "waiting on the Lord."
3.  Grow in discernment, by comparing all supposed truths to  

 Scripture. If they disagree with God's Word, they are not true.

1.  Determine to endure, never stop praying and asking. Quit not.

Praying no matter what comes my way, Perry Floyd

 VINEYARD REMINDERS:

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.  To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10-11

I'm meditating on a powerful word this week: stamina. From the Latin "stamen," it has meaning in plant life, but its root (so to speak) means to stand or make firm. 

Peter's letter to scattered followers of Jesus is mostly about suffering for His sake, its causes, consequences. and how to endure, or develop stamina, while submitting. He ends the letter with the verses above; they are a great comfort when one considers God's promises to restore, confirm, strengthen and establish a disciple in the midst of suffering. However, the phrase "a little while" is open to multiple understandings. 

Just how long is a little while? Meanwhile, I'm suffering here, God.

Stamina is enduring. Stamina is persevering. "Hupomenay" is the New Testament word for endure/persevere. It literally means to remain or stay under. Hang in there. Don't try to escape the pain, let it do its godly work in you. The Christian worldview is the only one that sees meaning and purpose in suffering. Think about that. Remember Paul's list in Romans 5: suffering produces endurance (hupomenay), produces character, produces hope, which does not disappoint. Suffering can have a purpose, regardless of its origin.

James echoed the concept: trials produce perseverance (hupomenay) which makes us mature and complete, as we rejoice in them. Hang in there, the apostles claim in harmony with Jesus...who promised trouble and hatred and attacks when one decides to follow him, in the midst of life abundant, supernatural power, and a community to have one's back.

I read a survey of Christian adults, who overwhelmingly answered the question, "when have you grown the most in your faith?"-- when I was suffering, in pain or a trial of some sort. The New Testament assumes a lifestyle of following Christ will be lots of pain, occasional happiness, which of course is far from the American dream. We develop stamina, the ability to stand, endure, persevere only when we go through pain and suffering. Not to be masochistic, but to understand what's really going on, and how to live through it. Stamina is a worthy characteristic. May you and I develop lots of it...as we hang in there together.

 Believing this comes to pass, Perry Floyd

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

No matter our place in time and culture, followers of Jesus Christ are instructed to “walk as children of light,” to “walk in love,” to “walk in the truth,” to “walk in wisdom,” to “walk in the Spirit.” We are to swim upstream, against the current of our culture. There is a new/old way of walking [living] in present-day America identical to ancient Israel’s relationship with God.

It goes by the name Expressive Individualism. Trevin Wax has written wonderfully concerning it in The Gospel Coalition: I recommend his very helpful blogs, at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/expressive-individualism-what-is-it/   Four slogans behind the movement help summarize its approach to life: “You be you.”  “Be true to yourself.” “Follow your heart.” “Find yourself.”

God rebuked Israel for expressing that same individualism through both psalmist Asaph and prophet Jeremiah. Both used identical Hebrew words to describe the approach to life then…and now. Psalm 81:10-12 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels” and Jeremiah 7:23-24 “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts and went backward and not forward.”  

To follow our own counsels, ignoring God’s ways and commands, is, to be sure, American. To live according to our own stubborn hearts conveys the core of expressive individualism. It is also American, just not biblical or walking in truth/light/wisdom/love. Today as I pray, listening to the Spirit and the Word, I recognize the impact this way of thinking and living has on me; it permeates my society; it is foolish to think I am impervious to its effects. I remind myself -- and you -- that God sets himself against this way of life, as it assumes he is not Lord and God, with the right to command. Rather, I assume that position for myself.

Help me, help us, Lord Jesus, to submit to your ways, to hear and obey your Word. Give us grace and humility to resist the siren calls of our culture. We desire to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, not to be conformed to our culture.  Father knows best! Assist us to live as if this is true, cause you do. Yielding to His ways, Pastor Perry Floyd

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  Philippians 3:7-8

Missed it by that much!   Maxwell Smart, aka Agent 86

Close but no cigar!  Carnie saying

Being close is good, but not quite enough. Many Americans believe these theological statements below: believing these things can be hazardous to your spiritual health, can lead to pain, death, and other eternal consequences. None of these statements is true; they are twisted ideas, perversions of truth.

God loves me, but only when I am good and deserve His love. Being holy is basically living by the standards of the Christian culture I join. God listens to holy men and women when they pray; me, not so much. If my marriage isn’t making me happy, God is ok with me starting over with a new person. As long as I accept Jesus as my Savior, my lifestyle doesn’t affect my eternity. Sometimes God is in a bad mood and hurts people because… (who knows?) Freedom means I can do whatever I choose to do.

