Boundaries

"Good fences make good neighbors."  Have you ever heard this phrase?  Fences and boundaries keep things where they belong (for example, dogs inside a fenced yard and cows inside a fenced field).  Fences keep damage from occurring.  Consider the fence around a garden that keeps animals and lawn mowers out.  

It may seem counterintuitive, but fences improve relationships, especially when fences are installed for protection.  Consider what could happen if your neighbor's pool yard isn't fenced.  A young child could wander by, fall in, and drown. Guard rails on roads prevent us from leaving the roadway and crashing off cliffs.  Fences protect, they keep things where they belong, and they prevent damage from occurring.  

But why are we talking about fences and boundaries?  Because your relationships need boundaries.    

Young people, no one except your immediate family should have 24/7 access to you.  This generation faces a unique challenge and danger because social media and cell phones can strip away a much-needed boundary. Your friends should not expect 24/7 access to you.  You need time away, time with your family, and time alone with God to stay grounded spiritually.  Put a boundary there.  Restrict technology use to specific hours only. Relationships need boundaries.

What about special relationships that may become romantic?  These relationships need some serious guard rails.  First of all, a romantic relationship can make you vulnerable to being hurt, so don't be in a hurry to rush into one.  And don't put all your cards on the table immediately, as this will open you up to rejection and disappointment if the other person doesn't feel the same way you do.  If it's God's will, that relationship will develop without you pushing it forward. If you move too quickly, you'll likely frighten the other person away.  Enjoy and be content with friendship over romance.  Set a boundary there.  Understand that God is the author of romance and will write a better love story for you than you could ever imagine.  So let Him be in charge of your romance, even if His charge is "not yet." Be determined not to violate God's boundaries.

Finally, we put valuable things behind fences.  Malls have cops, the White House has Secret Security, and bank vaults have giant locks.  Have you noticed that no one guards a dumpster?  Military bases have blockades and fences, and so does Area 51...

Area 51 has boundaries around it with huge warning signs.  You can be arrested or shot for entering.  No one without proper clearance knows what is in there.  What if Area 51 had no fence around it and anyone could walk in without consequences?  There would be no mystery and people would lose interest in it.  The high security creates a mystery and a fascination.  But if there was no fence, no one would care about Area 51.
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If you want some young man or some young lady to be interested in you, set a boundary.  Don't allow access to your physical body.  Wear attractive, but modest clothing.  Be a mystery until the appropriate clearance is obtained through a wedding ceremony.  Set a boundary there and guard it with high security.  Realize that you are valuable and valuable things are kept for special purposes.  They are not available to everyone--only to the authorized one.  

When God restricts and disciplines us, it is for our good.  When He puts boundaries around us, it is because He is protecting something of amazing value:  YOU!!!  He doesn't want disappointment or hurt to separate you from Him.  

What boundaries do you need to set in your life today?

Rebuilding the Walls

I prepared these remarks for our Sunday, March 15, 2015 church service, in which Pastor Jim Palmer, Assistant Superintendent of the Ohio Ministry Network, presented a certificate of ministry to me before my congregation.  

From left to right: Jeff and Mary Harmison and Jim Palmer

Nehemiah was grieved when he heard that the walls of Jerusalem, the hometown—if you will—of his people, were broken down.  He knew that meant they had no defense against their enemies, and he was worried about his countrymen.  They needed protection.  Nehemiah was not in Jerusalem.  He was in Persia, serving the king of Persia, and he began to pray that God would intervene and make a way for him to travel to Jerusalem to help his people.  And God did exactly that.   

A couple of years ago, I became increasingly aware of the need for God’s people to be equipped to defend and share their faith.  Spiritually speaking, we have an enemy out there who hates us.  He hates our liberty, and he wants to do everything he possibly can to intimidate us into silence so that we won’t share the gospel with those who don’t yet know Christ.  He wants us to be ashamed of our views so that we won’t speak the truth, so that we won’t take a stand on controversial issues.  He wants to brow beat our kids into abandoning their faith and embracing things they shouldn’t.

Today, our freedom and our religious liberties are under attack, and the moral walls of American culture are lying in ruins.  We, the church, know the Answer.  Like Nehemiah and his countrymen, we need to step up and confess our shortcomings and our sins to God.  We need to seek God's favor and direction, and then we need to get busy rebuilding the walls where we live.  Every one of us has a role to play in this effort. 

