Lawn Mowing and Laundry

There are chores that need to be done on a regular basis.  Clothes need to be washed.  Shirts, pants, and dresses get smudged and spilled on.  They absorb sweat and oils and need a trip through the washer.  I wouldn’t even hazard a guess as to how many times my jeans have made the circuit through my washing machine and dryer.  This is something we understand when we buy our clothes: they will require maintenance.  We will need to wash them.  Our lawns are the same way.  Grass grows.  (Although sometimes my grass doesn’t cooperate with this assumption.)  And when it does, it needs to be mowed.  No one fertilizes and waters their yard, then mows it assuming they won’t ever need to mow again.  It’s a maintenance task that is part of any growing thing.  Homes require regular maintenance.  Carpets need to be vacuumed.  Even our bodies need regular care.

Our relationship with God is a lot like laundry, lawns, and carpets.  It requires regular maintenance.  You don’t become a Christian and then be done with all spiritual activity.  Belonging to Jesus is not a maintenance-free endeavor.  Salvation begins a life of diligent, regular maintenance.  While all our stains have been permanently washed away, we need to regularly refresh our connection with God.  We need to prune and trim away things that get in the way of our relationship with him.  We do this through prayer, Bible reading, community, and other spiritual disciplines.  What maintenance is your relationship with God due for today?

Knowing Where to Look

For whatever reason, we are drawn toward the spectacular.  We long for earthshaking, monumental events that tilt the scales toward us.  Perhaps because our God created the universe, we look for him at the national and global level.  And to be sure, God is present at these upper levels of society.  The problem is that these levels are a long way removed from our daily experience.  We tend to be nearsighted people who have a hard time discerning events at a distance.

That’s why we need to remember that God didn’t just create galaxies and planets.  He created molecules and cells and insects and flowers.  As much as we want God to be obvious in astounding and dramatic ways, we see him best when he is right in front of us, often in the small things: in conversations with a friend, in the song of a bird, in your toddler’s new skill, in the quiet of a few moments with your morning coffee, in the smell of the woods.  It is comforting to remember that God is bigger than the universe.  But it’s perhaps even more comforting to know that he inhabits the small, the timebound, and the ordinary as well.

Silver Medal

One of the unique things about the Olympics is the way that it structures event winners.  Each event honors not only the winner, but also the second and third place finishers.  Most of our sporting contests these days simply have a winner and a loser.  If you lose the Super Bowl, you are the silver medalist in football.  If you lose in the finals of Wimbledon, you are the silver medalist of tennis.  But compare the countenance of an Olympic silver medalist to someone on the losing team of the Super Bowl and it’s quite a contrast.  Super Bowl runners up are often despondent in the face of losing the big game.  Silver medalists - even bronze medalists - are often filled with enthusiasm simply to be on the platform.

As much as I like the Olympic approach on this side of heaven, I don’t believe there will be any silver medals in the new creation.  When Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead, there won’t be three levels on the platform.  There will be just one.  The Gospels tell us there were three crosses on Calvary.  But only one of those crosses saves us.  There were many tombs around Jerusalem.  But only one is empty.  In the age to come, we who belong to the one who hung on the cross and walked out of the tomb will stand on the platform with him.  We will all wear gold medals because we are in Christ.  He has won the victory.

Fireworks

By all accounts, the Coast Guard fireworks and drone show on Saturday night were spectacular.  On the hundredth anniversary of the Coast Guard Festival, they pulled out all the stops and treated the crowds of spectators to a show worth sitting in traffic for.  As children we are mesmerized by fireworks.  Once we get over our fear of the loud booms, fireworks are magical for a child to witness.  Even sparklers and backyard fireworks are wonderfully entertaining.  But most of us have seen fireworks enough for the shine to wear off.  They are shot off nearly every weekend somewhere - after baseball games, town festivals, county fairs.  Once you’ve seen a hundred fireworks demonstrations, they just aren’t as impressive or awe-inspiring anymore.  It takes an over-the-top show like Saturday night to really impress us.

