God creates. The very first thing we see in the Bible is that God creates. The first couple chapters of the Bible are dedicated to telling us all of what God created. He also created us. God created us in his image. And he called us very good. We'll skip some steps to get to the point: it is a good thing to create.

God has been the creator and sustainer of the entire universe and everything within it since the beginning of time. And he made us in his image! The imago dei. There is a lot that the imago dei speaks to, but one of these things is that we are able to be creators following after our God. To create, to build, to shape, is a reflection of the God we serve. In a way.

Not only is this a reflection of God, but this can be done as an act of worship and praise to him! When we create, we can worship God in the process. To create is to exercise our being. To exercise our being made in the image of God.

There is a young man who attends church at Riverlawn and who comes to our young adult ministry. He came to me the other day with a poem he wrote. I read it, and I was floored. In rhyme and verse, he was able to capture the breadth of the Bible beautifully. As I was reading the poem, all I could think was, this is what it looks like to create as an act of worship to our Creator.

I got his permission to share it here.

In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light”
From there, creation took flight 
In Eden, a serpent devised exile for us all 
And man met his fall 
Not to worry, saith the Lord, “I will make it right.” 
 
Soon came the Dreamer 
But his brothers were schemers 
They sold him to slavery 
God freed him with dreamery 
Joseph became a kinsman-redeemer 
 
When Joseph’s people were in overflow 
The Egyptians killed in fear of overthrow 
“Let my people go,” said the Chosen 
But Pharoah’s heart was frozen 
So, God put on a show 
 
After God freed them with His wonder 
The Israelites made a great blunder 
When they saw the Canaanites 
From the promised land they took flight 
So, forty years in the desert they were set to wander  
 
Give us a king the now settled people said 
They were jealous of how their neighbors were led 
But their king became non-compliant 
So, God picked David, the slayer of the Giant 
From his bloodline God promised to raise the dead 
 
To the blessed among women God sent Gabriel 
And the virgin Mary bore Emmanuel 
On that silent night 
By God’s begotten might 
The powers were wrested from hell 
 
God’s begotten set forth from Galilee 
He set to make his creation free 
As God hung from that cross 
The world felt its loss 
Darkness closed in, and Light rose on day three 
 
Though it may seem absurd 
By His cross, we were cured 
From slavery disguised as revelry 
The Son of David set us free 
All according to his word 
 
Along came an opposer named Saul 
Tsk tsk, said the Lord, “I’ll call ye Paul.” 
Spread the word to the gentiles 
That they’ll abandon their wiles 
Thus, redemption for all

My encouragement to you, reader, is to create! Write, paint, compose, photograph, sculpt, sing, draw, dance, CREATE! We create because of the one who created us.

As you know, it’s missions month here at Riverlawn! I love the month of November because we get to intentionally zero in and focus on missions.

Having grown up on the missions field, I can tell you that sometimes things don’t go as planned. I remember hearing a story of a missionary working in Brazil. As he was visiting a church member, he refused first of all an offer of coffee because caffeine was causing him some health problems and then tea because it could have been made from any type of leaf. Finally, he refused water because he wasn't sure it would be pure. Deciding that he couldn't refuse anything else, he accepted a glass of lukewarm milk with thick cream at the top.

"As I began to drink, I noticed something swimming in the milk and, underneath the cream, discovered a large cockroach doing the backstroke," he remembers. "That was too much. Suddenly, I realized I was standing in front of a large, open window. I quickly threw the milk out the window, relieved to have been able to save face."

But that didn’t solve the problem, "Just then," he said, "in through the open door comes a little boy with milk running down his face and crying, 'Mommy, mommy, that big man threw milk all over me.'"

It’s a funny story, but missions is more than “spilled milk.” Missions is sharing the love of God, with those who have never heard.

In America it’s hard for us to understand, but there are still people in the world that have never heard the name of Jesus and the fact that he died on the cross for their sins.
In Missions, we often talk about the 10/40 window. The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. The 10/40 Window is often called "The Resistant Belt" and includes the majority of the world's Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.

