Lindsay Willis

The King and His Kingdom

I had a blast teaching in the weekend services about The Kingdom!  I so love learning more and more about the Kingdom...and every time I teach I learn more. 

The Kingdom has been an area of study for me for several years now.  It is such a contrast in mindset to the way of life we know in America.  I find myself going over the concepts again and again so that I continue to learn how to think as a citizen of the Kingdom of God and to ensure that I am worshiping the King of Kings. 

And I love the way God so orchestrates things in our lives.  Our SOAP devotionals the past few days have fit in beautifully with the question we all face:  which "king" will we worship...the King of Kings or some cheap trinket "king" imitation? 

If the series we are in at church has piqued your desire to worship the King more whole-heartedly, I would encourage you to read not only the SOAP chapters but those in 1 Samuel that are not part of the SOAP reading.  There are so many great verses about kings and their kingdoms.  They teach us more and more about what it means to live as a Kingdom citizen.

I am so thankful we have an incorruptible King, who is holy and just and loving and merciful!

Are you a good listener?

I just read our SOAP chapter for today...about God speaking to Samuel.  This is a cool passage!  First, just the fact that God wants to speak to us individually is pretty neat.  You see, I believe God still speaks to us today, very specifically, about our life situations, about the church, about the people around us, and about the world.  He cares about all of this.  He is a God Who is passionately in love with us...and He wants to speak with us.  I think God can speak to us in a variety of ways...and I think He speaks in a way that is specific to us and the way He created us.  (Just as an aside, God does not contradict Himself...He will always speak to us in agreement with the Bible.) 

God spoke to Samuel.  And Samuel heard. 

I think that is a huge point.  I wonder how often God is speaking to us and we don't hear? 

Our world is a busy world...it often makes demands on us that keep us running for virtually the whole time we are awake.  It is easy in that environment to miss God speaking to us...whether it is because we don't take time to read our Bible, or we don't stop long enough to pray, or we don't listen to those around us who love us.

God does speak to us.  Will we stop long enough and get quiet enough so that His voice in our heart will speak loud enough for us to hear?

Take a listening break today...better yet, let's take one every day.  God is speaking!

I love the ending of Ruth

Ok, so all girls love love stories right?  And that is one of the reasons I love the story of Ruth...I am believing for my Boaz to find his GPS soon!!

But there is another reason I really love the ending of Ruth...and it is buried in that short genealogy in Chapter 4.  It says, "Perez had Hezron. Hezron had Ram.  Ram had Amminidab.  Amminidab had Nahshon.  Nahshon had Salmon (hmmm...that makes me hungry for salmon on the grill in this weather...oops sorry, I digress!).  Salmon had Boaz.  Boaz had Jesse. And Jesse had David."  If we want to jump to the triumphant end of this lineage...we realize Jesus came from this heritage, because Jesus came from David's lineage.

'So what? 'you ask.  Not much is said about most of the people in this genealogy.  We just finished reading the story of Ruth...and how God amazingly redeemed a tragic incident (Naomi losing her husband and both of her sons).  Ruth really had no place being part of this lineage, but she was.  In fact, if you read Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, Ruth is mentioned.  A Moabite woman (outside of God's covenant with Israel) is listed in a Jewish lineage to show God's grace.

But there is an even more amazing piece to this genealogy in Ruth.  Notice it starts with Perez.  Perez is the son of Judah (of the twelves tribes of Israel--remember, Jesus is referred to as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah?).  But Perez birth is one of the strangest stories ever found in the Bible.  It is in Genesis 38--right in the middle of the story of Joseph. 

Judah had three sons. One of them married Tamar.  That son died.  Based on the same principle illustrated in the story of Ruth, Tamar's oldest brother-in-law married her....and he died.  Judah had one son left and by Jewish law that son was supposed to marry Tamar.  But Judah was scared that his last sonwould die too so he maneuvered around the situation by lying to Tamar...telling her to wait and his son would marry her later, even though he never intended that to happen. 

Well, Tamar eventually figured out that Judah was never going to let her marry his youngest son, so she tool matters in her own hands.  She dressed up as a prostitute in a village that Judah visited regularly and wound up "servicing him" as a prostitute.   Tamar asked for Judah's personal seal and his staff as a guarantee that he would pay her for her "services." 

Tamar got pregnant...and when Judah found out that she had been out "playing around" he ordered her killed.  That is when she produced his seal and his staff...saying the man who owns these is the father of the baby.  (I bet Judah wanted a DNA test at that moment, huh?)

The child born from that situation was named Perez...the first name mentioned in the genealogy in Ruth.

So in Jesus ancestry, we have a man who visited prostitutes, a woman who deceived her father-in-law to have sex with him, and a foreigner far outside the covenant of God.

So what mess could we ever make of our lives that God could not redeem?  And when we know we are loved like this, why would we not want to live to please Him?

Our God is flat out amazing!!

Less than four weeks now

The Masters Golf Tournament starts four weeks from yesterday.  (I really was going to blog about it yesterday, but some clients got me way too busy during the say, and it slipped my mind!)  Just four weeks till Holey Week...the most important week on my calendar every year.  Most everything stops for me that week.  Life revolves around the Tournament.

It is going to be a bit of a challenge this year however.  Easter falls on the same weekend as the Tournament.  So church trumps watching the Tournament live....but thank goodness for TIVO!!!  I won't miss a shot!