Religious experiences can be a bit like fireworks.  If we base our faith on mountaintop spiritual experiences, we will inevitably need to find higher and higher mountains.  What a worship song on the radio once did for us, now requires a time of worship in a church service.  What a Sunday sermon did for us now requires a conference speaker.  If we build our faith on spectacular experiences, we will eventually run out of ways to scratch that itch.  I suspect this is why Jesus talks about the simple things in life: seeds, birds, plants, yeast.  It’s great to have big fireworks from time to time.  It can provide a boost and some fresh momentum.  But our spiritual lives are lived amongst homework assignments, diaper changes, and doctor appointments.  And if we pay attention, we will find that God faithfully meets us there as well.  Enjoy the fireworks.  But know that God is just as present while you’re sitting in traffic afterwards. 

Inflection Point

When we moved to the tri-cities almost 20 years ago, we heard a number of people say something that just didn’t make sense: “Once Coast Guard Festival is done, the summer is over.”  What?!  It’s barely August and the summer’s over?  Strictly speaking, summer lasts well into September.  How could it be over by the first week of August?  Now that I’ve raised my kids here, I get it: sports and other school activities ramp up already in early August.  The leisurely days of late June through July are now gone and we need to get our heads back in the game.  The Coast Guard Festival creates an inflection point in our summer.  It’s conclusion is a harbinger of the coming school year.

Life is filled with inflection points.  Some of them are joyous celebrations like a wedding or a graduation or a Coast Guard festival.  Others are painful like a funeral or a job loss or a health condition.  But every inflection point is guided by God towards our growth in becoming more like Jesus.  Whatever joy or challenge you are walking through right now, God can and will use it as an inflection point toward spiritual maturity, and ultimately joy.  As the Scripture says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Thermostat or Thermometer

By Drew DeVries

My last mentor challenged me and the students in our ministry with this question, “are you a thermostat or a thermometer?” He asked this question to push the students to think deeper about the lives they were living. He would clarify by saying thermometers read the temperature of a room. When you walk into a room, do you read the temperature and change how you are living based on what is happening around you? Thermostats set temperatures. When you walk into a room, does the temperature change? Do people see God based on how you are living? Does the room change around you or do you change around the room?

It's a simple analogy yet has powerful implications. We are instructed in Matthew to go and make disciples of all nations. That isn’t just a commandment for those working in a church. That is a commandment for everyone who is a follower of Christ. We can influence whatever environment we are in by living in a way that helps everyone around us experience Christ’s love.

Listening - Lori Houskamp

While Pastor Nate continues on his break, I encourage all of us to lean into opportunities afforded by summer’s change of pace. Schedule (or unschedule) your summer to be a season with margin to listen to God. In Psalm 46:10 we read, “Be still and know that I am God.” Listen to the lapping of waves and cast your cares on our Creator. Find peace in God’s presence as you walk through the woods. Allow a symphony of singing birds to move you to praise. Let the laughter of children remind you to be glad in the Lord. Allow the crackle of a campfire to fill you with joy.  Listen to nature sing and be refreshed. 

If you are following this month’s Bible reading plan and reading through Proverbs, you will encounter the word “listen” over twenty times. Proverbs encourages us to listen to God’s voice in His Word and in the wise counsel of others. Listening for God by Marilyn Hontz (2004) is a great book I am rereading this summer. I am again reminded how when we are still and listen for God, the Holy Spirit prompts us and specifically guides our actions. Listening is for every child of God. We were all created to live in a personal relationship with God, which includes both talking with and listening to Him. May we all be eager to listen.

Unity, Diversity, and Charity

“In the essentials, unity.  In the non-essentials, liberty.  In all things, charity.”  This is a quote that has been attributed to St. Augustine, John Wesley, and many others.  Regardless of who said it, I believe that it is supported by the New Testament.  As Christians, there are some issues that are so central to our faith that it would be hard to find spiritual camaraderie with a person or a group who didn’t believe as we do.  Things like the Apostles Creed would fall into this category.  There are also matters that are non-essential to our faith.  They might impact the way we express our faith and how we do certain things.  But being for or against these non-essential beliefs don’t place us outside of the family of God.