More than half of the world's population and people groups live in the 10/40 Window. Approximately 5.37 billion individuals residing in 8,698 distinct people groups are in the revised 10/40 Window. 5,979 (68.7%) of these people groups are considered unreached and have a population of 3.32 billion. This means approximately 62% of the individuals in the 10/40 Window live in an unreached people group.

Another crazy statistic is that three percent of missionaries go to unreached places; 97 percent go to reached or unevangelized places. Having this in mind is one of the reasons we (Riverlawn) have chosen  to go to Unreached People Groups. As a matter of fact, it’s one of our 4 core strategies, which are 1. Unreached People Groups, 2. Bible Translations, 3. Church Planting, and 4. Our Timothy’s (people trained coming out of Riverlawn).
My prayer for you this month is that you will continue to pray for more laborers for the harvest. As it says in Matthew,

Will you prayerfully ask the Lord to send more people to share the good news of the Gospel?
Carl F. H. Henry  said, “The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.”

In Riverlawn's young adults group, we have been going through the Gospel of John. And recently, we looked at the crucifixion. In my study of John chapter 19, something caught my eye. Let's take a second to set the scene.

The Jewish leaders have seemingly won their battle against Jesus the Christ and he is crucified. His death has been confirmed, with blood and water pouring out of his side. The Roman soldiers take Jesus' cold, dead body down off of the cross and toss it to the side. Hope is lost. Those who believed in Jesus as the Messiah were confused at how their divine one let himself be killed. There is weeping heard among the people. A shroud of despair covers them. Jesus is dead.

And then we read these two seemingly unimportant verses:

Two relatively minor characters show up in these verses. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Up until this point, we haven't heard of this Joseph guy. Luke's gospel tells us that Joseph was "a member of the council" in chapter 23. This guy was part of the council of Jewish leaders who wanted Jesus dead. Oh, and so was Nicodemus. He was a part of that same Jewish council. But he was still curious about Jesus; we know this from their conversation in John chapter 3. He came to Jesus under the cover of night, hiding from his peers for fear of their rejection.

Yet, these men both greatly honored Christ after his death. Joseph offered a tomb, something reserved only for the wealthy. And Nicodemus adorned Jesus with 75 pounds of oils and fragrances, something done only for loved ones. Their actions in these small moments seem to contradict their earthly affiliations. Why did they do it? It doesn't make sense.

Because they were able to fully see the bigger picture of the gospel while their counterparts were blind.

See, these men understood Jesus' mission. Christ came to earth to 'seek and save the lost'. He came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. He came to redeem mankind from the sin that we continue to live in. Joseph and Nicodemus knew why Jesus had come, and they were on board with it. They were about the kingdom of God, not their personal agendas.

And so they lived as men devoted to Christ. They weren't just followers of Jesus' teachings. Someone who is a follower might be swayed by alternative thinking or teaching. A follower might turn against their leader if he does or says something they don't like. Someone who is a follower might quit following if their leader dies.

But someone who is devoted: That person will follow a leader anywhere. Devotion is something that perseveres beyond death. Joseph and Nicodemus were men who were devoted to Christ, and devoted to his cause. This is why they were able to perform these acts for him after he was crucified, because they had chosen to devote their lives to him.

Devotion is not something you can turn on and off. To devote yourself to something is to give yourself entirely. Nothing is held back. And in this passage in John, we see the example of two men who devoted their lives to Christ.

A life of devotion means sacrifice, and it means doing things that don't seem normal to others around you. It means living with Christ as the sole reason for your existence. Jesus said it himself in John 3, 'Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God'. Joseph and Nicodemus were born again, so they were able to see the kingdom of God!

So maybe we can take some cues from these ancient Jewish leaders who lived 2 thousand years ago. In this busy and crazy season, I would encourage you to live a life for Christ. And not just live your life for him, but live your life devoted to him.

