James 2:26 (NLT)
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Today’s question is this:
Does my life prove that my faith in Christ is real?
As we’ve done all week, I want you to get past all of the Sunday-school clichés and I want you to really examine this issue in your life by spending some time answering the following questions. I want you to be specific and write your answers down on a piece of paper:
Thinking back on our illustration from Monday… If a detective was hired to follow you around to prove, in the court of law, that you are, in fact, a follower of Jesus Christ, would this detective find enough evidence to convict you? Be honest with yourself and write down what evidence this detective might find:
Would you be convicted of being a full-fledged follower of Christ?
Would you only be charged with a misdemeanor? Are you hot and cold or on and off with your life as a follower of Christ?
Would you be declared not-guilty?
If someone were to ask your co-workers if you were a Christian or not, would they know? Would you have to tell them you’re a Christian or would they be able to put 2 and 2 together by not only the way you have treated them, but also how they see you handle situations as they arise?
We could ask questions like this all day long but it all comes down to the question at the top of the page:
Does my life prove that my faith in Christ is real?
Now, I want you to spend a few moments in prayer. Pray something like this:
God, I want to be real. I want to be authentic in my relationship with You. I want people to see me living out this relationship. Just as the moon reflects the sun, I want to my life to reflect You. I want people to look at my life and see something different. I want to love as You love and serve and You serve. I don’t want to have to tell people that I have given my life to You. I want people to be able to see it. In my life, make me less and less as You glorify Yourself more and more. Lord, use me. I give You every square inch of my life.
Now, spend a few minutes in silence. Give God some time to speak.
Don’t forget to breathe.
Now live for Christ like you never have before.
John 3:30 (NLT)
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Faith-Into-Action Week #4
James 2:26 (NLT)
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Today’s question is this:
Does my giving reflect my love for Christ?
Author Robert Louis Stevenson tells us, “You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” This is especially true of how we live out our relationship with Christ in such a way that it benefits others.
This one is uncomfortable for everyone involved (including myself). Just like yesterday and the day before, I want you to get past all of the Sunday-school clichés and I want you to really examine this issue in your life by spending some time answering the following questions. I want you to be specific and write your answers down on a piece of paper:
One obvious aspect of giving is tithing. Do you tithe (give 10% of your income to God through your local church)?
If you do, explain in a few words the emotions that flow when you write that check or prepare your cash offering? Are they emotions such as thankfulness and worship or are they emotions of guilt and irritation? Be specific as you write down these emotions.
If you don’t tithe, examine why. Write it down and take it to God. See if your reasoning lines up with His Word.
When you are blessed with more money than you need, is your first impulse to give it away or is your first impulse to spend it on yourself? Be honest here. Now write down how your answer to this question makes you feel.
Now, I want you to spend a few moments in prayer. Pray something like this:
God, please help me to find all the joy and contentment that I need in my relationship with You. Give me the strength to fight any attachment to the things of this world. Open my eyes to both the temporary and the eternal. Lord, when you give me more, give me opportunities to give more to others. Lord, help me trust You as I tithe. Help me to see this as an act of worship instead of as just another bill. I want my life to make a difference for You, Lord. I trust You and I place everything I have in Your mighty hands so that You can be glorified through it.
Now, spend a few minutes in silence. Give God some time to speak.
Don’t forget to breathe.
Now give like you never have before.
2nd Corinthians 9:6-8 (NLT)
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Today’s question is this:
Does my giving reflect my love for Christ?
Author Robert Louis Stevenson tells us, “You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” This is especially true of how we live out our relationship with Christ in such a way that it benefits others.
This one is uncomfortable for everyone involved (including myself). Just like yesterday and the day before, I want you to get past all of the Sunday-school clichés and I want you to really examine this issue in your life by spending some time answering the following questions. I want you to be specific and write your answers down on a piece of paper:
One obvious aspect of giving is tithing. Do you tithe (give 10% of your income to God through your local church)?
If you do, explain in a few words the emotions that flow when you write that check or prepare your cash offering? Are they emotions such as thankfulness and worship or are they emotions of guilt and irritation? Be specific as you write down these emotions.
If you don’t tithe, examine why. Write it down and take it to God. See if your reasoning lines up with His Word.
When you are blessed with more money than you need, is your first impulse to give it away or is your first impulse to spend it on yourself? Be honest here. Now write down how your answer to this question makes you feel.
Now, I want you to spend a few moments in prayer. Pray something like this:
God, please help me to find all the joy and contentment that I need in my relationship with You. Give me the strength to fight any attachment to the things of this world. Open my eyes to both the temporary and the eternal. Lord, when you give me more, give me opportunities to give more to others. Lord, help me trust You as I tithe. Help me to see this as an act of worship instead of as just another bill. I want my life to make a difference for You, Lord. I trust You and I place everything I have in Your mighty hands so that You can be glorified through it.
Now, spend a few minutes in silence. Give God some time to speak.
Don’t forget to breathe.
Now give like you never have before.
2nd Corinthians 9:6-8 (NLT)
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Faith-Into-Action Week #3
James 2:26 (NLT)
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Today’s question is this:
Does my family know, by the way I treat them, that I love Christ?
Just like yesterday, I want you to get past all of the Sunday-school clichés and I want you to really examine this issue in your life by spending some time answering the following questions. I want you to be specific and write your answers down on a piece of paper:
Husbands, does your wife see Jesus in how you treat her? In your presence, does she feel loved or does she feel fear? When you open your mouth, does she expect blessings or does she expect criticism? If she were honest, how would your wife describe you? Would your love for Christ be a part of her description?
Wives, does your husband see Jesus in how you treat him? In your presence, does he feel loved or does he feel inadequate? When you open your mouth, does he expect blessings or does he expect criticism? If he were honest, how would your husband describe you? Would your love for Christ be a part of his description?
Parents, do your children see Jesus in how you treat them? Do you encourage them or do you tear them down? Do they know that you’re proud of them or are they wondering if they even matter to you? Most of all, are you leading them to love Christ or are you leading them to tolerate Christ until they can move out of your house?
Now, I want you to spend a few moments in prayer.
Husbands / Fathers, pray something like this:
God, I want to give You my family. I am not able, on my own, to love them as they ought to be loved. I’m not able to guide and direct them to You as I should. I’m not just asking for Your help. I’m not just asking for suggestions along the way. I’m asking You to take full control. I want to give my family to You. I trust You completely. God, please give me the strength I need to be the servant leader my family needs. Help me be a man that rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects the greater reward, Your reward. I give you my wife and I give you my kids. Please help me to love them as I ought to while leading them to You.
Wives / Mothers, pray something like this:
God, I want to give You my family. Apart from You, I know I’m not able to be the wife my husband needs or the mother my children need. I need Your grace every single morning. Lord, help me to love my husband as I ought to. Continue to show me opportunities to encourage him. Open my eyes to new ways to show Him that I admire Him and most of all, that I trust Him. I give my children to You. Help us raise them up to honor You in how they live. Help me be a wife and a mother that constantly reflects Your love onto my family. I trust You completely, Lord, and I give my life and my family to You.
Now, spend a few minutes in silence. Give God some time to speak.
Don’t forget to breathe.
Now love your family like you never have before.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Today’s question is this:
Does my family know, by the way I treat them, that I love Christ?
Just like yesterday, I want you to get past all of the Sunday-school clichés and I want you to really examine this issue in your life by spending some time answering the following questions. I want you to be specific and write your answers down on a piece of paper:
Husbands, does your wife see Jesus in how you treat her? In your presence, does she feel loved or does she feel fear? When you open your mouth, does she expect blessings or does she expect criticism? If she were honest, how would your wife describe you? Would your love for Christ be a part of her description?
Wives, does your husband see Jesus in how you treat him? In your presence, does he feel loved or does he feel inadequate? When you open your mouth, does he expect blessings or does he expect criticism? If he were honest, how would your husband describe you? Would your love for Christ be a part of his description?
Parents, do your children see Jesus in how you treat them? Do you encourage them or do you tear them down? Do they know that you’re proud of them or are they wondering if they even matter to you? Most of all, are you leading them to love Christ or are you leading them to tolerate Christ until they can move out of your house?
