The Lord's Prayer: For thine is the Kingdom

Oh the sheer joy of running down the lane on a warm summer day... contentment - fun - laughter - exuberance - the Kingdom of God is like this I believe. The Kingdom is God's, The Power is God's, The Glory is God's. Your history is His-Story played out in your life, for in Him we live and move and have our being. God abides in you.

Think about this: you were not JUST made by God, you were made FOR God. You were made to begin an eternal journey in this life and continue it with God beyond the grave. When we know this relationship we run down the path of life from birth to death knowing that it does not stop but is fulfilled, completed, and extended with a perfection that we can never fully know in this life. God has a plan for you. Read Luke 10, Matthew 10, and Mark 9 sometime. Jesus sent his disciples out with a plan. A plan that we have been trying to live out with Christmas 365 - that is to share Good News of Great Joy which is for all people.

The Kingdom of God is not far off in some distant future time. It is now and it is in us. Some people will only see the Kingdom when they experience your love, your energy, your good work, your love, your generosity, your forgiveness, your help - all enabled by the Holy Spirit fulfilling God's plan. Jesus once said, (John 10:10) "I have come that you might have life [he doesn't say religion] and have it more abundantly."

Bono of the group U2 wrote in a song once, "You should live in a way that proves you belong to the God who calls you into His Kingdom and glory." There is so much that God wants to accomplish through you. What are some steps to really live like we belong?

1. Remember we be belong to a new Kingdom now
2. Live by the power that the Spirit gives us
3. Live so your life glorifies your creator
4. Live in Community as God intended for us from the beginning

We will be exploring this for the next couple of weeks as we finish up our study of the Lord's Prayer. You can download previous podcasts of this series by clicking on the podcast button at our website: www.bethanylaporte.org

Blessings on the Journey,

Pastor D

Deliverance

We've been going through the Lord's Prayer which is prayers within a prayer. "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." Matthew 6:13 This is not to say that God leads us into situations of temptation. Another translation of this puts it a different way, "save us from the time of trial..." What we are talking about is "deliverance". When Jesus went to the Mount of Olives the night he was arrested he asked the disciples to "watch and pray." He knew it would be tempting for them to desert Jesus in his hour of need.

As we think about asking for deliverance from temptations - those things that could break our relationship with God or each other we must first identify what makes us vulnerable. Asking simple questions like: 1) When am I most tempted? 2) Where am I most tempted? 3) Who is with me when I am most tempted? 4) What is the benefit do I think I am receiving from the temptation? 5) How does the temptation make me feel?

Next, we need to ask God to help us avoid the situations that lead to temptation. Recognize your human vulnerability. We are not people of steel. Read over Proverbs 4:26-27.

Third we need to ask the Spirit to guard our heart. We need to remember that temptation begins inside of us. The trigger may be outside of us but the natural inclination of temptation resides in us.

Consider some of the things that can add to our weakness and vulnerability: physical exhaustion, discouragement and pessimism, spiritually disconnected, alone or distant from others, insecure, deep hurt, anger, bitterness, and failure to name a few.

Fourth, we need to pray for deliverance. God's help can not be minimized. Psalm 50:15 reminds us to "Call upon me in your day of trouble. I will deliver you and you will honor me." It's like sending out a Mayday to God. God responds.

Fifth, ask God to help you redirect your attention. Sometimes our temptations require someone to help us stay on track. A friend, a prayer partner, a pastor, a counselor, or an adviser or coach. When we work on our relationship with Christ we are less vulnerable. We have a mentor a friend and a savior who knows every temptation without sinning. He cheers us on toward victory over the temptations. He is the one who formed a small group to help deal with these issues (we call them the disciples.) There was even a small group within the small group. Peter, James, and John formed a kind of close partnership and accountability group.

When we fall or when we fail and we succumb to temptation God wants us to admit it right away and begin to move on but resist the sin and temptation in the future. And get help if it is a serious addiction.

Cleaning Up Our Act: Forgive Us Our Debts

This mikveh in the above picture (baptism of purification) was located to the south of the Temple in Jerusalem close to the Huldah gate. It dates to the time of the Temple during the life-time of Jesus and the Apostles. It was covered up by dirt for centuries until it was discovered and excavated.

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Is the focus for next week. In Hebrews 12 it says, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." What are these hindrances? Our sins, our debts, our transgressions are the hindrances for our relationship and connection with God and each other. Forgive us as we forgive others is what Jesus is commanding us - to forgive as we have been forgiven. How do we prepare for this step of forgiveness?

1. Search. We can begin by searching ourselves carefully (Psalm 139:23-24). Take the time to regularly search your life and behavior.
2. Surrender. We give up hiding our sin and repent of it before God.
This was the meaning of baptism. A dying to sin - or drowning of the sin in pools like the one in the picture.
3. Seek to make amends. Whenever possible we need to make amends with those we have hurt or harmed. If we do not our repentance is hollow. God knows we need to try to take the step of healing in our lives.
4. Share in the forgiveness that God offers in Christ.
5. Start over again. We need to repeat these steps often.

For some further reading look up these passages: Luke 19:8-9; Hebrews 4:16; Romans5:1; James 5:16; Hebrews 10:22-25. If you were baptized as a youth it is always good to renew that covenant and commitment. If you have not now is a good time to take that step of commitment. We are all in need to a daily renewal of the promise of baptism by the cleansing power of Christ's sacrifice for us. Blessings on the journey.

