Blog

Dig A Little Deeper

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

by: Pastor Jeremy Heikkinen

Here is your challenge! In preparation for the sermon on Sunday, I challenge you to read, out loud, Nehemiah chapter 3. You might say, “well, that doesn’t sound too hard” and your are right. But, it is one of those chapters with a lot of names in it. After reading it out loud and laughing a few times at what comes out of your mouth, pick one person/family from the list. Now, do some research. Find out everything that you can about this person/family:

1. What does this name mean in Hebrew?

2. Where did they live?

3. Where else is this person/family referenced in Scripture?

4. How does their involvement change the course of history for their family or the Kingdom of God?

This Sunday we are going to see how Nehemiah divides the crew up in order to do the Word of the Lord. God uses different skill sets and appoints distinct leaders to accomplish the work. At the end of the chapter, we see the people develop ownership of this work as they build their very households into the wall. They are invested in the work of the Lord.

Be prepared. I am going to poke at you on Sunday. How does God want to use you as we seek to re-build the ministry here at Central? Maybe you are interested in the “physical structure” of the church (building, numbers, tech, etc.) and you are gifted at serving physically. That is great! Then serve with all the strength that God gives you! Maybe you are interested in “people seeking” and are gifted at speaking to people. That is great! Then speak the oracles of God!

We are going to highlight some of the ministry opportunities and people giving oversight to them. Come prepared to hear the Word of the Lord.

All Challenge Central devotionals »

We Agree to Christian Sympathy

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

by: Pastor Lars Janssen

At Central, we want to become more like Jesus in everything we do. We want to do this so much that every member has signed a church covenant agreeing to pursue this aim together. In the second-last paragraph of our church covenant, we agreed “to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offence, but always ready for reconciliation.”

This means that the words “vaccine” or “anti-vaccine” will not result in irreparable damage among us. Why does it mean this? Because our aim is not to prove ourselves right but to help each other when we’re sick and distressed. Our aim is not to prove others wrong but to care about the “other” by showing sympathy and respect. Our response to hostility is to purposefully not take offence and, instead, maintain an eager readiness to be reconciled in every circumstance.

Peter, the hot-head-Apostle, pours out the grace we need to live this way in the words of 1 Peter 3:8-12 (in verses 10-12 Peter is quoting Psalm 34:12-16) :

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

The man who wrote these words is the same Peter who, in one night, told Jesus he’d never abandon him (Mark 14:29), attacked a mob without backup to defend Jesus (Mark 14:47), and then turned his back on Jesus while cursing and swearing (Mark 14:71). Even re-reading that last sentence right now, I’m offended at Peter’s hostility and inconsistency, but I thank God for him. If Peter were here now I imagine he’d have some strong opinions about the words “vaccine” and “anti-vaccine.” I imagine he wouldn’t always share them gently. But his conscience would also be pricked by his own words about sympathy, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

Sympathy with the “other person” is not easily mustered, but “to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” Regardless of our individual preferences at Central, we want to “seek peace and pursue it” because “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

We are called to the humanly impossible. By the grace of God, we are called to repay evil and reviling with blessing. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are called “to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech.”

Pray with me, my friends:

May the grace of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ lead us into sympathetic and loving unity though the world around us teems with hostility and evil.

All Challenge Central devotionals »

Making Time for God’s Priorities: Schedule the Big Rocks First

Challenge Central: a CBC devotional

by: Shannon Green

Being a teacher, the start of a new school year always feels like a fresh start. I would say that September feels more like a new year to me than January does. I love nothing more than getting some new pens and coloured markers and cracking open a new agenda. It feels like a blank slate and a way to start over, getting my priorities straight and new strategies in place. It gets me thinking, what are God’s priorities for me and how can I make sure that I am making time for them?

The Bible is clear that God and our relationship with Him should be our number one priority. Matthew 6:33 says “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 22:37-38 says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment”. It is clear that God wants our first priority to be Him. In planning my week, I should be able to answer: when am I spending time in relationship with Him, reading His word, spending time in prayer and worship?

God is also clear through His word that we are to spend time loving others. Again, in Matthew 22:39, Jesus goes further to say that the second commandment is love your neighbour as yourself.” God is clear who the “others” are. Time in our marriage and strengthening it (Genesis 2:23-24). Time teaching, loving and training our children (Ephesians 6:4). Also, spending time caring for others and sharing the hope and peace we have in Christ. In planning my week, how am I demonstrating these priorities with my time?

God also talks about rest and the gift of the Sabbath. In Mark 2: 27, Jesus says that “the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath”. In creation, on the seventh day God rested. Just as being busy and not idle is a virtue, it must be balanced with God’s command to seek rest in order to be ready to do His will. In planning my week, I need to ask myself where is my Sabbath rest?

