What a group!

OK, so I figured it would be good to include a much more sophisticated pic of the small group. Enjoy!

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Delighted to walk with you!

The Lord has blessed me this past 6 months with the honor of helping to co-lead a wonderful small group. I wanted everyone to have some faces to put with the names of some of my best friends in the world. Though not all in the group are shown, I am thankful to finally be able to provide a picture of many of them.

I have learned and been sharpened in so many ways by their passion, discipline, wisdom, love, encouragement, vulnerability and kindness. I love you guys so much! As we launch into a new school year and multiply into two groups, please know that the fellowship we have shared is a measured taste of the full joy and fellowship we will soon share in His presence. Longing to be like Him and with Him with you! jason

Contentment in the Ocean

Where does true contentment lie? Is it found in an event or a possession? Is it in the fulfillment of a desire or the satisfaction of a need? Or is it a reality that is even attainable? No, in and of ourselves or outside of Christ it is not. And it is a cruel deception of the enemy in making people think all is well, when judgment and eternity soon approach. Yet yes, in the event of eternally knowing Christ and possessing a relationship with Him, all desires and needs are as good as met for to know Christ is eternal (John 17:17) and abundant (John 10:10) life! Paul's education into this secret enabled him to be content "in whatever situation"(Phil.4:11) and "in any and every circumstance" (Phil.4:12), whether "brought low....in hunger....and need" (Phil.4:12), or "abounding....in plenty.....and abundance" (Phil.4:12). Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, whereby one is brought into the presence of God, after having their sins forgiven (Eph.1:7, Col.1:14), being justified by faith, put in peace with God (Rom.5:1), and given an alien pefect righteousness (2 Cor.5:21, Rom.3:21-26), one has everything they will ever need! This then leads them to actively delight in (Phil.3:1,4:4) and depend on (John 15:4-5) the One who is empowering them (Heb.13:20-21, Phil.2:12, Ps.68:35, Isa.40:29) and forever working to make them happier as He transforms them (2 Cor.3:18) to be like the object of their affections: Him!

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil.4:13) because He has given me the desire "to count the loss of all things as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" and "because of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord", depending not on "a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that [righteousness of God] which comes through faith in Christ" (Phil.3:9). In fact, the reason I was given this right relationship with God was "so that I may know Him" (Phil.3:10) and His "resurrection power" (Phil.3:10) by sharing in His suffering and reflecting His death in my own, and soon be resurrected from the dead (Phil.3:11) to see Him face to face (1 Cor.13:12) and spend forever with Him (1 Thes.4:17).

Since all needs and desires are found and met in the gospel of knowing Jesus, contentment is not obtaining something that you lack, but discovering with each new day "the riches of the glory in Christ Jesus" from which God "supplies all of your needs" (Phil.4:19). Let us labor to learn what we already possess in Him. Jesus is the Ocean from which the thirsts of life are continually quenched. No one will be truly satisfied or contented elsewhere. Let us rejoice always that as Christians we live in this Ocean!

Holy Habits

"Holiness teaching that skips over disciplined persistence in the well-doing that forms holy habits is thus weak; habit forming is the Spirit's ordinary way of leading us on in holiness. The Fruit of the Spirit itself is, from one standpoint, a series of habits of action and reaction: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control are all of them habitual dispositions, that is, accustomed ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Habits are all-important in holy life, particularly those biblically prescribed habits that we find it difficult and even painful to form..........The discipline and effort must be blessed by the Holy Spirit, or they would achieve nothing. So all our attempts to get our lives in shape need to be soaked in constant prayer that acknowledges our inability to change ourselves and in thanksgiving that recognizes as Harriet Auber put it: Every virtue we possess, And every victory won, And every thought of holiness Are His [the Spirit's] alone."
(Excerpt from Keep In Step with the Spirit by J.I. Packer)

This past week our small group discussed and memorized the fighter verse, Galatians 5:22-23, and I thought this was a helpful quote in learning to recognize the Spirit's hand through us. In response I decided to come up with a short list of holy habits that might be seen as characteristic of each aspect of the fruit of the Spirit.......not exhaustive by any means......just a few that came to mind. Hope they are helpful!
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Love
1. Go to a restaurant you don’t like with someone who does
2. Share your lunch; order the waiter’s recommendations
3. Pray for 3 people other than yourself every day
4. Clean up someone else’s mess
5. Ask other’s opinion often
6. Buy something for others with money you had planned to use for yourself
7. Sacrifice what you could have to do something for someone else
Joy
1. Pray 1st when something bad happens
2. Thank God 1st when something bad happens
3. Look people in the eye and smile
4. Don't be short or sarcastic
5. When criticized be positive, gracious and humble
6. When weaknesses are exposed by others, agree and go deeper
7. Be quick to ask about others’ needs
8. Be incredibly generous
9. Sing a lot!
Peace
1. When embarrassed, apologize, don’t defend yourself
2. Laugh with others at you
3. Laugh and sing a lot!
4. Ask others what they think about what you say
5. Go to bed early
6. Schedule times of prayer
7. Be flexible with change
Patience
1. When making a purchase, go to multiple stores on multiple days.
2. Keep conversation going, instead of lecture.
3. Gives others a chance to respond to what you say
4. Don’t get angry when God reminds you He’s God
5. Don’t get angry when your plans are thwarted
6. When tempted to worry, redirect your focus to God and off yourself
7. When tempted to worry, pray for someone else
Kindness
1. Take care of others’ needs before your own
2. Listen hard to discern the burdens of a person’s heart.
3. Find and affirm any truth in harsh words against you
4. Always be thinking, “How can I serve this person?”
5. Be an incredibly well-mannered person
6. Be an incredibly thoughtful person
7. Exceed expectations
8. Surprise people with your kindness
Goodness
1. Humbly rejoiced when you are ridiculed or slandered for doing what’s right
2. See the laws of the land as for your good and joy
3. Love the pursuit of holiness
4. Have strong convictions
5. Be a man or woman of integrity (Be completely honest)
6. Pay attention to detail and don’t overlook the obvious
7. Love until it hurts
Faithfulness
1. Work at everything you do with all your heart (Pursue lifestyle of excellence)
2. See and show in your behavior that everything is a gift.
3. Do the hardest things first
4. Aim to be the hardest-working and strongest-loving person at your job
5. Invite greater responsibility
6. See all recreation as a means to making you work harder
7. Be honest, don’t exaggerate, about your situation
8. Keep your promises; be a man/woman of your word
Gentleness
1. Aim to be wonderfully polite
2. Practice good manners
3. Slow down when talking (Speak intentionally)
4. Be slow to respond (Wait 3 seconds if necessary)
5. Use the most simple language possible (Don't disguise ignorance w/high vocab.)
6. Keep your sinful tendency in mind
7. Keep God’s mercy always in mind
8. Delight in inconvenience
9. Speak knowing that you will give account for every word (Matt.12:36)
Self-Control
1. Keep your eyes fixed on eternity, remembering the brevity of life
2. Act as though God is always watching, since HE IS!
3. Plan to see growth, yet don’t depend on your plans
4. Accept that you could be wrong
5. Don’t over-commit with your time, energy or money
6. Get enough sleep, exercise, and eat as healthy as possible.
7. Spend exorbitant amounts of time in the Word and in prayer.