October 4, 2009

"the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD." Jeremiah 33:11

Thankful people are happy people. There is no debating that.

But, the question is, "Are they happy because they are thankful or are they thankful because they are happy?"

Jeremiah gives us some insights into what it takes to become a thankful person.

First, be thankful for the goodness of God!

You have a choice. You can focus on the badness and unfairness of life, OR you can focus your life on the goodness of God. It is up to you. If you want to be sad and miserable all the time you can decry how unfair life is - because it is! Choose that disposition and your happy days will be few and far between.

However, if you are committed to the goodness of God you can ALWAYS be thankful because God is ALWAYS good! Thankful people understand that God is always better than the badness of life. God is bigger than the badness of life. In fact, God has promised to even make the badness of life into goodness!

Thankful people are focused on the goodness of God! They are always thankful because they understand that God is always good.

Secondly, thankful people are focused on the love of God.

Like the goodness of God, His love is a constant. Therefore, when you choose to be thankful for His love you can always be thankful! His love that sustained you through the unfairness and difficulties of yesterday will also sustain you through today - and tomorrow! Thank God! When Jeremiah wrote these truisms thousands of years ago, God's love was a constant. Now, centuries later, it is still true! And, centuries from now IT WILL STILL BE TRUE. How can you not be thankful for THAT!

Will you do this for God and for yourself today? Will you thank Him for His goodness and His love. Thank Him that these blessed characteristics are rooted in His eternal character! Will you make today the first day of a commitment to live in thankfulness for His goodness and His love?

You will be thankful you made that decision!

November 3, 2009

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." I Corinthians 15:55-58

We are extolling the virtues of thankfulness and examining its nature.

From this great portion of Scripture I want to make two points:

Thankfulness is God-centered and grace-conscious. Those are both very good things!

"Thanks be to God......"

Obviously, you have to be thankful TO someone FOR something. True thanks should flow from you to God. If you believe that God is the Giver of all good things then all thanks is due Him.

You can be thankful to God for Who He is, a perfect, powerful and passionate Forever Heavenly Father. He knows you better than you know yourself and still He loves better than you love yourself. If you need Someone like that in your life, be thankful. If you need to be loved like that, be thankful.

"He gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Be thankful for the gift of God which is His Son, Jesus Christ, Who came to be our Savior. God offers to us His best when we were at our worst. God, essentially said, "I'll give you My Son in exchange for your sins." If you can use a deal like that, be thankful.

Also, you can be thankful for the grace of God. This is the attitude within the heart of God that motivated Him to offer us redemption, righteousness and resurrection from the dead through His Son, Jesus. Grace is defined as "God's undeserved favor toward us." If grace is important to you, be thankful. If you prefer to have God offer you His mercy in place of His justice, be thankful.

Although thankfulness is a 24/365 proposition, in this season of Thanksgiving I encourage you to be especially thankful to God for His grace and all that His grace means for you in this life and in the life to come.

In view of all that is ours in God and through grace is saying, "Thanks!" enough? It is a good place to begin.

November 2, 2009

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy."

II Timothy 3:1-2

Wow! These few verses say alot about the attitude of gratitude and what causes people to be thankful - or not thankful.

First, it tells us that the day will come when thankfulness will be a rare commodity. What was once a common courtesy will someday become hard to find.

That begs the question, "Why?"

People will be lovers of self. How does that blunt thankfulness? People who are self-centered tend to believe that they deserve what they get, so when they get something good they feel it was owed to them and when they don't they feel cheated. It is hard to satisfy them.

People will be lovers of money. What's wrong with that? Loving money often leads to greed. Greedy people seldom experience feelings of gratitude. Greed and gratitude rarely occupy the same space.

When selfishness and greed rule your life, you are not a very pleasant person - "boastful, proud, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy." May I add - unhappy, unfulfilled and miserable?

Thankful people, by implication, are not self-centered, not greedy, humble, obedient, grateful and holy.

So, are such people thankful because they possess these characteristics or do they have these characteristics because they are thankful? The answer is, "Yes!"

Make life about Him and not about you and He will develop within you an attitude of gratitude.

November 1, 2009

"give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:18

One of the earliest lessons we learn as children is to say, "Please" and "Thank You". It is a simple concept, really.

Of course, we are taught to express our thanks whenever we are given something that is nice, or helpful, or valuable, or generous.

However, in this verse, the Apostle Paul instructs us to "give thanks in ALL circumstances". Say, what? Be thankful in "ALL circumstance"? Are you kidding me? How do I do that? Some circumstances are painful and hard and unwelcomed. Am I supposed to be thankful when stuff like that happens? Why is that?

Read the rest of the verse, "for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Oh.

Here is the deal. We don't have to be thankful for difficult things that happen to us. Am I to be thankful that I lose a job, or my health, or a loved one? I don't think so! But, what we can be thankful for is that God is in control of our circumstances and He has promised that "all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose" and "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

So, what we can be thankful for is that when troubles come it means that God is at work! Our pain is working for our gain because that is how God works, Who He is and what He does! Thank Him that even what works against us in life works for us because His Kingdom is coming and His will is being done - in us!

