thanks

to my threshold family,

sometimes i open my bible to the new testament letters of paul and use his prayers to pray for all of you. this week being thanksgiving, the one in ephesians 1 seems especially appropriate.

i hope you can hear my voice as you read it today...

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. (ephesians 1.15-23)

i love you all and hope that you have a very blessed thanksgiving, no matter your location, your mood, or your circumstances. peace.

jeff

it's not rocket-science

before moving on in my blog to things of december, i simply want to use today's post to remind you again of our november emphasis on caring for the least of these...

“then the King will say to those on his right, ‘come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. for i was hungry, and you fed me. i was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. i was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. i was naked, and you gave me clothing. i was sick, and you cared for me. i was in prison, and you visited me.’

“then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? or thirsty and give you something to drink? or a stranger and show you hospitality? or naked and give you clothing? when did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“and the King will say, ‘i tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’   (matthew 25.34-40)

if you haven't read the past two blogs, i invite you to do so now. if you have, but have forgotten, a re-read is in order. they both apply to this coming sunday, as we focus both on prayer and on caring for the needs of the world's least of these....

on sunday, we will pray. a lot. and we will receive your generous gifts to care for those who are poor or homeless or unsure of what the next day will bring. today, i ask only that you prayerfully consider how you can help. i know things are tight for us all. but for many, they are even tighter.

share your food with the hungry,

and give shelter to the homeless.

give clothes to those who need them,

and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

“then your salvation will come like the dawn,

and your wounds will quickly heal.

your godliness will lead you forward,

and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.

then when you call, the Lord will answer.

‘yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

feed the hungry,

and help those in trouble. 

then your light will shine out from the darkness,

and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

the Lord will guide you continually,

giving you water when you are dry

and restoring your strength.

you will be like a well-watered garden,

like an ever-flowing spring.   (isaiah 58.7-11)

the christian life isn't always easy, but it's not rocket science...

the burden

mondays are my days off, when i can get 'em.  it's funny when you hang out with God for a living - sometimes on my day off i don't invite God along. i sorta figure that 6 days of his constant presence and conversation is enough, and mondays are for eating bad food, reading non-religious stuff, you know, being like everyone else...

this past monday, the calendar was clear, and i was looking forward to a day away from anything ministry-centered. in fact, i needed it. and while God was welcome to tag along, i really wanted him to let me be. let me relax. not interrupt my 1000-page non-religious novel. prayer was gonna be constrained to a "God is great God is good let us thank him for our food amen."

God had other ideas.

after a great thai food lunch - so far, so good - i settled in to read the novel. but i couldn't stay focused. my mind was continually drawn to God's whispers. it was like he was saying, we need to talk. we have a lot to talk about. 

and so we did. all afternoon. and all evening.

so much for a day off...

we've been studying malachi together this month. the first verse reads like this:

the oracle of the word of the lord to israel by malachi.

the term oracle in hebrew can also mean burden. in other words, God is asking malachi to take on the burden of presenting God's word to God's people. as one who is responsible for that very thing myself, i know what a burden it can be.

but sometimes it's an even heavier burden to take words in the other direction. going to God on behalf of his people in prayer is also a pretty heavy thing, especially in times like these. again, a good burden, but a burden all the same. that's what i experienced monday.

on a regular basis, i am aware of struggling marriages, rowdy kids, financial pits, unhealthy practices, and dark minds. i am thankful that together, we have created a church -THRESHOLD - where we feel safe enough to share our struggles and our pains. it's important to have others around us who love us, who care about us, and who are willing to get on our knees for one another. that can be a burden.

monday, i felt its weight. but you know, it was a joy. as God and i talked all day and into the evening, we talked about a lot of you. his Spirit did a tremendous job of bringing many of you and your burdens to my mind, and in return i talked to God about them.

it was one of the best days "off" i have had in months.

as this week has continued, i continue to feel the burden to spend more time praying. so i will be doing that. i am convinced that right now, for so many reasons, THRESHOLD needs to be on its knees.  here's how you can join me...

1. submit your prayer needs

on our website, there is a prayer request form that you can quickly fill out that will allow your burden, or someone you love, to be shared with people who will help carry it to the Lord. go there. fill it out. our prayer team and elders love to pray, and they want to help you carry the burden.

