Inside Out Living

It is almost the end of my day in the office for Christmas Eve. Since the sermon is done I did some rework on the old blog here. I hope you like the new look.

We have the Christmas Eve service at 5:00 tonight and then we get to enjoy enchiladas. Snowed another two inches today, glad we didn't try to go see family for Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Thanks to the worst snowstorm to hit the Pacific Northwest in 40 years we have decided not to travel to see family at Christmas this year. We will see some of them when we move at the end of the month. Hopefully this storm will clear up before then and the roads will be a little more drivable. Even if we made it to our destination from all reports it is taking roughly twice as long to drive the highways that we would need to take which would mean about 10 hours of driving with three little kids.

The bummer part of the whole thing is that we took most of the Christmas gifts, including ours for our own kids, to Kristi's parents at Thanksgiving. So our kids won't get to open all of their gifts until January. I guess it will make for some nice surprises once we get moved into our new house.

This lovely little storm has also delayed the closing of our house here in Burns. The buyers loan approval is being held up because no one can get to the US Bank loan offices to get any work done. It will still close, just not as soon as we had hoped.

Kristi and I enjoyed a nice evening of dinner at the Outpost at Big Bear and shopping at Kings Discount (Burns version of a shopping mall we have been told). Thanks Diana for watching our kids one last time. I don't care what they say I think you are their favorite babysitter.

"Those who plant seeds of injustice will harvest disaster, and their regin of terror will end." - Proverbs 22:8

More snow on the ground today. We now have about 10-12 inches of snow on the ground. It was good to see some more of our college age students back in church today.

Kristi wants to put away all of the Christmas decorations today and get all of the stuff out of our crawl space storage. Fun times:)

The kids are officially on Christmas break now since we don't have school on Fridays. Unlike those of you on the west side of the mountains our kids had school all week. Burns almost never cancels or delays school because of snow. Our first winter here they issued a two hour delay because of 8-10 inches of snow the day before, and people wrote letters to the editor to complain about having a delay. So we have had to become quite skilled on driving on packed snow and ice. Of course four-wheel drive and snow tires help a lot.

Looking forward to more time with the kids and a weekend full of packing. Fortunately Kristi was able to get some boxes from Rite-Aid so we can continue packing. We had used almost all the boxes from Home Depot and what we already had on hand.

Thanks Jeremy for the cheesecake, it was fantastic. Now I have to spend a whole day at the gym to burn the calories, but it was still worth it. I have really enjoyed working alongside you in the youth ministry at FBC. You will never know how much your faithful service has meant to me over the past couple of years.

Today is the last day of school for both Payton and Sydney. They have their Christmas parties today and Sydney also has a Christmas program that we get to attend. She has been working very hard on her singing for this program.

Last night Kristi and Sydney made Christmas ornaments with her good friend Josie whom she will miss very much. They had a really good girl fun night. Earlier in the day Kristi finished packing up the kids room. Only the essentials (clothes, legos, barbies) are left. We officially have less than two weeks til we move. We are now at the point where we are going to start begging for boxes. I think I will have to visit some of the local stores to request some boxes.

Good times!

"Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions." - Proverbs 18:2

I am now also on twitter. You can follow me on www.twitter.com/dcurtis35

So this morning the weather station at the airport in Burns registered a low of minus 22 degreew farenheit. -22 !!! That is the coldest we have every been since moving here.

Last night was our only night this week that both Kristi and I were home. The kids put on a puppet show of Wall-e for us. Actually I think it is a sequel that they are writing. It was very cute. Payton played Wall-e and Sydney was Eve (Eva as Wall-e would say). They do have a lot to learn about puppeteering. They made their puppets out of megablocks and they didn't hide themselves entirely behind the couch which made it all the more adorable.

Kristi packed five more boxes last night. We are starting to feel nostalgic about leaving the first home that we ever bought. It has been a good home for us.

Last night was our last AWANA program. We will definitely miss the AWANA program at Faith Baptist. Our kids really enjoy coming to it and learning verses every week. In fact I am very proud of Payton, our oldest, who completed his book last night. This was his third book that he completed which means he earned a Sparky Plaque. I think he really enjoyed his last night at AWANA. A lot of the leaders we very gracious in making it an extra special night for him since the church in Ocean Park doesn't currently have an AWANA program.

