ACC - Leadership Online

It never ceases to amaze me how much music can minister to the soul. I can think of so many times in my life where a song connected to what was going on deep inside my heart. Yesterday was one of those times. As my small group was finishing up our meeting, Scott and Jim were working on some sound/tech stuff in the auditorium. They put on some music and the first song that played was Everything Falls by Steve Fee (You may have heard it on the radio recently). I immediately felt overwhelmed...my heart knew what was going on even before my head did. Here's the chorus from the song

When everything falls apart, your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart, you're the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart, and my strength is gone
I find you might and strong, you keep holding on
You keep holding on

I so relate to these words. So often my best efforts aren't good enough. Or, I'm faced with a problem that I just can't get my head around. Or, I don't live up to my own expectations. At the end of the day, everything can fall apart, but God holds all things together.

Here's a video of Steve Fee talking about how this song has ministered to some people in the midst of tragedy.

Grace,
Chris

I just completed a 40 day fast. Not as hard as I thought it would be, but hard nonetheless. 40 days without Facebook.

I am not ashamed to admit that I love Facebook. I enjoy keeping up with friends – people who were teenagers in my youth group over 20 years ago, people I went to high school with (or even grade school!), current friends from ACC, distant relatives that I normally only see at funerals…

It is a great communication tool. I keep up with the daily lives of people in my congregation and I keep them updated on what’s going on with me. I regularly see both praises and prayer requests being passed back and forth. Good stuff. On-line community is possible.

Facebook can also be a huge time waster. Downright addictive. A poor substitute for personal, face-to-face interaction.

I suppose like a lot of things in life – good in moderation but harmful in excess.

I love my Facebook friends and I’m glad to be back among them. Just not too much.

Peace,
Dave

“It is finished.” Just three words in this sixth saying of Christ from the cross. Some have taken this phrase to mean that Jesus’ life is finished. That what Jesus is saying here is that his life has come to an end…that His time is over. But if we stop here and think that all this phrase mean is that Jesus’ life is over, we are missing so much. Notice Jesus doesn’t say “I am finished,” He says “IT is finished”. The difference may seem subtle, and in fact, if you’re not reading carefully, it’s easy to overlook, but the significance of the word “IT” cannot be overstated. When Jesus says “IT is finished,” He is saying that the work of God is finished; that the very purpose of Christ coming to the Earth has been fulfilled. The purpose for which He came is of course to save us, to bring us back to God. Jesus’ words here clue us into the spiritual significance of His death on the cross. His death has paid the penalty for our disobedience.

But if we stop here and think that all this phrase means is that Jesus’ life is over, and that He has paid the price for our disobedience, we’re still missing some of the truth of this phrase. This phrase in English is three words, but in the original language is just one word. The tense of the word describes an action that is completed but has ongoing significance. If we were to be completely literal in translating it, we would say something like “It is finished, and continues to be finished for all time”. Christ uses this word in this specific tense to communicate the total perfection and completeness of His death to pay for our sins. Unlike the sacrifices in the Old Testament that needed to be carried out again and again, Christ’s death is sufficient once, for all time. There is nothing we can do to add to our salvation. In fact, we insult the work of Christ on the cross when we think that we need to do anything for our salvation. For those who are believers, all we have ever done and will do has been completely forgiven through what we commemorate today. There is nothing left for us to do but to believe.

One man learned this all important truth as he talked with an old, English evangelist. The evangelist had finished his tent meeting and the crowd had pretty much all dissipated. As he was busy taking his tent down, a man approached him and asked him, “What must I do to be saved?”

“Too late!” said the evangelist, in a very matter of fact way, “Too late, my friend, too late!”

Of course very startled, the man replied, “Oh, please don’t say that. Surely it isn’t too late just because the meeting is over?”

“Yes, my friend,” answered the evangelist, looking him straight in the eye, “it is too late! You want to know what you must DO to be saved, and I tell you that you’re hundreds of years too late! The work of salvation is done, completed, finished! It was finished on the cross; Jesus said so with His last breath! What more could you want?”

Then and there the truth dawned upon the man. There was nothing for him to do to finish the work that the Lord Jesus Christ had perfected at the cross. There was nothing for him to do but to fall to his knees and accept the Savior and His finished work of grace.

It is finished, and continues to be finished for all time!

Grace,
Chris

Awesome faith stories yesterday morning at ACC. I love when we baptize people; the stories of how God broke through into their lives are amazing!

I noticed a theme; a thread that ran through every story: Major life crisis.

Drug abuse. Hard core addiction to pornography. Alcoholism. A nasty divorce. Jail time.

Different issues. A wide variety of personal pain.

Same result every time: Finding strength and meaning and hope and deliverance in Jesus Christ.

God brings good out of bad situations. He takes people who are broken and full of despair and infuses into them healing and joy. At our lowest moments God intervenes.

I think of how the disciples must have hit rock bottom as Christ’s battered body was taken down off the cross. Little did they know that miraculous new life was just a few days away.

Just when life seems hopeless…

Peace,
Dave

I got a call this morning from an old friend - Ben. I met him at the summer camp I worked at during my time in college. My first year as a camp counselor, he was one of my jr high camper. We kept in touch and actually worked together on staff at the camp for a few summers. He's currently finishing up college and doing youth ministry. Ben's a great guy! He called because he had been reading in his Bible this morning and thought of me. Rather than just continue on with his day, he chose to call me. In the course of our conversation he told me how much our friendship had impacted him and that his decision to be a youth pastor now stems from those years together at camp.

Wow! First off, I think he gives me way more credit than I am due! Ben was a solid kid when I met him and he certainly had lots of godly men and women around him at camp and in his church. I'm just one person in a long line of people who poured into his life. Which made me think about my own life...who would be on my list to call and thank? My list is long for sure!

How about you? Who would be on your list? How about giving them a call or writing them a letter? I can't think of a better way to say thank you for the investment they've made.

Grace,
Chris