A Reason to Give Thanks

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." I Thessalonians 5:18

Its been a while since my last post. A lot has happened in the Pereira household over the past few weeks including the birth of our beautiful little girl! As I sat thinking about my blog and what the Lord would have me write, a verse that has become very real to me over the past few weeks popped into my mind. Let's face it, this is one of those verses which is much easier to read than to live out! I recall sitting on the couch very frustrated over a life event that was really weighing on me. It wasn't anything overly serious like cancer, tragedy, or anything else on the top 10 lists of life crises. Yet, it was, nonetheless, greatly consuming my mind and energies and was burdening me. Imagine my surprise when I opened up my Bible app to take a look at the "verse of the day" when I Thessalonians 5:18 came up. It really hit me between the eyes. I had totally lost perspective on what God had called me to do! 

God was, once again, trying to pry my fingers from trying to control even the "little things" of life to fasten my gaze upon Him and His sufficiency. When this happens, my flesh screams out in the pain of lost certainty while my spirit is ever mindful of the great need my God is trying to meet. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where the battle lies. 

So, what are we to do in such times of difficulty. Give thanks: not for the enjoyment of what we are enduring but for what God is seeking to rescue us from, ourselves. How can I give thanks? I certainly can't muster up any thankfulness on my part. My thankfulness stems from realizing God's part in what He is accomplishing in my life. As I look to Him, I remember that His will is being accomplished in my life. And best of all, I do all of this with the certainty and encouragement that Jesus is on my side, having already secured for me that which I could never secure for myself, acceptance and hope no matter what comes my way!

How about you? What has God allowed in your life that He wants to use to rescue you from you? That is something to give thanks for!

Baby Girl On the Way.......(sometime)

As many of you know, Rachel and I are eagerly awaiting the birth of our 3rd child. As we joked with our church family on Sunday, we are not keeping our fingers crossed for a "timely" delivery. Rachel
was 8 days overdue with our 1st son and induced at 7 days over with our 2nd son. This baby is a girl so we were both hoping that maybe this child would be different. Maybe this one would be early.....well, maybe on time??? Well, tomorrow (July 8) is Rachel's due date and there does not seem to be much glimmer of hope.

One thing I notice, however, with both Rachel and I is this: everyday we are living with anticipation. Every day our minds are geared to the realization that there is not much time left (even though it doesn't feel that way--especially to my wife!). Everyday we are wondering when our new baby girl will make her presence known!

When I think of this, my attention is often turned to the anticipation of our Lord and Savior's return. Jesus will indeed one day return (Acts 1:11; Jn. 14:3) even though no one knows the exact time (Mark 13:32). But am I living in light of this promised and glorious event? Are my waking moments spent in anticipatory living of my Lord's soon return (Rev. 3:11)? Am I getting so bogged down in the details and routines of life that I am actually denying the reality of His coming through my thoughts and actions?

I mentioned earlier that everyday we are living with the anticipation of our little girl's birth. But if I am to be completely honest, while this is true, there are many moments when ministry, life, decision making, etc. distract me from the imminency of her coming. She is much more on Rachel's mind as she carries her every minute of everyday! Yet this does not negate the fact that our baby will come at an appointed time. So....will I be ready? Is my bag packed? Is the car seat in place? Am I mentally geared to raise another infant? I hope so!

How about you? Are you ready for Christ's return? Are you living in light of that victorious moment? Will you be caught unaware with your "bag unpacked" and the "carseat" left in the garage?

That day is coming! As John states, "Amen. Come Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20)

Product Or Process?

I just couldn't resist sharing this photo that I saw on Facebook the other day! It really made me laugh because it hit so close to home. How many of us have not felt this way before! Let me play out the

common scenario with you:

The Lord impresses upon your heart through the revelation of His Word a spiritual truth or need in your life. Your heart is tender because you want to follow in the ways of Christ. You sincerely ask the Lord to give you the needed quality in your life to better follow Him and reflect His glory. However, you soon become discouraged when you find yourself repeatedly failing in the very area that you gave over to the Lord and asked for His help with. 

Sound familiar? I know it does for me. What do we do during these discouraging times? Too often, though not with the exact words, we reflect the attitude of the picture above. However, we fail to realize that God is doing the very work that we are asking Him to do by allowing us to face those very difficulties. You see, you cannot have the product without the process. God uses this process to grow us, strengthen us, and make us more dependent on Him.

So, in the midst of your failures, remember that God is working in you through those very failures. You do not need to depend upon yourself. Instead, realize that your weakness is further showing you your need for the perfection of another. You need Someone who has already perfectly obeyed where you are failing. You need Someone who has faced the very temptations that you are succumbing to but went through them without giving in. You need Someone who both understands you and has keeps you secure--no matter what. That Someone is Jesus. In our union with Christ, His obedience has been transferred to our account and made to be our obedience. His perfection is likewise our perfection. That is more than enough to keep us going and striving to follow in His footsteps!

Ruth: Redeemed By Love

This past Sunday, I began a new series on the book of Ruth (you can listen in here). Many people see Ruth as simply a good love story. Others see in Ruth the perfect picture of the Proverbs 31 woman. Still others see in Ruth a picture of extreme devotion and faithfulness even in the worst of circumstances (1:16-17). All of these things are very true! Yet, is there still more to the story? If we stop with the above are we missing out on something deeper still?

