Harvest Community Church

Thanks for the great day! Watch the video to see some of the action from Saturday’s Serve Day on February 25th.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I was thinking about this yesterday. I haven’t grown up in a traditional church denomination where Lent was practiced, but I know for many Christians Lent is a sacred time of reflection and preparation for the celebration of Easter. This year I will take advantage of the opportunity, and feel like God has challenged me to take extra time between now and Easter to celebrate him. My practice is going to be a bit different.

The purpose for those in the Catholic tradition (and others) includes the idea and fasting or giving up luxury items as a form of penance. The main thing that I feel that God has been doing in my life lately is teaching me to delight in Him, and to thoroughly enjoy the gospel. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” God has been leading me into a renewed enjoyment in my Savior, and in the truly good news that is the gospel.

I am excited to set aside extra time between now and Easter (April 8th this year) to personally enjoy God. This may involve some fasting for me, as a way of celebrating and seeking the better food that God offers. I will probably give up some other time-consuming activities (like following a couple TV shows on Hulu). I do this, not trying to punish myself, but rather to free up some extra time to spend with God, in his Word and in worship.

God is good! There’s no better joy than what I have found in knowing that I am forgiven, included in his family, and invited to be on mission with him in the world until I die or Jesus returns. In both circumstances I look forward to seeing Jesus face to face, and worshiping God without the lasting hindrances of my sin and brokenness.

I invite you to join me at some level this Lent, and spend extra time in those activities that give God the best chance to refresh you, to renew you, and to work in your heart.

Here’s a few ideas:

1) Read through the gospel of Mark or John. Journal a thought each day.

2) Spend some time alone playing some worship music and sing to God. Yes, you can do this outside of Sundays.

3) Ask God to lead you to one significant conversation or opportunity each day where you bless someone.

I close with a last thought about today, being that it is Ash Wednesday, with it’s connection to repentance. Part of the work that God does in my life, and ours it to lead us to repentance. We have idols in our lives– things that we value more than God, that we worship instead of God. When we turn from these things and worship God instead, we repent. Part of the work of repentance that God is teaching me is truly wanting him more than anything else.

I can relate too closely with the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

“for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
(Jeremiah 2:13 ESV)

God alone satisfies! Today I remember that, and am so grateful that in this moment I can honestly say I want him more than anything else.

Good morning all! The blog has been a little lonely with Pastor Lee’s absence, so I thought I’d share some thoughts for you from John’s gospel, from my journaling today. In the passage below, Jesus is in a conversation with a Samaritan women (“inappropriate” on both accounts)…

[10] Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” [11] The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? (John 4:10-11 ESV)

“If you knew…” Such relevant words for me and for all people. If we only knew… If we only knew the closeness and reality of the Messiah. That every bit as much as for this woman, Jesus is near to us, approachable to us, and ready to give to us the living waters he here speaks of. “If you knew the gift of God…” “For God so loved the world, that he gave…” If we only knew. So much of our life is wasted on chasing after fulfillment, success, and satisfaction from waters that can never truly satisfy or fulfill us. Here sits Jesus, the living Word, who has the words of eternal life. Here he sits ready to give waters from a well that can not be exhausted. We have the opportunity in Christ to drink real drink, and be filled, and find the life that is real life. “If only…”

“If only you knew…” Do we really know this reality? Do we know it with the deep conviction of faith that causes the man to sell all he has to buy the field that he knows has a treasure buried within? All we need to do is ask, says Jesus. Do we ask him for his living water? Or are our excuses as lame as the woman’s misunderstanding “you don’t have anything to draw water with…” We, like the woman, are looking at the wrong well. We look at the well of relationships, of success, of wealth, of sex, of competition, of religion and we use our man-made tools to draw water from the depths of our wells…or so we think. The truth is we’ve never experienced a depth like the well that is Jesus. “The well is deep” says the women, but she, like us, has no idea just how deep the well is that is Christ.

“Where do you get that living water?” she asks.  Now she at least is headed in the right direction. Where does this socially imprudent man (a holy man at this time wouldn’t hang out at wells talking to women) claim to get this mysterious water from?

[12] Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”(John 4:12 ESV)
There’s a grand religious history to this well, sir. How can you compete with the history of this great well? I think there’s a part of her delivery here that intends to put this socially imprudent man into his place. This is no ordinary well, she says. How convinced are we that our wells are so special? That our lives, our families, our successes, our work, are so uniquely special.

[13] Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, [14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  (John 4:13-14 ESV)  The women thought her well was exceptional. No says Jesus. Her well is like every other. It gives access to water, yes, but that is it. It will give you the same thing any well will. Water. Which will quench your thirst…for a short time. But like all water, you will be thirsty again. Jesus has something else in mind; something better. Jesus knows that there is a thirst that no drink can quench except for he alone. And when he offers to quench this life-thirst, he does, and will, for all eternity.

Maybe you need to pray a prayer similar to this…  ”Jesus I need to drink from your well today. I find myself drinking from wells that will never satisfy. I have not trusted your goodness and your ability to quench my thirst. I pray for myself today, that I will find my deep satisfaction in you. You are worthy of all attention and praise and honor and love. I sit here for a moment to tell my soul to rejoice in you! Find your hope, soul, in Jesus! Drink from his depths! He alone can satisfy, and he will satisfy!”

- So good to be back…there is nothing like eating a good home cooked meal, sleeping in your own bed, and being with family.  The trip to India was fantastic and I am very appreciative to those who prayed for Steve and I as we were gone.  Don’t miss this Sunday as I take time to share some of the details of our trip.  Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Enjoying a church service at David Paul's church

Visiting the youth camp

Sitting with Caleb at the Pastors gathering

Meeting with fellow Church Planters

Baptism at the local waterfall

I have many fond memories of the time in India.  I am excited to share what we saw and learned this Sunday.  Don’t miss it!

- I heard several stories this past Sunday on what Financial Peace University is doing for people.  So cool to hear stories of how people are getting right side up in their finances.  If you missed this round of FPU don’t miss out when the next class starts in January.  Sign-up now!

- I am continually amazed at the job our set-up crew does every week.  Take a quick look below at what they accomplish each and every week.  If you are interested in joining this fun and talented team email the church office at connect@harvestccaz.org.

- Don’t miss this week as we finish off our series in The Ghost.