January 10, 2014

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:1-8

A family was out vacationing at the lake one summer. Dad had been puttering out by the boat house. Two of his sons, a 12-year old and a 3-year old were down playing along the dock. The 12 year old was supposed to be watching his little brother, but he got distracted. The 3 year old, little Billy, thought that would be a good time to check out the shiny aluminum fishing boat tied up at the end of the dock. So he went to the dock and put one foot on the boat, and one foot on the dock. He lost his balance and fell into the water, which was about 5 or 6 ft deep. 

The splash alerted the 12-yr old who let out a piercing scream. Dad came running from the boat house, jumped into the water, swam down, but unable to see anything, came up for air. Sick with panic, he went right back down into this murky water, and began to feel everywhere around the bottom. He couldn’t feel anything. Finally, on his way up, he felt little Billy's arms locked in a death grip on one of the posts of the dock, about 4 ft under water. Prying the boy's fingers loose, they burst up together through the surface to fill their lungs with life giving air. 

Finally when the adrenaline had stopped surging, and nerves had calmed down a little bit, the Father asked his son, “What on earth were you doing down there hanging onto the post so far under the water? And little Billy’s answer was a classic, laced with the wisdom only a toddler could give. He said, "I was just waiting for you dad. Just waiting for you." 

Praise God that He sent Jesus to rescue you and me!

When He found me I realized He was the One I had been waiting for!

But it also raises the thought in my mind, who may be waiting for me to share Jesus with them?

January 9, 2014

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:13-15

Pastor and author, Max Lucado shared this story in one of his recent books

“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 audiocassette. 

Robert has cerebral palsy.

The disease 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’s disease 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.”

Robert can’t walk and he struggles to talk but he is on a mission to share Christ the best he can.

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

What holds your life together?

What holds you back from sharing your faith?

January 8, 2014

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

I will never forget when I was just starting out at my first church and the Lord had convicted me to begin challenging my people to embrace a vision for world missions. After I had preached my heart out with a passionate about our need to have a burden for the world, and older gentleman challenged me, “Show me where it talks about missions in the Bible!”

I thought he was kidding me so I started to chuckle but then I realized he was serious so I responded, “Well, Charles, I thought I just did that! Weren’t you listening?”

Had I not be caught off guard with that question I should have asked him, “Show me where the Bible doesn't talk about missions.”

From the time God promised to crush the serpent following Adam’s fall, He has been on a mission to redeem the fallen race of man.

The first foreign missionary came from Heaven as a baby a manger. During His mission on earth He called others into the mission. Upon completing His mission He commissioned His Church to engage in the mission until He returns. Then He sent His Holy Spirit to empower them for the mission.

If you are a Christian you are on a mission to spread the Good News of salvation to the world. Apparently there is something missing in the mission because according to the website www.joshuaproject.net there are 16, 825 known people groups on earth and 7,287 of those people groups have not been reached with the gospel. Another way to state that stat is 43.3% of the world is still unreached. Something is missing in the mission.

There are 7.13 billion people on our planet and 2.91billion of those people have not had a missionary to tell them about the love of God. Something is missing in the mission.

What is missing in the mission?

Is it your prayers that are missing from the mission?

Is it your faith-promise offerings that are missing from the mission?

Is it you that is missing from the mission?

January 7, 2014

"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 6, 2014

"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

The key to knowing God's purpose for your life is to know God on purpose. Paul, writing to the Romans, says that if your want to know God's purpose for your life make knowing God your purpose. If you do that, He promises that He will reveal His will for you.

Why is it important to know your purpose for living?

If you are not guided by your purpose, you will be misguided by your personal preferences. A purpose gives you something to live for that is bigger than yourself and what you want. A life guided by personal desires never seems to end well.

If you are not guided by your purpose, you will be misguided by your passions. A purpose takes emotions and emotional decision out of play. How many good decisions have you made when you were overcome by your emotions? A purpose begins with the end in mind and chooses or decides based on what accomplishes your purpose.

If you are not guided by your purpose, you will be misguided by your prejudices. A purpose is based on a process and on principles not on personalities or people. A purpose is focused on arriving at a certain result and prioritizes according to whatever accomplishes the purpose rather your petty personal judgments.

Are you living on purpose? Do you have a clear idea of what your life is to accomplish? If so, it is because you have purposed to know your purpose. You have purposely made knowing God your purpose. That purposeful quest has lifted you above your personal preferences, above your passions and above your prejudices.

Know God, know purpose. No God, no purpose.

January 5, 2014

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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

What if someone offered to trade you his 2014 BMW straight up for your 2005 Toyota Corolla?

Would you take that deal? You certainly would want to check him out and make sure he actually owns the car and has the title and registration for it. But once that all checked out, don't you think you would be eager to make that deal?

If you pass on that deal I hope you would call me so I would have a chance to take it! That would be an amazing deal! You would be exchanging something of high value for something of significantly less value.

Don't hold your breath waiting for a deal like that. I seriously doubt it will happen. Who would take something of less value in trade for something of much greater value?

God would!

This Sunday I will begin a study on finding your purpose. Unfortunately, many people live and die without knowing why they were here. A life is a terrible thing to waste!

One of the first things you need to understand before you find your purpose is your value. You need to know how valuable you are and to whom and how that value is determined. After all, if you don't know your own value, how can you determine the relative worth of yourself against other things of value?

Getting back to my illustration, if you don't know the approximate value of your Corolla or the ballpark value of the BMW, how can you determine what sort of a deal you have been offered?

You could miss out on the deal of your lifetime!

If you want to determine your purpose for being on earth you must understand you value and how that value is determined. You must be prepared to recognize a good offer in case one is made to you!

In Romans 12:1-2, God makes an incredible offer that gives an insight on how He values you.

Here's the deal, He offers to reveal His will and purpose for you if you are willing to surrender your life to Him. You offer yourself to Him and He will give you as much as you can receive of Him!

Wow! That is a deal! You may want to give that some SERIOUS thought!

January 4, 2014

"After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan Riverinto the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."  Joshua 1:1-8

A promise made nearly five centuries ago was about to be fulfilled as Joshua prepared to lead God's people across the Jordan River and into the land promised to Abraham and his descendants.

But, there were some choices that needed to be made first:

Once he decided to venture out of his comfort zone and answer the call of God, Joshua faced another choice: Would he choose God's courage or his contentment?

Twice Joshua is urged to be courageous. 

What does it mean to be courageous? Several insights are giving in these verses.

Courage is conformity to God's Word. "obey all the law my servant Moses gave you...."

Courage begins with a willingness to shape your life around God's Word.

Courage is consistency. "Be careful....."

Obedience would not be required just once, it would require consistent and continual care to remain obedient. Each time would take renewed courage.

Courage is conviction. You can be courageous if you are convinced that God has the power to deliver on His promises. Joshua was sure of that!

Courage is commitment. Because Joshua was sure that God would do what He promised, he found courage to do his part.

Entering into the promise land will require courage! Courage that is found in God and His Word.

Joshua had the courage to conquer and he wouldn't be content with less!

Are you courageous or contented?