Faithful with Few

Faithful with Few

“Mom can I get a puppy? I promise I’ll take care of it!” It’s a classic story. A child says they want a puppy but their parents are skeptical that the child can handle the responsibility of a dog. So what do they do? They get the child a hamster instead and say, “Now, if you do a good job with the hamster, maybe the next step will be to get you a puppy.” The hamster is a test to see how invested the child is in the idea of a pet and to see how hard they are willing to work.

Jesus is using this same concept in his “Parable of the Bags of Gold.” He talks about a Master giving his servants each a certain amount of gold to take care of while he is away. When he returns he sees that some of the servants did wonderful things with their money, while one servant did not. God has given us each gifts and skills and has asked us to use them to our best ability for Him. Some people squander their gifts and use them for evil, while others use them to glorify God.

Sometimes I have thought to myself “Lord, please put me in a big school with wildly successful programs and top notch musicians.” This is actually a real life example because I was interviewed at a large school with 4-5 choirs and a successful music program in place. But God had other plans. He placed me in a much smaller school in a part time position. And it turned out to be the perfect place for me. God knew I was not ready to handle such a large task and so he asked me to be faithful in another one.

Look at what you have and the position you are currently in. Instead of wishing for more, be faithful with what you have. God can see infinitely more than we can and knows exactly what we need when we need it. The child who proves they can take care of a hamster will eventually get a dog. Be faithful with what you have, and God will give you more than you thought possible.

- Kendra Mikols

Are you a Gaston or a Belle?

The classic Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast” is a beloved movie. It follows Belle who is imprisoned by a Beast to save her father but ends up (spoiler alert) falling in love with her captor and turning him into a prince again. There is another popular character in this movie, Gaston. Gaston loves pretty much one thing: himself. He is strong, brave, and has many accolades to his name. The problem with Gaston is that he lacks love for anyone else. This is why Belle spurns his advances.

1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 says “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” Herein lies Gaston’s problem. He’s a smooth talker, can make others do whatever he wants and can probably lift a horse over is head, but he does not have love, so he is nothing. Belle on the other hand, is willing to lay down her life for others including her father and the Beast. And of course, love win out in the end.

On the spectrum of love, are you closest to Belle or Gaston? Do you have talents and awards but do not use your gifts for others? Or, do you give to others but not because you care about them but because it makes you look good? We can be very Christian people but sometimes slip into a Gaston-like state. It's important to continually check ourselves and our motives for the love of Christ so that we aren’t a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1). Being people of love is what Christ has called us to.

- Kendra Mikols

Stay Focused

It is important for us in our Christian walk to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. Peter learned that the hard way when he was trying to walk on the water. One moment of taking his eyes off the Lord and he floundered. This was an important moment in Peter’s life but it serves as an incredible metaphor for all those who read this story: When you take your eyes off the Lord, you will falter.

The Bible is very clear on what we should fill our lives with and what we should avoid. Colossians 3:2 says “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Romans 8:5 says “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” And Psalm 1:1 says “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

God knows that where we set our focus will mean the difference between life and death. If we keep our eyes on Him, we are not guaranteed an easy life but we will be saving ourselves the trouble of feeling like we have a lack of direction or meaning. I am reminded of the famous hymn that says “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth become strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.” We are so blessed to have an all-powerful guide in life and a gracious God who knows where our focus needs to be.

- Kendra Mikols

The Waiting

After Jesus was crucified, life seemed dismal for his followers. The 12 disciples went into hiding and many other Christians were trying to stay undercover. They were in despair and disarray because they thought they were alone. They couldn’t see the bigger picture.

Jesus, however, could see the bigger picture. He knew that the story of Christianity was not at an end but at a beginning. He knew that He was going to rise again and, by doing so, save and bring hope to all humankind. Now, we can look at the disciples and think “How could they believe that Jesus was gone forever! He’s the Son of God for goodness sake!” But, how many times in our own lives have we believed that God is gone or that we are alone. Even after all he has done and the many blessings he has bestowed, if we don’t hear from Him for a while we start to despair.

The disciples lost their hope in the waiting. God has his timing and sometimes that timing involves a certain amount of waiting. He knows the right timing for everything in our lives and he will never abandon his children. So, as we celebrate Easter this week, remember that Jesus made the disciples wait for his return, and that made the celebration even sweeter. Have faith and trust God in your times of waiting.

