Falling Forward

Falling forward is still moving forward in life.  I learned something this week about life from my 11 year old son.  We spent spring break together at Keystone in Colorado.  It was my kids first time skiing, so it was quite an adventure.  It only took Luke and John 1 hour on the bunny slope before they were ready to go to the mountain.  We started out on the the green slopes and had a blast.  By afternoon, they were begging for a blue slope, so we went for it.  Half way down, John took a pretty good fall.  He fell forward and slid down the mountain side, leaving his poles, skis, and hat 10 feet behind him.  Thankfully he wasn't hurt.  But John and I both learned something from his fall.

John learned that his confidence had been tested.  The fall really surprised him and he continued his trek down the mountain with less speed and less confidence.  I think John became a better skier after his fall.  Why?  Because, he now knew that he could fall.  Now he skied more intelligently.  Henry Ford once said, "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."  The next day, we found ourselves on another blue slope called the "Irishman".  It was steeper than any we had faced before, but John handled it in stride and with increased speed and confidence.   John was not skiing more intelligently and successfully.

I learned that falling forward is still moving forward.  John Maxwell once said, "Failure is not fatal.  Only failure to get back up is."  There are many ways to come down a mountain slope, some more graceful than others.  Honestly at my age and skiing ability, "graceful" is probably not the first word that comes to mind when you see me ski, but I can ski pretty much any slope I need to including a black diamond.  But back to John's fall.  John learned to ski more intelligently.  I learned from John's fall that falling forward is moving forward if you are willing to get back up.

This is a very important lesson in life.  We all fall down, either because of our own mistakes or the mistakes of others.  But are you willing to get back up and keep moving forward.  That's why we all need God's help in the equation of life.  If we want to keep moving forward to enjoy a beautiful life, we need forgiveness for the past and strength for today, and hope for the future.  All of these inner qualities we find in Christ Jesus our Lord.  He fills us with the power to forgive ourselves and forgive others, strength to face the struggles which today will bring, and hope for a better tomorrow.

In Christ Jesus, falling forward is still moving forward.  So this week, ask the Lord to help you find success even when you fall down.  Tom Ragsdell

  

Fireproof

Never leave your partner behind!  Coming up this Sunday, March 29 at 9 AM New Life Community Church is sponsoring a showing of the movie Fireproof, so I've been thinking a lot about relationships and why we are struggling so much in Western culture to fall in love an stay in love.  While romance seems to be alive and well, we are increasingly alienated from one another and more people than ever are living alone.  Why?  Well, many are waiting longer to get married.  Others are divorcing or separating more often.  And we are living longer.  The net result is that many people are feeling left out, alone, and suffering from the broken relationships of the past.  

And yet there is one constant which we all carry with us.  The constant need for good stable relationships in which we can give and receive true love.  I wonder how many people are living with true love in their lives right now as I write this?  True love really isn't an emption, it is the loving acceptance of a loyal friend.    Jesus said, "greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for a friend."  How many people are you willing to lay down your life for?  the answer might be revealing as it relates to "true love" and your relationships.

That's the idea behind the Fireproof movie--never leave your partner behind!  Firemen live by this motto.  And we know there something noble and enriching about this motto when we live it out in daily life.  Why, then, are we having such difficulty living out "true love" in our lives?

I believe the answer lies in a relationship with God.  You can't really love until you have been loved.  And many of us have never been truly loved.  We need to receive God's love into our lives.  Many people are turning to the love and company of pets these days.  Why?  Because they are looking for unconditional acceptance.  But God will not only love you, he will also transform you into someone who can love others unconditionally.  That's something your pet can't do.

Join us on Sunday at the Forum 8 Theaters for the Fireproof movie.  9 Am on March 29.  See you there.  Tom

Failure and your future

Are your failures holding you back from more out of life?  I've been thinking a lot about failure this week as we get ready for Sunday's message "Embracing the Way of the Cross."  I'm sure many in Jesus' day, saw his crucifixion as the end; as a failure of everything he tried to accomplish in three years of public ministry.  But, Jesus saw his demise as a victory, believing it was the fulfillment of prophesy and obedience to God's plan.  Jesus knew something that other didn't -- God specializes in turning our failures into successes.  The cross of Jesus challenges the way we think about success and failure.

 Do you have any failures, set backs, or short comings that could become a great victory with God's intervention?  I think God specializes in turning our failings into our God-directed futures.  There are two characters that stand out in Jesus drama that knew failure.  Both Peter and Judas failed miserably.  Peter denied Jesus three times and wept bitterly, even though he promised the Lord it would never happen.  Judas also was a failure.  He sold out to the religious authorities for 30 pieces of silver.  After Jesus was arrested, Judas went back to the Temple and returned the money, knowing that Jesus was innocent of all charges.  But it was too late, Jesus would be crucified, and Judas could not forgive himself.  Both Peter and Judas were failures, but each faced a different future.  Why?

We all fail at some level in life.  We fail in our character when we give in to temptation or fail to keep our word.  We fail in our professional lives when we launch a new brand or business only too see our goals unrealized.  What business man can't tell you of the number of times they have tried and failed, only to try again and find success?  Or what successful athlete can't tell you the number of times they failed or fell short only to wind up on the top?  Failure is a part of life.  So how will we handle it?

