The book of Exodus gives great detail of how the tabernacle was to be built... what materials... how tall... how wide... etc. Then Exo. 26:31-33 details the curtain that was to separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (God's dwelling place). This curtain would have been about 60 feet high, 30 feet wide and about 4 inches thick! No doubt a huge number of laborers worked diligently on not only the vast size of this curtain, but the great detail which included cherubim designs worked into the material.

This curtain symbolized the fact that man could not approach God because of their sinful condition. Access to the Most Holy Place was very restricted. Only the high priest could enter, and even that was only once a year to represent the people. Now, when Jesus came, He died for us and become the ultimate sacrifice for our sins... fulfilling the old covenant. When He died on that cross, this huge curtain was ripped in two from top to bottom (Matt. 27:50-51). Clearly a supernatural event that resulted in a removal of the separation between God's presence and man! No more separation and no more need for a priestly mediator!

While this was indeed a miracle, my thoughts on this recently switched gears and thought about the skilled craftsman who worked so hard on that curtain... how many people worked on it... how much money was spent and invested into the fine materials. Now, imagine a large group of church ladies who had worked on this curtain... walking into the tabernacle to find "their curtain" has been ripped in half! Imagine their reaction. I'm sure some were thrilled, recognizing the miracle that had taken place. However, I have to believe that some of them were also... BOTHERED. Picture this conversation...

"Do you see that curtain!? Who came in here and ruined my, I mean, that curtain?!"
"Ma'am, no one did that. GOD ripped that curtain."
"Do you realize how long I worked on that?! Do you know how much of my own money and materials went towards that curtain?!"
"You don't understand... this is a miracle! As Jesus died on the cross, the curtain was torn, removing the separation that has always been there. We now have direct access to the presence of God! You and I can enter into His presence ourselves!"
"Maybe so, but what about my time... my efforts... Is this really good stewardship of the church's money and my artistic giftings?!"

YIKES!! Could some of these people been so bothered and offended that they lost sight of the miracle right in front of them? Unfortunately, this is something seen too often in the church today. People get offended too easily and usually over things that are just plain stupid and don't really matter in the full scope of everything.

Who is it that bothers or offends us?

1. Other People
   - None of us are perfect, but some people just know how to push everyone's buttons.
2. Church / Pastoral Leadership
   - offended by a pastor's message... direction of the church... style of music... someone else being used in ministry instead of you...
3. God
   - offended because God doesn't do everything the way you think He should or in the timeframe you expect... or that someone else seems to be blessed more than you... or because bad things happened to you. You can't see the whole picture like God does.

Proverbs 18:19-21 (NLT) reads "¹⁹ An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars. ²⁰ Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction. ²¹ The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

3 Things Learned From Offense:

1. Offense Brings Separation
   - The only thing that comes from separation is separation. At Church52, we will fight for unity! This is one of our core values.
   - Loss of trust, which is difficult to regain.
   - Wounds don't always heal completely.
2. Our Words Have Power (Prov. 18:20-21)
   - You can speak words of encouragement, healing and forgiveness... or you can speak words of hate, resentment and unforgiveness. Words are NOT "just words".
   - Prov. 10:19 (NIV) "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." Running your mouth is a SIN. The NLT version says it this way "Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut." Enough said.
   - Prov. 16:24 (NIV)
   - Eph. 4:29 (NIV) "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." When you are running your mouth to everyone, is it really benefitting anyone or anything??
3. Our Responses Have Consequences (Prov. 18:21)
   - It affects your worship. You can come to church and put on a show while you are burning up on the inside. However, it will be nothing more than a show. (1 Cor. 13:1)
   - It affects your view. You don't see the miracles God is doing around you because you are too focused on yourself.
   - It affects the health of the Body. You only stir up division when you won't keep your mouth shut. Those people are a poison to whoever chooses to ingest it. You can feed it or stop it. Don't be a listening ear to garbage.

CORRECT RESPONSE:  Matt. 18:15-17 (NLT)

This passage in Matthew gives pretty clear instructions on how to handle an offense with another believer. It may sound harsh... but for those who love to talk... who refuse to listen to instruction... who refuse to do the right thing... there are consequences. We must fight for unity and for the health of the Body of Christ. When you are sick, you find out what is causing it and you do whatever it takes to remove that virus, infection, etc. Let's keep His Body healthy too!

