Southview Connect

What Does The Lord Require Of You?

In my quiet time I try to read or listen to God’s word daily.  Over the years I’ve learned that while everything I read or hear during this time may not seem to stick it actually does, and God is faithful to use His Word in my life at just the right times.  Lately that has been true with a verse I read several weeks ago in Micah 6:8 where Micah asks the question “what does the LORD require of you?”  It’s a question that continues to penetrate my thinking, what does the Lord require of me?

If we continue to read that passage Micah goes on to answer that question, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  How simple and yet how profoundly difficult to do.  So often I find myself acting exactly the opposite.  Knowing this I’ve spent the past few weeks seeking His guidance in how to go about answering and doing His command.  What does God require of me and how can I do it?  Here are a few things He’s shown me that may also speak to you as you the face the challenges in living a life most pleasing to God.

First, I’ve learned from Malachi 3:6 that God does not change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  What He expected from Micah and the people of Israel He also expects from us today.  I cannot use the excuse that we live in different times with a heavier work load and all sorts of life’s pressures that Old Testament people did not experience, and from Nahum 1:7 I learned that “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him.”

Second, I’ve learned the value in waiting patiently.  For me when times are challenging, when the path forward is uncertain, seeking God’s will requires patience.  James really speaks to me when he says that “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

Third, I’ve learned that God does not expect me to know and do His will without His help, but He wants us to take the first step by asking Him.  In Matthew 7:7-8 God tells us to "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  If I am to know and do God’s will I must first seek Him out and He will be faithful, if I have the patience, God will answer, He will reveal His will and He will equip me for the challenges at hand.

Fourth, I need a humble and contrite heart and a desire to please only Him.  Psalm 19:14 must be my sincere prayer if I am to do what the Lord requires of me.  In it the Psalmist prays “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

And finally, and perhaps of the utmost importance, is Christ’s command to us in Matthew 6:33.  Jesus tells us in that verse that our first priority is to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness.  As each of us faces the challenges of the day may we have the patience to wait on Him.  If our hearts are servants hearts, if our spirits are teachable spirits and if we sincerely want to do whatever it is the Lord requires of each of us, He will be faithful to reveal His will to us and to work out His purpose in our lives.

May of all us be found faithful in seeking and doing what the Lord requires of each us.

In Christ
Wes

Antioch: The Next Step

It’s not a coincidence that Southview, located just outside Washington D.C., and the early church at Antioch have so much in common.  Both located relatively close to the ocean, both in the center of commerce and politics, both contain a mix of religions both Jew and Gentile all living in a prosperous economic area rich in resources with an educated population and both areas seen as safe havens from religious persecution.  And just as Southview today the congregation at Antioch was made up of many different ethnic groups and cultures.

 

Believing that God has a specific plan and purpose for Southview and that perhaps that plan mirrors His plan for Antioch as a model for us – a local church with a heart for spreading the gospel locally and around the world, what is the next step in achieving that plan? 

Clearly we’ve all seen the blessings God has poured out on Southview in recent months.  Many who’ve come to know Christ as their personal savior, baptisms, new families joining, new staff members feeling God’s call to specific ministries, visitors coming in increasing numbers, facility improvements everywhere that add to our ability to worship and minister as God leads, and amazing finances to support the work. 

What’s next then for us as we look at the weeks and months ahead?  What has God planned for us to do and will we be ready when He reveals it, what’s our next step?  Perhaps God will call from within our midst missionary driven people as He did Paul, Mark and Barnabas from Antioch who traveled for God and the church at Antioch to spread the gospel through the Mediterranean?  Perhaps He’ll raise up teachers and preachers from among us to support our growing body or to follow God to other parts of the country to begin a new ministry?  Maybe He’ll continue to bring workers and those in need to Southview and our focus will be on serving local needs and ministries, or perhaps He’ll raise up a national ministry from with Southview – we do not know.  But we can sense that very soon change, challenge, and new ministry opportunities will be upon us – will we be ready? 

What then is our next step if we are to be like the faithful church in Antioch?  The next step sounds simple and yet it was at the very core of all that Antioch did, whether it was famine relief or using their gifts of prophecy and teaching or even sending out the first missionaries – it was prayer.  When you study that church you’ll quickly see they didn’t plan a mission focus a year ahead, they didn’t “vision” a famine relief program, they didn’t design an education program – no they prayed constantly and consistently that God would use them for His purpose and they stayed focused in prayer all through their ministry – prayer, and more prayer that is the next step. 

Is your prayer time what it should be?  Are you a part of a group who meets regularly for prayer, if not should you be starting such a group?  Is prayer your first priority?  We cannot take the next step in accomplishing God’s great plan for our individual lives, or the ministry at Southview if we’re not first and foremost focusing our total efforts in prayer.  Praying for the lost, praying for the staff, praying for Christ to keep Satan at bay, praying that God will reveal Himself and His plan to us.  Prayer – without it we cannot move another step – with it we can move mountains.

 

In Christ

Wes