“When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.

 

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

 

“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

 

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.

 

The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

 

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

 

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

 

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

 

But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.”
©1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley

What’s in a number?

37. It’s just a number, right? We all have “numbers” in our lives. An age. A date.

So what’s so significant about 37?

Well, when you are talking to a preemie mom, everything. Thirty-seven weeks into a pregnancy equals term. Or “Italy.” Even though 37 is really an arbitrary number decided upon by the World Health Organization, it still represents a victory over prematurity.

So, when I embarked on my journey of my 4th pregnancy, only my second to make it past 12 weeks, I had this goal in mind as my “first” goal. The one I would be “ok” with if I made it to. The one that would signify that I made it. I didn’t fail this time. But it was never a foregone conclusion that I would make it.

In fact, it was one of the most nerve wracking things I’ve done. In many ways, ignorance is bliss. And knowing what I did about all of the problems in pregnancy meant I was hyper-sensitive to every sensation I experienced. Every contraction. Every pain. Every odd twinge was noticed, analyzed and either discarded or brought to my doctors attention.

That is no way to go through a pregnancy. It’s incredibly scary and nerve wracking.

And it took waking up daily, standing with my head held high, my shoulders back and the knowledge that whatever that day brought, God would help me through it.

There was no other way to get through 37 weeks of pregnancy.

A friend posted this status on Facebook recently and it rang very true:

‎~Fear of failure and fear of the unknown are always defeated by faith. Having faith in yourself, in the process of change, and in the new direction that change sets will reveal your own inner core of steel~

The question is…what is your inner core of steel? Mine? It’s God. Because, even though the things I’ve seen were not near as bad as they could have been, they had the power to break me. In my journey as a preemie mom, I’ve seen these things break many a strong woman.

Entering into another pregnancy meant I had to take a leap of faith. I didn’t know the outcome. I couldn’t ensure 37 weeks. I could only trust God that He also had this one in His hands and He would see that the baby came when the baby was ready. And that if that was significantly pre-term again, He would get me through that journey again.

Thankfully, I got my 37. I’ve been to Italy. And I thank God for letting me see both Holland and Italy. For without Holland, I don’t know that Italy would be as beautiful and unique. And without Italy, Holland would never shine as the beautiful place it also is.

——————————————————————————————————————–

Is Lisa great or what?? Now you see what I meant when I said, “What a story it is!”.

Have you been in search of Italy, but taken a detour to Holland, instead? Find the beauty, the significance, and the hope that lies in Holland. Find the all-encompassing peace that lies in God’s love for us. Even the most extreme detours are held in His hand. If He brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it.

John 5:1-15

Chapters 1-3 introduce the premise of the book, which is that we often base our self-worth on the opinions and accomplishments of others. I’ll be the first to say that I am currently on the road to rebuilding respect for myself after not finishing college. I’m finding, slowly but surely, that I can still become someone without that degree!  In fact, you know what? I already am someone without that college degree.  A college degree wouldn’t make me important. In and of itself, it wouldn’t make me respectable, intelligent, fulfilled or happy. All of those characteristics I strive for (and believe most of us strive for) are already right here waiting for me.  I already have importance, respect, intelligence, fulfillment and happiness, I just have to accept them.

The great thing is that God’s acceptance of us works the same way.  You see, we already have God’s acceptance whether we believe it or not. He’s already given it to us. We don’t have to do any certain thing, say any certain prayer, or believe any certain stuff. God loves us already. He loves us just as we are (yes, warts and all), but loves us too much to leave us just as we are. When we let go of our comparisons and fears, we can embrace who God created us as and blossom into who He calls us to be. We can find freedom in His grace.

When I allow myself to let go of the past and believe that God created me for a purpose, to believe that I’m already living my purpose, I’ll be free to bask in the glory of life.

And the same goes for you.

What are the two great commandments in the Bible?  Come on, you know them, say it with me:  ”Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.”

We have so much trouble loving others because we can’t love ourselves!

Think about that. Allow yourself to be loved by yourself. See how much love you can then pour out for others.

We’ll do it together.

A newsletter will come out next week detailing the upcoming events, but I want you to have a heads up as soon as possible on a few things. Here’s some of the cool stuff in store:

Jan 24: Qexchange at 7pm  NEW BOOK!  We will be reading The Search for Significance. All are welcome, you do not need to attend Quest. This is held at the Clifton home, please email micah at quest2819 dot org for location information.

Jan 29: Prayer Breakfast at 8am at Quest. Join us for a short prayer session and breakfast before church on Sundays. This is held every Sunday, with breakfast being served every other Sunday. The 29th is a breakfast day, so don’t miss it!

Feb 5: First Sunday Potluck at noon at Quest. Bring a side dish and get to know each other better!

Feb 5: Super Bowl Party at 5pm at the Hartzheim home. Click here for more info

Feb 10: Youth Pizza and Planning Event  Are you a teen or do you enjoy hanging out with the awesome teens at Quest? Please come to our planning party as we find out what this great group of young people are interested in and are seeking from Quest.  Click here for more info!