Now, I want you to spend a few moments in prayer.
Husbands / Fathers, pray something like this:
God, I want to give You my family. I am not able, on my own, to love them as they ought to be loved. I’m not able to guide and direct them to You as I should. I’m not just asking for Your help. I’m not just asking for suggestions along the way. I’m asking You to take full control. I want to give my family to You. I trust You completely. God, please give me the strength I need to be the servant leader my family needs. Help me be a man that rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects the greater reward, Your reward. I give you my wife and I give you my kids. Please help me to love them as I ought to while leading them to You.
Wives / Mothers, pray something like this:
God, I want to give You my family. Apart from You, I know I’m not able to be the wife my husband needs or the mother my children need. I need Your grace every single morning. Lord, help me to love my husband as I ought to. Continue to show me opportunities to encourage him. Open my eyes to new ways to show Him that I admire Him and most of all, that I trust Him. I give my children to You. Help us raise them up to honor You in how they live. Help me be a wife and a mother that constantly reflects Your love onto my family. I trust You completely, Lord, and I give my life and my family to You.
Now, spend a few minutes in silence. Give God some time to speak.
Don’t forget to breathe.
Now love your family like you never have before.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Faith-Into-Action Week #2
James 2:26 (NLT)
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
This week will be a little bit more introspective than other weeks. Sometimes we must stop reading and start acting. That is my prayer for you this week. That you can find some freedom and deliverance.
Today’s question is this:
Do I really believe that my sins have been forgiven?
C.S. Lewis tells us that, “Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.”
It is absolutely vital that we, as followers of Christ, are able to not only forgive others, but also to accept Christ’s forgiveness for our own sins. I want you to get past all of the Sunday-school clichés and I want you to really examine this issue in your life by spending some time answering the following questions:
Are there sins from your past that you are still holding onto? (Write them down. Be specific.)
Are there sins in your life right now that are allowing guilt to overtake your desire to serve God? (Write them down. Be specific.)
What would change in your life if I were to finally let go of these things?
Now, I want you to spend a few moments in prayer. Pray something like this:
God, I want to give you my past, my present, and my future. I want to give you all of my failures and shortcomings... All the things that heap guilt on my head every morning when I wake up. Lord, I want to walk in newness with You. I want to be free of this burden. I’m crying out to You! I trust You and You alone to deliver me.
Now, spend a few minutes in silence. Give God some time to speak.
Don’t forget to breathe.
Now embrace forgiveness like you never have before.
Psalm 103:12 (NLT)
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
This week will be a little bit more introspective than other weeks. Sometimes we must stop reading and start acting. That is my prayer for you this week. That you can find some freedom and deliverance.
Today’s question is this:
Do I really believe that my sins have been forgiven?
C.S. Lewis tells us that, “Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.”
It is absolutely vital that we, as followers of Christ, are able to not only forgive others, but also to accept Christ’s forgiveness for our own sins. I want you to get past all of the Sunday-school clichés and I want you to really examine this issue in your life by spending some time answering the following questions:
Are there sins from your past that you are still holding onto? (Write them down. Be specific.)
Are there sins in your life right now that are allowing guilt to overtake your desire to serve God? (Write them down. Be specific.)
What would change in your life if I were to finally let go of these things?
Now, I want you to spend a few moments in prayer. Pray something like this:
God, I want to give you my past, my present, and my future. I want to give you all of my failures and shortcomings... All the things that heap guilt on my head every morning when I wake up. Lord, I want to walk in newness with You. I want to be free of this burden. I’m crying out to You! I trust You and You alone to deliver me.
Now, spend a few minutes in silence. Give God some time to speak.
Don’t forget to breathe.
Now embrace forgiveness like you never have before.
Psalm 103:12 (NLT)
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Faith-Into-Action Week #1
James 2:26 (NLT)
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Is your faith visible? Can people see your faith when they look at you? Obviously, you can’t wear it like a jacket but is your life producing the fruit that shows the world around you that you belong to Christ? If it isn’t, would it be fair to say that maybe you don’t?
Believe me, I’m all for encouragement and positive energy but at some point, we have to put down the baby bottle, look at ourselves in the mirror, and ask ourselves the tough questions that are going to help us grow.
Questions like:
Do I really believe that my sins have been forgiven?
Does my family know, by the way I treat them, that I love Christ?
Does my giving reflect my love for Christ?
Does my life prove that my faith in Christ is real?
I heard someone explain it this way: If a detective was hired to follow you around to prove, in a court of law, that you are, in fact, a follower of Jesus Christ, would this detective find enough evidence to convict you?
My prayer is that you would be found guilty.
Would you?
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Is your faith visible? Can people see your faith when they look at you? Obviously, you can’t wear it like a jacket but is your life producing the fruit that shows the world around you that you belong to Christ? If it isn’t, would it be fair to say that maybe you don’t?
Believe me, I’m all for encouragement and positive energy but at some point, we have to put down the baby bottle, look at ourselves in the mirror, and ask ourselves the tough questions that are going to help us grow.
Questions like:
Do I really believe that my sins have been forgiven?
Does my family know, by the way I treat them, that I love Christ?
Does my giving reflect my love for Christ?
Does my life prove that my faith in Christ is real?
I heard someone explain it this way: If a detective was hired to follow you around to prove, in a court of law, that you are, in fact, a follower of Jesus Christ, would this detective find enough evidence to convict you?
My prayer is that you would be found guilty.
Would you?
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Morning Message
Scripture References:
Title or topic of message:
Notes:
Questions I have about the message:
How can I apply this message to my life?
Title or topic of message:
Notes:
Questions I have about the message:
How can I apply this message to my life?
Friday, May 25, 2012
Reflection and Meditation
1. Who have you used as a measuring stick in your walk with the Lord? Release this person from that role and ask God to show you how to measure yourself by Christ and His Word alone!
2. What are your spiritual gifts? If you don't know, ask John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) or Jason (the wiser and wittier) to get you a Spiritual Gift Survey. If you do know what they are, are you serving the body of Christ as you were made to? If you aren't, what's holding you back?
3. What do you think it means to actively love others? Ask God to open your eyes to opportunities to do this!
4. Get on YouTube and watch an episode of the Flintstones. You deserve a break!
5. Who is the one person that you've had tremendous trouble praying for? If you're still unable to pray for this person, ask God to help you. He can release you from those feelings!
6. Have you ever gotten revenge on someone for something? How do you think the situation would have played out had you, instead of getting them back, prayed for and loved the person who did you wrong?
2. What are your spiritual gifts? If you don't know, ask John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) or Jason (the wiser and wittier) to get you a Spiritual Gift Survey. If you do know what they are, are you serving the body of Christ as you were made to? If you aren't, what's holding you back?
3. What do you think it means to actively love others? Ask God to open your eyes to opportunities to do this!
4. Get on YouTube and watch an episode of the Flintstones. You deserve a break!
5. Who is the one person that you've had tremendous trouble praying for? If you're still unable to pray for this person, ask God to help you. He can release you from those feelings!
6. Have you ever gotten revenge on someone for something? How do you think the situation would have played out had you, instead of getting them back, prayed for and loved the person who did you wrong?
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Revenge
Romans 12:19 (NLT)
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God.
Taylor Swift has a song that says, “there’s nothing I do better than revenge!” The ABC television network is currently airing a very popular show called Revenge about, you guessed it, a woman getting revenge on a whole lot of people. Our culture loves a good story of revenge. Have you ever found yourself thinking the following:
Can you believe what that idiot did? I was about to leave for work and this dude pulled right out in front of me! I almost hit him! I’ll tell you what, I’m going to give him hell until I get to work. Ha, this’ll show ‘em!
Silly? Not quite… What about this:
I can’t believe she didn’t bring my movie back… I lent her that movie 2 months ago and she still hasn’t brought me my movie back! I’ll tell you what, I’ll never let her borrow another movie of mine! As a matter of fact, I’m going to borrow one of her movies and keep it forever!
We definitely do silly things sometimes… People wrong us and we just have to get them back. We have to go that extra mile. But God calls us to do the complete opposite of what our culture teaches us. God calls us to NEVER take revenge.