This is an incredible verse when you think about it. Sometimes, we have a limiting belief that God can only do certain things, and the truth is, that He can do anything. He can do big things, and he can do small things. He can do way more than we can ask, or even imagine! Your greatest thoughts and ideas are just a fraction of what God can do.
I’ve had people ask me, “Is it okay to pray for my dog that’s sick, or for my toe that hurts? Sometimes, I think I’m wasting God’s time by asking him for small things.” Of course, it’s okay! Do you think God thinks of any of your problems, as BIG problems? Of course not! They are all small problems to Him.
One of my favorite lines is, did it ever occur to you, that nothing ever ‘occurred’ to God? God knows it all. And nothing is impossible for Him. As the ESV says, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” So bring your big, small, impossible problems to God, because he can care for them all.
One of the things I love about being a dad is that when my kids were little, they thought I could do anything. Now, as they got older they moved past that, but their belief or faith that their father could do it all, was amazing! It’s the same way with our heavenly father. He can do immeasurably more than we ask…or imagine!

What is a Christian’s responsibility when it comes to voting? Should Christians abstain from voting? Should a Christian vote in every election? How should the Christian vote? Is there a particular political party that Christians should vote for?

All of these questions are valid, and I believe that they are answered easily when we look at what the Bible says. Every vote for the Christian should be based on the glory of God. Paul talked about voting in 1 Corinthians 10:31. Well, not literally, but he did say, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Voting could be thought of for us when we read “whatever.”  He could have also added a thousand other things to the verse as well.

I believe every Christian should vote. In Matthew 5:13-14 Jesus tells us that we are the salt and the light of the world. Jesus is not necessarily referring to voting but that we would represent Him well to a world that needs to know about Him and how to live for Him! One way we can represent Jesus well is by standing up for biblical values and voting according to those values. In order to know and vote for biblical values, we must know the Word. The best thing you can do to prepare for election days is to know God and His Word! Then we are able to know which candidates line up most with what God desires for mankind.

There is not a “Christian” political party that we are to vote with that is 100% biblical in all of their platform. We are part of the Lion/Lamb party, not the elephant, donkey, or eagle. The D, R, I, or G beside a candidate's name should not be nearly as important as what they believe and how they will vote.

We also need godly men and women in political offices. Pray for more Christians to enter the political arena and pray for the Christians who are already in the arena that they would stay faithful to their calling in Christ first and foremost!

I would encourage you to register to vote if you have not done so yet.
Click HERE to register.

Another thing we should all be doing is praying for wisdom as we prepare to step into the voting booth. We are to be praying for our country and God’s will to be done in our elections!

Faithful to vote,
Jeff

How much time do you spend considering your relationship with Christ and with your brothers and sisters in the church? Too often, it is something we only do when we are in the church building, worshiping, praying, learning. But the power of this verse is that we are to be united with Christ and with each other at all times.

Think about verse one and ask yourself is you truly are encouraged by your unity with Christ. What has Jesus done for you? Is it encouraging? Does it bring joy to your heart? Do you want to encourage others with the love Jesus has given you?

Does the fact that Jesus is with you always, even to the end of the age, bring you comfort? It is one of the most joyful feelings in the life of a Christian when we know without doubt what the future holds for us. Eternity in the presence of Jesus awaits all of us who believe in the “one the Father has sent.” If you are lacking this comfort, then go to Jesus and, as it says in Matthew 7:7, ask that it will be given to you. Do not let another day go by without seeking the comfort and joy Jesus gives freely.

Paul tells us in these verses that fellowship among believers is based on a “common sharing of the Spirit.” It is the Holy Spirit that unites us as one body. Do you feel that power and that fellowship with the Spirit and with others? It is the same Spirit that helps us to be tender and compassionate towards our brothers and sisters in Christ, and toward the lost who are perishing without Jesus.

Today, as you go through the “routines” of life, consider the power of unity with Christ and His body. When we are truly like-minded, pursuing the same purpose, we can accomplish all that God has planned for us. We need to look at the example these verses give us – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself.”

