January 6, 2013

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his , pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

It is one thing to find God's purpose and another thing to fit into it. How does that happen?

Paul addresses that question in these two verses.

The first thing to do is consecrate your ego.

What does it mean to consecrate?

"Consecrate" means to "set apart" unto God. Only God can make it sacred but only you can set it aside for Him to do so.

In this sense we are referring to ego as your sense of self-awareness, self-identity, self-worth that allows you to distinguish yourself as separate individual. In short, you could say your ego arises from an understanding of who you are. It is the essential you.

Your ego is largely formed by what the significant people in your life say about you. Since those people have either a positive or a negative bias, and since your ego is part of your fallen nature, it is not a reliable source for identifying the realities in you and around you. If you are guided by your ego you will be guided by an unrealistic view of yourself, your world, and God.

That is why Paul, the writer of Romans, strongly urges you to "set apart" your ego to God, Who is His ultimate wisdom, absolute knowledge, and unconditional love is fully aware of who you are and completely willing to accept you. In the context of His unconditional love through His Holy Spirit and through His Word, He will reveal to you who you are as He gently shapes your ego into His image.

If you want to discover your purpose you must first understand who you are as a person. You will not fully appreciate how much God will change you unless your first understand where you were when He started!

Consecrate your ego to God today. Trust it to the Truly Significant Person in your life!

January 5, 2013

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

 

In one of my recent posts I mentioned that the final verse of this twelfth chapter states the purpose of every believer, "Be not overcome by evil but overcome evil with good."

 

Someone might challenge that notion by saying that Matthew 28:19-20 is the purpose statement for believers. Matthew 28:18-20 says this, "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

I would suggest that is a strategy for overcoming evil with good. And an effective one at that! Becoming a disciple of Jesus certainly makes you better and helps you be better and do better things.

 

Someone else might argue that the First Commandment would be the purpose statement of Christians. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39

 

Love is the deal! There is no doubt about that! But that is the source of doing good. Loving God is doing a good thing. There is no better thing. When you love God you will do what is best for Him and for you. And, when you love God you will do good for others as well. That sort of divine love WILL most definitely overcome evil.

 

So, living on purpose is a matter of loving on purpose. Loving God and loving others is evidence that God has overcome the evl in you, making you good and enabling you to overcome evil with the goodness of God.

 

Love is the power of your purpose and disciples are the proof that His purpose is operating in you!

January 4, 2013

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

This great chapter of Romans would be just as great even if you read it backwards. You can start at the end and it still communicates the same great truths. Romans 12 has much to say about discovering God's purpose for your life and this final verse is the purpose statement.

 

The purpose of every believe is to overcome evil with good! Is that a great goal or what? Who could be against that? Why wouldn't everyone want to sign on with that purpose?

 

I can think of at least two reasons why this is not as easy as it sounds:

 

First, how can we overcome evil when we ARE evil?

 

What? Me evil?

 

Yes, you! And me. Thanks to Adam, all inherit an evil fallen moral nature. Everyone of us have been born into sin and that sin separates you and me from God. So, the fallen moral nature is cut off from the only hope it has of changing. So, the first evil that has to be overcome in the evil within!

 

Second, who defines good?

 

Does it make sense that evil people would be left to define what is good? No way! We would define goodness down to such a level that there would be little difference distinguishing good from evil. That largely describes where our culture is today. Goodness has been defined down because moral absolutes have been abandoned. So, goodness becomes the subjective opinion of each individual based on what works best for them. That is the moral chaos we see around us today. That is why we have political correctness. God has been replaced by the government and the worship of the earth, so goodness is defined by what is good for the state and what is good for the earth. Think where that ultimately leads - whoever has the most strength and power will ultimately define what is good and what is not. It is called totalitarianism. God is the Only One Who is good and only He is the source of all that is good! Good is what God says it is! Good is what God is!

 

Verses 1 and 2 of Romans 12 tells you how to overcome the WITHIN you so you can confront evil in the world AROUND you. That is your purpose. It is the only way you can fulfill the purpose statement delineated for you and me.

 

Tired of the evil within? Ready to become an overcomer? Begin living on purpose today!

January 2, 2013

^"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:14-16

I wonder how many times I will write "2012" on a check before I adjust to the new year -2013?

In spite of my struggle with adjusting to a new date, New Year's Day is one of my favorite holidays! I find it more relaxing than most holidays because it is less demanding than most of the other holidays. I get to stay up late and sleep in on that day without feeling guilty.

New Year's Day allows me to be a "couch potato" for a day, watch football, snack on some munchies and not feel too guilty. I like that!

Overlook the fact that I am writing this post on New Year's Day, and it is one day I get to be a "normal" guy!

This is the 62nd New Year's Day I have celebrated. I am hoping I will get to celebrate quite a few more! There is a LOT of football left to watch!

Having said that and having expressed my love of New Year's Day, I am looking forward to something MUCH greater than New Year's. Some day I will get to enjoy "no years"! "No years" is where the vast majority of my life will be lived!

"Brad, what are you talking about? What is "no years"?

"No years" is eternity!

There are no clocks in eternity!

There are no calendars in eternity!

There are no dates, or day-timers or deadlines in eternity!

In eternity time is measured in millenniums not in minutes! Eternity is lived in the "everlasting moment"! Think about the best moment of your life - that moment you wished would never end. If you project that forward you have a glimpse of eternity!