2. pray

i know you pray. but consider praying more. set aside more time in a more determined way. light a candle. use a designated place. talking to God all day is a good thing, but go to the next level of a more specific set-aside time. pray beyond your normal things. include more people. pray for your church. heck, pray for me. please. get more serious about believing that talking to God makes a difference. i know all of the questions and objections about unanswered prayer, trust me. pray anyway.

3. sunday, november 23

make sure to attend worship on the 23rd. we are going to include a structured, intentional time of prayer, maybe as much as half the service. we've done this a few times before and the response has always been amazing. i'm sure this one will be no exception. we'll lead you in praying for your self and family, our church and community, the economy and our elected officials, the nation and the world. and hey, please bring a friend that day. tell them what we're gonna be doing. if they don't already have a church-based relationship with God, chances are that right now, they could use some hope. you can give them that gift by inviting them into this special time of hope-focused prayer.

4. let me know

yes, i'm busy. yes, there are a lot of people for whom THRESHOLD is home. yes, there are a lot of needs. yes, i pray for many of you every week. and yes, it's a burden. please let me carry them. over 20 years ago, God called me to do this, and he has yet to call me to something different. i want to know how to pray for you. it's okay. it really is.

5. share the answers to your prayers

two of the main reasons God answers prayers is to bring glory to himself and to increase our faith. that happens best when we let others know what he has done. when God speaks to you through answered prayer, tell someone!

thanks as always for being my partner in expanding God's kingdom.

i'll be looking for the bruises on your knees!

dare you to move.

dare you to move::christmas

well at least they let us get through halloween...barely.

but the wreaths and lights have gone up on the buildings of various shopping places, and that means it's time to turn our attention to spending more money than we have to buy a christmas that we deserve, and then some. right?

not me. i'm fighting back.

and i hope you'll join me.

the economy continues to be a challenge. more people than usual are not only gonna have more meager christmas celebrations, but there will be more hungry and more in the streets than in recent memory.

THRESHOLD collects money for our building fund every year on christmas eve. but the money isn't used to build a nice warm building for us to use for two hours once a week. our building fund is used throughout the year to help people rebuild their lives when the bottom falls out. a mortgage payment. a power bill. a car repair. a counseling session. a grocery gift card. we've been doing this since our first christmas, and i hope we will never stop.

but this year, i want us to do more.

i know, i know... many of you can't. in fact, more of you than in previous years have actually requested some assistance. and that's okay. that's why we do it. 

but many of us are still pretty good financially. while our 401k's have lost half their value, most of us aren't retiring anytime soon. beyond that, for many of us, our income hasn't changed. if you are in that boat, let's row harder. caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ when we have the means is a mark of the church:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.  Acts 2.42-47

notice the emphasis on caring for one another, sacrificially even. this is the church that Jesus created.

through the month of november, i invite you to turn your attention with me to the needs of others. as Jesus instructed, we are to serve and sacrificially give in our own church, in our local community, and beyond. So here's what we're doing...

within THRESHOLD - in addition to our christmas eve building fund offering, we will also receive a building fund offering on november 23. last year's offering is gone and we have a handful of pressing needs immediately. look for the specially designated bowl by the cafe on that date.

locally - two options: our G6 homeless ministry will be selling sweatshirts which will be given to the homeless to provide a little extra warmth for them as the cold winter approaches. and any non-perishable food products may be brought in on the 23rd, which will be taken to the Common Cupboard for distribution.

globally - two more options: the first is to adopt a child in costa rica for christmas. a team of 18 people from THRESHOLD are heading to the orosi valley of costa rica on december 6 to conduct a week-long bible school for a bunch of kids. we would like each of them to receive a gift during that time. your donation of $20 can make that happen. and the second thing is the annual operation christmas (OCC) child shoebox drive. buy and fill shoeboxes with members of your cell. challenge your co-workers or fellow students. or just do it as a family. in addition, come spend an evening at the OCC processing center, checking the integrity of the box contents and preparing them for shipping. it's a fascinating and rewarding experience. the dates available for serving are tuesday, december 2 and thursday, december 11. if you would like to reserve some spaces, please email april butcher, april.butcher@yahoo.com.

i'm not a big fan of having christmas thrust at me the day after halloween. it almost seems demonic somehow. but the cool thing is, it gives us a jump start on being the church Jesus created... more time to do what's right as we care for others who need our care.

let's see how many people can benefit from THRESHOLD's DARE YOU TO MOVE CHRISTMAS!