God loves each of us so much, and plays no favorites. Neither should we. All of us are created in God’s image, and all of us are created for good works according to His will. When we come together with common goals, we will finish the work He has started.

Prayer
Today, in your prayer time, remember to ask God to give you a heart filled with tenderness, compassion, brotherly love and unity.

If you were offered the chance to be given anything you wanted, what would you ask for? That’s the opportunity that King Solomon is given by God. With an opening to ask for a longer and healthier life, a larger bank account and accompanying 401(k), and material treasures and pleasures galore, Solomon’s answer is both insightful and humbling.

Reading through this familiar story, I had to pause and reread these verses a few times. The humility shown in this passage is a conviction and an encouragement to me. Recognizing his place, not as the ruler on the throne but a ruler under God’s sovereign throne, Solomon appeals for wisdom to lead his people well. He understands that he is not in control, God is, and he asks not for the benefit of himself but for others.  Solomon’s ask for wisdom is a growth point in my own walk with the Lord. Are my requests and prayers focused on myself, my aspirations, my benefit, or are they humbly attuned to the benefits of others? Am I thinking more highly of myself, or my position, or am I living obediently under God’s direction, walking in step with His Spirit?
 
Solomon didn’t always get everything right. But in this moment, following his transfer of power in taking over the kingdom, his ask is one of humility and empathy. In my own life, may I pursue a similar posture. Father, help me to walk in step with your Spirit (Gal. 5:16), to abide in Christ (Jn. 15:5), and to look to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4) with the same mindset and desire as Solomon.

How can you make wisdom a 'growth point' in your own life? Let us know in the comments!

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15)
 
According to a 2022 study, social media users spend a daily average of 2 hours and 27 min on social media. This can be a depressing statistic to many as social media can often be viewed as a net negative to our culture. It’s not hard to see why we often view social media in a poor light either: social media is a huge distraction whether in the classroom, at work, or at social events, social media is draining attention spans as content gets shorter and shorter, despite the name social media often makes us less social and more isolated, its easier than ever to compare yourselves with other peoples highlight reels they create on social media and feel depressed or behind, and the list of negatives can go on and on.
 
None of these factors change the fact that social media is dominating screen time across the globe, especially among younger, Gen Z audiences. If we take the statistic of an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes of social media a day and multiply it over the period of a week, that puts the average social media user at 17 hours and 9 minutes a week. Let’s compare these numbers to how much time an average person attends church. Let’s say that the average church attender attends a Sunday morning small group, a Sunday morning service, and one small group throughout the week (which may be being generous to the actual average), that still only puts the average time spent at church at a little over three hours a week compared to the 17 hours spent on social media a week.
 
So, what is the church’s role in this digital age they find themselves in? I believe our role is to step onto the platform and get involved. Now it is important that the church promotes healthy boundaries when it comes to social media. We shouldn’t overindulge in it or join the darkness that is present on all platforms, but the church needs to be a light to the darkness. The church needs to be available where the people are, and people are more present on social media than just about anywhere else.
 
Now, what does this look like to be a light for Christ on social media? I think this can be acted out in a lot of ways; the first way would just be to tell your testimony. Post a story or blog on how God has been working in your life. Imagine a platform full of stories of how Christ has deeply impacted their life and why they chose to live for them. Testimonies have always been a terrific way to get the gospel across as we love stories, and if we could normalize sharing our journey with Christ, that would be a great light to social media. Share a verse or passage that you meditated on today. Not only can this be a light for those coming across your content, but it can be an effective way to include daily meditation in your schedule. The Word of God is powerful and can be more impactful than anything we may produce. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
 
 Another way the church can be a light on social media is to become content creators and not just consumers. For those looking for a creative outlet, why not try sharing the gospel on short-form content (or long-form)? There are pools of useless or dark content out there to consume but the world desperately needs the hope that only Christ provides. That is where we, as creators, can step in and show that hope in the content we make. How you tackle the issue of delivering the gospel to those on social media is up to you, but the most important thing is to just do it. So set up the cameras, write down your story, share an impactful verse and take action on social media this week and see how God moves.