October 31, 2009

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 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." Matthew 28:16-20

If you were arrested for impersonating a disciple, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

We have been examining the evidence that identifies a true disciple. These eleven passed the test. One other, Judas Iscariot was masquerading as a disciple but was unmasked by his betrayal of Jesus.

Earlier today I was watching some of the Iowa-Indiana football game. The camera was doing a wide scan of the fans in the bleachers, being Halloween, many fans were dressed in various costumes. There were ghouls and ghosts and cartoon characters and political figures and animals - all the normal cast of characters as the camera moved across the rows. But then there was one who stood out from the crowd and caused the camera to reverse and come back for a double-take. What costume caused such a response? Someone had dressed up like Jesus! And it was a good costume! He looked the part!

But it takes more than dressing up like Jesus to be like Jesus. This fellow was proof that you can look like Jesus and be a fake. Besides, Jesus would never be an Iowa Hawkeye fan.

You can't pretend to be a disciple. You can't just look the part or play the part and pass yourself off as a disciple. Discipleship doesn't happen from the outside in.

Just ask Judas.

True disciples are transformed by saving faith in Jesus. They live in a faith relationship with Jesus and walk by faith. They deny themselves and take up the cross of sacrifice and obedience. They live lives that show the real power and grace of God.

There is no tricking Jesus about discipleship. He has seen the real ones and is not fooled by fake disguises. He doesn't look on the outward appearance but gets to the heart of the matter.

Tricking Him is no treat.

October 30, 2009

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 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." Matthew 28:16-20

All this week I have been leading you in an examination of discipleship. What does it take to make a disciple? What are the marks of discipleship?

Here are some we have identitified:

Disciples have faith evidenced by faithfulness.

Disciples are followers of Jesus. They have fully devoted themselves to follow Him.

Disciples are fearless because they live in the power and presence of Jesus. It is not that they are never afraid but they don't let fear keep them from obeying God.

Disciples are focused on fulfilling the mandate of Jesus. It sets their purpose and their priorities.

Disciples are fruitful. They produce spiritual results for the Kingdom of God. They reproduce themselves in the lives of others.

Disciples have a familiar place. They have a place where they can go to meet with Jesus and they retreat there often.

Disciples have fellowship. They enjoy fellowship with other disciples, with those they are discipling and fellowship with Jesus.

Finally, we see that disciples have a future. Because Jesus has promised to be with them always even to the end of the age, they can look to the future with confidence. The same power and promises and presence and principles that changed them into full devoted followers of Christ, will continue to change them and mold them into the image of Christ. It will continue to empower them to convert and cultivate other disciples. Their future is bright!

Also, their future is bright beyond this life. Once they have finished their assignment in their generation and in their lifetime, they can be assured of an eternal glory with Jesus and millions of other disciples!

Disciples of Jesus win at every level, a past that is forgiven, a present that is fulfilling and a future that is assured!

While the future of a disciple is secured, the future of the faith is not necessarily secured. Christianity is always just one generation from extinction. Discipleship is the hope for the future of the faith. If we don't make disciples in our generation, the future of the faith is at risk.

Jesus has invested the future of His faith in us. Is your future invested in Him? Are you investing in the future of others?

October 29, 2009

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 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." Matthew 28:16-20

This week we have been learning quite a bit about discipleship. What are the marks that identify a disciple of Jesus?

A disciple holds to faith that is evidenced by faithfulness. disciples are also followers of Jesus. They follow Him fully, above all else that is sacred and important to them. And fully devoted disciples of Jesus are fearless because they live in His power and His presence. It does not mean that they are never afraid it means that they don't let fear nullify their faith. A fully devoted disciple is also focused on fulfilling the mandate Jesus gave them. Fully devoted disciples are fruitful. That means they produce results and the results they produce are other disciples. A certain mark of discipleship is that disciples reproduce themselves in others. Another mark of a disciple is he has a familiar place.

There is yet another mark of a disciple that I notice in this portion of Scripture. A disciple has fellowship.

Disciples have fellowship with other Christ followers. Their common faith and common focus creates a bond that unites them. These eleven had shared life for three years as they followed Jesus together. They had become like brothers as they laughed together, cried together, worked together, and learned together at the feet of Jesus. Few things are sweeter in life than the fellowship shared by God's people. Disciples are blessed with fellowship.

Not only does a disciple have fellowship with other disciples, he gets to enjoy the fellowship with those he is discipling. When a follower of Jesus is used by God to win a convert to Christ, a special bond is forged. Leading someone to Christ is almost like having a child and in a sense, he is a spiritual child. Some of my best fellowship has been with men I have had the privilege of developing as disciples.

Fellowship with other disciples, fellowship with those being discipled, and the best fellowship is the fellowship we have with Jesus, Who promises "to be with you always, even to the end of the age". Enjoying fellowship with Jesus is a preview of eternity because Heaven will be highlighted by unending fellowship with Jesus in the presence of God!

Disciples are blessed by fellowship. They enjoy fellowship with one another, fellowship with new believers, and fellowship with Jesus. You cannot be a disciple without enjoying fellowship. There are no "lone ranger" Christians.

How is your fellowship? Who are you sharing life with as you follow Jesus?