- Kendra Mikols

Jesus Paid it All

The song “Jesus Paid It All” is one of my favorite songs of all time. It is especially powerful in this season of Lent and Easter because it talks about Jesus’s sacrifice and its effect on all of our lives. My favorite part of the modern arrangement of the song is the bridge in which we sing “Oh praise The One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!” This is an important truth that we need to remember on Easter.

When Jesus died and then was raised again to life, He was not only giving life back to Himself, He was giving life to all people. It’s as if when he started breathing again and walked out of the tomb, something inside each person on Earth was also awakened. Without his sacrifice, we would never have been able to be truly alive. We would have been mere zombies walking around. I don’t know if you know anything about zombies, but the gist is they walk around never fully aware of their surroundings, grabbing at any type of nourishment they can get their hands on, and no matter what they are never satisfied. This is how our lives would be without Christ’s sacrifice: Dissatisfying and ultimately meaningless.

Through Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, we can be satisfied and alive in Him! We are not slaves to sin and to death but have a future and a hope. Ephesians 5:8 says “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!” As we go through this final week before Easter, take time to dwell on all that happened on the third day. Think about the millions of “first breaths” that can be taken because Jesus came back to life. He paid your debt on the cross and raised you from death to life! Alleluia!

- Kendra Mikols

What’s Your Point of View?

“Man, the guy who works in the cubicle next to me is such a complainer! I can’t stand him!”
“This woman in front of me in the grocery store is talking badly about someone, what a jerk.”
“If one more person tries to tell me how hard their life is, I’m going to explode!”

Have you ever heard any of these comments before or thought any of these things to yourself? I have! All the time! It is amazing that God made all of us special and unique, but unfortunately that means we are going to butt heads with some people. And it is amazing how some know exactly what to do to push our buttons. If we are not careful, we can start to harbor hate in our hearts for certain people which can grow into an epidemic of being easily annoyed or hateful towards others.

2 Corinthians 5:16 says “So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view.” What does this mean: “A Worldly point of view?” It means that we are regarding people with one question in mind: What is this person doing for me? That’s what the world is all about right? I want this right now and I’m going to get it no matter who doesn’t want me to have it. Not to say there aren’t nice people in this world but the majority of the world could be described as selfish.

God has asked us to view people from His eyes and He has a never ending fountain of love for every person He created, Christian and Non-Christian. Once we start trying to view people as God views them, we will find that we can cope with our situations much more easily and we can find love for the people we never thought we could feel any affection for. This week, when you encounter that person who makes your skin crawl, start asking God to show you that person through His eyes. You will be amazed at what He shows you.

- Kendra Mikols

Get Off the Island

Get Off the Island

I recently heard a story about a Japanese man in World War II who was stationed on an island off the coast of Japan. After being stationed there, the Allied forces invaded and he was one of 3 officers not to surrender to American troops. Instead, he hid in the jungle gathering intel on the Allies and foraging for food. Several months later, World War II came to an end, but unfortunately, the Japanese man did not know this. His family and friends attempted to contact him by calling his name over a bull horn and dropping fliers explain the end of the war over the island. He saw all these signs and decided they were traps sent by the enemy. For 30 years, he stayed on the island until finally, someone found his elderly superior officer, who came and found him and told him the war was over.

This is a tragic story and when I heard it I thought, “Wow what a terrible waste of your life!” This story is a parallel to the way non-Christians, and even some of us, view Christianity and God. The Bible says that the Lord has won the battle against sin and death! We no longer have to worry because God is in control. But some of us refuse to believe this truth. We continue to live in on our own little island trying to sustain ourselves and make a life out of rocks and sticks, when Jesus is calling us to something greater: a life of redemption! He is constantly calling and calling and sending hints and trying to speak into our lives.

Ephesians 5:8 says “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Once we have accepted Jesus into our hearts, we have to live as new people who have seen the end of a war and know that all things are going to be new! Don’t live your life on an island, trying to ignore the great things God has done. Step off the island and into the light, and live as God  intended you to be, a new creation.

Get Behind Me Satan

In Matthew 16, Jesus is telling his disciples about how he will be killed in the near future. Peter responds by saying “Far be it from you Lord! This will never happen to you.” Jesus reacts very swiftly by saying “Get behind me Satan!” Why does he say this? It seems like a fairly mean response to make to a friend who’s just looking out for you.

