Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 

The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds. 

(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Holy Scriptures have helped countless people for millennia come to know of God's love and desire for all of God's children to receive salvation. In Paul's 2nd Letter to Timothy, he wrote about some of the different ways that Scripture helps people know what it means to live with, and for, God...

1) Scripture teaches about God's heart and expectation for us. Jesus specifically taught about love and commanded it for His followers; he said in John 13.34-35: "I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples."

2) Scripture helps us see we are not islands unto ourselves. In Galatians 6.2, we see that we put Christ's command to love into practice when we help others: "You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand."

3) Scripture corrects us when we are wrong, even though we don't like it. Proverbs 15.31 illustrates why accepting correction is essential: "Healthy correction is good, and if you accept it, you will be wise"

4) Scripture shows us how to live while we are on the proverbial road with God. Consider what we read in Micah 6.8: "The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: 'See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.'"

5) Scripture encourages us to perform good deeds, not to show how good we are, but to show how good God is. Consider what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.16: "Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven."

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, claimed to be a man of "one book." This doesn't mean he didn't appreciate other writings — not at all, because he was extremely well read — but he did believe in the doctrinal concept of "Sola Scriptura," a Latin phrase that means Scripture contains everything needed to understand our need for a Savior, and how God provided that in Jesus Christ. 

I shared some of my favorite passages relevant to the points in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. What are some of yours?

L.O.V.E.

Did you know that I am currently writing a daily devotion, typically based on the verse of the day from the YouVersion Bible app? You can check out today's devotion below, and follow along (as well as reading archived ones from all of 2016) by visiting my Facebook page. 

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”John 13:34-35 (The Message)

The entire Gospel in one word: LOVE. It is in love that God created the world, and in love that He saves the world. It is in love that Jesus was sent, and in love that Jesus was sacrificed. It was in love that Jesus spoke, and it was in love that Jesus served. There should be no mystery whatsoever that the ultimate commandment to love has a double edge: LOVE God with all you are and have, and LOVE your neighbor as you love self (Mark 11:28-30). I developed an acrostic to help me think about what it truly means to LOVE; check it out...

• Love Lasts: it isn't conditional or fickle; true love lasts, even when it's hard.
• Love Overwhelms: it consumes the discretion and direction of your life; true love overwhelms you for the sake God and others.
• Love makes us Vulnerable: it requires us to put ourselves "out there," even though we might be taken for granted or hurt; even God became vulnerable in sending Jesus.
• Love grows Exponentially: we have an unlimited ability to love; we need not divide our love when others come into our lives, for our ability to love grows exponentially the more opportunities we have to love. 

Living lives of true love lasts, extending beyond time and space; overwhelms, changing the way we look at others in our lives; makes us vulnerable, requiring us to put ourselves "out there" regardless of what might come back to us in return; and exponentially expands with the opportunities we have to love. I love the verses in 1 John 5:1-3* that say we show our love for God in how we love God's children by following God's commandment. And what was the commandment given by Jesus? "Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."

*"If we believe that Jesus is truly Christ, we are God’s children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children. If we love and obey God, we know that we will love his children. We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow." (1 John 5:1-3)

9 Months Later and We're Still Dancing

Dear Mia,

It's been 9 months. 9 months ago today your mommy and I held you for the very first time, and we celebrated this milestone at Scottish Rite for tests and evaluation. The good news is we got great news, because you are doing so well, really making some major strides developmentally. And while I carried you around the hospital, it took me back to that day 9 months ago when mommy and I were in the Hubei Child Welfare Center in Wuhan, China wondering what you would be like. The weight of the silence was broken with the "ding" of an elevator, alerting us that someone arrived. That wasn't just any ole someone, it was you, carried by your favorite nanny, Lei! Ever since that moment, all of our lives are radically different. It hasn't always been easy, but it's definitely worth it.

It's been quite a while since a longer update, but things are really changing for you in the time since you arrived home, and there are quite a few important things to share. For starters, things really began to shift in February when we realized you had an abscessed tooth, seemingly causing the systemic infection your doctors couldn't quite isolate. After the surgery to remove that wretched thing, it seemed like someone turned the key to a lock in your brain. The very next day you started speaking and using the words we believed were in that noggin of yours all along. After that experience, though, you still battled some confounding illnesses that defied treatment. 

