Manna In My Purse

Today I posted that I am "thankful that God always knows what I need and when I need it".  I have always known my God to be ever-present and always our provider.  I don't take it for granted but it has been a very prominent reality in my life, both growing up and now raising my own family.  There have been countless times in my life where I was very aware that God was working things behind the scenes on my behalf, whether it was day-to-day meals, making sure the gas money worked out just right (and I mean, down to the penny under the seat of the car) or even amazing things like random extra finances in December to make sure there were gifts under the tree.  Everything-- from what was needed to things that were just meaningful extras, He has always provided!

As an adult, raising my own kids now and doing my own financial planning, I can often think back to my own parents, raising my sisters and I, through the good times and what, I realize now, were very stressful times for them.

I recently had a conversation with a very special friend of mine.  She reminded me of a familiar story.  God does a strange thing for the children of Israel in Exodus.  They are in an uncomfortable spot on their journey-- camping out everyday in the desert, following a promise that seems exciting at times but also sometimes seems impossible.  At this point in the story they find themselves reflecting back on their old days in Egypt, leaving out the bad memories (as we usually do), dwelling on what now seems like happy memories.


"Why didn't God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You've brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death."


Nostalgic, isn't it?  Anyway, God decides to put them through a little exercise.  


God said to Moses, "I'm going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day's ration. I'm going to test them to see if they'll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration."  (Ex 16, Msg)


So He does, and they do and everyone has enough.  Except then their little wheels start turning.  They start trying to put some away for the coming days, planning ahead, just in case, even though God told them not to save any, just to trust Him and He would give them what they needed.  


This would have totally been me!  I would have been the mother grabbing little handfuls and shoving it in my purse to save some for my kids for later.  Just in case!-- even though God has always been there-- even though He has never let me or my family starve before, not to mention this is the same God who brought us out of Egypt!  We do this though, don't we?  How easily we forget.  We get all nostalgic about what used to be, blaming God for what we don't see happening now, and then when He asks us to trust Him, the God who has done ALL THIS, we try to sneak and get control back in our hands, as if we can do anything with it!  Today I am glad that while I might be the one that "plans" my family's financial future, I am NOT the one in control.  


Make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God, your God,

   the God who delivered you from Egyptian slavery;
   the God who led you through that huge and fearsome wilderness, those desolate, arid badlands
   crawling with fiery snakes and scorpions;
   the God who gave you water gushing from hard rock;
   the God who gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never heard
   of, in order to give you a taste of the hard life, to test you so that you would be prepared to live well
   in the days ahead of you.


If you start thinking to yourselves, "I did all this. And all by myself. I'm rich. It's all mine!"—well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth so as to confirm the covenant that he promised to your ancestors—as it is today.
(Deut 8, Msg)


I'll say it one more time:  Today I am thankful that God always knows what I need and when I need it.  He is so much better at that job than I will ever be!

Hope Butcher

Seven Foot Ceilings

In my apartment, one of the amenities featured is "nine-foot ceilings."  The idea is simple: the higher the ceiling, the more spacious the space feels.  Have you ever been in a house with, say, seven foot ceilings?  It feels like the ceiling is sitting on your head.  Although you gain no real extra living space, a higher ceiling changes your attitude.

In Genesis 15, God makes a startling promise to Abraham: "God took Abraham outside and said, 'Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them.'  Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.'"  Its easy to read through this and catch what God said and totally miss what God did.  Did you see it?  God took Abraham outside.

What difference does that make?  Abraham was sitting around inside, looking up at the ceiling of his tent.  So God took him on a little excursion to go stargazing.  I wonder how long it took for my man to finish his project of counting the stars.  You think God proved his point after Abraham lost count for the fifteenth time, or did he have to try more cause he was a little hardheaded?  Regardless, Abraham learned a lesson he would never forget and the stars served as nightly reminders of God's promise.

Why did God take him outside?  As long as Abraham was inside his tent, his vision of future possibilities was blocked by this man-made ceiling.  We have the same problem.  We lose perspective when we allow negative circumstances to obscure the promises of God.  When you focus and complain about what you don't have, you lose sight of the vision of the future that God wants to create in and through you.

So, what's blocking your vision?  Worry, envy, impatience....?  Maybe its time to step outside your tent of negativity to regain the proper perspective.  God wanted to remind Abraham of just how big He was.  I think God was saying, "Don't put a seven-foot (or even a nine foot) ceiling on what I can do."

~Pastor Josh

Stuffed! Week 1: My Grandma's Dressing

Today was an AWESOME day at verticalCHURCH, as we dove head-first into our new series, STUFFED! Now, I don't want to re-preach the message here, but if you missed it, or just want to see it again, go to www.youtube.com/verticalchurchtv. It will be posted there soon.

I have been bombarded with notes, texts and calls from folks who have begun to put action steps in place as a result of the opportunities we talked about today! I am humbled, but also incredibly excited to watch what a difference we can make in our community, our families and our church in the coming weeks. Let's recap:

First, the now-infamous Complaint Jar. Over the next three weeks, we are going to make contributions to the Complaint Jar each and every time we feel the need to complain, whine or just be envious of others. At the end of the series, we are going to collect these funds and all of the proceeds will be sent to Jamaica, where we have partnered to build a school for underprivileged kids. These kids have a lot to complain about, but usually they don't. We are going to turn what was meant to be whining into blessing for these kids. Kelly and I are putting $1 in the jar each time we mess up. Our kids are contributing a penny. My kids have already busted me once, so I am already down a buck. It is going to be a LONG 3 weeks, but I believe that God wants us to break this cycle of complaining. In all things, be content. Re-read Philippians 4.4-9!

Second, we are going to serve others. We are collecting food and donations for our Thanksgiving Basket food drive. You can either get the list and fill your own basket or bag, or you can donate funds which will be spent solely to feed members of our church and community who are in need.

Third, we are going to stop hanging around negative people. Yes, we will minister to them. However, we will NOT be deterred from celebrating and living life to the fullest! Change your influencers!

Today was a lot of fun. Thinking about my Grandma's dressing is always great, but seeing it as a life-lession is even better. Grandma Orvin is a woman of prayer and power, and I know she is thrilled that even this small, seemingly insignificant thing can help others see Christ!

Check back to the blog every day. A member of our pastoral or leadership team will post every day for the next 21 days. Join the conversation. Post what you are thankful for. I would particularly love to hear how this message spoke to you and what you are going to do to change your circumstances and make a difference! You can also follow us on Twitter (#stuffed21).

It is truly an honor to walk this journey with you!

In Christ,

Pastor Brian