The music is being done by a young couple from Champion Forest Church here in Houston. They are very good at taking favorite old hymns and making them sound like they were written this century. That was tacky. The worship is great.
Dr. T. W. Hunt is the main speaker. He spoke on Spiritual Blindness. He likes to chase rabbits and confesses as much. Nevertheless he is spot on in his teachings. He identified much of the worlds systems of thought that we wrestle against. His answers were very poignant and powerful from Scriptures.
More later as I especially had a great experience in a break out session with Jay Johnston of Lifeway.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
Blogging From Prayer Conference in Spring TX
Monday night started the Prayer and Discipleship Conference at Spring Baptist Church in Spring TX. Opening speakers were Mark Estep, Pastor of the Host Church and Frank Page, immediate Past President of the Southern Baptist Convention and our former Pastor from Seminary days.
It was the first time I have heard Mark Estep and he delivered a very straightforward Biblical message on Brokenness To Become One With Christ from 2 Corinthians 12:5-10. Several major points stood out to me. One was the idea that brokenness is a process to bring brokenness to our lives more than an event. We tend to focus on the major event (death, illness, divorce, etc...) while ignoring the process of what God is doing in our lives.
The second point as I heard it was an assurance that brokenness will be accompanied by pain. While that may seem like telling someone day is light and dark is night I think it is important to remind of the truth that there is not a shortcut to brokenness.
Third, God always has a purpose in brokenness. I think that IS the point.
Last (at least that I wrote down) was the result of brokenness will be a closer walk with God. That after all, is the ultimate purpose we should aim for in discipleship. It was a good word.
Frank Page followed with his usual brand of homespun self deprecating humor. It's hard to find a prominent Pastor who is more authentic than Frank. His message was powerful and practical answering the question, "Why do we need to be persistent in prayer?" His texts were from Luke 11 and Luke 18, both teachings of Jesus about the importance of being persistent in prayer.
His first point carried a two fist punch: Persistence assures us of an answer to prayer and puts us in the position to hear. Ouch. It's not just begging God again and again but perhaps, at least in my life, praying again and again until I am ready to hear. Ouch.
Second, persistence unlocks the storehouse of God's blessing. This was a very encouraging reminder that sought to convey the idea that we often leave much of God's true blessings on the table because we do not continue to seek Him and His will.
Third, persistence in prayer brings us what we need. Both passages speak of meeting a need, not a want. It brought to mind the time as a teenage Christian that a Bible Study Leader convinced me that if I would go march around a new truck seven times and claim it I would receive it. I marched and I claimed and I did not get it and I also did not need it. I thank God I was cured of the "name it claim it" mentality early on in my walk.
Four and five were that persistence will make us strong and enable us to overcome our adversaries. (My addition: remember who the real adversaries are!)
Last and second in emphasis only to his first point was that persistence will ensure our faith in the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hmmm, interesting concept. Obedience in prayer reinforcing solid hope and Biblical theology. Good idea.
Robin went with me and we had a good discussion on the way home. I think the first result for me was the way I returned to prayer about a specific subject this morning that I had previously dropped either due to laziness or discouragement. My advice. Set aside a few extra moments today and spend it in honest, authentic prayer with The Father.
It was the first time I have heard Mark Estep and he delivered a very straightforward Biblical message on Brokenness To Become One With Christ from 2 Corinthians 12:5-10. Several major points stood out to me. One was the idea that brokenness is a process to bring brokenness to our lives more than an event. We tend to focus on the major event (death, illness, divorce, etc...) while ignoring the process of what God is doing in our lives.
The second point as I heard it was an assurance that brokenness will be accompanied by pain. While that may seem like telling someone day is light and dark is night I think it is important to remind of the truth that there is not a shortcut to brokenness.
Third, God always has a purpose in brokenness. I think that IS the point.
Last (at least that I wrote down) was the result of brokenness will be a closer walk with God. That after all, is the ultimate purpose we should aim for in discipleship. It was a good word.
Frank Page followed with his usual brand of homespun self deprecating humor. It's hard to find a prominent Pastor who is more authentic than Frank. His message was powerful and practical answering the question, "Why do we need to be persistent in prayer?" His texts were from Luke 11 and Luke 18, both teachings of Jesus about the importance of being persistent in prayer.
His first point carried a two fist punch: Persistence assures us of an answer to prayer and puts us in the position to hear. Ouch. It's not just begging God again and again but perhaps, at least in my life, praying again and again until I am ready to hear. Ouch.
Second, persistence unlocks the storehouse of God's blessing. This was a very encouraging reminder that sought to convey the idea that we often leave much of God's true blessings on the table because we do not continue to seek Him and His will.
Third, persistence in prayer brings us what we need. Both passages speak of meeting a need, not a want. It brought to mind the time as a teenage Christian that a Bible Study Leader convinced me that if I would go march around a new truck seven times and claim it I would receive it. I marched and I claimed and I did not get it and I also did not need it. I thank God I was cured of the "name it claim it" mentality early on in my walk.