During the trial and error treatment period, we (finally!) learned you are allergic to the dairy protein, casein, which goes a long way in explaining some of the health issues you experienced. You were initially diagnosed with one ailment, and the doctors told us to give you lots of yogurt to help your digestion improve after being torn up due to months of antibiotics, but that turned out to be a bad idea. A very bad idea. All the protein in the yogurt — not to mention the milk you drank, enjoyed on your cereal, and loved in your ice cream — just kept making you sicker and sicker. Thankfully, you have a pediatrician who was relentless in finding out what was wrong, and blood work revealed the allergy. Since cutting out milk, it's like you are a different person. Learning that a casein allergy can mimic and exacerbate symptoms of more troubling diagnoses seemed to be the ingredient in a recipe you should have been missing all along. Learning of that allergy and making changes to your diet is putting you on a path to wellness you have never before experienced. And you know what? It's fun to see, and the more you learn, it's fun to hear.   

One of the most common questions we field regarding your development revolves around how well you're leaning English. Mommy and I can emphatically say that your language is much improved. You are beginning to put words together to better communicate with us, which at times requires some deciphering, but is always encouraging. It's adorable hearing your little toddler mouth shape sounds in an attempt to communicate in a new language. Yes, we still get a whine and a grunt every now and then, but even when we tell you to "use your words," you reply with an emphatic, "words," to let us now you're at least trying. For example, the other day after I got home from the office, you were in your room playing after a nap. I went up to get you, and when I entered your room, I noticed you changed out of out of your clothes into your...ahem..."birthday suit." When I asked you where your clothes were, you answered, "Hiding!" I laughed then as I laugh now, recording that memory. You seem to have a knack for comedy, and as you get the linguistic skills to accompany your well-timed instincts, it makes for a rather entertaining combination. 

It's sweet to hear you attempt to use your words, but there is one dialect that became comfortable for you well before English, and that is what Henry Wadsworth Longfellow referred to as the universal language: music. You, without a doubt, are one of the most musically inclined children I have ever seen. Music has a way of penetrating some of those recessed areas in your brain that were asleep due to sensory deprivation, and awakening them to aid in your learning and understanding. For example, just a few minutes ago, I said the name, Mickey Mouse referring to a puzzle you were playing with, and you started singing the "Hot Dog" song from the tv show, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." The association you made is really impressive, and points to the high-level intelligence we were told you have by your caregivers in China. From your musicality, to your cheerful disposition, to your tenacity in dealing with the layered health issues you've battled, you amaze us every day. 

You do indeed amaze us, and through that, we ourselves are changed. There is no doubt your life is transformed, and it is a blessing to behold. It's fairly common for people who interact with us out in the community to say what a blessing we've been for you. I hope you do indeed feel that way, though we know this will ebb and flow over the years. But something I want you to know is the blessing is ours because of how you've changed your whole family. Your presence in our home and in our lives has helped us find a capacity for patience and purpose I don't think we even knew existed. Seriously. The huge love for living that you exude in your tiny body has helped your mommy and me experience an inspiring joy quite unlike anything else. From the time I felt a deepening call to "defend the cause of the fatherless" as Isaiah 1:17 puts it, to when you reclined on me during lunch today as though to ask for a comforting closeness following a scary morning at the hospital, I am learning in all new ways what it means to not only be a dad, but your dad. But that's not all.

When I see you and your Náh-na (your name for Ethan) together, it fills me with a love and pride I never knew I could feel. Seriously. You might know he was a little standoffish at first, trying to figure out how your addition would change our family dynamic. In the 9 months since you've been home, though, you won his heart. When you see him first thing in the morning or right after he gets home from school, and you yell out Náh-na with some crazy exuberance, he emits a smile that originated in his precious heart. You love to sit with him on the couch and watch cartoons, go to the neighborhood park with him to play on the jungle gym, roll around with him on the floor, and I seriously think your favorite times of all (and yes, even more so than mealtimes) are when the four of us snuggle together on our big bed. 

You embrace the togetherness of family, even though it's only been yours for less than a year. It reminds me of leaving the Taco Bell in Cartersville after a day of house-hunting a couple weeks ago when you just glowed with a radiant smile and let out a big belly laugh. I said to you, "There's nothing quite like family, and we are yours." I guess the look on your face could have been a gassy side effect from your supper, but, no, I'm pretty sure you had a moment in your daddy's arms, flanked by your mama and Náh-na, when you knew you were right where you belonged. And you know what? You are. 