We can argue about what is an essential belief and what is non-essential.  But the most important part of this quote is the last sentence: “In all things, charity.”  This is not up for debate.  Opinions may vary in our church and in our denomination about a number of issues.  But our love for one another must not.  We can have robust and healthy discussions about politics, theology, and other hot topics.  But we may not do it without love.  In fact, if we fail at love, it matters little how right or wrong we are about what is essential.  We will have missed the whole point of the second greatest commandment.  We live in divisive times.  And I suppose there isn’t much we can do to make people agree.  Yet you can choose to love those who think, believe, or vote differently than you.  In doing so, you will be accomplishing far more than agreement.  Loving someone is always more powerful than convincing someone.

A Season of Growth?

We are now officially into summer.  Last Friday was the summer solstice, the “longest” day of the year.  On this day we get 15.5 hours between sunrise and sunset.  Summer is a season of growth in the natural world.  With some rain (or irrigation), your lawn will need to be mowed regularly.  Fruit trees and bushes are growing their fruit toward ripeness and the harvest.  The warmer temperatures and the longer exposure to sunlight make summer a time of accelerated growth.

It’s interesting that for many of us, the summer is a time to abstain from growth-producing activities.  School is out for the summer.  LifeGroups and Bible studies meet less frequently or not at all.  We tend to give ourselves a pass from focusing on our own spiritual growth and practicing spiritual disciplines.  And yet summer provides us with an opportunity to try some different ways to engage God.  Have a conversation with God as you walk along the beach.  Use the extra time in your schedule to read through a Gospel like you would a novel.  Use outdoor activities as a way to spend time with people who encourage you in your faith.  Things grow in the summer.  Your faith can grow too!

A Prayer for VBS

Dear Father,

We thank you for this amazing opportunity to share Good News with children in our church and community.  So much work and planning has already gone into this week.  Yet we recognize that our best efforts cannot make lasting change.  We need your power to truly change these young lives.  We pray that you would fill us with that power.  We pray that every volunteer would be sensitive to the leading of your Spirit.  Give them words to speak and actions that convey your love.  Give them a spirit of teamwork and unity.

We ask that you would open the hearts of the children to the powerful message of the Gospel.  We pray especially for the children who do not know you as Father and your Son as Savior.  Let them receive the message and be changed.  We also pray for the children that do know your love.  May they grow even deeper in it.  We want this week to be about you.  May it bring your kingdom closer to earth.  We pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

All Kinds of Kids

Each child coming to FCC’s Scuba has a name; each child has a unique story. Years ago I remember bringing my five year-old daughter, Christa, to VBS just two months after her older sister passed away from cancer. I was excited for her to engage in a fun week filled with God’s love. Many of the kids coming to FCC’s Scuba are weighed down by heavy things. Some have parents going through divorce. Some kids are extremely shy and are not yet sure about coming. Some kids deal with ADHD and/or anxiety and can struggle in group settings. One child has a life threatening allergy. Many have never stepped into a church. 

Next week as we share daily Bible points, everyone will respond by saying, “Thanks, God!” Our Bible point next Thursday will be God is a friend for everyone. May that be evident as we engage with kids at FCC’s Scuba. God made and loves all kinds of kids. As we look ahead to sharing this fin-tastic week with over 100 kids, let’s say “Thanks, God!” for every child and pray we can help each one know and become more like Jesus. 

-Lori Houskamp

Just For Today

Most 12-step groups have a version of “Just For Today.”  It is a saying that reminds them that recovery is a series of choices that we make one day at a time.  When I think about all the things I want to see done in my life, it is overwhelming.  If your kids are young or still in the house, the prospect of leading them safely and successfully into adulthood is daunting.  Saving for retirement, remaining relevant in your career, and leaving a mark on the world are all goals that are intimidating.  I imagine this is how staying sober or clean for the next decade feels beyond someone early into recovery. 

No matter what ongoing struggle you are dealing with, you don’t have to resolve it today.  The big challenges of your life won’t be overcome on this day.  You won’t be finished with your big projects like raising children and sustaining a healthy marriage on Monday, June 3.  But just for today, you can choose to trust that God is faithful.  Just for today you can embrace hope.  Just for today you can believe that God is at work in ways that you can’t see and is growing you in ways that aren’t immediately visible.  Just for today you can trust that God loves your children more than you and that he is more committed to the success of your marriage than you.  Just for today you can make the courageous choice.  You can choose encouragement over gossip.  You can choose prayer over resentment.  You can choose to see the best rather than expect the worst.  Worry about tomorrow tomorrow.  Just for today you can rest in God’s promises.