NEVER.
He says to leave all of the revenge to Him. Taking our personal feelings out of the equation is really the only way that we can really love others!
Try to remember this today as you contemplate how you’re going to get back at the drive-thru lady who gave you regular Coke when you asked for a Diet Coke.
Let God take care of that kind of stuff.
You just love her anyway…
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God.
Taylor Swift has a song that says, “there’s nothing I do better than revenge!” The ABC television network is currently airing a very popular show called Revenge about, you guessed it, a woman getting revenge on a whole lot of people. Our culture loves a good story of revenge. Have you ever found yourself thinking the following:
Can you believe what that idiot did? I was about to leave for work and this dude pulled right out in front of me! I almost hit him! I’ll tell you what, I’m going to give him hell until I get to work. Ha, this’ll show ‘em!
Silly? Not quite… What about this:
I can’t believe she didn’t bring my movie back… I lent her that movie 2 months ago and she still hasn’t brought me my movie back! I’ll tell you what, I’ll never let her borrow another movie of mine! As a matter of fact, I’m going to borrow one of her movies and keep it forever!
We definitely do silly things sometimes… People wrong us and we just have to get them back. We have to go that extra mile. But God calls us to do the complete opposite of what our culture teaches us. God calls us to NEVER take revenge.
NEVER.
He says to leave all of the revenge to Him. Taking our personal feelings out of the equation is really the only way that we can really love others!
Try to remember this today as you contemplate how you’re going to get back at the drive-thru lady who gave you regular Coke when you asked for a Diet Coke.
Let God take care of that kind of stuff.
You just love her anyway…
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Bless Who?
Romans 12:14 (NLT)
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.
Yeah… That’s really in the Bible…
This is a hard pill to swallow but we have to somehow choke it down. God shows us love so that we can show love to others.
Especially the unlovable.
People that have said disparaging things about “yo’ momma.”
People who made fun of that little buck you killed last year.
People that have hurt you.
People that have stolen from you.
People that have cursed you.
People that have ruined you…
God calls us to bless these people and to pray that He will bless them.
I want you to spend a few minutes thinking about someone who has hurt you. Think about the last person in the world you would ever want to heap blessings on. Now pray for them. Pray for blessings on their life. Pray that God blesses them.
I’m not asking you to do anything crazy… It’s right there in Romans 12…
If you can do this, God will no doubt release you from your feelings about that person. You might finally be able to forgive. You might finally be able to move on.
Give it a shot…
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.
Yeah… That’s really in the Bible…
This is a hard pill to swallow but we have to somehow choke it down. God shows us love so that we can show love to others.
Especially the unlovable.
People that have said disparaging things about “yo’ momma.”
People who made fun of that little buck you killed last year.
People that have hurt you.
People that have stolen from you.
People that have cursed you.
People that have ruined you…
God calls us to bless these people and to pray that He will bless them.
I want you to spend a few minutes thinking about someone who has hurt you. Think about the last person in the world you would ever want to heap blessings on. Now pray for them. Pray for blessings on their life. Pray that God blesses them.
I’m not asking you to do anything crazy… It’s right there in Romans 12…
If you can do this, God will no doubt release you from your feelings about that person. You might finally be able to forgive. You might finally be able to move on.
Give it a shot…
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Really Love Them
Romans 12:9 (NLT)
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them…
Have you taken a passive approach to loving people? As a culture, we are very quick to say all the right things without lifting a finger to actually address the issues people around us are facing. We hear about poor Aunt Lulu and how sick she is and how she needs our prayers and actually have the audacity to say we’ll "keep her in our prayers," which actually means we’ll pray for her later, if we think about it.
What if we stopped what we were doing and prayed for Aunt Lulu right then and there?! That is the kind of boldness that God calls us to!
We hear about Lego Louie’s house burning down and shake our heads, obviously distraught by the news… So distraught that hey, we’ll "keep them in our prayers…"
What if we went through our closets and gave Lego Louie some of our old (but new to him) clothes? What if we finally got rid of some of the furniture in our house and gave it to Louie? This is rejecting that passive approach to loving others and instead loving in an active way! Just like God has called us to!
We hear things like, “Keep the Flintstones, Fred and Wilma, in your prayers… They’re going through a really rough patch in their marriage.”
Instead of praying for this frustrated couple, we “gather information” (gossip) so we’ll know exactly what to pray for and then say we’ll "keep them in our prayers…"
Instead, we should stop what we’re doing and pray for Fred and Wilma right then and there! (Fred and Wilma Flintstone are fictional characters created by Hanna-Barbera Productions… You should look them up sometime… I would say that their marriage is almost always on the rocks… Ha… Haha... See what I did there? Anyways…)
I hope you get my point! Don’t take a passive approach to loving others! If there’s a need, do what you can to meet it! If someone needs prayer, stop what you’re doing and pray for them!
Then pray for them later like you said you would!
Let’s start really loving others!
There’s really no other way to do it...
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them…
Have you taken a passive approach to loving people? As a culture, we are very quick to say all the right things without lifting a finger to actually address the issues people around us are facing. We hear about poor Aunt Lulu and how sick she is and how she needs our prayers and actually have the audacity to say we’ll "keep her in our prayers," which actually means we’ll pray for her later, if we think about it.
What if we stopped what we were doing and prayed for Aunt Lulu right then and there?! That is the kind of boldness that God calls us to!
We hear about Lego Louie’s house burning down and shake our heads, obviously distraught by the news… So distraught that hey, we’ll "keep them in our prayers…"
What if we went through our closets and gave Lego Louie some of our old (but new to him) clothes? What if we finally got rid of some of the furniture in our house and gave it to Louie? This is rejecting that passive approach to loving others and instead loving in an active way! Just like God has called us to!
We hear things like, “Keep the Flintstones, Fred and Wilma, in your prayers… They’re going through a really rough patch in their marriage.”
Instead of praying for this frustrated couple, we “gather information” (gossip) so we’ll know exactly what to pray for and then say we’ll "keep them in our prayers…"
Instead, we should stop what we’re doing and pray for Fred and Wilma right then and there! (Fred and Wilma Flintstone are fictional characters created by Hanna-Barbera Productions… You should look them up sometime… I would say that their marriage is almost always on the rocks… Ha… Haha... See what I did there? Anyways…)
I hope you get my point! Don’t take a passive approach to loving others! If there’s a need, do what you can to meet it! If someone needs prayer, stop what you’re doing and pray for them!
Then pray for them later like you said you would!
Let’s start really loving others!
There’s really no other way to do it...
Monday, May 21, 2012
Parts
Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
I know you’ve heard that you’re unique. Most of us have grown up hearing about how special we are. Well, here’s the truth: You are. You are unique. You are special and you have been specially gifted by God to do certain things well!
As we’ve discussed before, we are all part of the body of Christ. We all have certain functions. Some people are the arms. Some people are the neck. Some people are the… well… Let’s move on. We are all a special and unique part of the body of Christ.
This is all well and good as long as all parts of the body are functioning well. But when the arm stops working, the body can’t lift. When the knee stops working, the body can’t walk. When you’re not serving the body as you were made to serve it, something is missing. I’m not just talking about Refuge Church. The body of Christ is made up of Christians from all over the world. We all have a part to play. God may have placed you in Refuge Church or He may have you serving in another church! The great news is that if glorifying and serving Jesus is your goal, we’re all on the same team!
It’s time for you to get involved! If you don’t know how, ask your pastor or someone you trust and respect. Whatever you do, don’t just do nothing!
Refugees (clever name for members of Refuge Church), have you taken the Spiritual Gift Survey to find out what your spiritual gifts are and met with John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) to discuss them and how you can get involved? What’s holding you back?
Get involved and start doing what you were made to do!
Romans 12:6-8 (NLT)
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
I know you’ve heard that you’re unique. Most of us have grown up hearing about how special we are. Well, here’s the truth: You are. You are unique. You are special and you have been specially gifted by God to do certain things well!
As we’ve discussed before, we are all part of the body of Christ. We all have certain functions. Some people are the arms. Some people are the neck. Some people are the… well… Let’s move on. We are all a special and unique part of the body of Christ.