On our way home that night, we had the radio blaring, because again, you love music. A certain song came on that you really seem to enjoy, and you immediately broke out into your awesome groovy dance moves where you flap your arms like a bird, then punch your arms straight out in front of you, followed by pumping your fists into the air with a deft wrist turn, before placing the backs of your hands together and pointing your fingers downward in an up-and-down thrusting movement. You just danced and danced along to that song in perfect rhythm, and I realized we were all dancing with you as though it were a planned flash mob...all four of us dancing your moves, in our van, cruising down the interstate, while communicating with each other in the universal language of music. It was in that moment, your family dancing together with you in perfect rhythmic synchronization, that it was obvious how you have changed our lives. A simple sublime moment that declared to the cosmos that even though you were born in a place some 8,000 miles away and 3+ years before coming home, you ended up right where you belong. In your place. In "Mia's Place."

We love you, Dear Mia. You are a sweet, silly, and smart little girl who keeps us in stitches with your antics and amazed with your potential. Things will change some as we make our move to a new home in Cartersville, saying goodbye to old friends and making many new ones, which will undoubtedly be easier with your charming assistance. There will be more times where we will travel the road together between Bartow and Coweta counties until our house in Newnan sells, and I am sure that passers by will see our van rocking back and forth and up and down with four people doing some sweet toddler-inspired moves. In those times — here in Newnan, there in Cartersville, and everywhere in between — I hope and pray people will crack a little smile as they realize that it is just you and your crew, the Jordan family, doing what families do. Serving, sharing, and shining for Jesus. Together.

Love, 

Dad

My Best Last Place Finish

This past Saturday was the 4th Annual RACE for the Orphans. Last year's event played a major role in helping Tiffany and me get Mia home. After the blessings of last year, we wanted to help to sponsor the RACE to aid this year's four grant recipients get their children home (three from China and one from Ethiopia). 

RACE is an acronym which stands for Raising Awareness Compassion and Education for what Isaiah 1:17 refers to as "defending the cause of the fatherless." There are more than 150 million orphans in the world, and many (if not most, sadly) will never know the love of a family. Orphan care is a biblical mandate, and even though not everyone is called to take orphaned children into their homes, we are all called to do something to help assist in the crisis. And when I think about our church's mission to make disciples of Jesus here, there, and everywhere for the transformation of the world, this event has the unique ability to make a difference for families right here in our community, as well aschildren across the world. 

More than 600 persons participated in this year's RACE for the Orphans. People of varying ages, physical abilities, and socioeconomic status all came together to do something to help defend the cause of the fatherless for the precious four children receiving families. Among the 600+ runners and walkers, about 20 from Cokes Chapel participated on race day. And among them, Kathy Bryant, Dee Croft, and Gage Warren all won medals for their times in their respective age categories. Congrats! 

I didn't run this year, choosing to stay with the rest of the family as we walked the course. This turned out to be a good call as Mia got squirrelly spending as much time as she did restrained in her stroller. We took our time enjoying the sunshine and cool morning air, we carried Mia some around the course (and Bobby Totten helped by carrying her the most!), and even took a break for a few minutes about half-way through so Mia could dance. I must admit that my competitive juices started flowing a couple times and I wanted to kick my speed up a gear or two, but in the end, the experience of sharing the event with my family and friends was sublime. 

As a result of our laborious pace around the Coweta Fairgrounds, our family was the last to complete the RACE. In a humorous way, I think the organizers were almost as happy to see us cross the finish line as the RACE winners, because they knew we were the last ones to come in off the course. And later in the day, Velda Graydon confirmed something I believed to be true...a dubious distinction to be sure...I was the very last one to cross the finish line. I officially was last in the RACE for the Orphans. But you know what? I wear it with pride. Many of the folks who participated were there last year when so much of the emphasis was on our Dear Mia, and for those who were there this year, I got to see them all as I crossed the finish line with our little girl. 

The purpose of the event is to bring people together to raise money to help "defend the cause of the fatherless," and this year I got to do it with a little girl who a year ago I was only able to hold in a picture. The significance of that fact is not lost on me. As four families are in the same basic spots we were a year ago, we enjoyed being in their cheering section as they strive to get their babies home to hold them in their arms. There is no doubt Tiffany and I can't bring another child into our home, at least not now, but we can rally and do something for those who are. 

I could probably crack a joke or two about how I deserve a "cow's tail" award, or misquote scripture by saying the last shall be first, but I don't want to, because of how meaningful the entire event was. And I quite possibly will run again next year, preventing me from last place again, but my heart probably won't feel quite the same. For as I stood there at the finish line, holding Mia and my beloved family, I know that we represented the fulfillment of last year's RACE: to help get orphaned children into their forever families. And you know what? My family is forever grateful.