At least eight times in the New Testament, an apostle wrote, “don’t deceive yourselves” or “you deceive yourself if…” It is not almost truth, or mostly truth which sets us free, but actual truth we know and practice. Homing in on truth, shining its light on my lifestyle, and yours, is the best way to live. Paul wrote to his son in the faith Timothy, “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). Don’t get close, get all the way to Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.

Moving closer to Him, Perry Floyd

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." Paul, Col. 4:2

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." Luke, Acts 2:42 

Any local congregation "worth its salt" has a strong ministry of prayer. Oswald Chambers wrote, "Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work." Whether it is private prayer in the closet, joyous worship alone or in groups; grief poured out to God, confession of sins, or shouted declarations of God's character and mission -- prayer is a primary focus of every congregation.

Luke recorded four main emphases of the early church after the Day of Pentecost: prayer was one. As believing Jews, they stopped life three times daily to pray. Acts 3 records a healing of a lame man which occurred on Peter and John's way to daily prayer; an outbreak of evangelism was the result. Years later, Paul used the same Greek word to exhort disciples of Jesus in Colosse that Luke used in Acts 2:42 -- "steadfastly" and "devote" both have as their root word "strong." We are to be strong in prayer, aren't we?

Two well-known prayers in our day: one attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in self-forgetting that we find; and it is in dying to ourselves that we are born to eternal life. 

Another used in recovery ministries is attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference, living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; taking this world as it is and not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.  

However, we are never more correct in prayer than when we pray God's Word, the Scriptures. Yesterday in our Celebration service, we prayed together Psalm 85 -- titled in the New King James Version "Prayer that the Lord will restore Favor to the Land. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to pray for these next 14 days the thirteen verses in Psalm 85. Let's be strong in prayer as we petition God for the next wave of His Spirit across our land.

On mission, Perry Floyd

P.S. We gather thrice weekly, twice on Zoom (Tues & Fri, 7:30 am) and Sun 9:45 am in our Prayer Room. Come join me to pray together! pf

Other messages from Pastor Perry

"The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 1 Timothy 1:5

Paul begins his first New Testament letter to Timothy encouraging the young pastor to correct and curtail "certain persons." False and divisive teachings, needless "speculations" needed to be dealt with quickly. Paul penned a marvelous sentence in that passage, 1 Timothy. 1:5; it should be a life verse for all who follow Jesus as Lord.

The aim of our charge is love:  "aim" is telos in Greek, meaning the end or final state of maturity. "charge" is parangelia, meaning mandate or command; "love" is agape, God's sacrificial love. In other words, the goal of our lives, our families, churches, schools is to share God's love. Will you begin each day, with me, restating this as my/our target for this day? At the end of the day, did I love? Was Jesus' nature and character experienced by those I touched?

...that issues from a pure heart.  "Pure" is Greek katharos (ladies named Kathryn, Kate, etc are pure). Real love issues from, flows out of a heart that God purifies and cleanses—one He has replaced with His own. Another daily practice: offer our hearts to Jesus. It helps me to say it--"Here is my heart Lord Jesus...please cleanse and renew it by your Spirit. Give me your heart today for all with whom I come into contact."

...[that issues from] a good conscience. "Good" is Greek agathos. "Conscience" is soondidaysis, meaning moral consciousness. In choosing to say and do the right thing, genuine love is expressed. God's love flows as we perceive and decide to walk in the Spirit, in love and in light. Daily we submit to Holy Spirit's nudges and leadings. Truly we are do-good-ers.

...and [that issues from] a sincere faith. "Sincere" is anoopokreetos, the opposite of the word for hypocrite. It means genuine or unfeigned. Real love does not pretend—it actually flows from God's heart through ours onto others.

This is a critical concept, one that answers the common objection that Christians are a bunch of hypocrites. The antidote to that is agape, coming out of a pure heart, a good conscience and a genuine faith. Other uses of this word:

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Rom. 12:9

We commend ourselves by... purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love. 2 Corinthians 6:6

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. 1 Peter 1:22

There is no more powerful force in our universe than God's love, birthed in and moving out of normal people like you and me. We change our culture one life at a time as we allow agape its proper place in our heart, conscience, and faith. How I live today matters. How you love today matters. This is our goal, our mission, as Paul stated clearly to his padawan Timothy.

Accepting my non-impossible mission, Perry Floyd

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. Jesus of Nazareth  

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus emphasized the crucial practice of forgiving others to his disciples. We must become excellent forgivers if we follow him. We actually hinder our own forgiveness from God if we refuse to forgive others! On another occasion, in answer to Peter's query, "how often do I have to forgive my brother?" Jesus shared a parable underscoring the necessity of forgiveness.

A servant whose debt of millions is mercifully forgiven by his king; he then refuses to forgive a tiny debt in comparison. Called to account by the angry king, he is thrown into prison to be tortured. Jesus concludes "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not

forgive your brother from your heart."  