Firstly, Jesus was not literally saying that Peter was “Satan.” Rather, he was reacting to Peter’s words which were not in accordance with what He knew His father’s will was for Him. Satan is a crafty guy and he knows how to create doubt in our minds. One of those ways is by using the people closest to us. Has this ever happened to you? Has God ever asked you to do something drastic or even crazy and when you mention it to your friends or family they give you a million reasons why that won’t work? These people are all well-meaning but do not know God’s will for your life. There are several stories of this in the Bible including Noah and Joshua where someone needed to go against the grain to accomplish God’s plan.

Another important point of the story is that when Peter says this to Jesus, Jesus doesn’t say “Oh, you think I shouldn’t go through with this? Let’s talk about it.” No. Jesus knew his Father’s will because he was in constant communication with the Father. Because of this he was able to recognize what was against His Father’s will immediately. Instead of entertaining the idea, he immediately shut the idea down. This is what we should be doing in our own lives. We cannot be “wishy-washy” when it comes to God’s will. We need to be like Jesus and strike forcefully aginst any idea contrary to Him. As the old saying goes: If you give Satan an inch, he will take a mile. Stand firm against any seeds of doubt that the Devil may be trying to plant in your life and stay in constant communication with the Lord so you can know his will for your life.

Spiritual Gifts

You are gifted! It’s true! God said so! This might be hard for some of us to believe as we live day to day. How am I gifted? I just have a boring office job. I can’t throw a football for yards for a touchdown or create a fabulous meal like on Master Chef or sing well enough to win American Idol or The Voice. How am I gifted?

Well, God does not promise you a gift or talent that will sky rocket you to stardom but he does say that everyone is given a gift by the Spirit. In verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says “All these (gifts) are empowered by one and the same spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” God knows you better than anyone. He knows which gift is best suited for you. Some examples from the Bible are gifts of healing, miracle working, prophecy, and speaking in tongues. These are gifts that are not “famous” by the world standards, but when they manifest themselves it is an opportunity to communicate with God and see Him literally reach down to earth and into our lives.

What is your spiritual gift? Have you ever thought about it? Or have you rather thought “Well that person is a gifted pray-er and that person has the gift of healing but I’m just a “normal” Christian. Wrong! You have a gift! The Holy Spirit gave it to you personally so you could use it to draw people to Him. Spend some time in prayer and talk with those people around you who know you best. Ask the Lord to show you your spiritual gift so you can use it for His glory.

Building the House of God

This past week our focus was on being a Biblical Community. Our verse comes from Ephesians 2 and for this blog I will focus on verses 19-22 which says:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

I love this image of the people of God being stones that come together to become “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” God created us to be in community with one another. He knows that we need to share our lives with others and help each other grow spiritually. Life is a whole lot tougher when we try to carry every burden and responsibility on our own.

Let’s think about it in terms of this image of “building a house.” One brick is not going to give anyone shelter. You need many bricks to come together and gain a firmer foundation from each other in order to successfully build a house. Another point is that you cannot be a Christian and choose not to participate in community. If you built a house and some of the bricks decided they did not want to be a part of the group anymore and left, the house would be left with gaping holes and would eventually collapse.

In order for the body of Christ to be successful, every member needs to fully participate. God designed the church this way specifically. The old mantra is true: “United we stand, divided we fall.” He says in Ecclesiastes “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (4:12). Don’t fight against community. Embrace the group of Christians around you and let’s work towards becoming a more Biblical Community and help each other grow closer with God.

Kendra Mikols

Re-Focus

Re-Focus

This past week, our sermon theme was on Single-mindedness. As the name implies, we are supposed to
have one focus, one central thought through which all other thoughts are funneled: Jesus Christ. This obviously is easier said than done. We all are extremely busy people. We have worries and doubts and bills to pay and presentations to give and a whole slew of other activities to fill up our day. God knows this and knew when he created us that we would be a busy people.

Let’s think of our lives as our favorite snack, that food you could eat anytime, anywhere. Mine is Cheez-its. I love them! Now imagine that instead of the regular version, they only have the fat-free or salt-free version of your favorite snack. Can you still eat it? Yes. Is it going to be as enjoyable? Nope, probably not. That is our lives without constant communication and focus on God. Can we walk through life with just the minimum of “God time?” Yes, people do it every day. Is it going to be as good or as satisfying? Absolutely not. God created us to be one with Him and life is just not all that great without Him.

In his book Common Roots, Robert E. Webber says “We must learn, then, not to HAVE a spirituality, something we turn on at a particular place or time, but to BE spiritual, as a habit of life, a continuous state of being. It is to this end that we seek after God in the stillness and hubbub of life, but always and everywhere in and through the church, where Christ is made present to us and, through us, to the world.” All life needs to be saturated with Christ and our first instinct in every situation should be to call out to Him. This week, look at your life and see if you are trying to live a “low-calorie” Christianity or if you are taking advantage of the full banquet God is offering you in Him.

