We are coming up on Easter! This is one of my favorite times of year. We are experiencing all sorts of lovely changes in weather and building our hope for Spring. We are looking forward to family trips and time to explore the natural world, we are looking for a break. The expectation we have with the change of seasons is that we would get a break to let us know the shift has happened. A lull or down period that lets us know something big is coming.

Over the next couple weeks we will be looking at the times that Jesus talks about His death on the cross. These passages build expectation for us in the same way that warmer days herald the coming of Spring. Something is going to be different soon and we need to be ready for it. This month we celebrate the close of Jesus’ time here on earth with the Disciples and mourn the crucifixion of our Savior. The time Christ was in the grave is like that interlude between seasons. We know something big is coming and have to be ready for it. We hope and pray that we can be ready for it: this thing that is so powerfully new and wonderfully beyond our wildest imaginings, the resurrection of our Messiah and invitation into the Kingdom of Heaven which is available forevermore.

What do you wake up for? Because the alarm clock went off, because you have that appointment today, because work, because family, because you don’t want to spend all day in bed (some of it will be spent in that favorite chair we all have), maybe it is something else. The reason we get out of bed in the morning (or evening for those night owls out there) is tied to what we see as our purpose in this life.

Our reason for being awake and alive is core to who we are. If you are like me, waking up in the morning is something you have just been doing. I haven’t been thinking about what being awake that day means. I have been hearing the alarm and thinking about the list of things that should probably be done that day. I have been staring at the ceiling and thinking about how many times I can snooze before I actually have to roll out of bed and get going. I haven’t been thinking about what my awakening means; it means I have been blessed with another day. It means that I have a chance that day to do something wonderful. I have a choice to make.

Each day we are alive on this Earth we have been blessed, we have a chance, and we have a choice. We have been blessed by God with the beautiful opportunity to impact this world for Him. We have been given the chance to be changed and renewed as we seek the places and people that God wants us to be engaging with that day. We have a choice to worship God or worship the world. When you wake up to worship your perspective on what each day means shifts dramatically. It isn’t about the list anymore. It is about the life God has granted you. A life of communion with the Holy Spirit; a life renewed and reconciled.

As we continue to discuss what Worship looks like I want to encourage you to pray for awakening. I want us to pray for this for ourselves, for our families, for our friends, for the strangers we meet on the streets and in the markets, for our brothers and sisters in other congregations all over this valley, and for our nation. Let’s pray for awakening. A Spirit led awakening in our hearts that alerts us to what is truly important and what life can be when lived in relationship with God.

As we finish up this year we naturally look back to what has happened over the last 12 months. For example, I have a new job, a new place to live, a new church family, a couple new roommates, and a lot of new friends! I have gone kayaking on the Rogue River, camping at Twin Rocks on the Oregon Coast, stayed in a cabin at Diamond Lake, seen Crater Lake, and enjoyed a few plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I have been a camp elder, a soccer coach, and a bible study leader. I have prayed with many new people and for many new friends. I have been blessed enormously over the last year!

Having looked back I am amazed at all of the new things God has given me to do and be a part of to progress His kingdom purpose in our area! I am so excited to be part of what God is doing here at Medford Friends Church and through our church to bless the community we are part of. I am looking forward to the new things that God is going to be doing next year! 2016!

Following Jesus daily is the heart of the Gospel for us. Each day we get to renew our commitment to Him and His ways. Every moment is a new one. Each experience is unique and we get to respond in new ways. As we head into the New Year I want us to consider the passage found in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

We get to be new. Just like there is a new year coming we have a new life offered to us every day. I hope that we can engage our community in a new way this year. I hope that God encourages you to find a new thing that He is doing and you join Him in it! I hope that you let yourself be new this year, and that by doing so you participate in the renewal of the world that begins with and finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ!

Looking Forward

I love this time of year! This is the time we have chosen to celebrate the birth of our savior. We have just had time set aside to look back on the year and be grateful for the blessings of God. Now we get too look forward to what the birth of Jesus means for us! As we look forward to Christ’s coming into the world we get to experience a sacred expectancy. We get to consider what life is like because of how God has chosen to enter into our lives. He chose to come make a way for us Himself. He was born in humble circumstance and lived a simple life. He invited normal men and women to follow Him and join in His ministry. He changed the world through His presence.

During this time of anticipation for the coming celebration can we take some time to think about the people that have invited us to join them in the journey and ways that their presence has changed our world? Maybe we can also take some time to consider inviting someone new.