While the kids and I were at AWANA Kristi packed up another seven boxes at the house. We now have a stack of boxes in our bedroom. Fortunately the stack in our bedroom matches the stack in Micah's room and in the living room so at least our boxes are color coordinated:)

We had our last youth group at Faith Baptist last night, our annual Christmas party. Kristi and I are going to miss these students and their families a lot. I was very blessed when they presented me a going away card with all of their signatures on it. It really has been a great group of students and we have a lot of memories from here that we will cherish.

Thank you to all of the students from the youth group through the years here at Faith Baptist. It has really been a joy to hang out with you and to see you guys (and gals) grow in the Lord. I am quite certain that God has wonderful plans for you.

There is a hilarious post over on Ben Witherington's blog. Click here to check it out.

Greetings Curtis Cafe readers,

I wanted to let you know about some changes coming to Curtis Cafe. First of all as some of you know my day job is the Associate Pastor of Youth & Discipleship at Faith Baptist Church in Burns, OR. A couple of weeks ago I accepted a new position of Associate Pastor at Peninsula Baptist Church in Ocean Park, Washington. So now my family and I are in transition and life is a little chaotic.

The devotionals that you have been reading on this website are part of a greater devotional series that my senior pastor and I wrote for the church here in Burns. You can download all of these devotionals from the church's website: www.faithbchc.com. I won't be posting anymore of these devotionals on this particular website. I will most likely continue with some random thoughts on christianity, life and our move until I get settled into my new position in Ocean Park. Thanks for reading.

God Bless,

Pastor David

In January 2007, the International Bulletin of Missionary Research reported that there are now 39,000 Christian denominations today and they project that number to increase to 55,000 by the year 2025. 39,000 denominations! This staggering report makes it hard to believe that the early Christians “were of one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32).

I wonder how it is that the church went from this close-knit group of believers to the highly fractured and often dysfunctional group that we are today. Jesus even prayed for our unity (John 17:21), and yet here we are 2,000 years later, Jesus’ prayer going unanswered.

I think the cause of all of this disunity is that we don’t always keep the main thing, the main thing. Hebrews 12:2 says that we are to keep our eyes on Jesus. This has to do with our focus as individual believers, but also as the church. When we take our focus off Jesus and the unity we have in Him, then disunity develops and the community of faith is fractured.

May you keep your focus on Jesus.

While it is indeed true that it only takes one commonality to generate community, it is also true that community without relationship will die.

Like many couples who get married young, my wife and I lived in a number of apartment complexes during our first couple of years of marriage. Because of our proximity to the other residents, we were a community, but one that lacked relationship. Because of the lack of relationship, the community was of no benefit to us. We now own a home in a quiet neighborhood where we know all of our neighbors by first names. This neighborhood is a far more fulfilling community because of the relationships we enjoy.

In the early days of the church, the believers met together often (Acts 1:14; 2:44). This practice developed the relationships that led to mutual sharing and more satisfying and fulfilling relationships with the Lord. Developing community requires relationship and relationship requires communication.

May you experience genuine Christian community that flows out of authentic relationships.

The last two years I’ve had the privilege of leading students from our church on a mission trip to Mexico. Both times I have been able to participate in a baptismal service with our sister church. What a blessing it has been to baptize some of our Spanish- speaking brothers and sisters. This experience has impressed upon me the common unity we have with Christians who speak a different language. Last year, after a couple of times of hearing our translator, Paul, translate my declaration of their baptism, I began to, with some difficulty, baptize them in Spanish.

I realized that it did not matter what language I was speaking in performing the baptism. I was baptizing a child of God and recognizing their membership into the universal Church. For no matter where or when Christian baptism takes place, “we are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all” (Eph. 4:4-6).

The theme for this week is community. As we transition from reading about the life of Jesus and his ministry to the formation of the early church, we will explore some elements of the community that was so crucial to the spreading of the gospel. I hope that each of you is connected right now to a nurturing Christian community that encourages your faith and strengthens your relationship with Jesus. God designed us to work and function as a part of community and not as lone rangers.

Today's Devotional:

What do two rich politicians, two uneducated fishermen, and a woman who had been demon-possessed have in common? They were all followers of Jesus. The community of faith brings together a wide variety of people. The very word community can be thought of in two different concepts: common and unity. What creates community is having something in common in spite of differences. Community can be based on zip code, workplace, political affiliation or, in this case, religious affiliation.