Welcome, Drew DeVries!

This week we welcome our new Director of Student Ministries and Outreach, Drew DeVries.  Drew was born in Washington state before moving to Byron Center, MI when he was in elementary school.  He grew up in a Christian family, attending church and his own youth group.  After a year of pursuing an engineering degree, he decided God was calling him toward student ministry.  He graduated this spring from Kuyper College with a degree in Ministry Leadership and a youth ministry focus.  He has been active as a volunteer, intern, and apprentice in student ministry at two local churches over the past four years.

As we interviewed Drew, we were impressed by his humility and deep relationship with God. He has a strong passion for seeing students understand their identity in Christ and helping them grow in that identity.  He is excited to get to know our students and our church family.  In his spare time, Drew enjoys hiking, reading a good book, watching movies, and just hanging out.  He hopes to move to the lakeshore in the near future.  Please make Drew welcome and be in prayer for him as he joins our staff and church family.

The Holy Spirit

I once read where an author posed this question: Would you rather have Jesus walking beside you or the Holy Spirit living within you?  My natural reaction is to take Jesus beside me.  Wouldn’t that be cool to experience life the way the twelve disciples did?  However, Jesus indicates that we are much better off choosing to have the Spirit within us.  The night before he died he told his disciples that he was leaving for their benefit, in order for the Spirit to come and dwell within them.  It would be better that way.

And Jesus’ belief is proved true by what actually happens.  Note the stark contrast between the pre-Pentecost disciples and the Spirit-filled disciples.  There’s no comparison!  They go from being frightened and confused to fearless and convicted.  I think we regularly underestimate the importance of Pentecost.  If the Spirit had not been poured out on us, little would’ve changed after the resurrection.  Because the Spirit was given on Pentecost everything is changed - the world and us.  Stop and take a moment today to thank God for giving us his Spirit.

Graduation and the Journey of Faith

Since it’s graduation season, I wanted to reflect a bit on graduation as a metaphor in our spiritual lives.  Is there a spiritual parallel to graduation in our faith journey?  For many years the church has offered rites of passage that are equated with graduation.  In our tradition it is a profession of faith.  Historically, this was something a person did when they graduated from high school and finished up catechism class.  In other Christian expressions baptism or confirmation serve in this role.  It is a rite of passage that indicates moving into a more mature phase of life and faith.

However, the spiritual journey is not as linear as the educational path.  In school, we accumulate knowledge.  In faith, there are times when we feel like we’ve lost spiritual maturity.  In school there is a set curriculum with clear objectives and benchmarks.  In faith, individuals learn at different rates.  There is no set order for growth.  Instead, we just keep walking the path as the Spirit leads us.  The true graduation happens at the very end when we enter into God’s glory.  Most of us aren’t in a hurry for that final graduation.  Until then, God will continue to teach us.  Through every failure and success, every joy and sorrow, in quandary and clarity God is revealing himself.  We live.  We learn.

The Power of a Meal

It’s so ordinary and mundane that we often overlook it.  It happens multiple times each day and we take it for granted.  But eating is one of the most powerful acts that we do as humans.  Of course, we need food to survive.  Our bodies need nutrients to function and have the energy to accomplish our tasks.  But there is a powerful relational component to the meal as well.  When we eat with someone, we form a connection.  When we share a meal with a person, we feed that relationship, not just our bodies.  Think of all the ways that Jesus used food to do his ministry: eating with all kinds of people, including religious leaders and traitorous tax collectors.  Feeding crowds of thousands of people with just a few loaves of bread.  The greatest meal of all is the Lord’s Supper.  And how interesting that eating together is one of our sacraments?

You will eat a meal 15-20 times in the next week.  Each time you eat is an opportunity to build or deepen a relationship in your life.  Some of these meals will be taken with family members.  Some will be taken with colleagues or classmates.  Some will be taken with friends.  I’d like to challenge you in two ways.  First, let one of those meals be our luncheon on Sunday after the worship service.  This will be a powerful way to grow deeper in God’s family.  Second, share a meal this week with someone God has put on your heart.  Invite them over or invite them out.  God has intended far more for food than just nourishing our body.  It was meant to nourish our relationships as well.

