Thank you and to God Alone be the Glory for participating in "Our August Fast". "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 1:6).
Pastor John Piper gives six reasons for fasting and I found the first reason to be very exciting:
1. FOR JESUS TO COME BACK
Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. (Matthew 9:14-15).
Be hopeful not only for what God is doing at WBC but for what God is doing in heaven and earth. Be expectant that he will come back and we will live together in his Kingdom forever.
I would like to keep this blog open for the next few days and share testimonies with each other. Please use the "comment" section under this post to share a testimony of something God did in your life this month. If you have trouble posting, email me (pastorcalebwidmer@gmail.com) and I'll post it for you.
Your brother in Christ, Caleb Widmer
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
A Kingdom of Children
This Sunday, September 5th we have the opportunity to host the African Children's Choir (from "music for life") in our 9am service at WBC. I would like to recount what I learned the last time they visited us.
And he called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2,3)
I accepted an invitation to join the children’s choir for devotions 30 minutes before their performance. With no idea of what to expect I slipped in the door to the back of the room where 25 children gathered with their adult leader. These were 13 boys and 12 girls between the ages of 7 and 10 who had lost one or both of their parents to extreme poverty and disease in Uganda. “Music for Life”, a cross between a Christian music education and an orphanage, had rescued them and given them hope.
As I stood with my back against the wall I heard the leader, a product of the choir himself, ask the children if they “had a song”. Did they ever “have a song”! With eyes closed a little girl began to sing a tune in her native tongue which soon the 24 others joined. The tempo picked up, the language switched to English and they began dancing and singing “Glory Train”. They motioned for me to join them and somewhat clumsily in comparison I danced along with my hands on the shoulders of the child in front of me. After the song they formed a circle and continued to worship in song. With eyes closed we sang “I’ll be somewhere walking for my Lord”. As we continued to worship they quickly began praying individual prayers aloud simultaneously in their own language. Though I could not understand the words I was caught up in the same Spirit of worship, adoration, thankfulness, and necessity towards our God.
At that moment I finally understood what it meant when Jesus said, “Unless you become like a little child”. If Jesus were on earth at that moment I think he would have spent his time in that room with those children, for that is where His Father was being adored. My view of those kids turned from pity to respect, I was of one Spirit with them, even their student. I had everything in common with them in the spiritual sense of rescue. Orphaned and dying I was chosen, adopted and given new life and joy by the Father.
Our worship of God is not to be the pre-packaged, easy to use formula found in most worship “concerts” and Christian radio. We are a kingdom of adopted children and our worship is spontaneous and joyful.
Some of us have forgotten where we came from; what it’s like to be hopeless and then to be gifted hope. Deep gratitude and firm belief is the response to understanding that while we were lifeless we were given life. This is true worship, we are a kingdom of adopted orphans; the children of God. Mark 10:13-16 tells of the story of children being brought before Jesus. The disciples in their “adult” wisdom scolded the parents for bothering Jesus. But the response of Jesus to this is really the main point of the story.
Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all (Mark 10:14-16).
We have grown too adult in our thinking as worshippers and I do not mean wise. Our well-meaning prohibitions and suggested prescriptions for worship have stifled the joyful response we should have as orphans adopted by God our Father. If the gospel of grace can be described as simple, yet glorious, then why can’t our response to it (which is worship) be described in the same manner? Whether we realize it or not we are a kingdom of children and I urge us to humbly realize our former estate and the grace that rescued us from it and come to Christ as we are; His children.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Caleb Widmer
And he called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2,3)
I accepted an invitation to join the children’s choir for devotions 30 minutes before their performance. With no idea of what to expect I slipped in the door to the back of the room where 25 children gathered with their adult leader. These were 13 boys and 12 girls between the ages of 7 and 10 who had lost one or both of their parents to extreme poverty and disease in Uganda. “Music for Life”, a cross between a Christian music education and an orphanage, had rescued them and given them hope.
As I stood with my back against the wall I heard the leader, a product of the choir himself, ask the children if they “had a song”. Did they ever “have a song”! With eyes closed a little girl began to sing a tune in her native tongue which soon the 24 others joined. The tempo picked up, the language switched to English and they began dancing and singing “Glory Train”. They motioned for me to join them and somewhat clumsily in comparison I danced along with my hands on the shoulders of the child in front of me. After the song they formed a circle and continued to worship in song. With eyes closed we sang “I’ll be somewhere walking for my Lord”. As we continued to worship they quickly began praying individual prayers aloud simultaneously in their own language. Though I could not understand the words I was caught up in the same Spirit of worship, adoration, thankfulness, and necessity towards our God.