The beautiful thing about community is that there is so much variety within community. Two people can be opposites in every aspect except for one thing, and that can be enough to create community. The community of believers in the first century came from different geographical, political and religious backgrounds. The Church today is really no different in this respect; from the Chinese pastor sitting in jail, to the African believer struggling in poverty, to the American Christian who takes God’s blessings for granted, we all have a faith in Christ that unites us.

“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In illustrating the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus told a story about three servants. This story teaches us about the appropriate response to God’s grace. To receive God’s grace and never change your life, actions, or behaviors is to be like the third servant, to not receive God’s grace at all. This is what the great German theologian Bonhoeffer called cheap grace.

The Apostle Paul was accused of promoting cheap grace by the Jewish believers who wanted the Gentile believers to follow the law. In Romans 6:1-2, Paul sets the story straight, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? The invitation to receive God’s grace includes an expectation to take up your cross and follow Jesus (Matt. 10:38)

“’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” – Amazing Grace by John Newton

In Jesus’ description of the time of tribulation, He mentions that there will be attempts “to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22). This statement by Jesus gets me thinking about the role that God’s grace plays in bringing about our salvation. As the words to Amazing Grace declare, “grace will lead me home.” How true.

God’s grace is efficacious in our lives, meaning that it will produce its desired effect in our lives once it has been given by God himself. Simply put, when someone is saved by God’s grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9), that grace will absolutely guarantee their salvation. “And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those He has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day” (John 6:39).

May you stand confident in God’s grace, knowing that it will indeed lead you home.

“He who gives what he would as readily throw away, gives without generosity; for the essence of generosity is in self-sacrifice.”
– Sir Henry Taylor

As Jesus and His disciples sat and observed the giving practices of those who came to the temple to worship, Jesus seized a teachable moment when the widow dropped in two small coins (Mark 12:42). In that moment, we see the principle of proportionate giving at work.

As Jesus noted, even though the rich individuals gave more money, the gift of the widow was considered far greater in the eyes of God because of her sacrifice.
Aren’t you glad that, in God’s greatest gift to us, He did not limit Himself to a small portion of His grace, but rather made the ultimate sacrifice in sending Jesus to die on the cross. God is truly generous with His grace, giving it to all who might come to Him. There are no restrictions, no qualifications, no prerequisites. There is only free grace that is offered generously.

Matthew 22:1-14 is the parable of the Great Feast. The parable illustrates how, because of the rejection of the Messiah by the Jews, God’s grace is then made available to the Gentiles. As I read this story, I find it remarkable that one of the guests would show up for the feast without the customary apparel. I would think that the gratitude of even being invited to take part in the festivities would result in the appropriate response by this particular guest.

The parallels in this story to the human predicament we face are clearly seen. All around us are people who are rejecting God’s invitation to enter into relationship with him. Hearing the call of grace, they reject the notion of their need for salvation assuming that their own righteousness is sufficient. Like the out-of-place wedding guest, they refuse to clothe themselves with the righteousness of Christ that comes by faith. Instead, they reject God’s grace, trusting in their own righteousness which, in the eyes of God, is like filthy rags.

The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge had fallen behind schedule because of a number of workers who had fallen to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Eventually, in spite of the enormous cost, a giant net was installed to catch those who might accidentally fall. After it was installed, progress on the project was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net, but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.

Knowing that we need not be perfect in order to avoid judgment removes a great fear for the one who understands grace. Grace is what allowed the tax collectors and prostitutes (Matthew 21:31) of Jesus’ day to be saved. The Pharisees, on the other hand, lived in constant fear of the law.

Like the workers on the bridge who no longer feared death resulting from a misstep, the Christian no longer fears the eternal judgment of God for a misstep.

Jesus never hid the truth of His purpose here on earth. Time and time again He predicted His death to His disciples, and yet they continually struggled to understand. In comparing His death to a kernel of wheat (John 12:24), Jesus makes it clear that His death will bring about new life for many. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “For God made Christ who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus was able to serve as the perfect sacrifice making full atonement once and for all for the sins of mankind (Hebrews 10:12).

This sacrifice is what allows God the Father to extend saving grace to all who come to Him in faith for the forgiveness of their sins. As John said in 1 John 2:2, “He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins, but the sins of all the world.”

It is an irony that should cause us all to be humbled, that the horrific death that Jesus endured on the cross was the very event that allows for the beauty of saving grace in our lives.