What is "Daily Bread?"

Daily bread, most of us don't think much about it in the United States. Yet, pockets of extreme poverty exist in our country and weekly we have a stream of people who come by BLC for the necessities of life. Their stories can break your heart. God has given us ability to address this in the Lord's Prayer.

Jesus tells us to pray,"Give us this day our daily bread." As he tells us this he is saying so much more. First, bread represents the necessities of life and not frivolous luxuries. Second, it represents the Word of God - Jesus said, "We do not live by bread alone. but every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God." The third thing it represents is our fellowship as the body - called the church. Fourth, it represents saving grace show to us by God in His Son. Each phrase of the Lord's Prayer is packed with meaning and depth. Christianity is not about ritual and rules - it is about real people seeking a relationship with the eternal and learning to care for our neighbors as we do ourselves. Asking for daily bread means so much when we seek not only our bread (with all its meaning) but seeking bread for those around us who have great need.

As we consider the unemployed, the uninsured, the homebound, and the homeless we have so much that we can share. This week asks the question, "What is our daily bread?"

Blessings on the journey,

Pastor Dennis

PS - For those of you in deepening your discipleship let me remind you about the Spiritual Coaching/Direction I am offering this fall. Email me or call me if you are interested. also check out http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb.shtml

Surrender is not for Whimps

This week we are going to journey into Part 2 of our study of the Lord's Prayer: "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Jesus, Matthew 6) Surrender is a word associated with weakness for the most part. Yet, in relationship with God surrender can release power, energy, focus, ability, and grace. We become a conduit for God to accomplish far more than we might ever dream. When we open our lives and allow God to plant a dream in our heart we unleash a supernatural power to accomplish things we never thought possible. In order to understand the possibilities of this power we need to open ourselves up to the Lord.

What does surrender mean for us? It means releasing control. It is a shift of our attention to what I want, my own selfish ambition, and overemphasis on my will to God's control of my life, time, and resources. It is a handing over to a supernatural ability that God wants to unleash.

Second, it is about leaning to be content. Philippians 4:11-13 says, I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens...I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength... Happiness and success is so tied to personal contentment and trusting that each moment of your day is under the care of "Our Father" - a loving caring, competent, parent who knows us and loves us.

Third, surrender means to set aside my own selfish plans in exchange for God's more successful design. We get caught up with our own little world and we forget that God has a bigger design. God reveals that in prayer we align ourselves to listen to that plan. Prayer is not like a vending machine where we drop a coin and get what we want - it is more like getting aligned with God's plan.

Fourth, surrender involves trusting our future to God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge God, and God will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 So most of the time we want to know, predict, be told what our future is going to turn out to be like. Yet, have that does not allow us to fully live in the present. When we trust God with our future we can really live today. We will be studying this more in this weeks podcast at www.bethanylaporte.org

Live Fully Today,

Pastor Dennis

"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do." Henry Ford

It is time to take action. Discipleship has often been compared to taking a walk with the Lord. How are those walking skills working these days? Do you feel spiritually fit? This fall I am launching a discipleship program for six to ten individuals who want to become more spiritually fit. It will be convenient, in depth, and challenging. It will also be something they can do themselves and with others. It is as old as having a spiritual director. Thomas Merton once wrote: Spiritual direction is, in reality, nothing more than a way of leading us to see and obey the real Director — the Holy Spirit hidden in the depths of our soul. (Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, USA) It is as new as Spiritual Coaching a new form of disciple making.

You can be one of the first to sign up for an eight to twelve week session where you will do independent reading, phone direction and encouragement, and participate in "call-in" classes with others who are taking this walk. Jesus said, Follow me and I will teach you to fish for people. We will learn the importance of community and of personal satisfaction - they are not mutually exclusive. Take advantage of this new program and you will also receive a free gift for starting out. I will share with you how we will approach this process of energizing growth and spiritual development. You will discover new insights and be a part of a Biblically grounded God directed experience. Sign up begins today! Contact me by calling BLC 219-362-3312 or visiting the web site: www.bethanylaporte.org

I will share more insights on this as the weeks progress. Hope your spiritual walks go well this week.

Troubling Decisions?

Many people have told me that they are bothered by the decision of the ELCA National Assembly in August to allow ordination of pastors who are in an active same gender relationships or that the blessing of a same gender union would be allowed. I wish it had not been a national decision that creates a crisis. I wish there would have been a more grass roots effort from which regions or congregations could move the discussion of Scripture and what it says about culture and relationships forward, but here we are. The decision has been made. How will Bethany respond?

First, we will appoint an independent task force to pray, reflect, study, and recommend what the implications of this decision allows us to consider. What are the options? Next, we must not rush to judgment. Each congregation has the right to implement or not implement the ELCA decision. The conundrum for many people is the association with the ELCA when they disagree strongly with the decision. I did not like the Viet Nam War but I did not stop paying taxes and I did not run off to Canada. It was still my country. In fact my country makes lots of decisions that I disagree with but I love it and want to do the best to preserve it. How can we make dissenting voices heard without exiting the church we love?

Take a look at this news story
http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Releases.aspx?a=4280

Let's study and reflect prayerfully on what the Gospel teaches us about responding to very difficult situations. Pray for me too as a pastor and leader. I want to do my best in leading Bethany through this time.

Next, I will share an exciting opportunity about Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Coaching that you can participate in yourself. This is a self paced discipleship program that I hope will be a new beginning for several people this fall.