Friday, April 01, 2011

Life is Messy - God is Good!

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. --Habakkuk 3:17-18 Life is messy, God is good! Those six words sum up the message of Habakkuk, sum up our lives all too often and also speak to the paradox of living as a follower of Jesus in a broken world. Many times we experience the messiness of life and tend to allow the mess to serve as our authority in determining our theology. It’s easy to do when life gets messy, isn’t it? The closing verses of the book of Habakkuk speak to both the messiness of life and the goodness of God. Habakkuk looks at life and takes an accurate assessment. There is an economic mess (fig trees and grapes), there is a food shortage (olive crops, fields), the reputation and wealth that he once had is a mess (sheep, cattle). While the accurate assessment of the mess on earth is a starting point, for followers of Jesus it is never intended to be an ending point in determining reality. The key to moving forward in the messiness of life is accounting for God’s presence, sovereignty, goodness and the fact that He is bigger than any mess that we create or that life throws at us. We can make it because like Moses, we trust in the invisible hand and power of God. (Hebrews 11:27) Ultimately we must place our faith somewhere, right? And followers of Jesus choose to both live by faith, (Habakkuk 2:4) and place that faith in Jesus’ character, power and sovereignty. He is so powerfully sovereign that ultimately even the mess of life submits to His Lordship. (Romans 8:28) PCC, because life is messy and because God is good, we must commit anew to a Christ-centered, biblically functioning community. We must renew our minds regarding God’s grace and the truth that this messy life is just the prelude. You and I were made for eternity, not for this world. Every scar we endure in this world, through the power of God’s Holy Spirit will be a trophy in Heaven (2 Corinthians 4:17). Walk humbly, dependently and trust that your good God is weaving your messy story into His grand redemptive story. This chapter is one in a much more magnificent tale that ends with Him. This week at PCC we hit the pause button on our “When God Seems Unfair” series and head to Mission Springs for our PCC Family Vacation. Here are your Sunday options: We will have two gatherings at PCC (9:00am and 5:30pm) and one at Mission Springs (10:00am). Please take the beautiful 55-minute drive into the Santa Cruz Mountains and be with us. I Love Being Your Pastor!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Life is Messy - God is Good!

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. --Habakkuk 3:17-18 Life is messy, God is good! Those six words sum up the message of Habakkuk, sum up our lives all too often and also speak to the paradox of living as a follower of Jesus in a broken world. Many times we experience the messiness of life and tend to allow the mess to serve as our authority in determining our theology. It’s easy to do when life gets messy, isn’t it? The closing verses of the book of Habakkuk speak to both the messiness of life and the goodness of God. Habakkuk looks at life and takes an accurate assessment. There is an economic mess (fig trees and grapes), there is a food shortage (olive crops, fields), the reputation and wealth that he once had is a mess (sheep, cattle). While the accurate assessment of the mess on earth is a starting point, for followers of Jesus it is never intended to be an ending point in determining reality. The key to moving forward in the messiness of life is accounting for God’s presence, sovereignty, goodness and the fact that He is bigger than any mess that we create or that life throws at us. We can make it because like Moses, we trust in the invisible hand and power of God. (Hebrews 11:27) Ultimately we must place our faith somewhere, right? And followers of Jesus choose to both live by faith, (Habakkuk 2:4) and place that faith in Jesus’ character, power and sovereignty. He is so powerfully sovereign that ultimately even the mess of life submits to His Lordship. (Romans 8:28) PCC, because life is messy and because God is good, we must commit anew to a Christ-centered, biblically functioning community. We must renew our minds regarding God’s grace and the truth that this messy life is just the prelude. You and I were made for eternity, not for this world. Every scar we endure in this world, through the power of God’s Holy Spirit will be a trophy in Heaven (2 Corinthians 4:17). Walk humbly, dependently and trust that your good God is weaving your messy story into His grand redemptive story. This chapter is one in a much more magnificent tale that ends with Him. This week at PCC we hit the pause button on our “When God Seems Unfair” series and head to Mission Springs for our PCC Family Vacation. Here are your Sunday options: We will have two gatherings at PCC (9:00am and 5:30pm) and one at Mission Springs (10:00am). Please take the beautiful 55-minute drive into the Santa Cruz Mountains and be with us. I Love Being Your Pastor!