This year, a movie called Arthur the King was released. It is a feel-good story about a team trying to win a race and developing a relationship with a homeless dog named Arthur. No offense to Arthur, but one of the most amazing things about the movie was the story of the 435-mile endurance race through Ecuador's mountains and jungles. I was blown away by what each team that competes has to go through to be ready for the race and then to compete.

Honestly, it reminds me a lot of the Christian journey. There is a starting place when we receive Christ as Lord and Savior. There is a finish line when we die, or Jesus returns. And there are a lot of “miles” from the start to the finish for most of us. We are called to stay the course and finish the race! There are so many things that can get us distracted or off track from what God has called us to, but we must stay the course. The author of Hebrews wrote, “But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved” Hebrews 10:39.

Following Jesus is so worth it, but it is not easy! In a Christian’s faith journey, there are proverbial mountains, valleys, obstacles, rainy days, hunger pains, stumbling, loss, and many other things. Paul writes in Philippians about how to keep going in the midst of all life throws at us in our long journey.

Paul said contentment and strength to endure could come through Christ alone. Many Christians use Philippians 4:13 as a sticker verse, and they apply it to whatever they are doing, including sports, activities, finding a spouse, fulfilling their dreams, etc.
Paul was encouraging the Philippians and us that we can make it through anything thrown at us in our spiritual journey with the strength of Christ alone. He was not giving us a verse to tattoo on our leg as we strive to complete a marathon or accomplish a career goal. Paul was reminding us to persevere through life with the strength of Christ and the author of Hebrews was challenging us not to shrink back but to continue in faith. Winning a 435-mile endurance race or accomplishing any other feat on this planet ills in comparison to the promises we have in eternity through Jesus Christ alone! Stay faithful!

So, what do you think? What does it look like to live with endurance? We would love to hear from you! Post your thoughts in the comments!

- Pastor Jeff

A.W. Tozer said that in his book The Knowledge of the Holy. Think about that for a second. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you ponder God? What we think about God is seriously important. But why is that?

Well, for starters, Jesus quoted the Old Testament and told us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) In the Christian church, we often do a great job of loving God with our heart and soul. But what about the mind? For many of us, the mind can tend to take a back seat. But Jesus commands us to love God with every part of our being!

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

Mind renewal, or in other words, changing how we think, leads to transformation. This transformation can be either positive or negative. We are all constantly in the process of becoming somebody. Everything we do, say, and think plays a role in who we become.

Our prayer is that Riverlawn is a body of believers who think well. We want to be a people who aren't swayed by the whims and waves of media and society. We want to be grounded in the Word of God so that we will not 'conform to the pattern of this world.' We want to constantly 'renew our minds.'

So, with that said, we are resurrecting the Riverlawn blog! Every two weeks (the frequency is flexible), we will post a blog post about what our pastors are thinking about. It could be anything! But the point of this blog is to think well and to encourage you to think well, too! These blog posts will cover a variety of topics, spanning from endurance to unity to social issues—you name it!

We would love to invite you along for the ride. With each post, we hope to think a bit better about God and about the world in relation to God. Because here's the deal. What we think matters. But what matters more is what we think about God (theology). Our theology is important because what we think about God influences how we live. If we believe our God is angry and vindictive, we will be inclined to act similarly. If we want to love God with everything we have (Matt 22:37), we need to love him with our thoughts as well (Romans 12:2).

These blogs will serve a very simple purpose; they serve as another avenue for discipleship and provoking thought among our community. With each post, we'll ask you the same question. "What do you think?" We've titled this blog 'What's on your mind', because what is on your mind will shape you and form you more concretely than anything else.

So tell us! We want to hear what you think! What have you been thinking about lately? What would you like to think about more? Leave a comment below or shoot us an email! We'd love to chat with you.

- Pastor Caleb