This is all well and good as long as all parts of the body are functioning well. But when the arm stops working, the body can’t lift. When the knee stops working, the body can’t walk. When you’re not serving the body as you were made to serve it, something is missing. I’m not just talking about Refuge Church. The body of Christ is made up of Christians from all over the world. We all have a part to play. God may have placed you in Refuge Church or He may have you serving in another church! The great news is that if glorifying and serving Jesus is your goal, we’re all on the same team!
It’s time for you to get involved! If you don’t know how, ask your pastor or someone you trust and respect. Whatever you do, don’t just do nothing!
Refugees (clever name for members of Refuge Church), have you taken the Spiritual Gift Survey to find out what your spiritual gifts are and met with John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) to discuss them and how you can get involved? What’s holding you back?
Get involved and start doing what you were made to do!
Romans 12:6-8 (NLT)
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Measuring Stick
Romans 12:3 (NLT)
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Who is your measuring stick today?
Whose standard are you trying to live up to? How are you measuring your walk with the Lord? If we’re honest, we go with what I feel is our natural instinct:
Most of us measure ourselves using other people. Not necessarily people who we look up to or admire but people that make us look a little bit (or maybe a lot!) better than we really are. Very rarely do we use the ultimate measuring sticks that God has given us:
Jesus Christ and his Word!
Know this: You won’t get anywhere in your walk with the Lord until you make it your desire to live up to Christ’s standard. Sure, you’ll fail and you’ll fall down but you’ll grow! James tells us the following:
James 1:2-4 (NLT)
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Look in the mirror today and decide to follow Christ… Not John (the Pastor OR the Baptist) but Jesus! Not either Jason but Jesus! Measure yourself by God’s Word! Dig into the Gospels and measure yourself by the life and teachings of Christ!
That’s the only way we’re going to grow.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Who is your measuring stick today?
Whose standard are you trying to live up to? How are you measuring your walk with the Lord? If we’re honest, we go with what I feel is our natural instinct:
Most of us measure ourselves using other people. Not necessarily people who we look up to or admire but people that make us look a little bit (or maybe a lot!) better than we really are. Very rarely do we use the ultimate measuring sticks that God has given us:
Jesus Christ and his Word!
Know this: You won’t get anywhere in your walk with the Lord until you make it your desire to live up to Christ’s standard. Sure, you’ll fail and you’ll fall down but you’ll grow! James tells us the following:
James 1:2-4 (NLT)
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Look in the mirror today and decide to follow Christ… Not John (the Pastor OR the Baptist) but Jesus! Not either Jason but Jesus! Measure yourself by God’s Word! Dig into the Gospels and measure yourself by the life and teachings of Christ!
That’s the only way we’re going to grow.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Morning Message
Scripture References:
Title or topic of message:
Notes:
Questions I have about the message:
How can I apply this message to my life?
Title or topic of message:
Notes:
Questions I have about the message:
How can I apply this message to my life?
Friday, May 18, 2012
Reflection and Meditation
1. Have you ever run away from God? Recall this experience and write down how this season of your life felt. Ask God for the courage to fearlessly obey Him no matter what!
Think about both questions that were asked in Tuesday's devotional, "Jonah Gets Thrown Overboard."
2. Are you going through a storm in your life right because you have simply disobeyed God? What can you do to throw yourself overboard and give up running?
3. Is there a Jonah in your life that you need to throw overboard? Ask God to give you the courage to step away from the things and people in your life that constantly trip you up!
4. Can you remember a time in your life when all you could do was cry out to God? Take a few minutes and cry out to Him now. Write or type this prayer, fold it up, and place it in your sock drawer. Read it and pray it again every morning and watch as God delivers you!
5. Have you approached your Nineveh? What is holding you back? Ask God for courage to be bold and show this person a love that can only come from Him!
6. Have you ever found yourself upset because a person didn't get "what they deserve?" Ask God to help you show others the same mercy He shows you every morning!
7. Congratulations on reading the entire book of Jonah this week! What is the one thing that stood out to you? Why?
Think about both questions that were asked in Tuesday's devotional, "Jonah Gets Thrown Overboard."
2. Are you going through a storm in your life right because you have simply disobeyed God? What can you do to throw yourself overboard and give up running?
3. Is there a Jonah in your life that you need to throw overboard? Ask God to give you the courage to step away from the things and people in your life that constantly trip you up!
4. Can you remember a time in your life when all you could do was cry out to God? Take a few minutes and cry out to Him now. Write or type this prayer, fold it up, and place it in your sock drawer. Read it and pray it again every morning and watch as God delivers you!
5. Have you approached your Nineveh? What is holding you back? Ask God for courage to be bold and show this person a love that can only come from Him!
6. Have you ever found yourself upset because a person didn't get "what they deserve?" Ask God to help you show others the same mercy He shows you every morning!
7. Congratulations on reading the entire book of Jonah this week! What is the one thing that stood out to you? Why?
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Jonah Throws a Man-Fit
Jonah 4:1-11 (NLT)
This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.
Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
As we’ve already discussed, Jonah preaches to the city of Nineveh and the entire city repents of its sin. That's amazing. They repented in such a way that God decided to spare the entire city after earlier deciding to wipe it out. Jonah got so angry at this that he left the city and sat by himself in the desert.
So while Jonah was throwing his man-fit in the desert, God came to him and asked him if he felt his anger was justified. Jonah replied saying, "Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
So God left him alone stewing in the desert and did something strange. He caused a plant to grow up next to Jonah. Overnight. To give Jonah's whiny heinie some shade. Jonah was grateful as I would have been. I'm sure his anger subsided a bit when that cool shady breeze hit his face. However, after Jonah was able to finally get some relief from the heat, God sent a worm to eat the entire tree. A worm ate the entire plant. A worm. God also sent a very nasty blistering hot wind out of the east to beat on Jonah for a bit. So Jonah starts to throw another man-fit. He says, "Death is certainly better than living like this!" So God asks him if his anger towards the plant's demise was just. Jonah replied like any sweaty, hot, defeated man would have replied:
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
Heat can make a man do and say many things he's not proud of. I know this from personal experience.
So then God comes at him with this question: “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?”
I'm sure every bird, lizard, and insect stopped whatever it was doing at that very second and let out a big, "Ohhhh SNAP!" Because that's where the book ends and if the animal's quip was written, it would have just been silly. But I bet it happened. We find out really quickly that Jonah has no answer to the question. The book just ends.
There are no more chapters in the book of Jonah. He will be forever remembered for being swallowed by a fish and throwing man-fits in the desert. Quite the legacy... However, I think he would be thankful that God was able to use him to teach us such a powerful lesson. I think this is the proverbial "can't see the forest for the trees" kind of thing. Jonah was in such a selfish state that he was more upset about that plant dying than he was a city of over 120,000 people dying. If you're God, this is what you call a "teachable moment."
Let us not be so selfish and short-sighted that we completely miss out on all of the blessings God has set before us.
The world doesn't need another Jonah.
This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.
Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
As we’ve already discussed, Jonah preaches to the city of Nineveh and the entire city repents of its sin. That's amazing. They repented in such a way that God decided to spare the entire city after earlier deciding to wipe it out. Jonah got so angry at this that he left the city and sat by himself in the desert.
So while Jonah was throwing his man-fit in the desert, God came to him and asked him if he felt his anger was justified. Jonah replied saying, "Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
So God left him alone stewing in the desert and did something strange. He caused a plant to grow up next to Jonah. Overnight. To give Jonah's whiny heinie some shade. Jonah was grateful as I would have been. I'm sure his anger subsided a bit when that cool shady breeze hit his face. However, after Jonah was able to finally get some relief from the heat, God sent a worm to eat the entire tree. A worm ate the entire plant. A worm. God also sent a very nasty blistering hot wind out of the east to beat on Jonah for a bit. So Jonah starts to throw another man-fit. He says, "Death is certainly better than living like this!" So God asks him if his anger towards the plant's demise was just. Jonah replied like any sweaty, hot, defeated man would have replied:
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
Heat can make a man do and say many things he's not proud of. I know this from personal experience.