I once went to a workshop where they were teaching about this very topic. The speaker had a large glass vase and around it was scattered a bunch of rocks of various sizes. Approximately 5 of them were quite large and then there was many medium and small sized rocks. The keynote asked for a volunteer to come to the front and attempt to fit all the rocks in the jar. The sheepish volunteer proceeded to place the small and medium rocks in first and then when trying to place the large rocks on top, it was clear they were not going to fit. The speaker suggested starting again and this time to begin with the big rocks. It was interesting to see that once the big rocks were in the jar first, the medium and little rocks were able to fall in around those and they all fit!

The same is true for our lives. If we take the time to plan the big rocks in our life- God, spouse, children, God’s service to others, the little things will fit in between. How many times do we do the opposite? We spend our time flitting from little task to little task, answering emails, scrolling social media, watching Netflix and we fail to make time for the important things, God’s priorities for our lives.

As I start the new school year and am faced with my blank new agenda, I am challenged to schedule God’s priorities for me first. If others are looking at my week, could they see that I am making time for what God’s sees as most important?

Perhaps you will spend some time thinking about where God’s priorities are fitting into your weekly schedule. Are you scheduling the big rocks first?

All Challenge Central devotionals »

Godly Communication

Challenge Central:
Godly Communication

By: Pastor Jeremy Heikkinen

How is life today? My day started off a little earlier than normal due to the cries coming from the boys’ room. Trust me, this is not my preferred method of waking up! But it did allow me to read God’s Word while we sat together on the couch. I was reading in Colossians 4:2-6. Verse 6 caught my attention,
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (ESV).

Communication to relationships is like breathing to living. The one profoundly influences the other. The way we talk to one another has a direct bearing on the relationships we have. But Paul goes deeper than that. It is not just about “what” we say, but about “how” we say it and how we say it to each person. I will be honest. I did not want to communicate in a gracious way to my son or anyone else this morning. But this is the hope that I have, that because of Jesus I no longer have to communicate the way I used to, or would by default.

Think of this in another context. How many of us want to give the answer because we know what it is? You could fix the world’s problems if only people would listen to you and your answers. Others of us are terrified to give an answer because we are not sure we will get it right. Look at the verse again. How does it continue the sentence, “so that you may know _______ you ought to answer each person”. Many of us would like to fill in the blank with “what”. Don’t get me or Paul wrong, it is both of our desires that we grow in our understanding of the Word of God (“what”). Yet Paul continues the sentence with “how”.

Communication is just as much about the “what” as the “how” and sometimes we communicate more through how we answer than what we answer. I am glad that God put this verse in my path this morning and I hope you are too. Jesus identified that “what” fills our hearts fuels “how” we communicate (Luke 6:45). God does not want us to win the battle only to lose the war when it comes to knowing how we ought to answer each person.

How are you communicating with those in your household these days? Would others classify it as following Colossians 4:2-6?

If you would like to learn more about godly communication I suggest studying Ephesians 4:25-32.

If you are interested in learning more about the connection between what fills your heart and how that comes out I suggest joining the growth group on Saturday evenings called The Heart of Change.

All Challenge Central devotionals »

Previous
Challenges
Central

“Help Me!” “Change Me!” “Make Me!”

Challenge Central:
“Help Me!” “Change Me!” “Make Me!”

By: Pastoral Intern Lars Janssen

I felt that this sin had me trapped. I had cried out to God for help, I had asked my friends for help, and I had set up boundaries in my life to help. I would pray about this sin like Paul did about his thorn in the flesh, “that it should leave me.” (2 Cor. 12:8) But none of it seemed to help. My cry for help seemed to go unanswered. I was calling out to God as David did in Psalm 51:7-9, after his sin with Bathsheba:

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.

I look back now and know that God was answering my prayer, but I wasn’t asking for the right thing. He was helping me. I had friends who cared and tried. I had loved ones who helped me with the boundaries I had set up. I had a God who sustained me in the struggle. But my heart wanted the sin. I did not truly want to be free. It wasn’t until I started praying a different prayer that the sin lost its grip on my life. I began to ask God to change me. This is what David asks next in Psalm 51:10-11:

Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

I began to ask God to change me—transform me—into someone who loves what God loves and hates what he hates. My wicked desires began to melt away. They did not disappear, but their power was diminished by the transformative power of a mighty God who answered my prayer and changed me. As the sorrow and guilt of this repetitive sin lifted, I began to wonder what to do with myself and my prayers changed again. I asked God to make me into what he wants me to be. David’s prayer in Psalm 51:12 reflects this change too:

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.

Christian, God saved you for a purpose. He has already helped you by putting his Holy Spirit in you. He will change you—transform you—if you ask. This is not something that happens by accident. We do not take up a cross daily and follow Jesus to death by accident (see Luke 9:23). The saved and transformed Christian is made an effective tool in God’s hand—this is a terror to the Devil!

Here’s your challenge, Central. Pray these prayers this week and see what God will do:

“God help me!” Know that He does.

“God change me!” Know that He can.

“God make me!” And know that He will.

All Challenge Central devotionals »