At that moment I finally understood what it meant when Jesus said, “Unless you become like a little child”. If Jesus were on earth at that moment I think he would have spent his time in that room with those children, for that is where His Father was being adored. My view of those kids turned from pity to respect, I was of one Spirit with them, even their student. I had everything in common with them in the spiritual sense of rescue. Orphaned and dying I was chosen, adopted and given new life and joy by the Father.
Our worship of God is not to be the pre-packaged, easy to use formula found in most worship “concerts” and Christian radio. We are a kingdom of adopted children and our worship is spontaneous and joyful.
Some of us have forgotten where we came from; what it’s like to be hopeless and then to be gifted hope. Deep gratitude and firm belief is the response to understanding that while we were lifeless we were given life. This is true worship, we are a kingdom of adopted orphans; the children of God. Mark 10:13-16 tells of the story of children being brought before Jesus. The disciples in their “adult” wisdom scolded the parents for bothering Jesus. But the response of Jesus to this is really the main point of the story.
Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all (Mark 10:14-16).
We have grown too adult in our thinking as worshippers and I do not mean wise. Our well-meaning prohibitions and suggested prescriptions for worship have stifled the joyful response we should have as orphans adopted by God our Father. If the gospel of grace can be described as simple, yet glorious, then why can’t our response to it (which is worship) be described in the same manner? Whether we realize it or not we are a kingdom of children and I urge us to humbly realize our former estate and the grace that rescued us from it and come to Christ as we are; His children.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Caleb Widmer
Sunday, August 29, 2010
"Heaven's Mercy Seat"
Text:
Revelation 5
Thought:
This morning we'll sing "Revelation Song" and I will again be struck by the line "sing a new song to him who sits on heaven's mercy seat". In preparation for this morning I studied the meaning of "mercy seat" in scripture to deepen my thoughts before and experience during this song. Listen to how the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery defines the idea of the "seat" in scripture: "In Scripture, imagery of the 'seat' focuses on a special role or authority deserving of reverance . . . this is epitomized by the single most prominent seat in the Bible the 'mercy seat'." The mercy seat is a foreshadowing of Christ in the Old Testament (i.e. the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant) which is realized in the death of Christ in the New Testament and has eternal consequences for all of heaven and earth. In Revelation 5 Christ has the authority to open the scroll when no one else does and yet he appears to have been slain. This juxtaposition of imagery (authority and sacrifice) humbles and surpasses me. This morning I worship Christ who has all authority (Matt 28:18) and yet who is merciful and has sacrificed his life for mine.
Application:
BE AMAZED! this morning as we sing to Christ who sits on "heaven's mercy seat" be overwhelmed by his power and his authority and also his mercy towards us sinners.
Revelation 5
Thought:
This morning we'll sing "Revelation Song" and I will again be struck by the line "sing a new song to him who sits on heaven's mercy seat". In preparation for this morning I studied the meaning of "mercy seat" in scripture to deepen my thoughts before and experience during this song. Listen to how the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery defines the idea of the "seat" in scripture: "In Scripture, imagery of the 'seat' focuses on a special role or authority deserving of reverance . . . this is epitomized by the single most prominent seat in the Bible the 'mercy seat'." The mercy seat is a foreshadowing of Christ in the Old Testament (i.e. the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant) which is realized in the death of Christ in the New Testament and has eternal consequences for all of heaven and earth. In Revelation 5 Christ has the authority to open the scroll when no one else does and yet he appears to have been slain. This juxtaposition of imagery (authority and sacrifice) humbles and surpasses me. This morning I worship Christ who has all authority (Matt 28:18) and yet who is merciful and has sacrificed his life for mine.
Application:
BE AMAZED! this morning as we sing to Christ who sits on "heaven's mercy seat" be overwhelmed by his power and his authority and also his mercy towards us sinners.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Tommorrow we are a Choir
Text:
Isaiah 6:1-6
Thought for today:
Today, let us prepare for corporate worship tommorrow. We come needy, we come expecting to see God, focus on his Son in the elements of the Lord's Table and hear from the Holy Spirit in the Word; we come together tommorrow. The fasting you've been practicing as a spiritual discipline this month has been like a "solo" but tommorrow we are a choir. Our worship should be more passionate tommorrow at this end of this, our August fast than when we first began.
Passionate worship necessitates a correct view of God and a subsequently correct view of one's self. This is seen in Isaiah 6 as he sees God "High and lifted up" and responds "Woe is me . . . I have unclean lips". When I was in high school my youth pastor told me, "you cannot see God for who he really is and fail to see yourself for who you really are". Worship and humility are inseparable. As God is revealed tommorrow we should feel needy and broken, this is healthy. However, in him we should see a vision of our redemption and be healed. These are the dynamics of worship, the slow building verse of our brokeness and the crescendo of the chorus of our salvation.