Clear, is it not? If I harbor unforgiveness, allow bitterness space in my heart, I damage myself. To forgive is to break the chain binding me to the one who hurt me. Scott Savage wrote, "Forgiveness is the process by which we cease to be affected or influenced by past hurt." 100% of us have past hurts; to be human is to hurt and be hurt. Representing our Savior includes consistent cleansing of our souls -- by forgiving. Difficult, but not impossible.  One outstanding resource to help a Christ-follower do the work 

of forgiveness is called The Forgiveness Workbook.  

The Forgiveness Workbook gives clear and detailed steps and exercises to learn how to completely forgive from the heart, devised by Dr. Everett Worthington, emeritus professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. Worthington has a strong, enduring faith, and his workbook provides a simple, thorough, step by-step process for forgiving past hurts.  https://reach.discoverforgiveness.org

I heartily recommend this resource to we who love Jesus Christ. It's simple, but not easy; to follow Jesus is to forgive. God help us to forgive from our hearts.   

Because I am forgiven, I forgive, Perry Floyd, pastor

"Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.   Psalm 106:44

Psalm 106 contains a laundry list of the sins of God's people Israel, a reminder of their proclivity to walk away from Yahweh God. Some phrases in the chapter:

• both we and our fathers have sinned  
• they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled  
• they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel  
• they exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox  
• they forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things  
• they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise  
• they murmured and did not obey the voice of the Lord  
• they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor  
• they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds  

And yet...Nevertheless! The Psalmist rejoiced that God was faithful to his covenant even when his people were not. When he saw their distress and heard their cry, he responded. What a magnificent Redeemer we have. There are parallels in our day, our land, are there not? As we celebrate America's Independence Day, I want to also admit the sins of the church and cry out for God's mercy on us again.  

Psalm 106 ends: "Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise."

Joining the throngs who see our distress and cry out for revival, Perry Floyd

My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord."

He's called the weeping prophet with good reason. Jeremiah often expressed deep emotions and disappointments with God. John Wimber, leader of the Vineyard movement in its early days, said in one conference, "Frankly, you aren't worth your weight in the kingdom of God until you've had three major disappointments with God." Sheesh.

Babylon attacked and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. due to the aggressive idolatry of God's people over 250 years. Jeremiah had been preaching "Repent" for more than 25 years at that point, with little to no response except ridicule and persecution. It is probable he considered himself a failure as God's prophet. Out of the destruction of the city, exile as prisoners to Babylon, and his overall loss of hope, Jeremiah wrote a funeral dirge -- we call it the book of Lamentations. The two verses above express Jeremiah's heart as he left Jerusalem. Broken in spirit, despair filling his soul.

Here are the next three VERY IMPORTANT VERSES in Lamentations 3: I remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this  I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

Wow! In one of the darkest and hopeless moments in Israel's history, when the man of God "just can't take anymore," his response is...

BUT THIS I CALL TO MIND, AND THEREFORE I HAVE HOPE.

Jeremiah's hope was restored by choosing to mentally focus on God's character, on his history with God, and to remember God's fresh-each-day mercies. What a wonderful example -- many of us get there, don't we? I just can't take any more. My hope is empty, depressed is my middle name. However, like Jeremiah, we can choose where to place our thoughts. We can "call to mind" whatever we decide. It's our mind, after all.

Jeremiah concludes the passage reminding himself it is good to simply wait on the Lord (which is difficult in itself) and to exercise trust in the middle of a horrible circumstance. Paul the apostle repeats the concept in Philippian 4:8 -- "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is  honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,  whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything  worthy of praise, think about these things." In other words, but this I call to mind... Let's make a habit of intentionally choosing to think about God's character, our history with him, and his mercies new every morning.

Putting my mind where it belongs, Perry Floyd

PS - - Hoping to see you Tuesday night at Grill & Grow, 6 - 8 pm at VCABQ

PPS -- Sunday's message: "WHICH IS IT, FAITH OR SCIENCE?"  Colossians 2:6-10

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Christianity is a religion of surrender and transformation. We surrender to Jesus as King and Lord of our lives. We exchange our sin for his righteousness. We see the kingdom of God as the realm of reality and choose to live with Jesus as King. We are forgiven and cleansed, indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. The faith journey is a life of surrender to God's ways, to Jesus' words and will. It is a struggle to be sure, but the clear intention and direction of our life is surrender.

Surrender leads to transformation. As Paul wrote to followers of Jesus in Corinth, we are changed, morphed into another image "from one degree of glory to another." This is the essence of the journey -- to become more like Jesus Christ.

