After this weekend, I am a bit closer to understanding how the Apostle Paul felt when he uttered those loving words of admiration for the believers in Philippi. Paul said, “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”  Phil. 4:1

The source of the Apostle Paul’s joy was those disciples who had been converted under his ministry.  They chose to obey the good news of the Gospel of Jesus which Paul proclaimed and as a result, they walked worthy of the holy call of God in fellowship and friendship with Paul.  They yoked themselves to Paul and his evangelistic work and as a result, they served as the chief source of happiness to the Apostle by living a pure life unto God. It was Paul’s royal emblem of dignity and the prize conferred upon his victorious efforts for Grace.

I am humbled to have had the privilege of near fellowship and intimate worship with so many disciples this weekend.  We have watched as the parade of Grace marched by those laureate worshippers who have been crowned with victory over failures, pains, and posits of despair.  Postured in Grace, they have once and for all been removed from the mire pits to take up residence in the new found land of redemption.  Yes, I heard redemption’s song ringing loudly as I witnessed each of these miracle children dancing to the rhythm of a new song!

This morning, my deodorant ran out – well, nearly ran out at least. So I scooped the remaining piece of white goop out of the plastic canister it was nestled in and rubbed it on my armpits by hand.

(That’s because I’m cheap. Waste not, want not. Etc.)

It worked well: full coverage. The only problem? The next act in my morning ritual is to floss my teeth. I strung out a nice piece of floss (fingertip to shoulder – the perfect length, just like my friendly dentists says), and got right to work. Halfway through, I noticed that my tongue felt weird.

I didn’t wash my hands in between the acts of applying the deodorant and flossing my teeth; and I had deodorant on my tongue.

For those of you who are still reading, there IS a moral to this story. Deodorant doesn’t belong on my tongue – or yours. My deodorant is one of those hyper-manly, super-strong, tested for 48 hours on a sweaty, curmudgeonly camel in the Sahara desert kind of deodorants. It’s an anti-perspirant too; a dry up your sweat no matter how hot it is miracle of modern ingenuity.

Today, we celebrate an extraordinary encounter.  An Encounter where our Mission once again meets the White-Hot Passion of our Clarity, and that vision fuels this week’s directives, movements and momentum.  Our Mission creates Direction, Movement, and Momentum.  That’s why we are vigilant to remember, out of clarity comes Movement, and out of Movement comes Alignment, and out of Alignment comes Focus.

Jesus, during His earthly tenure, identified twenty six missions He set out to accomplish during His earthly lifetime.  And, He fulfilled every one of them!

Among them were:
  1. Please His Father & do His will – everyday
  2. Reveal His Father to the world –
  3. Finish His Father’s Work on earth –
  4. Fulfill the Laws of God perfectly –
  5. Save the world –
  6. Seek and Save those who are lost –
  7. Give His life for a ransom for many – lay down His life for His sheep –
  8. Call the “unrighteous” to repentance –
  9. Give abundant life to His followers –
  10. Heal the sick – give sight to the blind & hearing to the deaf –
  11. Raise the dead –
  12. Set people free from the power & consequences of sin –
  13. Provide the way to God –
  14. Preach the good news to the poor –
  15. Heal the brokenhearted –

The Scriptures reveal an intense conversation between God and His shepherd prophet, Amos.  Amos was called to prophecy during the reigns of Uzziah (792-740 B.C.) in the Southern Kingdom and Jeroboam II (793-753 B.C.) in the north. 

The hot wrath of God is kindled against the nation of Israel because they have sinned…

They have sold the righteous for silver, and they have traded the needy for a pair of sandals.  They have trampled on the heads of the poor like an ordinary traveler walks on the dust of the ground.   They have denied justice to the oppressed. They have taken bribes from the poor and they have deprived them justice in the courts.

God went on to say, “Hate evil. Love good.  Maintain justice in the courts.”