Beachside

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 6

We have all seen the sandwich board street preacher yelling at passersby shouting that Jesus hates our sin and that our sin is sending us all to hell unless we repent.  

I’m not sure I agree with their approach.
What about their message?
Does God hate our sin?  

Believe it or not, they are right. God does hate our sin.
He just doesn’t hate US.

Their approach gives you the feeling that our sin is making God mad and disgusted with us personally.
But the truth is, he hates our sin BECAUSE he loves us so much.
In his book The Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith describes those street preachers’ message as halfway there.  

God does hate our sin, but only because it destroys the people he loves. 

This is simple to see in the story of the woman caught in adultery recorded by John in his letter to the church. 

In John 8, we enter the story as it’s unfolding. A woman is brought in front of Jesus.  She has apparently just been caught in the act of adultery. 
This is clearly sinful.
Can you recall some of your clearly sinful moments? Moments you’d like to keep hidden?
Can you imagine being caught in the act and dragged in front of a highly respected religious leader who is going to determine your fate? 

Here she is, perhaps half-dressed, fully embarrassed, and totally ashamed of having been stolen from darkness and brought into the light. 

As you may know, Jesus tells the men that they can throw rocks at her if they have never committed a sinful deed. Slowly they walk away, knowing their own histories.  

 Then Jesus gives her a message as she is about to leave. It’s short and to the point: “Go and leave your life of sin.” Why does he say that? Is it because he can only forgive this one failure? 

Is it because he will hate her if she fails again? His grace was good for one adultery, but not for another? Nope. 
That’s not it at all. 
He tells her to leave her sin because look where it led her? Her sin was crushing her! Her sin was destroying her!
And he hates that because he loves her. So he says, “Go and leave your life of sin” because it’s killing you, girl! 

Simple question: What sin do you need to leave? Not because God hates you for sinning in that way, but because it’s killing you, and he hates that.

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 5

Having lots of things isn’t wrong. It’s not sinful. It’s not evil. But it can be dangerous.  

Years ago, a friend spent some time with a man of God who was living in the poverty of India. While at the man’s house, he noticed that the cupboards were bare, the shelves were empty, and the house was void of just about anything. So he asked the man, “How can you trust God when you have almost nothing?” 

The man grabbed a box off the shelf, brought it to the table, opened it up, pulled out his Bible, and looked my friend in the eyes. With joy in his voice, he declared, “My friend, I have nothing to keep me from what is everything.” 

Wonderful things can keep us from the greatest thing. If you are a follower of Jesus and you are honest, you know this to be true. We are on many missions and have many goals. We are easily distracted from chasing Jesus. So often the good gets in the way of the best. 

We perfected our backswing, but we missed time with Jesus.
We styled the perfect living room, but we stopped connecting personally with Jesus.
We wrote and delivered a flawless sermon, but we spent no time on our knees.
We landed the deal, but at the cost of not chasing the Jesus we once loved deeply.
Our abs and our six-packs are flawless, but our faith could use some attention.

Put your distractions there . . .

Personally, I finished the Netflix binge, but neglected pursuit of Jesus. 

There is so much good we can experience and enjoy, but we must not experience it at the cost of missing a deep and meaningful connection with our Savior. 

We don’t know how much we need Jesus until he is all we have. 

Do you need to put down some having in order to pick up some needing?

You don’t have to have bare cupboards and empty shelves to enjoy Jesus, but if he is collecting dust on your shelf, you may need to remove some of the clutter that is making you forget that you need him. 

He’s better. Whatever is competing against him, he is better. Spend some time rediscovering that truth over the next couple weeks. Put something down. Pick him up. He is what you need.

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 4

If you have prayed the prayer, “Jesus, help me to love the way that you love,” you will need the help you are asking for.  

Let’s face it. His love is stupid hard to copy. 

He loves those who hate him.
He forgives fast.
He holds no grudges.
He loves you AND the people you can’t stand the same!
He sacrificed his own life for the life of his enemies. Who does that?
That’s not just stupid hard to copy . . . it just kinda feels stupid.

We have all been hurt by others. In that hurt, we don’t copy the love of Jesus.  We have good reasons to NOT love like Jesus.  But the prayer today is to ask for help to love like Jesus does.  

Imagine what would change if we could do that . . .  

Families would be restored.
Children would forgive parents.
Parents would forgive children.
Husbands and wives would drop years of damaging grudges.
You would __________________ (fill in the blank).

You know where you do not love like Jesus. Ask him to help you. We dare you.

Loving like Jesus means we . . . 

Hate no one.
Forgive everyone.
Apologize first.
Forgive fast.
Release grudges.
Extend mercy.
Stop hating.