There WILL be things that bother and offend you... if nothing has bothered you yet today, wait a few minutes. It's coming :) The question is how will you respond and how will you handle the situation? Do a self-evaluation even right now. If you need to get things right with God and/or other people in your life... do it TODAY! Walk in freedom... not in offense!

Aren't these people fun to be around?? They make you feel depressed just talking to them!

Now, people who are unsaved can struggle with worst case scenario feelings and it makes sense for them. They are living without hope, without true joy... but those of us who have Jesus living on the inside should NOT be in this same condition! Shouldn't we have a hope? Shouldn't we be living a life of joy, thanksgiving and gladness?

Not everything we face in this life is good. Some things are frustrating, negative, sad... but as believers, we view life through a different set of lenses. Rather than seeing everything as a negative... a worst case scenario... we choose to put our faith and hope in Jesus... in ALL situations.

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Neh. 8:10 (NIV)

We choose to let the joy of the Lord be our strength and to help carry us through our day-to-day situations. We could waste our time dwelling on how negative everything is... but what is the point in that? Here's a better alternative:

"¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thes. 5:16-18 (NLT)

Recently, I had a friend pose a question on Facebook asking others if it bothered them when ministers use the title of "apostle" or "prophet". It was bothering him so he was venting a bit, but also seeing if others shared the same feelings. I told him how the office of apostle and prophet do exist in the church today, but there are so many that abuse them and use them improperly that those two biblical 5-fold ministry offices get a bad name... causing many to just dismiss them altogether. Those that abuse these titles are usually people that have self-appointed themselves as a prophet or an apostle... they focus too much on their self-given titles... making their names too long to even fit on a business card because of all the extra titles and credentials :)  It doesn't stop with just those two offices. This happens also with the more common office of "Pastor". There are many that function under a title of pastor that have no business doing so.

So what is my point? If you have to spend so much effort pushing your own titles to people and trying to convince them that you are a prophet, a pastor or whatever else... then you probably are NOT really what you claim to be. If someone is truly functioning in the role of a prophet, then it will be evident to others that they have that gift and God is using them in that manner. Whatever your ministry role is, the fruit of your ministry will show what you really are. Your title means nothing if there is no fruit to back it up.

Now before you say "I'm not in any of these type of ministry roles, so this has nothing to do with me"... hang on a second! This same thing applies to ALL of us. I'm not just talking about ministry offices and titles here. That's just a good example and what spurred this whole train of thought for me recently. So, on a personal level for all us... do you have to make an effort to try and convince others of your qualities, abilities, character, etc? You shouldn't have to. We've all heard the familiar saying "actions speak louder than words", and that applies here.

If you have to try and convince people that you are humble, while your actions show pride and putting others down... you probably are not truly humble.
If you have to try and convince people that you are caring, while your actions show that you're always looking out for number one... you probably are not truly caring.
If you have to try and convince people that you are loving, while your tongue is cutting others down behind their back... you probably are not truly loving.
If you have to try and convince people that you are forgiving, while you continually dwell in past hurts and situations... you probably are not truly forgiving.
If you have to try and convince people that you are dependable, while your lack of action shows that you never come through... you probably are not truly dependable.

See, I can tell you all day long how I'm an excellent driver... but eventually, you'll be in a vehicle with me behind the wheel and quickly see that no matter how excellent I SAY my driving is... reality will be spoken by my inconsistent speed, swerving, and lack of being able to get somewhere without first making at least two wrong turns heading in the opposite direction!

I think you get the point! 1 John 3:18-19 (NLT) says "¹⁸ Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. ¹⁹ Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God."

1 Samuel 2:3 (NLT) also says "Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don't speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions."

And finally, it doesn't get much clearer than this... Matthew 7:20 (NLT) "Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." Take this challenge... evaluate yourself and compare what is spoken out of your mouth compared to what is spoken by your actions. Lord, help us all!