  

About two and half years ago, I began to pray and seek God for wisdom about my part.  What can I do to make a difference?  What can I do to share my faith with others?  What can I do to equip God’s people—especially our kids and students?  God has given me several assignments, but one of the assignments was not something I anticipated.  He called me into ministry and told me I needed to study for my credentials.  So two years later, here I am.  Daily, I want to take advantage of every opportunity God provides to love others, show His compassion, speak the truth, and rebuild the walls—and I want to challenge you to do the same. 

Finally, I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support.  I would not be standing here today without them.  I want to thank my family and especially my husband and my kids, who are partners in ministry with me.  You three are a huge blessing to me, and I’m so grateful for you. 

Written Saturday, March 14, 2015.  Those who heard Pastor Palmer’s address on Sunday may note some striking similarities between his message and these written remarks, which I did not deliver in their entirety, due to the fact that Pastor Palmer had just covered very similar concepts during his introduction.  

Will the Real Church Please Rise?

Lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the term "church."  If you ask a child to tell you what a church is, the answer will likely involve a physical building with a tall steeple, which is technically correct.  But the church is more than a building.  In fact, in Biblical terms, the church is not a building at all.  The church is people--people who are following Jesus Christ--and therefore, the church is much more than a building.

According to the Bible, the Church includes all Christians "who have received forgiveness through Jesus Christ and placed their faith in Him as the only sacrifice for their sins."  There are "no boundaries as to age, race, gender, or denomination.  Every believer collectively makes up the Church and is the dwelling place of God through the Holy Spirit."

The preceding quotes are from the Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths, specifically Truth #10: God Designed the Church for a Purpose and a Mission.  From scripture, the founders of the Assemblies of God identified a four-fold mission for the Church:

1. To seek and to save people who are lost in sin by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ (evangelism)
2. To be a corporate body in which people may worship God (worship)    
3. To build up and equip people so that they may grow to maturity in their Christian faith and become more and more like Jesus (edification)
4. To demonstrate God's love and compassion to all the world (compassion) 

Personally, I think the vast majority of American Christians have a very skewed image of the Church and its purpose that too often revolves around getting rather than giving.  They go to church to get something, and many of these folks fall victim to the "What's in it for me?" mentality.  When they don't think they're getting enough out of it, they quit going.  What they don't understand is that a church experience should be as much about giving as it is about receiving.

Look again at those mission objectives above.  If you're a not a Christian, most of those points are about receiving: receiving the Good News, receiving a new understanding of God through a worship experience, receiving teaching and knowledge from the Bible, and maybe receiving a tangible gift that meets your physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual needs.  However, if you are a Christian, you should help give the Good News to others; you should give your worship to God; you should give yourself by learning and helping in various ways to teach, encourage, and equip others; and you should give some of your time, talent, and resources to help those in desperate need.

You see, there is only so much growing you can do through receiving alone.  After you pass a certain point, you stop growing, and the only way to continue maturing in your faith is through giving.  The apostle Paul reminded us in Acts 20:35 of Jesus' words: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."  Jesus told his disciples as he sent them out to minister to others, "You received without having to pay. Therefore, give without demanding payment." (Matthew 10:8)  Everyone, no matter how old or young, no matter how rich or poor, how busy or how disabled, can find some way to give to God and be a blessing to others.  And the awesome thing is this: as we give to others, God meets our own needs in ways that only He can.

So let's go back to my original point.  Can your church building share the gospel with the lost and hurting?  Can your building worship God?  Can your building encourage, pray for, or teach others?  Can your building give to the poor and needy?  No.  Only people can do these things.  A church building is a valuable tool to be used in accomplishing these objectives.  But it is just a tool.

You are the Church.

Can your building move around the city?  Can it go visit someone in the hospital or in the next county?  No.  But you can.  You are the church.  And the ministry of the Church can happen anywhere you go because you are mobile.  You can even do ministry out of the comfort of your home by inviting others over for a meal, a Christian-themed movie, prayer, or a Bible study, or just to minister to them by listening to their troubles.  You might find that your non-Christian friends are much more willing to visit your home than a church building.  That is ministry.  That is giving.

When we have a narrow focus and think that ministry only happens within the 4 walls of a specific building, we limit God.  The church is not a building.  You are the Church.  How can you give?    

You have been treated generously, so live generously. 
Matthew 10:8, The Message