Pastor Jim’s Blog

Remember the three qualities of a Great Church? We read in 1 Corinthians 13: “Now these three remain: faith, hope and love.” These are the marks of a Christian AND a great church!

Since the first of the year, we have been talking about these qualities during our Sunday worship celebrations. Together we observed 40 Days of Love. More recently we have been looking at Hope and what that Hope calls us to. Now it is time for us to consider faith.

The Bible tells us that “…without faith it is impossible to please God.” Martin Luther said, “God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.”

Faith is like a muscle, you either use it or you lose it; and when you use it, you build it. Over the next few weeks, we will discuss Building Faith. The lessons will include:

1) Building Blocks
2) Building A Dream
3) Building Decisions
4) Building By Design
5) Building Problems
6) Building Completed

Don’t miss a single week as we seek to Build Our Faith! (If you do need to miss a Sunday, remember you can listen to the messages online at www.thechurchonnorthland.com.)

There is the story of the man who fell off a cliff. As he is tumbling down he franatically reaches out and grabs onto a root. His fall is stopped, But he looks up - he has already fallen over a hundred feet and there is not way that he could climb back up. He looks down. It is still hundreds of feet down and there is no safe way down. In desparation, he cries out to God. “God, if you are up there, help me!” He hears a voice from God that says, “Let go!” The man thinks for a moment and then yells, “Anybody else up there?”

There are times in our lives when God calls us to let go. Those are the times when we need to trust Him the most. You cannot move forward while at the same time hold on to the past - the safe, secure past.

God is calling you to step out in faith, and that means letting go. You cannot walk on water until you get out of the boat! Get out of the boat! Let go! Step out in faith and trust God!

A very dear woman passed away this week after a four year battle with cancer. She sought to be a blessing to others battling this dreaded disease. At the request of her doctor, she wrote a letter to the editor to encourage others. I wanted to share her message with you…

Winds of People’s Lives Strengthen Them, Too
As the wind was fiercely blowing today and the trees were being wrenched in every direction, I was reminded that I had heard this strengthens them. As I thought about that, I believe that the winds of our life strengthen us, too.
I was diagnosed with cancer more than two years ago. I was told that it was “out of the gate” (my term) at that time and we agreed with the doctor that quality of life would be our goal. To help reach that goal, Dr. Ghosh reminded me of Scripture that says worry cannot add a second to our life, so what gain is there from it? He said I needed to focus on enjoying life “one day at a time.”
I have much to be thankful for and blessings too numerous to count. Many are carrying heartaches far greater than mine. I believe and have experienced that God ministers in a special way to “carry” us through the challenges of our lives working a greater purpose for us in the process. We’ve been blessed with prayer support and many types of encouragement from family, friends and others.
My husband and I would go through this new door together, closing the door on our life as we knew it. We had worked together in our own business for more than 40 years. Without cancer, we would probably have continued “business as usual” and wouldn’t have cherished our time together as we do now. God is good.
- Nancy Caraway
(Letter to the Editor, Cedar Rapids Gazette)

I recently drove to southern Illinois in order to hear the Judson University choir. As I drove along I-74, I stopped at a rest area south of the Quad Cities. I had been there before.

Several years ago, while we were living in Maquoketa, and the girls were still quite young, we planned a vacation to drive down and visit my parents in Florida. It was going to be 24 hours of driving!

The plan was to leave early, while the girls were still asleep. Of course this did not happen. Then, after driving for just an hour and a half, we stopped at that rest area outside the Quad Cities. Necessary bathroom break. But someone in the Illinois road department decided it would be nice to build playground equipment at the rest area. The girls had to play on it. Someone else decided that the rest area would make a great place for a fire tower - which visitors could climb. Of course we had to hike to the tower and climb it. After driving 90 minutes, we spent the next 90 minutes at the rest area! I knew it was going to be a long trip!

As I stopped at that same rest area, over fifteen years later, I have to admit that I see things differently. Then I was focused on getting to the destination, now I realize that it was the journey which was important. I long for those days when we played at the rest area. The times I told my young girls stories I made up. Singing songs to pass the time.

As you strive towrds your destination, which I hope is heaven, take time to enjoy the journey. Realize that God left us here for the journey. And the journey is all about learning to love - learning to love as God loves us!

Yes, be certain of your destination, but don’t miss the journey!

I just received this article by Dr. John Maxwell. Given that we are discovering the realtionship principles of Jesus during our 40 Days of Love, I thought this article was timely.