Feb 17: Winter Jam Tour Spectacular Don’t miss this awesome concert at the Sprint Center!  We’ll carpool down there, tickets are only $10 at the door. Click here for more info.

Feb 24: Coupon Party at Quest at 6:30pm  Bring your coupons from the Sunday paper (start saving now!!) to this clipping party. We’ll match them to store ads and buy groceries for families in need.

Mar 24: Volunteer at Hillcrest Transitional Housing Thrift Store 10am-1pm   Join us as we help set up shop for Hillcrest Thrift Store’s grand opening! This is a great organization that helps get underprivileged and/or homeless people back on the path to success. More info here.

That should keep us all busy for a while!! If you have any questions about any of the events, please comment here or email micah at quest2819 dot org.  It’s not too late to get involved with anything you see listed above.

As always, prayer requests can be submitted here and will go straight to Pastor Corey.

What’s that? You don’t know what Minute To Win It is??  Oh, my friend, you are missing out!  The TV show lends itself to at-home duplication of the 60-second challenges using household items. The tasks seem relatively easy, but when you’re racing the clock, the pressure mounts!

Our games were neatly packaged (if I do say so myself) with all the supplies necessary to keep the evening flowing smoothly:

We had a group of about 30, which was perfect! Some people played every game, some played a few games, some just watched the fun. We had food and drinks, galore!

Alright, on to the funny stuff:

Who is Jesus?

Is Jesus fully man?

Is Jesus fully God?

Why did Jesus come to us through the Immaculate Conception?

As Christians, the virgin birth is key to our understanding of who Jesus is. Christ is the center of our religion. But I’m amazed at how few professing Christians know anything about who Jesus is. The Bible teaches that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. The virgin birth of Jesus is the means by which the full deity and full humanity of Jesus are wedded together in one person.

Scripture Reading

Luke 1:26-38

There are a couple of objections that are commonly raised by those who reject the virgin birth of Jesus. First, they say that the Hebrew word usually translated “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 actually only means a young, unmarried woman. This word, they believe, was then mistranslated with the Greek word for “virgin” in the LXX which was followed by the New Testament authors. In other words, the concept of the virgin birth is a mistake.

The problem with this objection is that although the Hebrew word translated as “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 can mean “a young, unmarried and eligible woman”, the only kind of “young, unmarried and eligible women” who were in that context were virgins. Even if you did translate it that way, it still would refer to the same thing.

The other problem is that the New Testament is explicit that the birth of Jesus was through a miraculous conception. The argument is based upon more than the translation of that word. We have testimony from the angel Gabriel and Mary herself that she was a virgin.

Another objection also raised is that the virgin birth is only mentioned explicitly in two places in the New Testament (Matthew and Luke). It is true that Matthew and Luke both announce the virgin birth most clearly. But Mark doesn’t contradict it, only beginning with the ministry of John the Baptist and baptism of Jesus. John certainly implies it with his statement that the Word was eternally co-existent with the Father and “became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1-3, 14).

The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman.” Which shows that God has kept His promise to send a deliverer who was called in Genesis 3:15 “the seed of a woman”.

What is the significance of Jesus being both fully God and fully man?

Does it really matter?

The virgin birth of Jesus Christ was the means by which He acquired a human nature without affecting His sinless deity. Jesus is perfect God and perfect man, 100 percent God and 100 percent man. Some emphasize the humanity of Christ to the exclusion of His deity. But the Scriptures teach both. The virgin birth is essential because it is the means by which Jesus maintains His divine nature, while assuming a human one. Both Jesus’ humanity and deity are important to our salvation.

1. Jesus’ Humanity

a. Man needed a representative.

Romans 5:18-19 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.  For through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

b. Man needed a substitute sacrifice.

Hebrews 2:16-17 Fro surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.  For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

c. Man needed a mediator between him and God.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men, the testimony given in its proper time.

2. Jesus’ Deity

Only God could achieve our salvation. Because our sins are against an infinitely holy God, they are infinitely heinous and worthy of infinite punishment. The only way a finite human being can pay for his/her sins is by spending infinity (eternity) separated from God. Because Christ is infinite God, He was able to bear the infinite (eternal) punishment for all the ones given to Him by the Father in a finite amount of time (as He hung on the cross). Only God could achieve our salvation!

It would not have been right for the restoration of human nature to be left undone, and . . . it could not have been done unless man paid what was owing to God for sin. But the debt was so great that, while man alone owed it, only God could pay it, so that the same person must be both man and God. Thus it was necessary for God to take manhood into the unity of his Person, so that he who in his own nature ought to pay and could not should be in a person who could . . . The life of this man was so sublime, so precious, that it can suffice to pay what is owing for the sins of the whole world, and infinitely more.

