GatewayLife

The "Why" of Worry

Right after Jesus tells his followers that they cannot serve both God and money, he tells them "Therefore I tell you,do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" Jesus again changes our entire thinking. As with the entire Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is concerned with the reason why we do things. The reason why we worry about provisions is because we are slaves to money. 

Money is tricky because we all need it to survive. Jesus said that the worker is due his wages (Luke 10:7) which Paul repeats in 1 Timothy 5:18. Paul says if a person does not work then he should not eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10). However, we must be careful to keep money as a means to glorfying God instead of the end of all our pursuits. 

What does this have to do with worry? God has promised to meet our needs. We worry because we begin to doubt that God will provide. We see our circumstances and we lose faith in God because we fall into the thinking our consumer driven society produces. "I have to have it and have it now!" And if we do not have what we want, then God must be lacking somewhere so I need to supplement his work with my own. This thinking is sinfully prideful. 

What do we compare ourselves to? Others? Should we? No. Jesus compares us to birds and grass. These animals have all of their needs met. Do we really think that God is incapable of providing for our needs as well? I believe what Jesus tries to do in our lives is to teach us utter dependence on him instead of ourselves. How we spend our money and how we feel about our provisions give us a good indication of whom we serve as master. 

1. How do we avoid worrying about provisions while at the same time obeying God in our work and planning?

2. Do you have an area in your life you are still seeking to control instead of giving it over to God?

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

Where's Your Heart?

In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus challenges the hearts of his followers by telling them to store up treasures in heaven as opposed to earth. One thing we can learn from the current economic crisis is that earthly treasure is at best fleeting. Our society has been so prone to only meeting the temporary desires of our flesh. Temporary includes those investments which will outlive us on this earth. No amount of money or possessions will survive, so these things should never be the end of our thinking. 

Much of what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount should lead us to a total perspective change. We think temporal; Jesus calls us to think eternal. So all of our lives, including our financial well-being, should be brought under the lordship of Christ. We should make and spend and save money with a heavenly perspective (In the same way we should eat and drink with a heavenly perspective - 1 Corinthians 10:31). 

So, our motives are called into question as much as our actions. Why do we spend the money we do? Why do we save? Do we spend thinking of the kingdom of God or for personal gain? I do not believe that God necessarilly calls everyone to poverty. The Bible contains considerable wisdom on financial decisions. The question we must ask ourselves is: "Who is my master?" For:

"No one can serve to masters, for either he will hate the one and love the othere, or he will be devoted to the one and despose the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (v. 24). 

Do we serve God and store up treasures in heaven that are eternal, or do we serve money and devour temporary things? 

1. How different would the Church look if we really followed Jesus' teaching here? 

2. How different would you be?

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Giving, Praying, Fasting

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is heaven." 

With these words, Jesus teaches his disciples the right way to give, pray, and fast. The main point being that these actions are between you and God, not you and other people though others may be involved. Giving to the needy is an act between you and God that benefits another person. This is why Jesus mentions the reward from the Father. We are to give out of a desire to serve God by serving others and trust that he knows what we are doing whether or not anyone else does. 

Now, should we give only cash at the church and not give our names? I don't think this is Jesus' point. His point is to make sure that our motivation in giving is following God and not seeking the praise of other people. The same could be said of prayer. Does Jesus mean that we should only pray behind closed doors? No, I believe his point is that prayer is a conversation between you and God in which we speak to God with the motivation being worship, the meeting of our needs, seeking forgiveness, and asking for strength. Whether or not this prayer happens in the presence of others is irrelevant because prayer should have the same motivation whether we are in public or in private. 

Should we hide the fact that we are fasting? No. If I am not eating dinner, I cannot give my wife no reason. The point Jesus makes is that we are to carry on with daily life as we are fasting. We do not fast to seek the approval of others but to gain the reward of God. 

Which reward do we seek? That of God or that of man? Our motivation behind these three activities reveals our true hearts. 

1. How can we worship God through giving, prayer, and fasting in the midst of other people?

2. What are the struggles we face in trying to do seek God as opposed to man's approval?

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Weakness and Strength

Jesus challenges my thinking so often and so profoundly that I sometimes wonder how I can be so blind to how different he is than the world. It seems that I try to bring Christ into line with my thinking rather than bring my thinking into line with Christ. It's a struggle we all face. 

Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 5:38-48. How often do our natural ways lead us to turn the other cheek? Never! We fight back. We say "It's not fair." We complain. We even strike the other person, all the while claiming: "You can't do that to me, you can't take away my right to happiness." This statement is what the world teaches and if anyone opposes you then you are to push and struggle until you break through. 

We have not been called to this life. Jesus says to turn the other cheek, to give over your possessions, to go further even when you are forced against your will. Talk about counter cultural! 

He also calls us to love our enemies and pray for those to persecute us. What? You mean I am supposed to love the person that has wronged me? I am supposed to pray for them? Yes, because we now have the love of Jesus in us. The same Jesus that prayed for the forgiveness of those who hung him on the cross. 

The world views this behavior as weak. However, not retaliating and loving our enemies is the greatest showing of Christ's love in our lives. We must continually ask that God will bring this attitude out in us because it cannot come from our own effort. 

What would the church look like if we really took Matthew 5:38-48 to heart? 

What would your life look like? 

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

What's My Motivation?

We all struggle to keep from being Pharisees. Our natural tendency as human beings is to trumpet the good we accomplish in life while at the same time seeking to hide our faults in either the good we do or in the condemnation of the bad in others. The battle Jesus fought against the religious leaders of his time was one of challenging their notions of what righteousness really is.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount reveals to us that the motivation behind our actions is every bit as important as the actions themselves. Before God, we cannot simply cling to the idea that if we keep our actions clean then we are to be praised. He told the people that calling someone a fool is like murder and that lusting after a woman is the same as adultery. He said that fasting and prayer is wrong if it done to be praised by men.

Who then can live up to these standards? If even our motivations are called into question, what can we do?

We can turn to Christ. We can see the way that he fulfills the law by his life and teaching and worship him. We can bring our sinful selves to him and by the power of the cross receive his forgiveness. We can ask the Holy Spirit to apply these truths to our lives and lead us to live as Christ did.

We cannot look to ourselves, for there is nothing good in us except what Christ has done.

In what ways does the Sermon on the Mount challenge you to look to God and away from yourself?

Peace,

Jeff Moody

Jeffmoody82@gmail.com 

Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-15 tells us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Notice that Jesus does not say: "You are the salt of the earth if you want to be" or "You are the light of the world if you so choose" rather he makes a statement of what we are as believers. Just as a city on a hill cannot be hidden and people do not light a lamp and then cover it, so the light of Christ shines through us. We have a role to perform on this earth as the salt, to preserve and flavor it with Christ. Our light leads others to glorify God because they see his work in our lives. 

Why then do we struggle so much to let our light shine before men? Do we desire the acceptance of others and fear rejection? Do we just assume that they already know Christ, or at least convince ourselves that they do? Where we are in the South, it is possible for a believer's entire social group to be made up of other believers, which insulates us from the world and does not allow our light to shine. 

Jesus' calling is clear, we are not given a choice of whether or not to let our light shine before men. We cannot live the life God has called us to if we are trying to hide our light or if we lose our saltiness. 

The questions from the study are key to our understanding of following Christ:

Do we take this seriously, or are we filled with fear when the darkness comes?

What keeps our light from shining?

Peace,

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Different Values

Romans 12:2 says: "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind." 

Jesus gives the perfect example of this non-conformed life looks like in the Sermon on the Mount. Look at the Beatitudes:

- Blessed are the poor in spirit - The world rewards the prideful who depend on themselves.

- Blessed are those who mourn - The world tells us to attempt to push our pain or rationalize it rather than seek comfort from the source of comfort.

- Blessed are the meek - The world looks down on meekness and rewards the boastful. 

- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness - It doesn't take a long look at the world to see the immorailty caused by sin and the excuses we use to justify ourselves. 

- Blessed are the merciful - The world tells you to take revenge, or at least understands when you do.

- Blessed are the pure in heart - Purity is ridiculed whil immoraility is justified. 