Kendra Mikols

The Mission of Worship

This past week, I began my final semester at IWS. The class is all about multi-cultural worship, how to use it, and why it is important. One of our readings entitled “The Mission of Worship” by Sandra Van Opstal, has a quote that really struck me. It says “The mission of worship is therefore experiencing God in all his fullness as well as embracing God’s mission to proclaim and demonstrate his kingdom of reconciliation and justice.” Wait…when I am worshipping I am actually on a mission? Yes in fact you are!

Now I don’t know about you but when I “worship” I don’t normally view it as a missions trip. Usually I am in the comfort of my pew or my home, how can my worship be missional? The reality is that every part of our lives is worship when we are living for Christ. While we are singing in church we are indeed attempting to “experience God in all his fullness” but at the same time we are doing more. We are joining with Christ’s Body throughout the world as they sing praises to Him. By doing this act we are proclaiming to God and those around us that we are on board for God’s mission.

James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Worship is between you and God but it cannot end there! It has to continue to the rest of the world! This is why it is so important that we do not view worship as “going through the motions.” It means so much more than just crossing something off your check list for the week. It is a proclamation that you are standing in solidarity with all Christians and committing to “proclaim and demonstrate his kingdom of reconciliation and justice.” Start to view your worship as part of God’s mission and see how he transforms your heart and attitude in worship.

Stewardship

Stewardship is defined as “the management or care of something.” In the case of Christianity, stewardship means taking care of the world around us and giving freely of our time and money. The problem is that our time, money, and possessions are very precious to us. For those of us who work full time or multiple jobs, there is not a lot of spare time to be had. And if we give it to other people, then there is none left for us. The same goes for our money and possessions. When we are giving so much, it is sometimes hard to see where the benefit is for us or how we are being made better through it. But God promises blessings to those who give generously.

2 Corinthians 9: 6 says “Remember this: Whoever shows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously.” My husband and I love to play board games and one of our favorites is called “Settlers of Catan.” The point of the game is to collect resources which you can then trade in to build roads and settlements which then earn you more resources, etc. In order to flourish in the game you have to be willing to spend your resources. If you hold on to them, you will never advance your colony and never win the game. But if you are willing to spend, even if it means you will have no resources for a few turns, you will see the rewards later in the game.

The same is true with our giving. God asks us to give everything but it results in a great return for God's kingdom, and sometimes even for us. Mother Teresa once said “Intense love does not measure, it just gives." God’s amazing love to us in Christ is an example of this, and we can respond to his generosity by being generous. Don’t hold on to your resources. Give freely and trust that God will provide for you even as he uses you to provide for others!

Fear the Lord

Fear the Lord

I want to start by looking at Psalm 103:8-18. It says

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

This verse shows the depth of the love Christ has for us. But it also shows us something about God that can be confusing if read the wrong way. That is that we are supposed to “fear” God. Fear is something I have struggled with my whole life. From spiders, to murderers, to failing tests, you name it I have been afraid of it. The Bible says “do not fear” 365 times. That’s one verse for each day of the year! So if He commands us not to fear that many times, why does he tell us to fear Him?

When God says for us to fear him, he is talking about respect and reverence. A King can be “good” but if he is not feared then no one will do what he says. Since I am a teacher, I deal with this daily. I consider myself a “good” teacher but if I do not instill a respect and reverence for my teaching in my students, they will walk all over me. In the same way, God asks us to fear him. We read in the Bible what has happened to those who went against Him, and it is never good! The Israelites had to live in the desert for 40 years and they were constantly being captured by other nations. The Old Testament has several stories of people being struck dead on the spot for disobeying God. He uses these stories to show us that he means business. He is all powerful and being under his command is not to be taken lightly.

Lucky for us our God is also benevolent, loving and compassionate as the verse above says. He knows we are going to mess up. Fearing God does not mean we are perfect, it means when we mess up we know who to apologize to. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. In the story when the children see Aslan the Lion for the first time, Lucy asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan is safe. Mr. Beaver replies “Safe?... Who said anything about being safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King…”

Our God is good but he is not safe and he is to be feared as the King above all Kings. May we continue to fear Him and show our respect and reverence as we go about our lives this week.