In the story of Ruth, not only do we see a love story between a young widow and a well respected redeemer. We also see a love story between a desperate people and a faithful God. In the story of Ruth, not only do we see the Proverbs 31 woman in the flesh, we also see that same woman as a foreigner in dire need for redemption, just like us. In the story of Ruth, not only do we see Ruth's devotion and faithfulness to Naomi even in the worst of circumstances, we also see Jesus' covenantal faithfulness and devotion to "go" where God's people were; to "lodge" where God's people lodged; to become like God's people to make them His own; and to "die" and be "buried" in a foreign land. (Ruth 1:16-17; Phil. 2:5-8) This is the full significance of the book of Ruth! Our God is a redeeming God. What Boaz could do for one family in a temporal aspect Jesus would do for a whole people with eternal results! Jesus has won us back to God. We now stand firm in Christ with our future eternally secure because we have been redeemed through God's love! May we see all of the Scripture in light of this grand overarching story of God's redemptive love!

A Resource Suggestion for You: Exploring Grace Together

As you know, the purpose of this blog is to delve into the truths of the unsearchable riches that we have in Christ Jesus. In doing so, I want to suggest resources that have been a help to me and my family in gaining a greater understanding and appreciation for the gospel and its sufficiency. I would like to introduce to you Exploring Grace Together, a short but profound gospel centered, 40 day devotional for families.

In these devotionals, Jessica Thompson takes the family through everyday circumstances that expose our frailties and weaknesses. However, rather than just diagnosing the issues of the heart she also presents the ever-present solution: the sufficiency of Jesus Christ and His grace. These devotions, geared to the level of children and the circumstances they encounter, will be sure to hit both child and parent directly. I would encourage you to put this book at the top of your families summer devotional reading time. As you do, be prepared to come face to face with your need for the wondrous good news of the gospel.

You can purchase this book here

The Church: Christ's Project

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27

When you hear the word "church" what comes to your mind: maybe "hypocrites",  "imperfection", "not worth it", "meaning well", "ups and downs", etc, etc. etc.? There are many, many positive and negative thoughts that can flood into a person's mind. But what goes through Christ's mind when he thinks of the Church? Let me answer that according to the above passage: "loved", "sacrificially purchased", "sanctified", "cleansed", "splendor", "perfect", "holy", "without blemish". Wow! How can Christ see the church in that way? The answer is two-fold: because of (a) what He has accomplished for her and (b) what He will accomplish in her.

Jesus, through His perfect death and resurrection, won a people to Himself. In winning a people to Himself, He took them and joined them to Himself in perfect union. That's right, Christ is wedded to His Church. His sacrificial love is the love exemplar of all wedded love. He purchased an undeserving people to Himself and now is fully committed to them, through thick and thin, promising to perfect them and glorify them to mirror His perfect image.

When we look at the state of the church and the imperfections that characterize so much of the Church today, such glowing language seems impossible. But since when has Christ been limited by mankind's failures? The sufficiency of His work on the cross is more than enough for the failures of His people.

It is for this reason that we cannot give up on the Church! The Church is God's idea. The Church has been called, united, and wed to Christ. It is His project! God promises to work through His Church and Christ promises to perfect His Church. That is why it bothers me when people say that they follow Christ but don't bother with the Church. What they don't realize is that you cannot have one without the other! If you have been united to Christ then you have been united to His people. The local church is but a picture of the universal Church and we are called to engage ourselves among the people of God wherever He has placed us.

They Had Been With Jesus

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

There are so many different things that we can focus on. So many voices call out to us. So many activities demand our time and attention. So many problems stare us in the face. If we are not careful, every minute of every day can be filled with the bondage of trying to "make things happen". Even in our churches today, so many different good things can overtake that which is best.

So, what should our focus be upon? Who should demand our attention? How should we approach our problems and in what should we put our energies into? I think the verse above gives us great insight. The passage says that Peter and John "had been with Jesus" and that was the determining factor. In other words, what really made a difference in their lives and ministries was not the strength they could muster from within nor was it their innate abilities or talents. It was the fact that they had learned from the person of Jesus and His truth took hold in their lives.

How about you? Are you learning from the person of Jesus? Has the truth of who He is, what He has done for you, and who you are in Him really gripped your heart? In other words, are you consciously focusing your attention on the person and work of Christ? You see, nothing else matters in life if we are not connected to the Source of life. Nothing can ever change if we fail to look to the One who brings change. The truth of who and who's we now are will not grip us if we are not learning from the One who is Truth.

I hope this challenges your heart to make Jesus the focal point of your life. I would like to close with a few final reflections that we must realize as we seek to draw upon the person and work of Christ:

1) Learning from Jesus takes time: The disciples had been with Jesus for well over three years before the events of this verse ever took place. As in any relationship, learning of your identity in Christ and of His sufficiency for all of life will take time. There are no shortcuts

2) Learning from Jesus Makes You More Reliant: That's right, more reliant! Contrary to popular teaching, growing in Christ makes you more dependent not less. As you realize your own weaknesses and Christ's sure sufficiency, you realize how you really can do nothing without Him (Jn. 15:5). Peter and John had just acted very boldly before men of great power but it reflected nothing upon themselves. They were "uneducated" and "common" men. Something more was at play here and the people around them knew it.

3) Learning From Jesus Always Points Others to Him: As in our verse, when people see the power of the gospel at work in our lives, it will not reflect upon us but will direct others to the source of our strength and message. We have nothing worthwhile that we can claim from our own hands. When our focus is upon Christ we direct the focus of others to Him as well.