John writes: In the early years of my career, I did not have a correct view of life. I approached life as if it were a slot machine. I wanted to put as little as possible into it, and I always hoped to hit the jackpot. I’m embarrassed to say that I often had a similar approach in my interaction with people. I was more focused on what people could do for me than what I could do for them. As a result, I would try to make relational “withdrawals” without ever having made any deposits. Needless to say, I was not very successful.

As I matured, I begin to place a higher value on people. As I made this transition, I noticed a fascinating development: the more I gave to relationships, the more I seemed to gain from relationships. In my book, Winning With People, I named this phenomenon The Boomerang Principle. What you put into relationships has a way of coming back to you.

During my time in leadership, I’ve noticed that people fall into three broad categories with regards to how they view relationships.

1) Takers

Takers receive and never give. They are the people in life who have a me-first mentality. They try to extract as much as they can from the relationships in their lives, and they rarely, if ever, consider giving back.

2) Traders

Traders receive and then give. Traders will only send you a Christmas card, if you’ve mailed one to them. They picture relationships as an equation in need of balance. If someone helps them, they feel a debt of gratitude. If they aid another person, they expect a favor in return.

3) Investors

Investors give and then receive. These are the people who give purely for the joy of giving. They add value to others, not as part of a cold calculation, but as a habit. Although doing so may not earn them an instant return, in the long run they reap the gratitude and goodwill of those they have helped.

Investment Strategies for Relationships
Instead of viewing relationships as a slot machine, picture them like the stock market. To get rich, make regular deposits in people over an extended period of time. At first, you may feel like the value of what you’re putting in isn’t worth the investment. However, like the stock market, in the long run, you’ll reap dividends and earn rewards.

1) Think “Others First”

Human nature tends to focus us on personal needs, but investing in relationships requires us to prioritize others. Instead of self-advancement, think others-enhancement. Like a responsible investor, resist the temptation to “time” the relational market, using someone only for short-term gain. That’s a strategy doomed to fail. On the contrary, make a habit of adding value in relationships and trust that the long-term results will be in your favor.

2) Focus on the Investment, Not the Return

If you’ve ever purchased stocks personally, then you know the agony of watching the vicissitudes of the market. Like a roller coaster, your portfolio climbs up one day only to lurch down the next day. Instead of agonizing over returns, a shrewd investor focuses on making the investment. The same principle holds true in relationships. Don’t expect specific and immediate benefit from your relational inputs. Through time, you’ll be taken care of as long as you’re willing to invest.

3) Make Educated Investments

Not all investments yield the same interest, and not all relationships produce the same reward. As a leader, make investing in others a general principle, but be deliberate about putting energy into low-risk, high-reward relationships. Seek out talented people with teachable dispositions, and offer your relational capital to those who will make the most of it.

4) Initiate the investment

A stockbroker won’t hack into your bank account and invest money on your behalf. You have to be willing to take the first step. Don’t be stingy with your relational investments, giving only to those who’ve first given to you. Rather, take responsibility for setting the tone of adding value in your relationships.

I heard my wife’s voice last week. No, it wasn’t on the phone, it was in my ear. Then I could not get it out of my head (not that I would ever want to honey!)

I cannot count the times that, on the way home from church on Sunday, Diane would say something like, “Did you listen to the sermon this morning? You know you really should have listened this morning. I am going to get a copy of the sermon on tape, you really need to hear it.” Whenever Diane would go down that road, I knew I was in trouble. I mean, what was I supposed to say? “That guy did not know what he was saying this morning.” “The preacher took everything out of context. The passage actually does not say what the pastor made it say.” I mean, if I preached the sermon I could not find fault with the message, could I?

Well, after the sermon a week ago (March 1), I certainly heard my wife’s voice loud and clear. (If you missed the message, you can find it on the website.)

My daughter will never forgive me, but many of you know by now that she was involved in a car accident last Monday. When we spoke on the phone, I could hear it in her voice. Then I began hearing Diane’s voice - did you listen to the sermon yesterday? Love Is… the best there is. Love Is… YOU. Love Is Now.           I could not argue with any of it. So, I jumped in my car Tuesday evening and made a quick trip back to Ohio just to take care of my little girl (no matter how old they are, they will always be my little girls and I will always be their daddy). By the time I got there not only was the car fixed (ready for daddy to pay the bill!) and Chara was fine. 24 hours in the car for 30 hours at home. But it was something I had to do.

I do not know about you, but this 40 Days of Love is tough! Oh, it is easy to talk about it, but living a life of love - loving as God loves us - is tough. Remember, Love Is… the very best you can do. Love Is… YOU. As Emerson once put it, “Rings and jewels are not gifts… The only true gift is a portion of yourself.” And, Love Is… Now.