God Exists Outside our Comfort Zones

I am currently reading several works for my new semester at the Institute for Worship Studies and they are all about Multicultural worship. One of the books, entitled “Worship Together in Your Church as in Heaven,” talked several times about how God “exists outside our comfort zones.” I thought this would be a good topic to discuss as we are entering a new year.

I have a definite comfort zone. I know exactly what I can do easily and what will send me into a panic. Have you ever thought about your comfort zone when it comes to worship? I mean think about it, you most likely chose Valley Chapel because you felt comfortable here and you were comfortable with the flow of the service. This is absolutely not a bad thing! It is important to enjoy the church where you worship. The problem is sometimes we can get too comfortable where we are in our faith or church life and before we know it we have become stagnant. Not regressing, but not moving forward either. What is required here is a journey outside our comfort zone.

The book I previously mentioned says, “Many of the things we value in worship have to do with our own comfort. But a scriptural understanding of worship demands that we be uncomfortable at least some of the time.” Later on it says “If we stay in our comfort zones, our God becomes increasingly small.” There are many types of worship being used in Christian churches, that you might not be aware of, that can broaden your worship experience and further you in your faith journey. All you need to do is be willing to experience them. So as you start this new year, what can you do to get outside your comfort zone and experience God in a new way? It might be volunteering to read scripture during the service. It might be having a prayer meeting or worship service at your home (maybe with Christians of a different culture). Whatever it is, pray that when God gives you the opportunity to get outside your comfort zone that you would be willing to take that leap of faith and respond.

The Word is Alive

The Word is Alive

Hebrews 4: 12 says “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” This is something I have heard for most of my life. “The word is alive.” God is continually moving and speaking through His word, even though it was written so long ago. The question is: How can we continue to view the word as “alive” when it is something that has become so commonplace in our lives?

Since I was born I have probably either heard or read the story of Noah’s ark a total of 1,000 times and that is true for most of the accounts in the Bible. Because of this, when I read the Word I can sometimes feel unenthused when I am reading it because I’ve read it so many times. This is not what God intended when He gave us his word. The Bible should bring new revelation and meaning to our lives with every reading. In this post today I will be discussing some ways to revitalize your Bible reading and make the Word come alive again. If your Bible time is lack-luster, here are some things you can do.

1. Find out the History
For me the Old Testament can sometimes be hard to read, especially those dense books like Numbers and Deuteronomy. What was helpful for me was reading about what was going on historically at the time these books were written. This can shed light at to why God is commanding the Israelites to do the things He asks them to do. By studying daily life in Israel, we can draw connections to scripture and gain a deeper understanding of what God is saying in the Word.

2. Word Study 
A meaningful thing to do while you are reading is to identify particular words and ask “why did the author choose this word instead of another word.” For instance, in Genesis 1, the Bible refers to everything God did as “good.” Why not “fantastic” or “spectacular?” A great way to study this is to look at the original Hebrew translated word for word. http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Hebrew_Index.htm is a great website for this. It shows the Hebrew translated word for word next to today’s Bible. Also, looking at a concordance can be helpful. There is more meaning than you know in the Bible that is waiting to be discovered.

3. Praying the Psalms 
Most of the Psalms are actual prayers and in ancient times they were often chanted aloud. Praying through the Psalms is a very meaningful experience that can bring depth to you Bible reading. One way to do this is by switching up the pronouns. For instance, Psalm 105: 1-4 says

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
 Look to the Lord and his strength;
 seek his face always.

To pray this, add “I” before each line and change pronouns referring to God into “you”.

I will give praise to you LORD, I will proclaim your name
I will make known among the nations what you have done.
    let my heart seek you and rejoice.
I will sing to you, sing praise to you;
    tell of all your wonderful acts.
 Glory in your holy name;
I look to you and your strength;
I will seek your face always.

This is just one example of how to pray a Psalm but it is very effective and turns the Psalms from a prayer written by David into a cry of our own hearts. It makes it more personal.

4. Get Creative 
For all you artists out there, use your creativity to enhance your Bible experience. Compose songs when you are reading the Psalms or simply sing whatever tune comes to mind. Read dramatically aloud the passage as you feel the writer would have said it. Paint or draw a picture based on a passage of scripture. I have seen several posts lately of people turning their actual Bibles into works of art by drawing in the margins. This blog shows great examples of this: http://www.rebekahrjones.com/bible-art-journaling-challenge/ . Get creative and a guarantee your Bible will become more and more precious to you as you go.

I hope some of these suggestions are helpful and will revive a love for the Bible in you. The Word is Alive and God can make it alive again for you if you let Him!