You can't choose when failure will come calling, because much of life is out of our control.  But you can choose how you will handle it.  As a church planter, I can tell you that most of the time you feel like you are "failing forward", not moving forward.  In two years of working to birth a new church in Columbia, most of my "grand" ideas have met with limited success or utter failure.  And yet, we now gather with 50-70 people in our Sunday gatherings and many of them are enjoying church life for the first time ever (after only 1.5 years of meeting publicly).  So we are moving forward, I'm just not always sure how it happened!

When Peter realized he messed up, he went back to fishing.  No doubt he was sorry and ashamed, but Peter still had the chance at redemption.  Judas was also sorry.  But, Judas couldn't forgive himself and after returning the money, he killed himself.  I wonder what would have happened if Judas would have been standing at the feet of Jesus when Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do"?  Would God not have forgave Judas?  For Judas, his failure and unforgiveness stood in the way of his redemption.

Maybe it's better if we just get it out in the open, so it doesn't eat us up on the inside.  We all fail, everyone of us and most of us miserably!  That's why churches exist, because perfect people don't!  Failure is never the final word as long as we are willing to turn to God for help and receive his redemption.  God specializes in "buying us" back from our failures.  How you handle your failures will determine your future.

I'm hoping that you will turn to God with your failure and trust him for a brighter future.  Tom Ragsdell

Two Important gardens

Spring time is just around the corner and things are beginning to green up around here in mid-Missouri.  Plus it's almost Easter, and I've been thinking a lot about gardens.  There are two grand gardens in the Bible.  The first is Eden from the Genesis account and the second is Gethsemane in the story of Jesus' passion.  Both gardens represent two choices we all face in life-the choice to obey or the choice to go our own way.

When I think of a garden, I think of a solitary place full of streams (that means lots of fishing), lush vegetation, and lots of fruit to eat.  Most gardens would make a nice place for a resort, that's why the first garden was called "paradise."  Eden was a beautiful place of God's provision--it was home to Adam and Eve, a special place meant to be enjoyed.  Sadly, Eden became "paradise lost" because  Adam and Eve failed to believe God and trust in his words.

I don't know that much about the Garden of Gethsemane, except that it was not far from Jerusalem and it was a garden full of olive trees.   Many scholars believe that Jesus probably went there often to pray.  So it must have been a place of relaxation, reflection, and refreshment.  Just as a side note-do you have a place where you go to relax, reflex, and refresh?  For some of you that might be a solitary place, a church gathering with lots of people, or a special time with your spouse or friend.  I don't know what your garden looks like, but make sure you have such a place in your life.  God designed us for the garden and the garden for us.

Jesus' garden of Gethsemane is significant because it is the place where he chose to fulfill God's will rather than reject God's way as Adam and Eve had done in Eden.  I'm sure Jesus had found Gethsemane a retreat of sorts on many occasions, but on that night when he was arrested it was a place of decision.

Jesus had gone to the garden to pray and he asked his inner circle to pray with him (Mt 26:37).  Jesus was faced with a choice and he faced his choice in a moment of prayer.  Like so many of us, he had come to a fork in the road.  Would he follow God's path for his life or pursue other options?  Jesus understood the seriousness of God's plan--that's what made it so difficult.  He understood the meaning of his crucifixion, even before he was hanging on the cross.  So he asked the Father to take away this "cup" (Mt 26:42)  The cup represented  the cross.  

So often in life we are faced with a fork in the road.  Like Jesus, we wonder "is there another way?"  Many roads promise happiness and demand our attention, but only the path which honors God and fulfills his way for our lives will bring true happiness in the end.  Jesus chose God's way as the only way to happiness.  As a result we have the promise of "paradise lost" restored to us.  

So remember no matter how hard or difficult God's way my seem at first, it's the only path that leads to paradise.  Thanks to Jesus we can enjoy the garden of Eden again as we choose to follow the example of Christ.

Have a great day.  Tom Ragsdell

Are you prepared?

The word for the week is "prepared".  Are you prepared for whatever you face in life?  No, I'm not trying to sell you health or life insurance.  But I am interested in this idea of "being prepared".  Especially in light of Jesus' words in Matthew 24-25 about the end of the age.

In life we are sure to face unexpected twists and turns, so how can we prepare ourselves to face whatever comes our way?  Jesus gives us some insight with three parables about the end of the age in Matthew 25 that work in everyday life today.  The lesson of the first parable-the parable of the ten virgins focuses on preparedness.  But how can we prepare when no one knows when the end will come?  Jesus' story tells us to keep our lamps full of oil.  In the Bible "oil" is often seen as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.  So preparedness doesn't depend on our ability to stockpile weapons or prepare the appropriate rations, preparedness is filling up our lives with God's Spirit now. That way, no matter what happens in life, we will be prepared. 

Jesus' second parable in Matthew 25 grows on the theme of preparedness and helps us understand what it means to "watch" while we "wait" on the return of the Lord.  "Watching" is actually "going to work" for the Lord with our time, talent, and treasure.  In Jesus' third parable about the end he emphasizes judgement day.   As he does so he explains what it means to be faithful in using your time, talent, and treasure.  Jesus wants us to be faithful in helping others.

From these three parables we see a picture of the Christian life in light of the end of the age.  Jesus wants us to prepare by inviting the presence of God into our daily existence.  He wants us to go to work with our time, talent, and treasure.  And he wants us to be faithful by serving those who are experiencing great need.  The end of the age is coming, Jesus promised!  But what does that mean to me today?  Should I sell my house and move to a mountain top to wait for the Lord's return, not if I'm following the teaching of Jesus.  Instead, be prepared, go to work, and be faithful.  

Have a great week.  Tom Ragsdell