The Sinlessness of Christ
The virgin birth is also essential because it ensures the sinlessness of Christ. The virgin birth is the means by which Jesus is protected in His human birth from the corruption of Adam’s sin. Jesus was fully human, yet without sin. As Romans 8:3 states, God sent His Son in “the likeness of sinful flesh”. It was real human flesh, but not sinful! Without the sinlessness of Jesus, He could not have paid for our sins for He would have had to pay for His own. In order to be our substitute He had to be completely sinless Himself. As Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:18-19,

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

As Dr. Albert Mohler has written:

Christians must face the fact that a denial of the virgin birth is a denial of Jesus as the Christ. The Savior who died for our sins was none other than the baby who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin. The virgin birth does not stand alone as a biblical doctrine, it is an irreducible part of the biblical revelation about the person and work of Jesus Christ. With it, the Gospel stands or falls.

I don’t believe that someone has to fully understand the virgin birth in order to be saved. The story of Jesus is capped by two miraculous events: the virgin conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit and the glorious resurrection. The story of Jesus is a supernatural story that must be believed on the authority of the Word of God. The doctrine of the virgin birth is biblical! It is not optional. It is essential to our salvation! There is no other means for our salvation that the one which God has devised.

Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

On Saturday, Dec 3 a group of volunteers served lunch to the families of babies in the NICU unit at an area hospital. Because of HIPAA, the pictures aren’t too great, but here is one showing the group getting ready to serve:

Thanks to the area grocers and companies that donated food and/or gift cards. Thanks also to those that prepared food and donated crock pots!  We served smoked brisket sandwiches, green beans, sweet potatoes and desserts. Please keep the families of babies in the NICU in your prayers, especially at this time of the year. Celebrating the holidays with a baby in the hospital is extremely difficult and our prayer is that by providing a warm meal, we were able to provide temporary relief from some of the stress these families are facing.

On Sunday, December 5, we went SHOPPING!

Along with several of the kids from Quest, we journeyed to Wal-Mart to purchase toys for Toys for Tots and the Angel Tree programs. At Quest, we don’t have a time during our service when we ask for tithes, but it does cost money to run the ministry. The money Quest receives in tithes goes to keeping the lights on and to outreach (the service and social events we have each month). Quest’s pastoral staff is completely unpaid, leaving that money to go toward bettering the lives of others through Jesus.  On top of the monthly outreach activities, Quest donates 10% of the year’s given tithes to the community each December. Purchasing the toys for Toys for Tots was a part of this yearly Quest tithe and we had so much fun picking out the goodies.

FULL CARTS!! Such a great experience for everyone involved.  :)

To me, the most meaningful change in Quest’s service yesterday was at the beginning. Corey took a seat with all of us in the pews and asked a few people how their week was. He truly wanted to know, we all did, how everyone’s week was. I found this to be really powerful– usually when someone asks us how we are doing, we say something along the lines of “pretty good”, right? That’s what’s socially acceptable. When we ask someone how they’re doing, we expect them to respond with something quite traditional and safe. We aren’t really looking for a long-winded summary of their day-to-day, we’re just performing our social duty of asking “how are you?” to greet someone.

The following has always been the case with Quest, but it was particularly highlighted yesterday. See, when you walk in to Quest, you are walking into your family room. You are walking into a building that houses a group of people who love you. Really! Corey asked a few people how their weeks were and got honest and raw responses in return:

“It sucked! I need a lot of patience with all the changes going on.”

“I’m looking for a new job where I’m respected and appreciated.”

“My week was really great. I’m so fulfilled and looking forward to spending Christmas with my newborn this year.”

“Planes, trains and automobiles. I’m traveling a lot and it’s getting tough on me and my family.”

“My brother is being admitted to Mayo Clinic for mysterious lung issues and my mom has lymphoma. My Dad’s having a hard time dealing with it all.”

This is real life, guys. We have real stuff going on and many of us (myself included) weren’t even aware of most of it. That is not who we are! If we are anything at Quest, we are real. REAL. Real with each other, real with God, real with the world.

I’m sure you are aware of the tragic death of meteorologist Don Harman last week. My goodness, my heart breaks at such an awful loss. I’ve prayed for the family and the news team this week, but the reality of his death didn’t fully hit me until Corey said the following yesterday:

“Don Harman was a hilarious guy. Every morning, he had everyone laughing. He seemed so jolly, yet he was dying inside.  He took his own life on Tuesday and how many people saw that coming?”

The Fox 4 news team reported that they and Don’s family endlessly tried to help him. I’m not at all down-playing their involvement in his life, I have no idea what went on behind the scenes. I’m using his tragedy to say that we will not be a church that ignores the suffering of one another. We will not step foot in this building and pretend we’re ok when we’re not. If one of us is hurting, the rest of us will know and support that person.

There will be no brushing things under the rug or painting on fake smiles for Jesus. No, if you step foot inside Quest, you are stepping foot into your living room and your family is ready to face life with you.

We’re on a mission to be the hands and feet of Christ to the world and we start with one another. Jesus was compassionate and so are we.

We do not care where you come from, what your opinions are or where you are on your walk with Jesus.

We do care about you.

Immensely.