“If I could teach anyone anything, it would be that their value is inherent. It doesn’t have to be earned because it’s already been determined. We get to spend our lives finding things to do that match it.” Check out this month’s GCI Profile to get to know Kairis Joy Chiaji, Pastoral Team Member of GCI congregation, Living Grace Fellowship, in Sacramento, California. To read her full profile, click the image below.
“Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him.” ― Timothy Keller
Join us in prayer as we come together this month asking for clarity and renewal and thanking Christ for new hope each day. Click the link below to download and print the July Prayer Guide, as we celebrate how God is working in and among our congregations.
I was having a conversation with my grandson about one of basketball’s
superstars when he commented that “he’s the goat.” What? I thought – “he
hasn’t been the player who lost the game for the team or stunk up the gym.” In the lingo of my day, “the goat” was the guy who blew the game.
He brought me up to speed at that time with the new terminology that the
goat is the GOAT, G-O-A-T, the “Greatest Of All Time.” It’s an acronym in our vocabulary of surging “acronym speak.”
In the sporting world there can be enjoyable arguments of who is the GOAT.
So, what about the world of humanity?
Among every human who has ever lived or is alive, man, woman, billionaire, CEO, dedicated humanitarian, powerful politician, caregiver, social worker, lawyer, marquee celebrity, technological wizard, arbitrage strategist, doctor, nurse, generous philanthropist, Nobel Prize winner, theologian, philosopher, evangelist, real estate developer, recovering addict, military hero, famous inventor, award winning entertainer, farmer, teacher, hall of fame athlete, union steel worker, The Best Dad Ever, The Greatest Mom Ever…there is Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
Hands down, Jesus is the GOAT because he is simultaneously the living Son of God and Son of Man whose humility and love is unmatched!
Get to know him. Get to love him. Get to walk with him. Get to serve with him. Get to “wanna be like” him. Not only is Jesus the “Greatest Of All Time” – He is also your SAFE, “Savior And Friend Eternally.”
John 3:16-17, Philippians 2:5-11, Ephesians 1:17-23, Colossians 1:9b-22, John 15:12-15, 1 John 4:7-12, John 20:30-31
Lloyd Briggie
In September 2020 I experienced a health crisis that sent me to the emergency room. After tests and medication, I was recommended for non-cancerous prostate surgery. During the tests, the doctor mentioned that the radiologist noticed cysts on my liver. After recovery from the prostate surgery, I sought out the appropriate doctor regarding my liver – which turned out to be the local transplant center where they specialize in liver issues.
After another battery of tests, I was again recommended for surgery – this time on my liver for a 3-inch cyst (non-cancerous) on the surface of my liver. On February 19, I entered the hospital for the surgery to remove what turned out to be a cyst the size of a grapefruit or larger – most of it had been hidden from the CT scans and ultrasound tests. The surgery went very well and because I was in good shape and already up walking the next day, the doctor said I would be going home sooner than the predicted five days. However, near the end of the second day, I experienced serious complications, which led to me spending the next fourteen days in the hospital – including a night in the intensive care unit and four days in the cardiac unit when my heart went out of rhythm due to the stress on my body.
That all sounds like bad news…but here is the rest of my story. Paul wrote that when Jesus ascended, he took captives and gave gifts to his people. Ephesians 4:7, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
‘When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.’”
As we understand the vicarious incarnation of Jesus, the captives he took to the right hand of the Father were all of humanity. I believe that he then gave grace (v. 7) and gifts (v. 8) to all of humanity – “his people.” Not all people know this, so therefore they don’t live out the spiritual gifts fully. On the other hand, Jesus said that there is no good but from God. Any good we see around us – even in unbelievers – is God manifesting himself through humans.
From the moment I entered the hospital, I noticed the “spirit” and attitude of the people serving me – doctors, nurses, even custodians. They were all so caring and concerned – encouraging me, explaining how they were going to help me and even apologizing when they were going to hurt me (which was more often than I would have liked!). I saw Jesus! Ephesians 4:8 became very real to me, as I realized Jesus told the disciples he must ascend (partially because he could only be one place at a time), so that he could send the Holy Spirit and gifts (and therefore be everywhere humans lived).
