Kouts Christian Church

                “See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.  Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them…

                You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars -- all the heavenly array -- do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are,” [Deuteronomy 4:5-9, 15-20]

        "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts,” [Isaiah 55:8-9]

                What a Mighty God we serve!  As we study the Word, we learn just how Amazing and Wise God really is!  His ways and thoughts are really so amazing, it’s hard to put into words –He’s so exciting!  One of those thoughts is the idea of God’s image.  You know, the Scripture is very, very clear that His people are never, ever supposed to make an image of God.  There is a very corrupted, human tendency to try and make God somehow tangible –as though we could somehow control Him or worship a thing in place of God.  But here’s an amazing thought:  There’s another reason why God condemns imagery or idolatry:  There is only one image in all of creation that is meant to reflect the glory, wisdom, understanding, love and mercy of God; there is only one image that God really permits to reflect His glory –people, and not just any people, but the people of God. 
                Think about it:  The Israelites tried to worship the One, True God at Mt. Sinai.  While Moses was up on the mountain, talking to God, the Israelites were down below, pressuring Aaron, Moses’ brother, to make a golden idol.  Keep in mind that the Israelites wanted to worship Yahweh (Jehovah) God.  But God specifically condemned the creation of any image to take His place –even if that image was meant to represent Him. 
                Some will argue that the Ark of the Covenant was an “image” of God but God never said this.  The Ark is a representation of God’s throne and Jesus Christ, but no one was permitted to see this gold-covered box.  Even the high priest of Israel could only go before the Ark once a year, and even then, the room had to be filled with incense, clouding the ark.  But the Ark, though it was consecrated to God, was never meant to be understood as being God.  God specifically said that He would hover over the Ark; His Presence would rest there.  But no one was allowed to see the Ark clearly. 
                Later, when Solomon dedicated the Temple to God, the same statement that was spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 4 was reiterated by Solomon (1 Kings 8:51).  And again, later, Jeremiah the prophet spoke the same words (Jeremiah 11:1-5) to remind the Israelites of the same very important point.  What is the phrase that is mentioned in all three of these places?:  “Iron-smelting furnace.”              
                In Deuteronomy 4, Moses warns the Israelites to resist the temptation to follow idolatry.  Romans chapter 1 does a wonderful job of explaining why people are so tempted to create idols:  They want to exchange God and His ways for a different way –which always leads to the same conclusion:  Death (in so many different ways).  God is Life, and to follow His ways brings life, peace, contentment and fulfillment.  This is an important point, because God created us IN HIS IMAGE (Genesis 1:26-27).  Because this world is fallen and under a curse, the Image of God in men and women is often distorted by our fallen nature.  But remember the words of God concerning the Israelites when He brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery:  “But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.”  God used this wording to contrast His Ways with the ways of the world.  While men will pull iron out of a smelting furnace to produce an idol –a counterfeit, replacement, false god that they can manipulate however they choose- God brings HIS IMAGE out of His people, that the world might see HIS IMAGE and wonder at the greatness of God!  God’s Image is the people of God, the Living Temple that contains the Presence of God –it’s the reflection of His Glory.  Jesus is (literally) the “Radiance of God’s Glory, the Exact Image of His Substance (Hebrews 1:3),” and the “Image of the Invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).  In the form of man, Jesus blazed the trail for all of us by restoring the image of man into the Image of God again.  And now, all who are united with Christ (Romans 6:5ff) are united with that Image again.  This is why the Church is so important:  It is the Body of Christ, the only access to the Living One by means of Jesus, the ONLY Perfect Reflection of God’s glory –and to be united with Jesus… is to be united with God. 
            Why is this so important?  Why am I making this point?  Because the only possibility that people on earth have of seeing God’s glory, His Image… is found only in us.  God’s Image is not found in a museum, not on a mountaintop, not in a work of art or a painting, not in a temple, shrine, building or sanctuary, not in any valley or under any spreading tree, dead wood, stone or relic; the Perfect Image of God can only be seen on earth when the Living Temple, the Body of Christ, the Redeemed, Glorified, Loving, Merciful, and Gracious Bride of Christ reflects the Awesome Image of God.  It is up to us to represent that Living Image for the sake of those who don’t know Him. 
            Church, don’t reject hardship.  Don’t look down when things get tough.  Don’t spurn the discipline of God when it comes –Your Father loves you and only wants the best for you.  You can no longer see hardship as an insurmountable problem –you now have the OBLIGATION of seeing God at work –both in good times and hardship.  We learn to rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces a purer Image when we allow the Potter to form us into worthy vessels of His immeasurable grace!  He brings us from the furnace to shape us into His Image –that His love might reach more people.  Let Him do His mighty work in you today that His glory might be all that others see! 