Rev. Dr. Mark S. Jordan

pastormark28@gmail.com

Your Lion Strength

We concluded our Wizard of Oz themed series this past Sunday, exploring the Shema prayer. The Shema prayer is the foundational prayer of Judaism and served as the context for Jesus’ answer as to which was the greatest commandment: to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Each week in the series we took one of the four topics and explored biblical wisdom, using characters from The Wizard of Oz to help make it applicable. We love God with our heart when we follow God’s plan and purpose for our life. We love God with our soul when our mind, body, and will are integrated to live according to that purpose. We love God with our mind when we make the intentional decisions necessary to keep our soul integrated and keep our heart in line with God’s purpose. And as we concluded the series this past week, we talked about loving God with our strength.

The biblical languages give us some fascinating insight into what it means to love God with our strength. The connotation points to dealing with fire. On one hand it refers to using a poker to stir coals and embers to keep a fire hot. It also points to helping another person going through the proverbial fires of life by reaching into the circumstances — regardless of the heat — to show him or her the love of God. When thinking about loving God with our strength, I can boil it down to two words: follow through.

How many times have you felt an impulse to do or say something for someone as a way to glorify God? A get well card after an illness or a surgery. A meal after the death of a loved one. A note just to say hello and you care. They all count. Whenever you felt that impulse, did you act on it, or did you put it off and never get around to it? Loving God with our strength means we choose to follow through on the leadings of the Spirit.

Just as we face a battle within our hearts pertaining to following God’s will or our own, there is a similar spiritual battle being waged for the use of our strength. The deceiver begin to mess around with us when we do not initially follow through by causing us to feel guilty. All the “coulda, shoulda, wouldas” creep in and the longer we go without following through on our godly impulses, the guiltier we feel. Then, as a result of that guilt, we shy away from doing the things we should have done in the first place. What is curious about that, though, is frequently the potential recipient of our follow through wasn’t even aware of it; as a result, we deprive someone of a loving connection, and deprive ourselves the joy of performing a loving action. Guilt, therefore, is a major obstacle to our follow through, but it isn’t alone.

Fear is another major obstacle. Have you ever kept from showing or telling someone you care because you were afraid of rejection? Have you ever been afraid to share your faith for the same reason? Winston Churchill once said, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” And all of a sudden, this concept of follow through fits brilliantly with the overarching development of our series: we have a constant internal struggle in our heart as to whether or not we will follow God’s purpose; our soul experiences integration when we make the decision to go God’s way; we must use our mind to make the intentional decision to keep going God’s way, even if it requires faith; and follow through with our strength to show we truly love God with all we have and are, and love neighbor as self.

In The Wizard of Oz, we see a great example from the Cowardly Lion as one who made the decision to follow through and do the right thing, even though he was scared. Sure, he had a moment when he needed to jump out of a window in the Emerald City, but he joined Dorothy on her quest to bring back the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. Follow through! This brings to mind the great quote from Ambrose Redmoon: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.” Courage helped the Lion find strength on his journey with Dorothy. Courage helped Jesus find strength in his journey to Calvary. Courage can help you find strength in your journey with God. Use that strength and follow through on the things God wants and needs you to do in response to the love He places in your life.

I had a blast following the proverbial yellow brick road, exploring Jesus’ greatest commandment and the Shema prayer. May it order and inspire us to listen to God, love God, and leave a legacy of love for God.

 “‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,

and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 

The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Mark 11.29b-31, (NRSV)

Your Scarecrow Mind

We are working our way down the proverbial yellow brick road in our Wizard of Oz themed message series, exploring the Jewish Shema prayer. The crux of the Shema prayer is to listen to God, love God, and leave a legacy of love for God.  So far in our journey we explored what it means to love God with all our heart (choosing to live God’s way as opposed to our own) and soul (experiencing integration while living in our mortal bodies connected to the eternal nature of God), and this past week we considered what it means to love God with our minds.

God gave humanity the gift of reason. As the Scarecrow might say, some of us use it more skillfully or artfully than others, but we all are created with the ability to think. I believe God wants it this way so we can work out and wrestle with what it means to live in, and for, God. That is not to say this means we must understand everything, because there is definitive mystery in creation, but our ability to reason helps us to work out our salvation while also accepting things on faith.

In the Wesleyan tradition, reason serves as one of four major points for how we comes to experience life with God. This is called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. Scripture always leads the way, for in it is contained everything needed for salvation. Scripture is followed by tradition (the history of God’s intervention and interaction with humanity), and experience (a personal sense of God’s involvement in our own life) as we think about the truth that God’s love is available to all. I think it is safe to say that it is one thing to know this, but quite another to live that way.