When I run out of New Year's I get to have "no years" for one reason only - because "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life!" God's Son stepped out of eternity and into time to pay the penalty of my sins by dying on a cross! He died in time so I can live in eternity!

Wow!

I can have a happy New Year because I know for sure I will some day enjoy a happy "no years"!

Do you have that assurance?

Have you trusted Christ to be your Savior?

Have you repented of your sins, confessed that He is your only hope for salvation, and accepted His sacrifice for your sins?

If you have or if you will - Happy "No Years"!

January 1, 2013

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" II Corinthians 5:17

 

Happy 2013! May God bless you with a healthy and joy-filled year!

 

Time marches ahead relentlessly and a new year is upon us! Will you make the New Year new or will you drag the same old pain and problems across the threshhold of time?

 

Speaking of time, the Apostle Paul reaches across the centuries with this solid reminder that only in Christ can all things be made new! So, the New Year cannot be truly new unless you are "in Christ".

 

What needs to be gone in your life? What did you carry in 2012 that you don't need to drag into 2013?

Is there a sinful habit? Is there shame over your past? Is there an unhealthy relationship? Is there a spiritual stronghold? Is there a lack of discipline? Is there discouragement or depression? Is there spiritual apathy? Is there outright rebellion against spiritual truth?

 

The promise is that if you are "in Christ" you can be made new and the old, painful, unproductive, and harmful things can be gone!

 

So, what does it mean to be "in Christ"?

 

It means to live in trust. When you trust "in Christ" for your salvation and stop trusting in your own goodness or righteousness, then you can enter into a spiritual relationship with Him.

 

It means to live in truth. When you are "in Christ" you surrender to His truth and "lean not unto your own understanding". His truth is expressed through His Word, the Bible. Living in truth means that you commit to defining what is real in your life based on what the Bible says is real. You live by its principles. You order your life by its priorities. You shed your past and plan your life according to its promises and you prevail in life according to its power.

 

The New Year can only be new if you are made new! It can only be happy if you are made whole - and holy!

 

As you turn the page on the calendar will you turn a page in your spiritual experience? Will you be "in Christ"? Will you trust His truth to transform you into a "new creation"? Will you allow Him to make "all things new" in you?

 

You can be "in Christ" or in crisis. It's up to you.

December 31, 2012

"But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." Luke 2:10

 

As you know, I have been talking about joy for several days because joy is such a hallmark of Christmas. And, also, I want to comment on joy one more time because joy is such a powerful force but such a rare commodity.

 

Here is a good illustration of joy:

 

“I have everything I need for joy!” Robert Reed said.

 

His hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can’t bathe himself. He can’t feed himself. He can’t brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear. Strips of Velcro hold his shirts together. His speech drags like a worn out audio cassette. Robert has cerebral palsy. The condition keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike, and going for a walk. But it didn’t keep him from graduating from high school or attending Abilene Christian University, from which he graduate with a degree in Latin. Having cerebral palsy didn’t keep him from teaching at St. Louis Junior College or from venturing overseas on five mission trips. And Robert’condition didn’t prevent him from becoming a missionary in Portugal.He moved to Lisbon, alone, in 1972. There he rented a hotel room and began studying Portuguese. He found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the rush hour and a tutor who would instruct him in the language. Then he stationed himself daily in a park, where he distributed brochures about Christ.

 

Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord, one of whom became his wife, Rosa.

 

I heard Robert speak recently. I watched other men carry him in his wheelchair onto the platform. I watched them lay a Bible in his lap. I watched his stiff fingers force open the pages. And I watched people in the audience wipe away tears of admiration from their faces. Robert could have asked for sympathy or pity, but he did just the opposite. He held his bent hand up in the air and boasted, “I have everything I need for joy.”

 

His shirts are held together by Velcro, but his life is held together by joy. - Max Lucado.

 

That is joy! Joy is enjoying God's favor and knowing His fullness!

 

Robert Reed knows that joy. Do you?

December 30, 2012

"Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35

 

As the prophet Micah foretold, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was the city of his ancestor, King David and by decree of Caesar Augustus that all throughout the land the citizens were to register of the census in their home town.

 

It was while Mary and Joseph were there in Bethlehem that Mary's baby was born in a manger at a local stable because the inn was full. So the history records that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. It was prophetic but it was also symbolic.

 

The word "Bethlehem" means "house of bread". Jesus, the Son of God, was born in "the house of bread". The Bread of Life was born in the "house of bread"! How good is that? Think about what that birth in Bethlehem signified.

 

First, it means that Jesus sustains life. As bread was a staple of their diet and an important part of ours and sustains our physical life, Jesus sustains the spiritual life of anyone who believes in Him and "feeds" on Him spiritually.

 

Second, it means that Jesus strengthens life. Just as a healthy diet of good food, such as bread, is necessary to strengthen the body, so "feeding" on Jesus strengthens the spirit of a believer.

 

Third, it means Jesus satisfies life. Few things a more delicious and substantial than a hot freshly made loaf of homemade bread. You can almost smell it now, can't you? In the same way, Jesus satisfies the spiritual hunger of those who "feed" on Jesus!

 

How do you "feed" on Jesus?
 

Have faith in Him. Believe what His Word tells you and live according to those truths.

 

Have fellowship with Him. Walk with Him daily. Talk with Him through pray and hear Him through His Word. Regularly partake of Communion in the fellowship of your local church.

All of this is possible and available to us because the Bread of Life was born in the "house of bread"!

What good news this brings to a hungry world!