Song:
"Carried to the Table" by Leeland
See you tommorrow, Caleb Widmer
Isaiah 6:1-6
Thought for today:
Today, let us prepare for corporate worship tommorrow. We come needy, we come expecting to see God, focus on his Son in the elements of the Lord's Table and hear from the Holy Spirit in the Word; we come together tommorrow. The fasting you've been practicing as a spiritual discipline this month has been like a "solo" but tommorrow we are a choir. Our worship should be more passionate tommorrow at this end of this, our August fast than when we first began.
Passionate worship necessitates a correct view of God and a subsequently correct view of one's self. This is seen in Isaiah 6 as he sees God "High and lifted up" and responds "Woe is me . . . I have unclean lips". When I was in high school my youth pastor told me, "you cannot see God for who he really is and fail to see yourself for who you really are". Worship and humility are inseparable. As God is revealed tommorrow we should feel needy and broken, this is healthy. However, in him we should see a vision of our redemption and be healed. These are the dynamics of worship, the slow building verse of our brokeness and the crescendo of the chorus of our salvation.
Song:
"Carried to the Table" by Leeland
See you tommorrow, Caleb Widmer
Friday, August 27, 2010
Stop Praying
I've been on a "stay-cation" this week at home, reading, writing and spending time with my family. Other than the murder mystery I finished, I've been absolutely blessed by "Crazy Love" a recent work by Pastor Francis Chan. I would love for WBC to read this work. In light of our present, August fast I was shocked as I began to read chapter 1 entitled "Stop Praying". In our "wordy" culture our words have lost so much of their meaning thus we must stop and think and learn about who God is before continuing to pray. This has inspired me going into this Sunday's service as we will be singing "Revelation Song"which encapsulates for me the throne-room view of worship from Revelation 4.
I would encourage you today to pray less and read and meditate more before the multitude of your words lose their meaning. Need help? Listen to Francis Chan discuss chapter 1 of his book here or better yet, read Isaiah 6 and/or Revelation 4. In preparation for this Sunday's worship service and for a deeper experience in the throne-room of God let us pause and practice what we preach to our children: "think before you speak".
I would encourage you today to pray less and read and meditate more before the multitude of your words lose their meaning. Need help? Listen to Francis Chan discuss chapter 1 of his book here or better yet, read Isaiah 6 and/or Revelation 4. In preparation for this Sunday's worship service and for a deeper experience in the throne-room of God let us pause and practice what we preach to our children: "think before you speak".
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Healing Through Prayer - Part 2
“The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.”
(Proverbs 29:15)
Prepared by Patrick J. Griffiths
In my journey with you as a community of faith, I find we all struggle with being told no. We all want our own ways. But such is not possible. The Elders seek God’s mind by means of prayer depending on Scripture and the Holy Spirit for this community of faith. God speaks to and through the plurality primarily; and community secondarily to provide our collective vision.
This vision although large enough to encompass the community, nation and world is defined enough so other competing agendas are excluded. Thus at various points within the journey some individuals and organizations are told “no”.
If the “hurt” they experience from being told “no” is a consequence of our collective agenda, then they need to confess and repent of this evil before it turns into bitterness and rebellion.
Unfortunately, there are many within the larger community of faith who through the years have never been told no or in being told no cannot process the idea of not having it their way. Their “hurt” is not valid and is in fact a sign of their spiritual and emotional immaturity. They are bitter and they are in rebellion against God and His Church. These people need to repent and confess their sin before God and His Church.
Friend, will you not join the Elders of this fellowship and ask God to work repentance in the hearts of those who have been hurt simply because they did not get their way? This very well might be the people who speak ill of this fellowship simply because through the years they were told “no” by the leadership. No one will admit such sins from the flesh for the flesh is proud. But until this comes to them, they will languish in self-pity and continue to cannibalize the body of Christ. Their repentance and confession can only come by the work of the Holy Spirit. O may God grow us so that we might be fully and wholly His. In Jesus name, Amen.
(Proverbs 29:15)
Prepared by Patrick J. Griffiths
In my journey with you as a community of faith, I find we all struggle with being told no. We all want our own ways. But such is not possible. The Elders seek God’s mind by means of prayer depending on Scripture and the Holy Spirit for this community of faith. God speaks to and through the plurality primarily; and community secondarily to provide our collective vision.
This vision although large enough to encompass the community, nation and world is defined enough so other competing agendas are excluded. Thus at various points within the journey some individuals and organizations are told “no”.