Amazed by grace!

George

“Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are forever. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles!,” [Psalm 25:4-22]

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us,” [Romans 5:1-5]

            How desperately David clung to the Lord.  He knew he was a sinner, but also knew that God is merciful and can help David change his ways.  He said that his hope was in God all day long –not just when things got really tough.  David knew that He needed God all of the time and likewise knew that God would never disappoint.  His hope was in God.  And now, how much more hope does the Christian have!  We have peace with God and we REJOICE in the hope of the glory of God.  One day, all will change, all will be different.  That is true at the ultimate triumphal return of the King of kings, but it is also true for today.  God’s glory is all around.  But it’s hard to see that if we commit ourselves to navel gazing.  But if we trust the hope that we have placed in God, then hope will never disappoint us because the reality is this:  God has POURED OUT HIS LOVE INTO OUR HEARTS!  What a great, merciful and compassionate God!  He has given us His Spirit to empower us to hope and live and rejoice in Him.  What an awesome God!  He really is Father in every way imaginable –He is our Greatest Cheerleader, our Infinite Inspiration, our Comforter, our Life, our Song, our King and our Companion.  He IS our Hope, our Only Hope, and our Hope does not disappoint us. 
            Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine, O, what a Foretaste of Glory Divine!  Whatever struggle that seems insurmountable, whatever depression that seeks to rob us of all joy, whatever financial difficulty, whatever pain, loss, grief, enemy… God is Greater than all of it.  God’s people cannot falter in their Hope.  In an ocean of hopelessness, where everyone everywhere is starving for hope, let us not add to the negativity –let’s stand on the Rock, our Refuge, our Shelter –the One who is Mighty to Save, that the world might see Him, our Hope, living in us. 
            “This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe,” [Timothy 4:9-10].                      

Full of hope,

George

            “Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

            "When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, `Come, for everything is now ready.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, `I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Another said, `I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' "Still another said, `I just got married, so I can't come.' "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, `Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' "`Sir,' the servant said, `what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' "Then the master told his servant, `Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet,” [Luke 14:12-24]

            Isn’t it amazing who Jesus said were the most likely candidates for the Kingdom of Heaven?  The people that everyone would expect to come into the Kingdom, Jesus says are the most resistant. Those, whom we would expect to be the least likely candidates, are the most receptive. 
            In many ways, the majority of churches in America have it all wrong.  The Barna Group reports that most American churches compete for 10% of our country’s “most likely” candidates:  The upper middle class with previous Christian background.  In other words, the majority of churches are just exchanging already-saved Christians back and forth –we are not converting the remaining 90% of our population very well.  Why?  Because we often develop our programs and activities for the already-saved.  Much of the time, we are more concerned with pleasing the saved than reaching the lost.  But hospitality is a command to every Christian.  We all remember the story of the Good Samaritan [Luke 10:30-37], where the “least likely guy” helped a person in need while all the “good guys” just passed by. 
            Just Friday, I had a long conversation with a down-and-out Christian (who belongs to another church).  She said that a tree fell on her house and no one offered to help.  Many drove by to look but none offered a helping hand (a story that I can certainly relate to!).  She said, they didn’t even need to offer help; she just wanted someone to stop by and say that they cared… she wanted someone to show compassion –it didn’t even matter if they stopped and helped or not.  I then asked her, “And no one from your church came to help you?  Did they know?”  And she said, “Yes, they knew.  But no one came…”  This grieved me.  I think sometimes we feel like we will be too intrusive or in the way if we offer to help.  Or maybe it’s just a convenient excuse…
            A member of our church sent me an article the other day about the situation in Henryville, IN.  Many tornado victims lost everything.  It seems to happen earlier and more intensely, every year now, doesn’t it?  But this article really hurt.  It seems that a good majority of the people drove through Henryville recently to gawk, not help.  Has our entertainment-driven culture desensitized us to the need for compassion?  A journalist wrote the article because he was sent to take pictures and was cursed at by a local who was sifting through what was left of his house.  And looters had already come through.  The devastation was stifling.  The journalist, struck by the man’s pain, began to talk to him.  He said that rather than coming to gawk, he wished someone would just show up with a chainsaw to help.  Could that be us? 
            Hospitality is an act of compassion.  It is not simply showing kindness to the kind of person you would expect to come over for dinner or stay the night.  It’s beyond that.  True Christian hospitality anticipates the needy, seeks them out, and invites them into the home.  In a day when hearts are growing cold, Christians have a golden opportunity to show the raging fire of God’s love –a love that will melt the hardest heart. 
            Jesus told us to serve the needy in anticipation of a heavenly reward, not an earthly one.  In an age when churches seemed more concerned with stealing Christians from one another rather than making new converts, let’s be truly different.  Let’s seek and save those who are NOT comforted by the love of Christ.  Let’s do what Jesus said.        