So, yeah, if you want to live that way, you better pray it again: “Lord, today, as I face opportunities to act the way I feel like acting, help me instead to act and love the way you do.”

Now go be stupid good at loving others!

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 3

As Jesus was finishing his time on earth and sharing his last words with his followers, he made an important promise. He said, “And know that I am with you always.”

Isn’t it comforting to have somebody with us?
Who wants to go to a party alone? No thanks. Give me that wingman/wingwoman.
Camping alone? Not for me.
Celebrating your birthday . . . party of one? No thanks.
Massive life decisions? Would love somebody to walk WITH me through those. 

Life feels safer with a trusted friend beside us. A friend gives us confidence and courage and a safe place to fall if all goes wrong. When I go alone, I might pull it off.  When I go WITH, it almost doesn’t matter if I do fall. The WITH is what matters most. I can fail at stuff if I know I have a WITH beside me. I can go through difficult challenges if I know I have someone WITH me. 

Jesus knew that life was about to get rough for his followers. They would scatter.  They could be hurt. They might face doubt and ridicule and failure on all levels.  Things were going to get scary. So they needed to know, without a doubt, that he would be WITH them. ALWAYS. In their pain—he’s right there. In the fear—he hasn’t left. In the persecution, he is beside them and with them and for them. 

The man they saw feed the 5,000.
The one who caused the blind to see.
The same guy who calmed the sea and walked on water.
The person responsible for turning water into wine.
That guy would still be WITH them.

In the middle of the scary places, the powerful miracle worker would stand WITH them and he will stand WITH you as well. Same guy. Same strong and mighty Jesus.  He is with you ALWAYS. Nothing will hit you that he’s not aware of. No power on earth can separate you from him. The author of Romans is clear when he writes: 

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. ”

— Romans 8:38–39

We are all walking through something scary today.
This season is more different than many of us have ever experienced.
You don’t have to be afraid.
Jesus is with you. Right now. Tomorrow. Always. 

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 2

When we are young, we address older people as Mr. and Mrs. out of respect because of their position of authority over us. When we are in school, we call our teachers Mr. or Mrs. so and so. The only people we call by their first names are the other kids in our class. Our friends. Our peers. That’s who we call by their first names. As adults, we may refer to a boss or someone of high importance as Sir or Madam. We only call our friends, our peers, or our equals by their first names. 

It’s mind-boggling if you think about it, that we address the maker of the universe and the Savior of the World by his first name—JESUS.  

The one who made us. The one whose name is above every name. Who knows all. Who sits on high. Who has the power over sin and darkness. The one who knows every hair on every head. The one who saw you as you were being formed. The one who came up with this whole idea of life in the first place. 

He came to our level and he calls us friends!

The author of Philippians is discussing the magnitude of the decision Jesus made to walk away from his status as upper management. Instead, he became nothing . . .

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

– Philippians 2:9-11

WHAT? He is God, but chose to be like us? To become our friend? Still don’t believe it? Check this out. Jesus goes so far as to tell his followers that he considers them friends. 

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

— John 15:13–15

He calls us friends. Imagine today what that means for you. You don’t have to call him Mr. Christ. To you, to me, he’s just Jesus. 

Welcome

Twenty-one is a reading plan we created with the hope that it will help you connect with God and prepare your heart for Easter. We’re glad you’ve opted to join us on this journey and look forward to celebrating Easter with you!

Text BEACHSIDE21 to 97000 to receive these readings straight to your mobile device every morning.

Day 1

Choosing a name is no easy task. Expectant moms and dads comb through baby books, sort through Google suggestions, and eliminate names based on ex-boyfriends and girlfriends whose names still carry too much “ewww” to be given to their child. If you’re a parent, you know that’s true. If not, you can surely think of the names that no child of yours would ever receive. 

So I’m sure it was a relief to Mary and Joseph when the angel spoke to Joseph in a dream to say, 

“She will have a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sin.”

— Matthew 1:21

J E S U S is the name above every name because it is the only name by which we may be truly rescued. Acts 4:12 declares, “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

We try other names.

We try our own names.
We try the name Success.
We try the name Power.
We try the name Reputation.

The name Fame, Popularity, Money, Beauty, Pleasure, our spouse, our significant other . . . 

All nice names . . . but none has the power to rescue.

Rescue power is found only in his name.
Have you called upon it lately?

Or have you forgotten?
Have you been drawn to other names in search of rescue?

We all forget, but together we can choose to remember.

Will you join a collection of people at Beachside Community Church this Easter season in remembering, celebrating, and calling on the name of Jesus—the name that is above ALL names, the only name with the power to rescue us no matter where we find ourselves today? 

Pray

Tell God that even in this season you are placing your trust in Jesus’ name – the name that has the power to rescue.