We all would like to see Jesus snap his fingers and miraculously heal us instantly, but he rarely (although occasionally) does. I believe that instead he put his healing spirit in millions of human beings. People who choose the medical profession because they want to help people get better are living out the healing spirit of Jesus. In my fourteen-day stay, I had over seventy medical professionals come into my room. There were only two who I felt were “only doing their job” (and they may have just been having a bad day!), while all the others seemed like Jesus walking into my room. This may be surprising to read, but I only prayed for myself once or twice during that time because I truly felt Jesus was in my room multiple times a day! I was experiencing his healing power and his love over and over throughout the day. Meanwhile, I tried to be the best patient possible and represent Jesus back to them (calling them by name, having pleasant conversations and being agreeable even when in distress).
When I walked out of that hospital, I truly felt like I had never been closer to Jesus Christ. I felt overwhelmed to have spent “14 Days in the Arms of Jesus”!
Prayer: Father, we are blessed to know that from before the creation of the world, you had already prepared a plan to bring healing and wholeness to the whole of humanity, whom you knew would turn away. Thank you for the incarnation of Jesus, which includes his ascension so you (and he) could send the Holy Spirit to move in our lives. Always in the arms of Jesus, through whom we pray! Amen.
Glen A Weber
Central Regional Support Team/Retired GCI Pastor
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
when other helpers fail and comforts flee,
help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Abide with Me is a familiar hymn that Henry Francis Lyte penned while battling tuberculosis. What a thrilling prayer request: for God to abide with us always, and even more so when the “darkness deepens” or “other helpers fail.” But what does it mean for God to abide with us?
It says in John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” To abide in Jesus’ love means to abide in Jesus because Jesus is love. In the gospel, Jesus lays out three benefits of abiding in him. First, abiding in Jesus means that the love of God is present in us, and, as a result, we can love like Jesus. Like most things, this is much harder than it sounds. Jesus loved unconditionally and without judgment.
Second, abiding in Jesus and loving like Jesus creates the byproduct of joy. We become joyful and joy is present when Jesus abides with us and when we abide in Jesus’ love.
Later in “Abide with Me,” Lyte mentions the dimming of earth’s joys:
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
In life, sometimes joy is hard to find, especially when disappointments and setbacks are the order of the day and God seems far or prayers seem unanswered. It is difficult to keep one’s joy when there is no hope, or the walls seem to be caving in all around us.
Nehemiah 8:10, however, reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
Third, abiding in Jesus means that we are anointed to bear fruit that will last. Jesus says, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name” (John 15:16).
The proof is in the pudding. What fruits are you bearing? A good tree does not bear bad fruit. Jesus is serious about his disciples bearing fruit. Good fruit. Fruit that will last.
Like Lyte, if we acknowledge our helpless state and ask Jesus to abide with us, teaching us to love like him, we can joyfully sing out in confidence:
Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Amen
Linda Sitterley
Pastor
Eugene, Oregon
God is a God of the present. God is always in the moment, be that moment hard or easy, joyful and painful.” ― Henri Nouwen
Join us in corporate prayer this month as we thank God for the good work he includes us in. Click the image below to download and print the May Prayer Guide, celebrating how God is working in and among our fellowships around the world.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:30-31, English Standard Version
The Philippine eagle is an endangered species and one of the largest in the world. The one I saw was being cared for in captivity, but I can only imagine what it must be like in its natural habitat, flying freely, strong and able to rise above the storms. The image of a soaring eagle is used in this popular verse in Isaiah 40, to describe how God renews those who wait on him.
People do not normally want to wait. Waiting usually feels like one is being tied down, hindered or delayed. In verse 31, the term wait comes from the Hebrew word qavah, which means to bind together as by twisting. Imagine plaiting together strands of cord to produce a rope. This brings an interesting perspective to our waiting. We are being told that as we wait, we are to entwine ourselves with God. We abide in him, even as he abides in us. Waiting is not a passive act, but one wherein we come together with the Lord.
It is also important to remember that it is the Lord whom we wait upon. We hope in the God who is good, who is for us, and who is able. As we wait on him, we bind ourselves to the divine source of inexhaustible strength, which renews us as we keep going.
