I Lived This History

I was excited to learn that a movie was coming from my college years. Movies based on true stories are always interesting, but here was a movie I knew something about.  

Maybe you have recently seen or heard interviews with Greg Laurie or Kelsey Grammer. This movie, Jesus Revolution, shares from the late 1960s and early 70s.

Since I attended a college in Costa Mesa, CA, I was aware of Pastor Smith’s small church. Word spread that it was filling up with barefoot hippies, happily sitting on the floor and worshiping Jesus.

They outgrew that church and moved into a large tent. My brother, who followed me in college, attended some services there. It continued to fill with hippies hungry for God, and those who had found Him were sincere in their faith.

Maranatha! Music was birthed by Chuck Smith to share music from the hippie groups who were singing at Calvary Chapel. Wikipedia mentions a few of them like Love Song, Children of the Day, Mustard Seed Faith, Chuck Girard, and Karen Lafferty.

During the Jesus Movement, my husband and I were on the staff of a church in the San Diego area. Our pastor also welcomed these hippie young people. He wisely advised the congregation to accept them however they came and if they needed any correction, he would be the one to do it.

Many brought their parents and grandparents. Over our fifteen years of ministry in that church we saw the growth and faithfulness of these believers young and old.

The current Asbury Revival in Kentucky brings back memories of the Jesus Revolution. Once again young people are being drawn to God. It’s awesome to see them seriously engaged in prayer, or lifting their hands to worship as they sing.

A refrain from a song by Hillsong keeps running through my mind: You are awesome in this place, Mighty God. You are awesome in this place, Abba Father. You are worthy of all praise, to You our hands we raise. You are awesome in this place, Mighty God.

  

Ecumenical Evangelical

That’s a mouthful; I can’t say it very quickly. When I heard the term, I was drawn to it, partially because of my father.

As a minister for over fifty years, he exemplified trying to dwell in unity in his pastorates and the community.

He would always join the local ministerial association. On vacations, we attended churches outside our denomination, and I remember him telling me, “Even if there are no kids from your church in your school, you can always find someone who loves Jesus.”

Thanks to Dad, I grew up with friends from various denominations. Our commonality was faith in Jesus and the Word of God.

While preparing tax papers this week, I listened to PRAISE interviews. I DVR these programs on TBN and watch them when I can. It was interesting to hear Dr. Ed Young share his life and ministry at Second Baptist Church in Houston, TX.

I haven’t heard of many churches named “Second” anything. In my mind, it speaks of humility. He said the goal of this church has always been unity in the community. His congregation has many different ministries to meet the needs of people in their city. With over eighty thousand members and many campuses, I’d say they are meeting that goal quite well.

In speaking about being in fellowship with other churches, Pastor Young said, “We need to be Ecumenical Evangelicals.” Immediately, Dad came to mind.

My NKJV Study Bible titles three awesome prayers in John 17: (1) Jesus Prays for Himself, (2) Jesus Prays for His Disciples, and (3) Jesus Prays for All Believers.

That third prayer (verses 20-21) says, “I do not pray for these alone (the people who believed on Him while on earth), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

In Psalm 133:1, David declared, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” It doesn’t happen automatically. Each of us has to choose to be concerned about others, not just ourselves.

Christian unity is the power behind many organizations meeting needs all over the world. Glory to God! May this continue!   

A Different Kind of Fruit

In the midwest where I grew up, fruits seemed scarce. When I moved to California, my fruit options expanded. Kiwi was new to me, but I couldn’t resist trying them when a commercial grower brought a big box to share at church.

One summer, on an extended family vacation, we picked long-stem cherries in Idaho. I grew to love those dark beauties; I still do.

Are you familiar with Spiritual Fruit? Nine desirable character traits are produced in us by the Holy Spirit. Listed in Galatians 5:22, they are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

But in studying the words of Jesus today, I ran across a completely different type of fruit. Yes, we can tell a tree by its fruit, but the fruit he mentioned here set forth a new challenge.

Do you ever stop to think that what comes out of our mouths comes from our hearts? Based on this premise, Jesus explained that a good man brings good things out of the treasure of his heart, and an evil man brings forth evil (Matthew 12:33-37 NKJV).

But his real clincher is this: “By your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.” I have often thought about my words being positive or negative, but today I looked at them in a new light.

Paul's teaching is the same. Hebrews 13:15 (NIV) says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise---the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

He further emphasizes the importance of words in Ephesians 4:29 (NIV): Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  

In The Message, Eugene Peterson refers to Jesus’ teaching by saying, “It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. Words are powerful; take them seriously.”

 

  

LET'S GET ACTIVE

While flipping pages in a small notebook I found tucked in a drawer, a 3 x 5 card fell into my lap. It was a fun find and a reminder of how I always look for action words.

It wasn’t dated, so I have no idea when I wrote out Psalm 100 with the action words in capital letters. It’s a very small chapter in the Bible, only 5 verses, but it’s packed with directives on how to worship God and why.

The card looked like this:

PSALM 100                 SHOUT for joy to the LORD all the earth.                 SERVE the LORD with gladness.                 COME before Him with joyful songs.                 KNOW that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His;                        we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.                 ENTER His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise                 GIVE thanks to Him and                 PRAISE His name             For the LORD is good, and             His love endures forever;             His faithfulness continues through all generations The card was not dated. Neither did it indicate which translation I was reading. The mystery was partially solved when I found my favorite study Bible, a Thompson Chain-Reference Bible in an older edition of the New International Version (NIV).

Even now I enjoy looking at those underlined verbs, or action words: Shout, Serve, Come, Know, Enter, Give, and Praise.

To me, they indicate a God who is open to a relationship with us. Entering His gates is a good beginning, then we go further into His courts.

Serving God brings joy into our lives, and expressing our thankfulness for His goodness brings joy to Him, too.

Knowing we are the sheep of His pasture always reminds me of Psalm 23, which I memorized as a child and often review.

Finally, if I can’t think of anything to praise God for, the last verse gives me a good jump start.

There you have it. Look it over again. What can Psalm 100 do for you?