If the “hurt” they experience from being told “no” is a consequence of our collective agenda, then they need to confess and repent of this evil before it turns into bitterness and rebellion.
Unfortunately, there are many within the larger community of faith who through the years have never been told no or in being told no cannot process the idea of not having it their way. Their “hurt” is not valid and is in fact a sign of their spiritual and emotional immaturity. They are bitter and they are in rebellion against God and His Church. These people need to repent and confess their sin before God and His Church.
Friend, will you not join the Elders of this fellowship and ask God to work repentance in the hearts of those who have been hurt simply because they did not get their way? This very well might be the people who speak ill of this fellowship simply because through the years they were told “no” by the leadership. No one will admit such sins from the flesh for the flesh is proud. But until this comes to them, they will languish in self-pity and continue to cannibalize the body of Christ. Their repentance and confession can only come by the work of the Holy Spirit. O may God grow us so that we might be fully and wholly His. In Jesus name, Amen.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Healing Through Prayer - Part 1
“The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.”
(Proverbs 29:15)
Prepared by Patrick J. Griffiths
In calling for our August Fast the Elders found themselves facing two overwhelming and thus troubling concerns. First, it is rumored how there was/is significant gossip circulating within the larger body of Christ as it exists in Waukesha among some troubled individuals. Our struggle is how to speak to gossip. Gossip is sin, yet it is elusive and deceptive. It appears as “news” or “prayer requests,” yet it is nothing but idle curiosity at best and destructive doubt and slanderous at its worst. You cannot allow gossip to go unchallenged. No one admits to gossip although it is prevalent and a plague within the local and larger body of Christ. Because it is so subtle (which is the nature of gossip), prayer is one’s only recourse; thus, the call to pray and fast. Second, another concern for prayer and fasting is the issue of unresolved hurt. Although the topic of hurt within the context of counseling is larger than can be addressed at this time there is one aspect of hurt I wish to note.
This type of “hurt” is the consequence of unaddressed sin from one’s childhood. Or when addressed by the parent, it is so persistent the parent gives up and allows the child to have their way. This pattern of “getting one’s way” becomes engrained and continues to show itself in adolescence and eventually adulthood.
When one is told “no” when one wants a “yes”, one’s initial response is inevitably fleshly; even if the “no” is for one’s good. We simply do not like being told “no”. The “no” hurts our feelings. We see this all the time with children. If we do not address this in a child, they become unruly teens and self-centered adults.
As parents you must break Adam’s will within your child. If the child does not learn to submit and respect authority as a child, they will become unmanageable throughout life. The weight of this responsibility falls heavily on parents. If they do not discharge their responsibility, then God will find other means; ultimately all will bend their knees and bow their heads before God.
I desire to finish this thought in tomorrow’s meditation. May God use this to break through and apply Calvary’s healing balm to our sinful “hurts”?
(Proverbs 29:15)
Prepared by Patrick J. Griffiths
In calling for our August Fast the Elders found themselves facing two overwhelming and thus troubling concerns. First, it is rumored how there was/is significant gossip circulating within the larger body of Christ as it exists in Waukesha among some troubled individuals. Our struggle is how to speak to gossip. Gossip is sin, yet it is elusive and deceptive. It appears as “news” or “prayer requests,” yet it is nothing but idle curiosity at best and destructive doubt and slanderous at its worst. You cannot allow gossip to go unchallenged. No one admits to gossip although it is prevalent and a plague within the local and larger body of Christ. Because it is so subtle (which is the nature of gossip), prayer is one’s only recourse; thus, the call to pray and fast. Second, another concern for prayer and fasting is the issue of unresolved hurt. Although the topic of hurt within the context of counseling is larger than can be addressed at this time there is one aspect of hurt I wish to note.
This type of “hurt” is the consequence of unaddressed sin from one’s childhood. Or when addressed by the parent, it is so persistent the parent gives up and allows the child to have their way. This pattern of “getting one’s way” becomes engrained and continues to show itself in adolescence and eventually adulthood.
When one is told “no” when one wants a “yes”, one’s initial response is inevitably fleshly; even if the “no” is for one’s good. We simply do not like being told “no”. The “no” hurts our feelings. We see this all the time with children. If we do not address this in a child, they become unruly teens and self-centered adults.
As parents you must break Adam’s will within your child. If the child does not learn to submit and respect authority as a child, they will become unmanageable throughout life. The weight of this responsibility falls heavily on parents. If they do not discharge their responsibility, then God will find other means; ultimately all will bend their knees and bow their heads before God.
I desire to finish this thought in tomorrow’s meditation. May God use this to break through and apply Calvary’s healing balm to our sinful “hurts”?
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