The question I wish to ask you - is there someone you need to love right now? If so, don’t put it off.  Love… NOW.

God tells us: “Let love be your highest goal,” (1 Corinthians 14:1).

Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God, and the second greatest commandment was to love others as you love yourself.

Tom Holladay sums those verses up when he writes: Place the highest value on relationships. Not on money, but on relationships - first with God and then with others. Not on things, but on relationships - first with God and then with others. Not on your work, but on relationships - first with God and then with others. (The Realtionship Principles of Jesus, chapter two, page 29).

As I tried to put it all together - yesterday’s sermon, the 40 Days of Love small group lesson, and today’s reading in The Relationship Principles of Jesus, it suddenly occurred to me, my dad got it!

Years ago I played Little League. I wasn’t very good, the team wasn’t very good. At the end of the season we all got trophies. I think everyone felt sorry for us. I don’t remember much about that season, but the memory which still sticks with me over forty years later is not a pleasant one. What I remember more than anything else about that season was the fact that my dad never came to one game! I am certain he had his reasons - he had to work late, he ws tired from work, he was on the road for work. But the bottom line is that what I remember was the fact that he was not there.

But what I also remember, now at least, was the fact that my dad finally got it. After my parents died and all the bills were paid, there was exactly 6 cents left in their account (and no, I did not split it among my three sisters, I actually kept it all to myself!).

My dad always said that he was leaving us nothing, at least not materially. But my father did leave the girls and me quite a legacy. During the last years of his life, my father would invite us to come visit them in Florida, he even paid the expenses! Then, a week or two before we were scheduled to go down, he would call and tell us about a great cruise deal he had found and then ask if we wanted to go. Joy, our oldest daughter, had been on seven cruises before the age of nine!

Now, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t about the cruises, it was about the relationship. My parents wanted to spend time with us and they wanted to see us enjoy ourselves.

It took my father over sixty-five years to understand that we need to place the highest value on relationships. For too long his emphasis had been on work, making a living, providing material things; and in his pursuit of those things, relationships suffered. But in the end, he finally got it.

My prayer is that I will get it, not after sixty-five years, but that I will get it NOW. My prayer is also for you, that you will realize that relationships need to be your highest priority - not someday, but NOW. To paraphrase Jesus, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose their family, their friends, their relationships?”

Let love be your highest goal - NOW.

There is the story of a wife who came into the pastor’s office full of hatred toward her husband. She did not just want to divorce him and get rid of him, she wanted to hurt him as deeply as possible. She wanted to cause him as much pain as he had caused her.
The pastor suggested an ingenious plan. “Go home and for the next two months act as loving as possible toward your husband. Tell him how much he means to you, how lucky you are to have him. Priase him for anything and everything. Pamper him. Make his favorite meals, do his favorite things. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate and loving. Make him believe that you love him more than anything else in this whole world. After convincing him of your undying love and the fact that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you are leaving him and that you want a divorce. That will hurt him the most.”
With anger and revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, “Wonderful! Will he ever be shocked! Will he ever be hurt.”
And that was what the wife did. With enthusiasm she acted as if she loved him. For weeks she showed love, in ever way imaginable.
The next time the pastor saw the wife he asked her, “Well, are you ready to drop the bomb now? Are you ready to go through with the divorce?”
“Divorce!” the woman exclaimed. “Why would I want to divorce my husband? We are more in love now than when we were first married.”
You see, the wife’s actions changed her feelings. When she began practicing love she rediscovered that loving feeling.
What I want to say to you is this - practice love, even when you do not feel it, expecially when you do not feel it! Put love into action, especially in your relationships with those who are unlovable. When you start practicing love, you might just discover a love which had not been there before. This is not just about marital love, this is true for all relationships. Jesus said, “I have this complaint against you. You don’t love Me or each other as you did at first. Look how far you have fallen from your first love. Turn back… and work (at love) as you did at first,” (Revelation 2:4-5 New Living Translation of the Bible).
There you have it - practice love. Work at love. You won’t be sorry!

     I have a friend who is know for saying, “I can’t wait until tomorrow.”  Of course you ask him why.  His response, “Becuase I get better looking everyday!”

     Ok, I don’t have a friend.  I am the one who always says it.  But now I really can’t wait until tomorrow.  Not because I get better looking everyday, but because I want to become more loving every day.

     Sunday, February 22 is the official beginning of our 40 Days of Love.  Our goal during that time is to become better lovers.  As we learned last Sunday, love is a skill.  Therefore it is something we can learn and practice - and get better at!  I can’t wait until tomorrow!