So then God comes at him with this question: “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?”
I'm sure every bird, lizard, and insect stopped whatever it was doing at that very second and let out a big, "Ohhhh SNAP!" Because that's where the book ends and if the animal's quip was written, it would have just been silly. But I bet it happened. We find out really quickly that Jonah has no answer to the question. The book just ends.
There are no more chapters in the book of Jonah. He will be forever remembered for being swallowed by a fish and throwing man-fits in the desert. Quite the legacy... However, I think he would be thankful that God was able to use him to teach us such a powerful lesson. I think this is the proverbial "can't see the forest for the trees" kind of thing. Jonah was in such a selfish state that he was more upset about that plant dying than he was a city of over 120,000 people dying. If you're God, this is what you call a "teachable moment."
Let us not be so selfish and short-sighted that we completely miss out on all of the blessings God has set before us.
The world doesn't need another Jonah.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Jonah Obeys and Nineveh Is Glad
Jonah 3:1-10 (NLT)
Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”
This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah finally obeyed God and entire city of Nineveh repented and turned towards God! Wow! It’s amazing what God can do through a willing servant!
I hope you can find encouragement here. We’ve discussed throwing your Jonah off of your boat but now we have to move on to sharing God’s message with your Nineveh! That person that we discussed last week… The one that you know God is leading you to share your faith with… This person is your Nineveh!
While you may be afraid of the temporary consequences that may follow you sharing your faith with this person (NEWSFLASH: they may not be comfortable around you anymore and your relationship with this person may change!), they are far outweighed by the eternal consequences (eternity in Heaven or Hell!). With a person’s eternity in Heaven or Hell in the balance, we don’t have time to wait around and hope for the best! God has given us His power! We don’t have to walk into any situation alone! Ask Him to give you the words to say and He will! Trust Him today!
Share with your Nineveh the message that God has laid on your heart!
Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”
This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah finally obeyed God and entire city of Nineveh repented and turned towards God! Wow! It’s amazing what God can do through a willing servant!
I hope you can find encouragement here. We’ve discussed throwing your Jonah off of your boat but now we have to move on to sharing God’s message with your Nineveh! That person that we discussed last week… The one that you know God is leading you to share your faith with… This person is your Nineveh!
While you may be afraid of the temporary consequences that may follow you sharing your faith with this person (NEWSFLASH: they may not be comfortable around you anymore and your relationship with this person may change!), they are far outweighed by the eternal consequences (eternity in Heaven or Hell!). With a person’s eternity in Heaven or Hell in the balance, we don’t have time to wait around and hope for the best! God has given us His power! We don’t have to walk into any situation alone! Ask Him to give you the words to say and He will! Trust Him today!
Share with your Nineveh the message that God has laid on your heart!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Jonah Cries Out To God
Jonah 2:1-10 (NLT)
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said,
“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’ I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.
This beautiful prayer should ring true in all of our lives. Even though Jonah ran away from God, He was delivered the moment He cried out to God for help. We must remember that God loves us through our mistakes. He doesn’t approve or accept sin in our lives but He will always restore us when we cry out to Him.
Don’t wallow in your sin any longer! Cry out to God and be delivered!
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said,
“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’ I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.
This beautiful prayer should ring true in all of our lives. Even though Jonah ran away from God, He was delivered the moment He cried out to God for help. We must remember that God loves us through our mistakes. He doesn’t approve or accept sin in our lives but He will always restore us when we cry out to Him.
Don’t wallow in your sin any longer! Cry out to God and be delivered!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Jonah Gets Thrown Overboard
Jonah 1:4-17 (NLT)
But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”
Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”
“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”
Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.
Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Two things:
First, are you going through a storm in your life right now because you blatantly disobeyed God? Are you and your family suffering for the decisions you’re making right now? Jonah realized that he was wrong and acknowledged “that this terrible storm is all my fault.” Are you going to continue to run away from God or are you going to listen to God. Decide right now.
Secondly, as John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) has stated before, is there a Jonah in your life? Is there a person in your life that you need to get away from? Are you suffering through storm after storm because you’re allowing this person and their influence to remain in your life? You know the person I’m talking about. They popped into your head as you read the past few sentences. It’s time to throw them off the boat (your life!) and move on!
These are tough things to swallow but they are vital if we’re going to grow closer to Christ in our lives. Give the Jonah's in your life to God and walk away from them. Your ship will crash and you will drown if you don’t.
But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”
Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”
“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”
Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.
Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Two things:
First, are you going through a storm in your life right now because you blatantly disobeyed God? Are you and your family suffering for the decisions you’re making right now? Jonah realized that he was wrong and acknowledged “that this terrible storm is all my fault.” Are you going to continue to run away from God or are you going to listen to God. Decide right now.
Secondly, as John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) has stated before, is there a Jonah in your life? Is there a person in your life that you need to get away from? Are you suffering through storm after storm because you’re allowing this person and their influence to remain in your life? You know the person I’m talking about. They popped into your head as you read the past few sentences. It’s time to throw them off the boat (your life!) and move on!
These are tough things to swallow but they are vital if we’re going to grow closer to Christ in our lives. Give the Jonah's in your life to God and walk away from them. Your ship will crash and you will drown if you don’t.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Jonah Runs Away
Jonah 1:1-3 (NLT)
The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
Sometimes, we feel like God may be telling us something. We feel like maybe He wants us to talk to a certain person or go to a certain place. We feel like it anyway… Oftentimes, we chalk it up to food poisoning or headache medicine and ignore it.
Then you have situations like the one Jonah found himself in. The Lord actually gave Jonah a direct message. A specific message. God probably wrote it down on a holy post-it note (pure conjecture on my part - you will not find this in scripture!). Jonah didn’t have to interpret it or take it to his pastor. God left nothing to Jonah’s imagination.
Jonah ran anyway.
Imagine getting a direct command from God and running away from it. We like to think we’d never do that but if we’re honest, we do it every day. We make excuses. We do things halfway. We ignore it when we hear God’s voice and keep walking through our life like it never happened.
As you start this week, make sure that you don’t ignore God when He leads you to do something. The only way to do this is to be in constant communication with Him. Talk to Him throughout your day and you won’t have to wonder whether You heard His voice or not. You’ll know.
The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
Sometimes, we feel like God may be telling us something. We feel like maybe He wants us to talk to a certain person or go to a certain place. We feel like it anyway… Oftentimes, we chalk it up to food poisoning or headache medicine and ignore it.
Then you have situations like the one Jonah found himself in. The Lord actually gave Jonah a direct message. A specific message. God probably wrote it down on a holy post-it note (pure conjecture on my part - you will not find this in scripture!). Jonah didn’t have to interpret it or take it to his pastor. God left nothing to Jonah’s imagination.
Jonah ran anyway.
Imagine getting a direct command from God and running away from it. We like to think we’d never do that but if we’re honest, we do it every day. We make excuses. We do things halfway. We ignore it when we hear God’s voice and keep walking through our life like it never happened.
As you start this week, make sure that you don’t ignore God when He leads you to do something. The only way to do this is to be in constant communication with Him. Talk to Him throughout your day and you won’t have to wonder whether You heard His voice or not. You’ll know.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Morning Message
Scripture References:
Title or topic of message:
Notes:
Questions I have about the message:
How can I apply this message to my life?
Title or topic of message:
Notes:
Questions I have about the message:
How can I apply this message to my life?
Friday, May 11, 2012
Reflection and Meditation
1. Think about something you know you need to do that you've been putting off waiting on the perfect time to handle it? Ask God to give you the courage to step up and handle this situation today!
2. Who is God leading you to share your faith with today? He probably laid this person on your heart a long time ago. Ask God to give you the words to say as well as the courage to share you faith with them!
3. Pray that God will lead you to a mentor in your life. A person that you can trust and learn from. Don't be ashamed to ask this person to be a mentor for you. God put us here to love and help each other!
4. What is the main thing that stuck out to you as you read Thursday's devotional, "Angry People?" Why did this stick out to you like it did?
5. Take every little sin that you've been carrying with you lately and write it down on a sheet of paper. Give them all to God and shred / burn / destroy the paper, signifying your letting go of the chains that have bound you!
