WWOE: Shame Don't Live Here Anymore

Shame can easily tear apart a person and deteriorate the Church. When believers sin, an overwhelming sense of shame overcomes them and, certain their foreheads are marked with a scarlet letter betraying their sin, they begin to avoid gatherings with fellow believers. Non-believers, too, shy away from "organized religion" and "public places of worship" for fear of being judged. They fear their dirty laundry will be aired for all to mock and snub them. What we forget is that all of humanity has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Ro. 3:23). Basically, we're all in the same miserable boat. You are not the first to have ever sinned and you most likely will not be the last. Human beings have been sinning since before any of us was even alive, and they will continue to do so until the world comes to an end. What we must focus on is, not the fact that we sin, but the redeeming work of Christ. His death on Calvary's cross made it possible for our sins to be forgiven and washed away; never to be remembered again.

God said "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Is. 1:18). The God we serve is a merciful God; His mercy endures forever and his compassions are new every morning (La. 3:22-23). Furthermore, Jesus' death made it possible for each and every one of us to escape the hold of sin. We no longer have to live bound by sin. We were granted the freedom to live a sinless life free of remorse, guilt, and shame (II Co. 3:17). To judge each other for sinning would be like people stranded on an island laughing at each other for being stranded, despite the fact that they are all stranded. What we must do, instead, is encourage each other to break free from sin's talons. We must help those who have fallen to get back up and keep fighting the good fight.

WWOE: Introduction

One of the Church's main purposes is to be a source of encouragement for believers, and a sort of hospital for non-believers. Non-believers come to the Church hungry,thirsty, hurting, and weary; and the Church leads them to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the bread of life, the living water, the mighty healer, and the bearer of all burdens. For believers who already know this a gentle reminder is needed every now and then, as the world bears down on us and makes us forget who we are in Christ. As such, this blog is a tool that Calvary Apostolic will use to encourage believers bogged down by the pressures of this world, and to introduce wanderers to the one who can fix all their problems. So, without further ado it is my pleasure to introduce to you our Weekly Word of Encouragement (WWOE). This will be a short (200-300 words)post that will offer some words of encouragement, and explore an aspect of God's character. As suggested in the title, a new post will be put up every week. My prayer is that these posts will be a great source of edification to the body of Christ, and a neat outreach tool to those hungry for something that truly satisfies.

A Word of Encouragement

As our CAC Multimedia Ministry grows and develops, a lot of changes will be taking place on this blog. One of the newest changes is the addition of me... as a writer for this blog. So to introduce myself I have decided to tell you all a story. I heard this story a few years ago while vacationing in India, and it has continued to be a source of encouragement for me.

There once was a crow who lived in a tree next to some white doves. The crow was lonely and unhappy. His dove neighbors, on the other hand, always seemed happy and excited about something. The crow became increasingly interested in finding out what the doves were so happy about. Unfortunately, whenever he tried to get close enough to listen in on their conversation they flew away sacred of him. One day, while flying through the town, the crow noticed a painter touching up some old buildings. As the crow spied the open cans with white paint in them, a light bulb went off in his head. He flew straight for the paint cans and plopped himself in, covering his whole body in white paint. Excited that he now looked like the doves, the crow flew straight home and perched himself next to the doves. Happy that they did not fly away frightened, the crow seized the opportunity to ask what made them so excited about life. It was then that the crow heard the most entrancing story he had ever heard.

The doves told him they were getting ready for a journey. The journey would be a long and arduous one, but their destination was well worth it all. Their destination, the doves told the crow, was a paradise so beautiful, so magnificent, so awesome that nothing they knew could compare to it. In this paradise there was food aplenty; there was water so clear and so blue it looked like glass. In this paradise they would never have to toil or fear for their lives ever again. The crow's eyes grew wide in wonder. He had never heard of such a place, and he wanted to go with them. So the doves agreed; they told the crow that he could come with them to this wondrous paradise.

The morning of the journey came and the doves woke up the crow at the crack of dawn. They warned the crow that in order to make it to the paradise he had to keep his eyes fixed forward. He could not look down, to the side, or behind him. They also warned him that the journey would be excruciatingly long, but that he could not give up or stop to rest. The crow nodded in excitement, saying he would do anything to make it to the place they described. So off they went, the company of doves and their paint covered crow friend.

As the birds flew along, the crown began to get hungry. His dove friends reminded him not to grow weary, or give up. Instead the crow shifted his gaze and looked down. Below him were carcasses of fish laying on the beach shore. His mouth watered and his stomach growled. The doves told him he couldn't take a break, and reminded him of the food that awaited him at their destination. Still the crow slowed his pace and began his descent. The doves told him that if he stopped, he would not make it to the paradise. The crow, thought for a second, and decided the pleasures of the meal below him were worth missing out on the paradise. "Who knows if this paradise even exists?” he convinced himself. So down he went to enjoy the dead fish. Sadly, while chowing down on dead fish a huge alligator jumped out of the water and killed the crow. Thus, the crow died having never experienced the doves' paradise.

So it is with us on our journey to heaven. We must not let ourselves get distracted by the temporal things of this world. Instead, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (He. 12:2). Let us forget those things which are behind (and below, and to the side) and reach forth unto those things which are before. Let us press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Ph. 3:13-14).

Blessed

Just wanted to express thankfulness for all that we have, as children of God:

1) A hope that no matter the stress around us, that we're in His hand. And a knowledge that His love for us is perfect and without limit.

2) We have a family in Calvary Apostolic Church. And though it's likely we do not fully appreciate the significance of this, there is security and support in our lives by simply being part of that family. Spiritual life would be so much more difficult without having the church so close. This is also true among friends in the Church, but on a much more personal level. God bless you all.

3) Consider what it means to have a pastor and his supportive family behind him. He's a man who has stood up and followed the leading of God. He's somebody who has dedicated his life and treasure to minister to God's people. How easy it would be for such a man to just pull stakes and move on, but there's more to him than that. It really must be a calling to face the challenges of pastoring, especially in these times. All pastors who are sent by God and led of Him are good pastors, but to find one who can shoulder the burden that ours has is truly rare.

4) The word has been given to us in scripture and in other modes, what can we say except "Praise God"?

5) Forgiveness is at the heart of our lives, or should be-- Without it this whole life is a pretense, and the world around us a cruel joke. Would that we further understood God's forgiveness toward us and appreciated it the fullest.

Just a few thoughts... thx for reading.

Looking for Ideas

A number of people have offered ideas in what they would like to see in the CAC website. Some of the ideas have a few of our members jazzed about how they can contribute. We're open to any meaningful ideas that promote the gospel of Christ and minister to media consumers, or in some way enhance CACofCon. (Sorry... no leaks on what we're putting together yet.)

Don't hesitate to add those ideas here. God bless.

Attaching this site to CACofConcord.org

Things are moving here at CAC Multi-media. Looking forward to interesting and inspiring changes to our website!

Thanks to those of you who have shown interest in helping with your ideas. What we've seen so far looks promising.