In Romans 12:2 we read that we experience transformation by the renewing of our minds. This is such an important thing to consider, because it calls us to change the way we think. Let’s face it, the natural human inclination is to think first of self. If we take seriously Jesus’ teaching to love God first, then this means we must change that inherent thought pattern. Easier said than done, though, right? One of the reasons this is true has to do with a fairly universal defense mechanism in our brains. Our minds run constantly while processing information and stimuli in our environments. We only get limited facts, though, so our brains must fill in the gaps to complete the picture. Many of us will fill in those gaps with worst case scenarios as a way to steel ourselves against potential disturbing outcomes. It works as a defense mechanism by setting us up to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. What if we were to change this, though?

I imagine Jesus wants us to flip our natural way of thinking on its side so we hope first for the best and prepare secondly for the worst. I think Jesus wants us to take seriously the promises of Scripture that he is with us until the end of the age, and nothing can separate us from the love of God. If we renew our minds by thinking about God’s promises first, and respond accordingly to the love we receive through Christ, then we truly are transformed! Modifying the way we think will have a direct impact on the way that we live, as well as interact with, God and others. So when we read the instructions in Colossians 3 about setting our minds on things in heaven as opposed to earth, we will be reminded that we are joined with Christ in his death so we can enjoy his life. That, my friends is what our soul seeks (integration) and will soothe a troubled heart, so even when the going gets tough, we can keep going with God.

I hope you plan on joining us Sunday as we conclude this series exploring Your Lion Strength. 

Your Dorothy Soul

We are making our way down the proverbial yellow brick road in our Easter season worship series looking at Jesus’ teaching on the greatest commandment: to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Using the Jewish Shema prayer, Jesus’ response was to listen to God; love God; and leave a legacy of love for God by loving others. This past Sunday we explored the soul as the second part of Jesus’ teaching. 

The meaning of the soul in the biblical languages is the living breathing creature within our mortal and temporal bodies that connects us to the eternal. The first mention of the soul we see in Scripture comes when God created Adam, saying the Lord breathed into the nostrils of the pile of dust that was the first man and gave him life, or his soul, as it’s stated in the King James Version. The soul comes to us from God and has a very specific purpose: to integrate our mind, body, and will. We still find ourselves in the ongoing struggle within the heart between following God’s purposes or our own sinful and selfish desires. If we love according to God’s purposes, we experience the integration of mind, body, and will. If not, however, it is like throwing water on the Wicked Witch of the West and we experience dis-integration. 

Renowned theologian, Dallas Willard, describes integration like the components of a car all working together to get the driver from point A to B. The car is more than just an engine, transmission, suspension, etc., and all parts must work together for the vehicle to function properly. The soul serves as the steering wheel, because it takes into account the freedom of will to turn as needed. Dis-integration in a metaphor such as this would be something similar to wheels that are out of alignment. Keeping a vehicle moving in a straight line when the wheels are out of alignment requires constant over-correction, causes uneven wear and premature degradation of the tires. When we experience dis-integration – and in life this comes when a job is lost, a relationship breaks down, poor health, financial misery, etc. — we feel as though the world is coming unglued for us. This is precisely why Jesus said what He did in Matthew 11.28-30: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your [soul]. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (MSG)

Ecclesiastes 3:11 states that God placed a bit of eternity in the human heart. This is what helps our soul connect our temporal existence to eternity in heaven. As a result, there is a sort of natural rhythm of dis-integration we experience when trying to fill the voids in life with anything other than God’s purposes. When we aim to fill those voids with money, power, sex, drugs/alcohol, toys, or pastimes, they might bring a moment or two of pleasure, but will never fulfill the longing that God placed within us. This is the essence of of Saint Augustine’s poignant quote, “You created us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

Dorothy Gale felt this pull when she failed to find meaning in her life with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Kansas. She longed for a place somewhere over the rainbow, thinking that’s where everything would make sense. Similar to how we might experience a metaphorical storm that rocks our world, the twister carried Dorothy to Oz. It didn’t take long, however, for her to realize that life was imperfect there, too, so she began to long for the place where she belonged so she could enjoy the life she had and the people with whom she shared it. The manifestations of her heart, mind, and strength in Oz — the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion — enabled Dorothy’s soul to once again find integration and joy right where she belonged. 

Are you experiencing dis-integration in life? Do you find your soul longing for a place on the other side of God’s promise to be with us forever? You can find it right here and right now in the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus. Listening, loving, and living for Christ is the ultimate way to find rest for the soul. So take the necessary time to allow your soul to get re-integrated and learn from the One who placed the yearning in your heart to begin with. 

Have a great rest of the week, and I hope to see you Sunday as we explore Your Scarecrow Mind.