6. Call your Mom and tell her you love her!
2. Who is God leading you to share your faith with today? He probably laid this person on your heart a long time ago. Ask God to give you the words to say as well as the courage to share you faith with them!
3. Pray that God will lead you to a mentor in your life. A person that you can trust and learn from. Don't be ashamed to ask this person to be a mentor for you. God put us here to love and help each other!
4. What is the main thing that stuck out to you as you read Thursday's devotional, "Angry People?" Why did this stick out to you like it did?
5. Take every little sin that you've been carrying with you lately and write it down on a sheet of paper. Give them all to God and shred / burn / destroy the paper, signifying your letting go of the chains that have bound you!
6. Call your Mom and tell her you love her!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
God Loves The Dirty
Isaiah 43:25 (NLT)
I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
As we end this week, I want you to know one thing:
God loves you.
He loves you more than you could ever imagine. He longs for you to know and understand this. You can’t earn this love. You can’t do anything that will cause you to lose this love. He loves you infinitely and perfectly.
So don’t believe the lie that you have to “clean up” before you spend time with Him. As new creations, we still seem to stumble through the mud sometimes. Instead of going to God to make things right, we feel like we aren’t worthy to even speak to God. So we do whatever we can think of to make things better on our own. But we fail and oftentimes find ourselves even filthier than we were to begin with.
Know this: God will never bring up our sinful past as He leads us into new life in Him. Never. When we accept Him and what Jesus did on the cross for us, we are new. There are no more dirty little secrets. There are no more crimes on our record. He doesn’t see the lonely miserable wretch that He found. He sees a new creation. A new creation fashioned in His own image.
How amazing is this!
Today, as you begin your day and your weekend, spend some time thinking about this. Spend some time with God thanking Him for this. Take your filthy rags to Him. The dirtiest of the dirty. Not only can He handle it, He longs to restore you!
Don’t believe the lies and wait around! God loves the dirty!
Make your move!
I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
As we end this week, I want you to know one thing:
God loves you.
He loves you more than you could ever imagine. He longs for you to know and understand this. You can’t earn this love. You can’t do anything that will cause you to lose this love. He loves you infinitely and perfectly.
So don’t believe the lie that you have to “clean up” before you spend time with Him. As new creations, we still seem to stumble through the mud sometimes. Instead of going to God to make things right, we feel like we aren’t worthy to even speak to God. So we do whatever we can think of to make things better on our own. But we fail and oftentimes find ourselves even filthier than we were to begin with.
Know this: God will never bring up our sinful past as He leads us into new life in Him. Never. When we accept Him and what Jesus did on the cross for us, we are new. There are no more dirty little secrets. There are no more crimes on our record. He doesn’t see the lonely miserable wretch that He found. He sees a new creation. A new creation fashioned in His own image.
How amazing is this!
Today, as you begin your day and your weekend, spend some time thinking about this. Spend some time with God thanking Him for this. Take your filthy rags to Him. The dirtiest of the dirty. Not only can He handle it, He longs to restore you!
Don’t believe the lies and wait around! God loves the dirty!
Make your move!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Angry People
Proverbs 22:24-25 (NLT)
Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.
There are three aspects to this verse that we need to notice and discuss.
The first thing we need to understand is very obvious: We don’t need to spend time with angry or hot-tempered people.
Anger and a short temper breed negativity and negativity sucks all the good air out of any room it enters. For your sake and the sake of the many people you’re sure to run into, don’t spend your time around people like this.
The second thing we need to understand is this: We need to make sure that WE aren’t the angry or hot-tempered person.
Is it possible that we are the person that God is telling people to not befriend? Of course it is… As Christians, we have to be very conscientious of our attitudes. There’s no way we can share the Gospel with anyone if we’re living a life that leaves us in a constantly angry state. Many angry people love to blame those around them for their anger but we all know this is just an excuse. We all make a daily decision as to how we are going to live. If you’re content breeding anger in your life, that’s a decision you’ve made… Not the people around you.
The third and final thing we need to understand is this: We will learn to be like the people we spend the most time with.
If you spend the majority of your time around thieves, you’re probably going to end up being a thief too. If you spend the majority of your time around poets, you’re probably going to be a poet too. If you spend the majority of your time around Pearl Jam fanatics, you’re probably going to begin enjoying Pearl Jam as well. In the same way, if you spend the majority of your time around authentic followers of Christ, you will find yourself authentically following Christ as well. Conversely, if you only spend time with Christ-followers at church 2 or 3 hours a week, it’s going to be very hard for you to follow Christ.
We have to choose to not let anger control us!
We have to choose to avoid spending time with angry people and instead surround ourselves with godly people!
Finally, we have to choose to be a godly person who will benefit and build up the people we spend time with!
Ask God to make these things true of you today! Don’t wait until tomorrow!
Make your move!
Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.
There are three aspects to this verse that we need to notice and discuss.
The first thing we need to understand is very obvious: We don’t need to spend time with angry or hot-tempered people.
Anger and a short temper breed negativity and negativity sucks all the good air out of any room it enters. For your sake and the sake of the many people you’re sure to run into, don’t spend your time around people like this.
The second thing we need to understand is this: We need to make sure that WE aren’t the angry or hot-tempered person.
Is it possible that we are the person that God is telling people to not befriend? Of course it is… As Christians, we have to be very conscientious of our attitudes. There’s no way we can share the Gospel with anyone if we’re living a life that leaves us in a constantly angry state. Many angry people love to blame those around them for their anger but we all know this is just an excuse. We all make a daily decision as to how we are going to live. If you’re content breeding anger in your life, that’s a decision you’ve made… Not the people around you.
The third and final thing we need to understand is this: We will learn to be like the people we spend the most time with.
If you spend the majority of your time around thieves, you’re probably going to end up being a thief too. If you spend the majority of your time around poets, you’re probably going to be a poet too. If you spend the majority of your time around Pearl Jam fanatics, you’re probably going to begin enjoying Pearl Jam as well. In the same way, if you spend the majority of your time around authentic followers of Christ, you will find yourself authentically following Christ as well. Conversely, if you only spend time with Christ-followers at church 2 or 3 hours a week, it’s going to be very hard for you to follow Christ.
We have to choose to not let anger control us!
We have to choose to avoid spending time with angry people and instead surround ourselves with godly people!
Finally, we have to choose to be a godly person who will benefit and build up the people we spend time with!
Ask God to make these things true of you today! Don’t wait until tomorrow!
Make your move!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wise Advisors
Proverbs 24:6 (NLT)
So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisors.
Let me share with you two different scenarios…
You have a big decision to make. There are many pros and cons. There are many reasons for you to choose one way and there are just as many reasons for you to go the other direction. You’ve been praying about this decision.
Scenario #1:
You decide to trust your gut. All of your life experiences have led you to this point and you trust yourself. You’ve even run it by a few of your friends and they agree with you. They’re all the same age as you and have your best interests in mind. Right?
Scenario #2:
You decide to find a person that you trust and respect to help you make your decision. Because of this person’s experiences and their walk with the Lord, they are able to help you see your decision from a different perspective. They are able to help you see pros and cons that you didn’t even know to look for. Now you’re able to make a decision based on more than just the acceptance of your peers. You’re able to make a truly wise decision.
Even though one of these scenarios is clearly better than the other one, we still choose Scenario #1 more often than not. It’s time to change that!
I challenge you to find a mentor of sorts to help you make the decision you’re struggling with right now. It may be someone you barely know. All you know is that they seem to be spiritually-mature. The fruit their life bears shows you that they have committed their life to Christ. Ask God to lead you to this person and when He does, don’t be afraid to ask them for advice!
Make your move!
So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisors.
Let me share with you two different scenarios…
You have a big decision to make. There are many pros and cons. There are many reasons for you to choose one way and there are just as many reasons for you to go the other direction. You’ve been praying about this decision.
Scenario #1:
You decide to trust your gut. All of your life experiences have led you to this point and you trust yourself. You’ve even run it by a few of your friends and they agree with you. They’re all the same age as you and have your best interests in mind. Right?