The Other Book

We hold the Bible in high esteem, as we should.  It is God's specific revelation to us of his will and salvation.  But we can learn so much about God and know him in a different way by observing what he does in creation.  Creation is the "other" book of God's revelation.  Consider the beauty of a sunset or sunrise, the grandeur of mountain views and waterfalls.  The vast variety of bird species that we see migrating this time of year.  Plants and trees coming back to life after a season of dormancy.  In all these things we see the hand and heart of God. To the Apostle Paul, creation provides such clear evidence of God’s existence and character that all humans have no excuse for not knowing him as Lord.

All that said, imagine if you saw someone burning a Bible.  Imagine if you saw someone using a Bible as a doorstop.  How would you feel if someone used the pages of Scripture to roll a joint?  It would appall us to see God’s word being so misused.  And so on this Earth Day, let’s remember that creation is God’s other book.  In powerful ways, it tells us who God is and reveals his presence.  When we see his creation abused or neglected, this too should appall us.  Caring for general revelation is not something that should be left to the pagans or the radical environmentalists.  We have much skin in this game too.  Read your Bible.  But don't neglect the other book that God has given us.

Tax Day and Refunds

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. - 1 Corinthians 15:58

I have a theory.  I don’t have any research to back it up, but I’m quite confident it is true.  People who are getting an income tax refund tend to file their taxes much sooner than those who will owe money.  I’ve been on both sides of this and I am much more motivated to file my taxes when I’m getting a refund.  The sooner you file, the sooner you get your refund deposited into your bank account.

Doing God’s work is sort of like filing your taxes.  Every child of God is promised an incredible refund on the work we do to announce and demonstrate God’s kingdom.  While most of that refund will be ours in the age to come, we can enjoy the rich blessings of joining God in his work even now.  So don’t wait until the deadline to partner with God in his work.  There is a beautiful refund in serving him early and often.  What can you do today to serve God?  Whatever it is, it is never in vain.

Acts… Still!

In the month of April, our Bible reading plan has been looking at the early Christian Church as recorded in the book of Acts.  (Click here to view our April reading plan.)  These are the glory days of Christianity and the Church.  Every passage is a new miracle, a powerful conversion, or a courageous story.  Sometimes I wonder why it doesn’t seem to be like that anymore.  As exciting and miraculous as those early days were, the Christian life today doesn’t seem to measure up.  By comparison, things feel rather mundane.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if the experience of those early Christians were still ours today?  

But consider this: Acts is the history of the Church over a 30-year period.  It is 30 years of miracles compressed into 28 chapters.  What if you took the last 30 years of Ferrysburg Community Church and compressed them down to about an hour-and-a-half of reading?  Think of all the amazing healings and answered prayers.  Think of all the new believers and the lives that have been touched since the mid 90s.  Our 30-year history may not read exactly like Acts.  But I suspect it wouldn’t be far off.  And this goes for most other churches too.  God is still at work - “Acts-style” - among his people.  He is still powerful, still healing, still changing lives.

The Resurrection and Real Life

Yesterday we celebrated Easter - the resurrection of Jesus.  We sang and heard the significance of this great event.  Hopefully, you left feeling joy and hope and inspiration.  But what happens on Easter Monday?  What happens to us on the day after Easter?  Does anything change?  Is this Monday any different from last Monday?  Or is Easter just one day for hope before we go back to the daily grind?

If the only place the resurrection matters is in a church service on Easter Sunday, then we’re in trouble.  If Easter doesn’t matter on Monday morning and Saturday night, then Jesus’ victory wasn’t as big as we’ve believed.  If the resurrection isn’t a game-changer in your classroom, at the yacht club, at Meijer, or in your front yard, then we’re probably blowing this way out of proportion.  But Easter does matter.  It matters at all times and in all places.  It is a game-changer in any context.  Jesus is still risen today.  He is risen every single one of the 365 days in 2024.  And that makes everything different for those of us who follow him and belong to him.