The first reminder I received this weekend came when I took one of my daughters to pick up a friend of hers who was going to spend the weekend with her. After picking her up, we were driving back to our house and I was just listening to the girls talk in the back. They hadn't seen each other for a while, so they were catching up, talking about other kids they knew from school, and just getting to know each other better. Somehow they got on the topic of families. My daughter's friend began to express how different our family was from what is unfortunately "normal" for kids growing up today. I heard her say "your parents aren't divorced or anything like that!" It was sad to hear that as almost being a shocker. I was instantly very proud of the family I have and thankful that my marriage and home can be a positive example to other people... an example to this young lady that it IS possible to have a stable, healthy home. Maybe that will have some impact on her as she grows up and pursues her own family some day.

Then last night I received another reminder. We had the first Good Friday service at Church52 since we now have our own facility (woohoo!) and I had an opportunity to meet a new family after service. They've been coming just recently to our church and they began to share how they've been searching (unsuccessfully) to find a church in the area that actually desires to see the power of God moving in services... to see the gifts of the Spirit active in the church. Of course, this SHOULD be normal, however the fact is that most churches are simply not interested in this. So many just want to go to their Sunday "club", put in their church duty for the week, then go about living their life however they desire. The problem is that when you encounter the presence of God, change happens. Conviction is there... bringing an awareness to the fact that you need to get your act together in the presence of a holy God. I guess it's easier to ignore the reality of your spiritual condition... but some people, like this couple I met last night, are looking for MORE! They want to connect with God in a very real way and have been searching for a church, a group of believers, that share the same desire.

As I continued to talk to this couple, they described their experience at Church52... how they could feel and see God moving "all over the place". At first, it was a sad reminder of the fact that we have so many churches all over the place, yet it is very difficult to find one with any real substance. Then the feeling changed again to being thankful as I was reminded that Kelly and I are part such a great church family! Our church isn't perfect, but it's healthy, alive, growing, equipping, and pursuing the presence of God week after week!! I'm very thankful for the pastoral leadership here and the fabulous group of families that make up this local church body. I'm glad to be a part of such an abnormal church!

As the Bible says, we are IN this world, but not OF the world. It's not always easy to go against the grain... to be different... to live a life that is contrary to what the rest of the world considers "normal"... but there are benefits to living according to His Word. There are benefits to being in His presence. Don't be afraid to be abnormal. One day, your kids and everyone else that you affect along the way will thank you for it.

Pastor referred to this in last Sunday's message as he addressed relationships. He said how statistics show that about 1/2 of marriages end in divorce. He also referenced his counseling experience and talked about how a spouse can say "I just don't love him/her anymore. Yes, I used to love him/her very much... we got married, but they changed and I just don't feel the same way." Why is this? Pastor Perry said it was partially because they stopped nurturing their relationship.

This is something that we all must do in our marriages. EVERY DAY we should be doing SOMETHING to nurture or add to our marriage. As Pastor Perry says, "throw another log on the fire." So many people put all of the pressure on their spouse to make the marriage work... then they put all of the blame on the spouse when it fails. Both husband and wife (and yes, it should be husband and wife... not some other combination) need to be contributing to the relationship. Here's a few things to consider and ask yourself...

HUSBANDS:

These are just a few things that I though of and wrote down quickly. I'm sure I could take more time and write more examples, but my blogs are normally too long as it is! Anyway, these things are so important! If you do them, it will not only help you to be continually reminded of all of the things you love about your spouse, it will also help them to be reminded that you love them back as much as they love you! You'll be depositing into your marriage!!

Now, for those of you that just read this and are thinking "my wife/husband doesn't do any of these things... he/she doesn't appreciate me... he/she doesn't help me with the kids, etc"... I want you to make extra effort to do the kind of things I mentioned here. Even if you don't feel your spouse deserves it... even if they do not give back to you to the same level that you are giving to them. Why? Because I believe that eventually, it WILL make an impact on them and the atmosphere or your home. Maybe neither spouse is giving because they both don't want to give without receiving back. I encourage you to be the one to start... be the one that initiates the re-kindling of your marriage... be the one that leads by example. You give all that you can to your marriage, and if your spouse isn't on the same page with you, pray for them and let God handle them. You just make sure that YOU love your spouse to the fullest and do everything you can TODAY to show them!