Scenario #2:
You decide to find a person that you trust and respect to help you make your decision. Because of this person’s experiences and their walk with the Lord, they are able to help you see your decision from a different perspective. They are able to help you see pros and cons that you didn’t even know to look for. Now you’re able to make a decision based on more than just the acceptance of your peers. You’re able to make a truly wise decision.
Even though one of these scenarios is clearly better than the other one, we still choose Scenario #1 more often than not. It’s time to change that!
I challenge you to find a mentor of sorts to help you make the decision you’re struggling with right now. It may be someone you barely know. All you know is that they seem to be spiritually-mature. The fruit their life bears shows you that they have committed their life to Christ. Ask God to lead you to this person and when He does, don’t be afraid to ask them for advice!
Make your move!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Fearing People
Proverbs 29:25 (NLT)
Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.
How many times have you wanted to stand up for God but didn’t because of the people around you? How many times have you felt led to share the Gospel with someone but didn’t because you were afraid of the consequences? What if you were to lose this person as a friend? I’ll ask you a better question:
What if your friend died and spent eternity in Hell simply because you didn’t share Christ with them when you knew God was leading you to?
It comes back to maturing in your walk with the Lord and living your life with an eternal perspective. Instead of carefully guarding our quasi-relationships with people here on earth, we are able to see what’s most important: our friend’s eternal destination. Yet fear remains.
However, God’s Word tells us that we have no reason to fear people. Why fear people who can do us no eternal harm? We were made to love and worship God and, just as importantly, to love each other. I can’t think of any greater way to show a person love than to share with them the story of salvation given to us through Jesus’ death on the cross.
When you’re feeling led to share Christ today, don’t check out.
Make your move!
Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.
How many times have you wanted to stand up for God but didn’t because of the people around you? How many times have you felt led to share the Gospel with someone but didn’t because you were afraid of the consequences? What if you were to lose this person as a friend? I’ll ask you a better question:
What if your friend died and spent eternity in Hell simply because you didn’t share Christ with them when you knew God was leading you to?
It comes back to maturing in your walk with the Lord and living your life with an eternal perspective. Instead of carefully guarding our quasi-relationships with people here on earth, we are able to see what’s most important: our friend’s eternal destination. Yet fear remains.
However, God’s Word tells us that we have no reason to fear people. Why fear people who can do us no eternal harm? We were made to love and worship God and, just as importantly, to love each other. I can’t think of any greater way to show a person love than to share with them the story of salvation given to us through Jesus’ death on the cross.
When you’re feeling led to share Christ today, don’t check out.
Make your move!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Perfect Weather
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NLT)
Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
Are you waiting for something to kick-start you into a relationship with God?
Are you waiting on a bad habit to subside? Are you waiting to see how a relationship is going to work out? There are a million different things that we are apt to put our lives on hold for. Something to remember is that we are never standing still in the same place in our relationship with God. We are either moving towards Him or away from Him. When we think we’re standing still waiting on the conditions to change, we are actually moving away from God and possibly not even realizing it.
I’ve found this to be true in my own walk with the Lord. At times, I’ve put off reading my Bible because I had yet to purchase the particular Bible I had my eye on. I’ve put off prayer because the “feng shui” (“fung shway” for us Southern types!) was a little bit off in the area of the house that I was set on praying in. I know these things sound silly but we go through them every day. I’ve put off lovingly confronting a friend about a sin in their life because I knew there was unresolved sin in my life. Instead of resolving the sin in my life with God and confronting my friend, I did nothing. This led to both of us being trapped where as we might have been set free had I taken the first step in resolving my own sin.
Solomon tells us in the scripture above that life’s conditions will never be perfect. I want to encourage you today to take the steps you know that God is leading you to take.
I heard a pastor say during a sermon one day, “Life is too short and Hell is too hot to wait around!”
Don’t wait for perfect weather.
Make your move!
Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
Are you waiting for something to kick-start you into a relationship with God?
Are you waiting on a bad habit to subside? Are you waiting to see how a relationship is going to work out? There are a million different things that we are apt to put our lives on hold for. Something to remember is that we are never standing still in the same place in our relationship with God. We are either moving towards Him or away from Him. When we think we’re standing still waiting on the conditions to change, we are actually moving away from God and possibly not even realizing it.
I’ve found this to be true in my own walk with the Lord. At times, I’ve put off reading my Bible because I had yet to purchase the particular Bible I had my eye on. I’ve put off prayer because the “feng shui” (“fung shway” for us Southern types!) was a little bit off in the area of the house that I was set on praying in. I know these things sound silly but we go through them every day. I’ve put off lovingly confronting a friend about a sin in their life because I knew there was unresolved sin in my life. Instead of resolving the sin in my life with God and confronting my friend, I did nothing. This led to both of us being trapped where as we might have been set free had I taken the first step in resolving my own sin.
Solomon tells us in the scripture above that life’s conditions will never be perfect. I want to encourage you today to take the steps you know that God is leading you to take.
I heard a pastor say during a sermon one day, “Life is too short and Hell is too hot to wait around!”
Don’t wait for perfect weather.
Make your move!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Morning Message
Scripture References:
Title or topic of message:
Notes:
Questions I have about the message:
How can I apply this message to my life?
Title or topic of message:
Notes:
Questions I have about the message:
How can I apply this message to my life?
Friday, May 4, 2012
Reflection and Meditation
1. How does it encourage you to know that even a devout and dedicated Christian such as Paul struggled with his sinful nature?
2. One of the biggest problems in our churches today is that we sometimes tend to be spiritual bottle-rockets. We catch fire and burst forward only to poof out and fall back down to where we were. What are some things we can do to make sure we don't fall victim to this?
3. What is a passage of scripture that means a lot to you or that helped you through a difficult time in your life? Write it down and thank God that Word stands the test of time!
4. Referencing Romans 12, what do you think it means to give your body as a “living and holy sacrifice?”
5. What are some things in your life that make spending time in prayer difficult? What are some things you can begin to do now to eliminate those obstacles?
6. Spend at least 5 minutes every day this week sitting in silence waiting for God to speak. Then do what He tells you to do!
2. One of the biggest problems in our churches today is that we sometimes tend to be spiritual bottle-rockets. We catch fire and burst forward only to poof out and fall back down to where we were. What are some things we can do to make sure we don't fall victim to this?
3. What is a passage of scripture that means a lot to you or that helped you through a difficult time in your life? Write it down and thank God that Word stands the test of time!
4. Referencing Romans 12, what do you think it means to give your body as a “living and holy sacrifice?”
5. What are some things in your life that make spending time in prayer difficult? What are some things you can begin to do now to eliminate those obstacles?
6. Spend at least 5 minutes every day this week sitting in silence waiting for God to speak. Then do what He tells you to do!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
We Have a Problem #5 (Prayer #2)
As you most-assuredly know by now, we have a problem. The problem is that no matter how badly we want to please Christ, we’re just not able to apart from Him. There are a few simple ways that we can make sure we are on the right track. The first way, as we discussed Tuesday, is simply staying in His Word. The second way is found in worshipping Him. The third way is prayer. Yesterday, we discussed the importance of staying in constant prayer throughout the day so we can make sure our perspective is God’s perspective.
The second way we can spend time with God in prayer is found in silence. It’s found in waiting for Him to speak.
Psalms 46:10 (NLT)
Be still, and know that I am God…
Sometimes we talk, talk, and talk so much that we don’t give God a chance to get a word in. I’ve heard John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) use this illustration before:
What if you had the chance to eat lunch with Jesus one day? For one hour, you could be in the immediate presence of God. Would you run your mouth the whole time or would you be hanging on every word that Jesus had to say? Of course you would be hanging on Jesus’ every word. So why do we spend so much of our time in prayer talking?
When we just talk and talk every time we pray, we miss a vital part of the exchange. Sometimes we have to hang up and listen. Spend 5-10 minutes today (and everyday!) just being still. Waiting for God to speak.
It’s sort of like the movie Field of Dreams but instead of a field, we find silence and instead of building the baseball field, we are being still, and instead of baseball players, we find God’s voice.
I implore you in my best James-Earl-Jones-voice: If you sit still and wait on Him, He will speak.