- Blessed are the peacemakers - The world constantly rewards those who pursue war. America may not do so expressly but take a look at other countries and you will see that he who has the most powerful arms has the most power. 

- Blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness sake - The world runs from persecution.

- Blessed are you when you are persecuted on Jesus' account - Those people who merely give lip service to God will renounce him in the face of persecution. 

We may be led to ask, why then would someone want to be a Christian if we must be so counter cultural. Look at the rewards. the kingdom of God, inherit the earth, comfort, being filled, mercy, being called sons of God, seeing God, a great reward in heaven. All of these rewards God gives for those who are his children. Being a child of God has a completely different value system that rewards those who seek him first. 

Jesus showed these characteristics on earth and he develops this character in us through the Holy Spirit. Lest we believe that we can make ourselves change, remember that God does the work in our hearts that leads to the change in our minds and hands. 

1. How can we impact the world we live in if our lives look like the Beatitudes?

2. Where does the power to live like this come from?

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

The Sermon on the Mount

I believe we'll camp here a while as there is so much in Matthew 5-7 to discuss. 

Why do you think Jesus begins this very important sermon with: "Blessed are the poor in spirit?" I believe this statement is essential to our relationship with God. What is the opposite of a poor spirit? A proud spirit. We cannot hope to follow Christ if we take pride in ourselves and our own accomplishments. Our conversations with God will be filled with a list of our good works rather than crying out to him for mercy and love. 

Jesus paints a great picture of the difference between a poor and proud spirit in Luke 18:9-14. 

"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt: 'Two men went into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying: 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." 

That sound you just heard was Jesus dropping the hammer on any pretense of pride we have. Our proper posture before God is to beat our chest and say "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" That is the definition of being poor in spirit. The real relationship with Jesus that brings all his life to us comes from a poor spirit. The tax collector left the temple justified. 

Which are you, the Pharisee or the Tax Collector?

Peace, 

Jeff Moody

jeffmoody82@gmail.com

Gateway Kids Club and Basketball Teams

Gateway Kids Club and Basketball Teams
Last summer the Jr. High and High School students from Gateway Baptist went on a mission trip to Houston, TX. God really used that experience to help them catch a vision for reaching out in their city. When they returned to Montgomery, they started an outreach ministry they called Kids Club. The target was children living in the neighborhoods adjacent to Gateway. The expectation was that mostly young children would want to participate. To their surprise, the majority of those who have responded have been teenage boys.

 

The outreach, which began as an initiative of the students, has quickly become a ministry that the entire church has embraced. "It has been incredible to see how hungry these guys are for relationship," says one of the volunteers. "We want them to feel a part of our church family." Several of the boys have professed faith in Christ and some have been baptized and are being discipled.

 

Now many Gateway families are reaching out to the guys apart from the Kids Club. Some are tutoring, some are having the boys into their homes for meals, some have taken the guys on weekend getaways. The heart of those plugging in is to intentionally "reflect the love of Christ through relationship and Bible Study."

 

A few months after the outreach began, the Montgomery Baptist Association youth basketball league was starting. Gateway entered a Junior Varsity team and a Varsity team into the league, comprised entirely of guys from the Kids Club. Recently both Gateway teams were crowned City Champions. Both teams traveled to Mobile to participate in the State Tournament and the Junior Varsity won the State Championship. We are so proud of them. The church is planning a Sports Banquet Friday Night as an outreach to their families and to honor the guys for their hard work this season.

 

Praise God for this new work He has started in our city!

Wednesday Nights at Gateway

Wednesday Nights at Gateway - The Family Place to be!
On Wednesday evenings Pastor Alan  leads the adult worship/teaching time on the topic of “Our Identity in Christ.” This is a very special and intimate time of study and interaction. Rob Slagle shares what this time has meant to him this year:

“I felt that I had allowed myself to get ‘spiritually flabby’ over recent months and being in this study on Wednesday nights is challenging me to get back on track. I thoroughly enjoy the interaction with other believers and Pastor Alan has a great teaching style. He focuses on The Word and Christ. This midweek time of fellowship and teaching really helps me stay connected between Sundays. Oh, and don’t forget the great dinner before hand!! I encourage all those who can to make this a part of their weekly schedule.”