Seeking something better,

George

             “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost,” [Matthew 18:12-14]

“So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. "The son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' "But the father said to his servants, `Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate,” [Luke 15:20-24]

            Hi, my name is “Visitor.”  I came to your church this morning because I’m searching for something.  I’m not even sure what it is I’m searching for.  I guess I feel empty.  I’ve had so many disappointments in life, I guess I’m just searching for somebody who’s really sincere.  Do you know what I mean?  I think I’m looking for someone I can trust.  I know that God is supposed to be good, and so I guess I’m looking for people like Him.  I’m not looking for scandal or drama –I see enough of that everywhere else.  But is there such a thing as a little piece of heaven here on earth?  I guess that’s what I’m searching for.  I keep looking, and I want to find it.  From the moment I walk in among you, I guess I don’t want to feel awkward.  Do you know what I mean?  I guess I don’t want to feel like a stranger –even though I know I am.  When I welcome people into my home, I go out of my way to make sure that they feel welcome.  I usually say something like, “Make yourself at home,” or, “Can I get you something to drink?”  I really want my guest to feel welcome –like they really matter to me, and that I’m excited that they have come into my home.  I guess that’s what I’m looking for… I want to know that I’m welcome and people are thrilled that I’ve come for a visit.  Oh, and when a guest leaves my home, I let them know that they are welcome to come anytime.  I want them to not only remember that the door is always open, but that I care and really want them to come back.  They are not an “outsider” anymore, no, I want them to come back.  I guess I’m searching for that too.  I know a church has people who have to welcome visitors.  I even know that you probably have people that are paid to do those kinds of things.  But I guess I’m not looking for just a professional kind of caring.  I guess I’m looking for a family that cares.  I want to know that you all care about me, just as much as I care about you.  When I walk in the door, it’s great to see that everyone is excited that I’m there, not giving me strange glances, like, “Who is that?”  I guess it means a lot more when the “general” church member is happy to greet me and welcome me.  And it’s really exciting when those people say, “Hey, you’re welcome to come and sit by us.  We’re glad you’re here!”  I know sometimes people get used to sitting in the same place every week, so sometimes I get nervous about where to sit.  I mean, I might sit in the wrong place and make someone mad, and I don’t want to do that.  But when one of you says, “Hey, come over here and sit by us,” then I already feel like I’m not so much of an outsider anymore.  And I really like the tokens that you give me when I leave.  Those are nice.  But I guess it means even more when an “average” church member asks me if they can buy me lunch, if they can give me a call, or even if they show up on my doorstep to say, “We’re really glad we could serve you.” 

            I guess what I’m really trying to say is that I want to know that I matter to you.  I would love to be part of a family where people say, “We would love for you to be part of us because we care,” (and really mean it).  I think that’s the way God is, I mean, He really cares about us, right?  I’m not really looking for religion.  I’m looking for something more than ritual.  I’m really looking at what’s below the surface.  I’m looking for meaning.  And I’m looking for more than external beauty.  I’m looking for the kind of beauty that comes from the inside.  I know that I’ve made many mistakes in life.  I know I’m not perfect, so I’m not surprised that other people aren’t perfect.  But I am looking for something better than what I find everywhere else.  I’m looking for a way to God.  I’m looking for God with skin on.  I’m looking for hope.  And I hope that you can offer that to me.  That’s why I’m here today.  It took a lot for me to come through those doors.  It took a lot to even turn into your parking lot.  The fear of the unknown can be pretty scary when you’re a visitor.  But now I’m here.  But I’m not just here to observe.  Should I be here?  Is this the place?  Have I found hope?      

The Visitor