In this verse, the prophet Isaiah was providing comfort to the people of Israel, who were longing for consolation and freedom. It was a long and difficult wait.
Our present-day journey is also full of delays and detours – some are minor inconveniences while others are difficult, life-altering challenges. What do we do when we find ourselves feeling lost, helpless, or unsure of what lies ahead?
The exhortation to us is the same. Wait on the Lord. Seek him, cling to the everlasting God who never grows weary and allow him to renew you. Waiting time is not wasted time. May this assurance liberate us as we wait and help us withstand the hardest circumstances, overcome the deepest disappointments, and soar above the fiercest storms. When we wait on the Lord, we are like eagles in flight.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for being our comfort and our hope in the midst of life’s delays. By your grace may we trade our fears for your faithfulness; our tiredness and inadequacy for your sufficiency. As we receive your peace, may we also pass this on to others in their waiting time. In Jesus’ name, amen.
By Eugene Guzon
Notice this account of one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances:
Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.” After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!” Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.” (John 20:24-28, CEB)
By the Spirit, our risen, ascended Lord is with us always, and through his presence extending to us his peace (shalom), even in the most trying circumstances. Given that reality, I have a question: do we, trusting in Jesus, receive that peace and so live into it? I suppose we’d all have to answer, “sometimes.”
Imperfect as we all are in trusting in (believing in) Jesus, there are times we doubt the reality of his presence. At those times, perhaps we, like Thomas, want a physical sign to prove Jesus is with us. Or perhaps we are like the father of the demon-possessed son who Jesus reached out to help, yet the father cried out to Jesus, “I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24, ASV).
Yes, there are times we need Jesus’ help to overcome our unbelief (the weakness of our human faith). At such times, demanding a physical sign rarely helps. (I say “rarely” since God sometimes does give such signs.) However, most of the time, God reminds us in prayer and through Scripture of Jesus’ faithfulness, inviting us to rely on him to do what we are incapable of doing.
The answer to our weak faith, is not to try to gin up more (just try harder!), and not to insist that God give us a physical sign as proof he can be trusted. No, the answer is to look to Jesus, God’s ultimate sign, and trust him as our representative High Priest to do something quite amazing—believe for us. Yes, Jesus, who in his representative humanity perfectly and fully trusts in God, shares that trust (his faith) with us. And so in times of doubt (which we all experience) we can go to Jesus in prayer:
Jesus, help me in this time of doubt. Allow me to believe that you truly are the risen Christ. Help me see how you are present with me today in this circumstance. Lord, grant me your faith. Grant me your peace. Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. Amen.
by Ted Johnston
Grace Communion Seminary faculty member
Jonah 3:1-5: Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
The book of Jonah is a story about second chances. For the Ninevites, yes, with God delivering them from destruction out of his abundant love. But also a second chance for Jonah himself.
By the time we encounter Jonah in chapter 3, he had received God’s command to go to Nineveh and call them to repentance. We know he was unwilling to preach the message of salvation to Israel’s enemies, that he had run away from God, was caught in a storm, thrown into the sea, and swallowed by a great fish. But God delivered Jonah and here we see the word of the Lord coming to him a second time.
God wanted Jonah to be part of his redemptive work. Not because he could not accomplish it without Jonah, but because he was also concerned with restoring Jonah’s heart. God was not deterred by Jonah’s disobedience. Instead, God pursued him, saved him from death, and gave Jonah the commission anew: Go and proclaim the message I give you.
From Jonah’s story, we see that despite our shortcomings, stubbornness, and begrudging heart, the Lord can still use us in his work of saving and transforming lives. In the midst of the uncertainty and suffering around us today, we recognize the need for people to receive the hope of salvation and to experience God’s kindness and mercy in tangible ways.
If you think you are not good enough for God to use – not ready enough, loving enough, or “holy” enough – think again. If you have been in ministry but you have grown lukewarm or fallen short, God is not done with you yet. Take the chances you are given. We all have a role to play in bearing Jesus to the world – where is he telling you to go?
Prayer: Thank you Lord, that you are not limited by our shortcomings to fulfill your purposes. Create in us an obedient and compassionate heart to proclaim the gospel and be expressions of your relentless love to those in need.
By Joyce Tolentino
Mandaluyong, Philippines