If prayer is something that intimidates you or you’re not really sure how to get started, ask someone. Ask John. Ask either Jason. Ask someone and ask them soon!
We have a serious problem and there’s no time to waste!
The second way we can spend time with God in prayer is found in silence. It’s found in waiting for Him to speak.
Psalms 46:10 (NLT)
Be still, and know that I am God…
Sometimes we talk, talk, and talk so much that we don’t give God a chance to get a word in. I’ve heard John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) use this illustration before:
What if you had the chance to eat lunch with Jesus one day? For one hour, you could be in the immediate presence of God. Would you run your mouth the whole time or would you be hanging on every word that Jesus had to say? Of course you would be hanging on Jesus’ every word. So why do we spend so much of our time in prayer talking?
When we just talk and talk every time we pray, we miss a vital part of the exchange. Sometimes we have to hang up and listen. Spend 5-10 minutes today (and everyday!) just being still. Waiting for God to speak.
It’s sort of like the movie Field of Dreams but instead of a field, we find silence and instead of building the baseball field, we are being still, and instead of baseball players, we find God’s voice.
I implore you in my best James-Earl-Jones-voice: If you sit still and wait on Him, He will speak.
If prayer is something that intimidates you or you’re not really sure how to get started, ask someone. Ask John. Ask either Jason. Ask someone and ask them soon!
We have a serious problem and there’s no time to waste!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
We Have a Problem #4 (Prayer #1)
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
“You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe, as a living Christian that does not pray.” - Matthew Henry
We must pray. This has been discussed at length on this blog before but I don’t think we can ever hear it enough.
We absolutely must spend time with God in prayer. We can do this in two ways.
The first way is vocally. We can voice our praises, our concerns, our fears, our failures, and whatever else we can think of. Our God is a personal God. He is a God that we can have a one-on-one relationship with. Not only can we have this relationship with Him, we must. He is our lifeline. He is the good in us. He is what overcomes sin in our lives. He is the love we have to share. He is the power we carry with us. He is all of these things and more.
How foolishly arrogant is it for us to think we somehow have it in us to live in a Christ-like way without asking Christ to help us do so? How small-minded is it to act like we have everything together while practically sending God to the bench?
It’s amazing how quickly we begin to treat the Consuming Fire like a fire alarm. We just reach for Him when things get bad. What we have to realize is that things get bad BECAUSE we aren’t staying connected to Him. R.A. Torrey tells us that “those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passeth all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.”
If you stayed in constant communication with someone, you would eventually begin to make every decision you make with them in mind. You would begin to see situations how they would see them. You begin to look at people how they would look at them. In the same way, if we are able to constantly be in a state of prayer throughout the day, we are able to keep things in perspective. We are able to see Christ in every situation because we’re constantly talking to Him.
The second way we can spend time with God in prayer is found in silence. It’s found in waiting for Him to speak. Sometimes we talk, talk, and talk so much that we don’t give God a chance to get a word in. I’ve heard John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) use this illustration before:
What if you had the chance to eat lunch with Jesus one day? For one hour, you could be in the immediate presence of God. Would you run your mouth the whole time or would you be hanging on every word that Jesus had to say?
Well, when we just talk and talk every time we pray, we miss a vital part of the exchange. Sometimes we have to hang up and listen.
If prayer is something that intimidates you or you’re not really sure how to get started, ask someone. Ask John. Ask Jason. Ask someone and ask them soon!
We have a serious problem and there’s no time to waste!
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
“You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe, as a living Christian that does not pray.” - Matthew Henry
We must pray. This has been discussed at length on this blog before but I don’t think we can ever hear it enough.
We absolutely must spend time with God in prayer. We can do this in two ways.
The first way is vocally. We can voice our praises, our concerns, our fears, our failures, and whatever else we can think of. Our God is a personal God. He is a God that we can have a one-on-one relationship with. Not only can we have this relationship with Him, we must. He is our lifeline. He is the good in us. He is what overcomes sin in our lives. He is the love we have to share. He is the power we carry with us. He is all of these things and more.
How foolishly arrogant is it for us to think we somehow have it in us to live in a Christ-like way without asking Christ to help us do so? How small-minded is it to act like we have everything together while practically sending God to the bench?
It’s amazing how quickly we begin to treat the Consuming Fire like a fire alarm. We just reach for Him when things get bad. What we have to realize is that things get bad BECAUSE we aren’t staying connected to Him. R.A. Torrey tells us that “those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passeth all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.”
If you stayed in constant communication with someone, you would eventually begin to make every decision you make with them in mind. You would begin to see situations how they would see them. You begin to look at people how they would look at them. In the same way, if we are able to constantly be in a state of prayer throughout the day, we are able to keep things in perspective. We are able to see Christ in every situation because we’re constantly talking to Him.
The second way we can spend time with God in prayer is found in silence. It’s found in waiting for Him to speak. Sometimes we talk, talk, and talk so much that we don’t give God a chance to get a word in. I’ve heard John (the Pastor, not the Baptist) use this illustration before:
What if you had the chance to eat lunch with Jesus one day? For one hour, you could be in the immediate presence of God. Would you run your mouth the whole time or would you be hanging on every word that Jesus had to say?
Well, when we just talk and talk every time we pray, we miss a vital part of the exchange. Sometimes we have to hang up and listen.
If prayer is something that intimidates you or you’re not really sure how to get started, ask someone. Ask John. Ask Jason. Ask someone and ask them soon!
We have a serious problem and there’s no time to waste!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
We Have a Problem #3 (Worship)
We have a problem. The problem is that no matter how badly we want to please Christ, we’re just not able to apart from Him. There are a few simple ways that we can make sure we are on the right track. The first way, as we discussed yesterday, is simply staying in His Word. The next way is found in worshipping Him.
Have you ever taken part in a worship service and really let yourself go? Have you ever just really gotten into it and unashamedly worshipped God? Whether you were in prayer or singing with your hands raised in the air, you were doing what you were doing for no other reason than that you felt God in that moment and you didn’t care what the people around you were doing anymore. All you were focused on was the realization that God was as close as your skin in that moment and He was (and is!) worthy to be praised!
There’s a perfect peace that comes in those moments. It’s like all of your efforts to hide who you really are disappear. There are no more layers. God has reached into your core and you’re now doing what your most natural and primal instincts are always leading you to do:
Worshipping God.
Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
We were made to worship. It’s what we’re best at. We spend every moment of every day worshipping something so when the time comes to worship God and we allow ourselves to do it, we find peace.
Furthermore, this peace is not confined to the church building.
When we give our lives to God as “living and holy sacrifices,” we begin to find traces of true worship... The kind that benefits not only God and ourselves but also the people around us. When we call a friend that’s going through a rough time just to check on them. When we take our excess and give to others that are less fortunate. When we show people love by how we treat them, talk to them, and even look at them. When we give that extra $5 of change back to the cashier. When we share Jesus with someone.
God made us for these moments.
Remember that every moment is a moment made for worshipping.
Have you ever taken part in a worship service and really let yourself go? Have you ever just really gotten into it and unashamedly worshipped God? Whether you were in prayer or singing with your hands raised in the air, you were doing what you were doing for no other reason than that you felt God in that moment and you didn’t care what the people around you were doing anymore. All you were focused on was the realization that God was as close as your skin in that moment and He was (and is!) worthy to be praised!
There’s a perfect peace that comes in those moments. It’s like all of your efforts to hide who you really are disappear. There are no more layers. God has reached into your core and you’re now doing what your most natural and primal instincts are always leading you to do:
Worshipping God.
Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
We were made to worship. It’s what we’re best at. We spend every moment of every day worshipping something so when the time comes to worship God and we allow ourselves to do it, we find peace.
Furthermore, this peace is not confined to the church building.
When we give our lives to God as “living and holy sacrifices,” we begin to find traces of true worship... The kind that benefits not only God and ourselves but also the people around us. When we call a friend that’s going through a rough time just to check on them. When we take our excess and give to others that are less fortunate. When we show people love by how we treat them, talk to them, and even look at them. When we give that extra $5 of change back to the cashier. When we share Jesus with someone.
God made us for these moments.
Remember that every moment is a moment made for worshipping.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)