Samson bugs me

OK, so I have to admit that the story of Samson kind of bugs me.  We have read the three chapters about his life the last three days....and I found myself getting exasperated with this guy.  He had so much potential, and he seemed to throw it all away on the craziest things.  He fought unnecessary fights, in the strangest of ways.  He ran after women who always had another agenda.  And he played stupid games with people...one that finally cost him his life.  Stunning isn't it?

I really struggled with why God chose to use this guy...what a character!  And yet, God allowed him to rule as a judge in Israel for 20 years.  I kept finding myself asking why God hung with this guy.  Wasn't there someone else He could have chosen?  I have to admit that I would have had a hard time respecting Samson as a leader if I would have been living in Israel at the time.  In fact, I know I would have been complaining a lot about him.  Ok, I admit, God is still working on the judgmental nature in me...it is stories like this that reveal that part of me that I do not like....!

I really was bugged big time by this whole story...until I went back to Judges 13 and read about the promise God made to Samson's parents.  And then I understood, that through all of Samson's messing around, God was still faithful to the promise He made to Samson's parents.  And I am reminded once again that it really is not about us.  It is really all about our God.

Our God is so faithful....

Small groups rock!

I just got home from a small group leaders' training at church tonight!  What a great event it was!  It is always so good to connect with others who share your passion for helping people connect, grow, and serve together (which, by the way, is the mission of our groups at River Valley!).

The small group leaders are a great bunch of people.  They understand the value of connection in their own lives, and they also want to help others make life-transforming connections with both "old" and "new" people around River Valley.

Being part of a group is vital to entering into the life of our church.  In a group you grow.  You get to know other people, hear how they navigate the ups and downs of life, and find the support and love you need.

If you are not part of a group at RVC, check out the small group guide by going to the RVC website (www.rivervalleychurch.org).  Some of the groups are still open.  Or if you see one you like but it is closed, contact the leader of the group and see if it is going to be offered next semester (which starts this summer).  And if you don't see a group that fits your needs, then you can lead one.  Step one in that process is to go to small group leader orientation and training, on Thursday night, April 2. Sign-ups for that will start soon.

Groups are one of the many ways to get involved at River Valley.  I highly recommend that you get in one as soon as you can!

Happy birthday RIver Valley Faribault

Just got home from the celebration of the 1st "birthday" of the Faribault campus!  What a fun night!  It amazes me how much God has done in just one short year at that campus.  We heard so many wonderful testimonies of how Jesus has changed lives through the church there.  It inspired and refreshed me.   

Kudos to all who have helped make this first year so amazing!  There are way to many names to mention everyone...but you are all heroes in the faith! 

And there are greater things yet to come!  We have only just begun to see what God wants to do in that city!

Another SOAP Scripture

Ok, so what Scripture jumped out at you in the SOAP reading today?  For me it was not hard to find one.  Mine was Joshua 2:11, where it says:

For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. 

Wow!!  That is our God!!  The one true God, the One Who is passionately in love with each of us and wants to have an intimate, relevant relationship with us is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.  Now that rocks my day!

There are lots of so-called "gods" in the world today...things that compete for our devotion and attention.  But God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below...the only One really worthy of our worship and devotion.  When we let that truth permeate our hearts and minds, it will change the way live life. 

The supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below is in love with you and wants to do life with you every day...in every way.  He wants to lead you in a most amazing adventure that He has planned for you..... 

Wow.....

Holey week is coming

Now is the time for me to start introducing you again to the most important week of the year...at least for me.  It is always the second full week of April.  And in 2009, it is April 6-12.

It is Masters week.  I lovingly call it Holey Week.  The greatest golf tournament on the face of the earth happens that week.  The Masters Golf Tournament. 

For many of you, January 1st is the start of the New Year...not for me.  It is Holey Week....the week when the golf world really wakes up and spring has really sprung. 

It is just five shorts weeks from now.  I can hardly wait!

I love SOAP

I am so thoroughly enjoying reading through the Bible, using the SOAP application.  (If you have not joined us on this process, go to the River Valley website, www.rivervalleychurch.org, and click on the SOAP tab, and check it out.)  I have  been inspired and challenged again and again.

The last few days have inspired and renewed my commitment to the value of the Bible in my every day life.  I think a lot of us struggle to find the time to read the Bible, let alone apply it in our every day life.  That is why I think the SOAP process is so wonderful.  It helps us elevate the Bible to the place God designed in to have in all of our lives.  It really should be the most important thing we do every day.  Look at these two passages, both from recent SOAP daily readings.  The first is from Deuteronomy 32:46-47:

⁴⁶ “Set your minds and hearts on all the words which I command you this day, that you may command them to your children, that they may be watchful to do all the words of this law.  ⁴⁷For it is not an empty and worthless trifle for you; it is your very life."

That last line is the one that is really important.  The Bible, God's Word speaking to us today, is not an empty and worthless trifle...it is our very life.  A trifle is something of trivial importance.  What a contrast in this verse.  Do we consider the Bible something of trivial importance...or do we consider it our very life?  God certainly considers His Word of supreme importance to our lives.  Jesus Himself said, "My words are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63).

And the other verses that really jumped out at me were from Joshua 1:7-9, where it says:

 ⁷Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Again, look at the value these verse place on the Bible and its importance in our every day life.  Study this Book of Instruction continually.  I like the way that is written.  The Bible is not this heavy duty list of Do's and Don't's.  It is an instruction manual for living life.  We are to meditate on it day and night....so we will be bored and look like sour pusses because we realize how much we cannot do or how bad we are?  No!  We are to meditate on it so that it will guide our decision making in every area of life, with the result that we will prosper and succeed in God's will for us.

How important is the Bible in my life?  That is a question worth pondering....