My brother-in-law John said Satan has a plan of salvation:  try harder to be good, always look better than you are, hide your failures and wear an "I'm fine, thank you" mask. We sadly often go this route -- work harder, surrender to the "should's" and the "ought to's" of faith, rely on our wills, motivated by fear, guilt and law. I grew up thinking Christianity was like school: I was graded by my performance. I aspired to be a "good Christian" which included a list of behaviors that I should be doing, but often did not.  How was my behavior this week, what was my "grade" as a Christian?  

Romans 7:6 has helped me greatly to understand transformation. "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code." Christianity is a religion of spirit. God changes me, transforms me from the inside out. I am not changed as I try harder to be good and obedient (from the outside in). I am changed by the mysterious yet observable process of God's Spirit working in my spirit, my inner man. As I choose surrender, Holy Spirit creates desire and ability to obey Jesus. My life is a surrender to Jesus and a welcoming of God's Spirit to fill, control and lead me. This is the "new way of the Spirit."  

Some transformation was dramatic and wonderful at the beginning of my faith journey. Those who knew me were amazed at the changes in my lifestyle; they were from my perspective easy because I had surrendered to Jesus and the "nudges" of the Spirit. Other transformation has come slowly through the years; my character has in many ways slowly shifted to be more like my King. Struggle, failure, and learning painful lessons have been and continue to be part of the process. But my goal has not shifted-- I want to be more like Jesus. I am, as an elder, surrendering to Jesus, desiring his kingdom to expand in and through me, and welcoming the process of transformation as Holy Spirit works within me.

On the long journey,  Pastor Perry Floyd

PS -- Grow and Grill Tuesday night: we eat together at 6 pm, study the Bible at 6:45 pm.

A great link to see some key events in the history of the Vineyard movement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svZemXIggA0

Frank Sonnenberg's 23 ways to spot a hypocrite link:

https://www.franksonnenbergonline.com/blog/23-ways-to-spot-a-hypocrite/

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!  Praise befits the upright...Praise the Lord!  For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. Psalm 33:1, 147:1

We've all been asked the question: "If you had the chance to talk to your hero, who would it be and what would you say?" Washington, D.C. cab driver Sam Snow didn't have much of a chance to prepare for a conversation with his hero, though, because it took him by surprise. While driving his taxi in 2017, Snow mentioned to his passengers that even though he was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, his all-time favorite player was Broncos legend John Elway.  The passengers then asked him if he thought he could recognize Elway if he ever met him. Snow then turned around to realize that the famous former quarterback, who was in Washington, D.C. for the presidential inauguration, was in fact riding in his own backseat. The two snapped a quick picture, but only after Snow chastised Elway for beating his Steelers so many times in the playoffs. ** I suspect you, like me, when you meet Jesus, will be full of praise for Him. Start now!

"Naw-aw" is Hebrew for befitting, fitting, used in Psalm 33 and 147 above. It can be translated beautiful, or comely. It means that when we praise God, we are extremely appropriate, never more attractive. Humans are designed topraise -- someone, something: by nature we are praise-ers. When we praise God, we are beautiful, comely, fitting.

Isaiah the prophet quoted God -- "the people I formed for myself that they might declare my praise" Isaiah 43:22. Peter the apostle described Christ-followers as "a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light 1 Peter 2:9.  I believe the key verse in Psalms is 96:8-9 "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;  tremble

before him, all the earth! 

Like Sam Snow, we are actually in the presence of our hero Jesus-- all the time, aware of his nearness or not. Will you focus on vocalizing gratitude and praise to God throughout your day and week, not just in a religious meeting? Sing quietly to him as you travel, as you eat and drink, as your daily life transpires. Develop the habit of breathing praise to the Lover of your soul as a way of life. It befits you.

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long... Perry Floyd

RTB is not about science. It isn’t even about apologetics. It’s about connecting people to Christ in a way that electrifies them. 

We want to get people so excited about God’s amazing, saving love that they can’t stop talking about it!

Take a few minutes today to drop by Reasons.org and learn more. You’ll discover:

• RTB Podcast and Scholar Interviews, which discuss the latest scientific discoveries in the context of their significance to the Christian faith.
• Publications like Today’s New Reasons to Believe, the Reasons Newsletter, and the NRTB E-Zine. Each one provides articles, studies, and other resources about the relationship between science and faith.
• Online Resources that cover thousands of topics in the scientific world and how they relate to faith.
• Our Testable Creation Model, working with some of the world’s foremost scientists, engineers, and thought leaders to connect logic, science, and Scripture into testable truth.
• Information about Conferences and Speaking Events, reaching out into scientific and faith communities worldwide with strong in-person and virtual presentations of truth by our highly qualified Scholars and Apologists.

If you have any questions or would like to begin a conversation, please feel free to contact us anytime. I’m excited to welcome you into the RTB family. We look forward to getting to know you, serving you, and interacting with you more!

Hugh Ross, PhD  Founder and Senior Scholar  Reasons to Believe  Reasons.org