Four and five were that persistence will make us strong and enable us to overcome our adversaries. (My addition: remember who the real adversaries are!)
Last and second in emphasis only to his first point was that persistence will ensure our faith in the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hmmm, interesting concept. Obedience in prayer reinforcing solid hope and Biblical theology. Good idea.
Robin went with me and we had a good discussion on the way home. I think the first result for me was the way I returned to prayer about a specific subject this morning that I had previously dropped either due to laziness or discouragement. My advice. Set aside a few extra moments today and spend it in honest, authentic prayer with The Father.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
At The Chick Thing
I went to a Chick Thing. My wife, the aspiring Christian author, received an invite to go to a get together of authors in The Woodlands. I went along. I learned something about the "division of authorship". It was billed as a meeting of 40 authors. I don't know how many there actually were but there were four men. Add myself and a handful of other men and I was trapped in a largely estrogen laden environment.
I had a good time. The host church, Wood's Edge, has a coffee shop at the front. One of the men writes Christian Westerns so I sat down with a ten dollar Western and a three dollar cup of coffee. (You get to keep the mug.)
It was time to go before I knew it and I had made it about a third of the way through the novel. Since I did not have my reading glasses I thought that was pretty good. I also made an additional observation about men versus women and coffee shop tables. They had those little tables in the foyer that are about the size of the platter we use for the Thanksgiving turkey. They had four chairs around each table. Now, I was sitting by myself and it was just perfect. If another man had come in and sat across the table from me that would have been ok too as long as we just kept our cups on the table. If you get up it would be ok to put your book on the table but no laying the book on the table while reading allowed. That's just sort of unwritten man rule in this kind of situation. If a third man had come in it would be cups only and we would have to move a chair out of the way and make sure we were forming a perfect three point triangle. If another guy showed up he could sit by himself.
I observed what was happening at another table. Same size table. Six women. Every single one had at least one elbow if not two on the table. They were cramped in like sardines in a can. They were happy. Go figure.
I had a good time. The host church, Wood's Edge, has a coffee shop at the front. One of the men writes Christian Westerns so I sat down with a ten dollar Western and a three dollar cup of coffee. (You get to keep the mug.)
It was time to go before I knew it and I had made it about a third of the way through the novel. Since I did not have my reading glasses I thought that was pretty good. I also made an additional observation about men versus women and coffee shop tables. They had those little tables in the foyer that are about the size of the platter we use for the Thanksgiving turkey. They had four chairs around each table. Now, I was sitting by myself and it was just perfect. If another man had come in and sat across the table from me that would have been ok too as long as we just kept our cups on the table. If you get up it would be ok to put your book on the table but no laying the book on the table while reading allowed. That's just sort of unwritten man rule in this kind of situation. If a third man had come in it would be cups only and we would have to move a chair out of the way and make sure we were forming a perfect three point triangle. If another guy showed up he could sit by himself.
I observed what was happening at another table. Same size table. Six women. Every single one had at least one elbow if not two on the table. They were cramped in like sardines in a can. They were happy. Go figure.
Monday, July 28, 2008
On Turning 43
First, let me cut to the chase. Turning 43 feels just like being 42. That should be good news for those of you dreading another year on the lifespan. Second, this is the first time I can remember when I have had absolutely no regrets about a birthday. Sure, I took time to be a little introspective but I must have decided in advance I was looking for reasons to rejoice. Whether by intent or by accident I somehow managed to only think about the great blessings I have experienced at the hand of my loving Father.
At some point I decided to divide my life up like a football game. A friend reminded me of this on his blog as he talked about reorienting his gameplan to adjust for changes. For me I am looking at four quarters and overtime if necessary. When I first thought of this I started to base it off of a lifespan of 80 years, twenty years per quarter. Now I have decided to make the lifespan 100 years and thereby give each quarter 25 years. I did this because I figure eighty is attainable for me and 100 is probably out of my reach so the optimistic path is to shoot for the 100 mark. Please do not take time to stop and analyse this line of thinking. It's my birthday; please allow me my delusions. Besides modern meds may keep me going and going and going.
My first quarter was pretty easy. Get born, have fun, grow up. Cool deal. There may have been some traumatic experiences along the way but I choose to look at the wonderful things of life instead. I think I was able to do that since I came equipped with the best Mother on the face of the earth! I managed to finish University and then a three year Masters degree in theology. Better than that I got married to Robin (Woman 2.0!) and then was blessed with child number one, Jonathan, otherwise know as the "test child". The first quarter ended pretty well as I started my first full time Pastorate after Seminary. This was actually my second Pastorate as I had served the Lord in a small church during my last year of college at East Texas Baptist.
The second quarter started rough. A little over two years of what I was not expecting to be a cross cultural experience. Don't get me wrong. There were some wonderful people there but it was like nothing I had ever seen or experienced. There had been severe division and only a short interim between the previous Pastor and my arrival. Still, the church grew. Perhaps it got better because I did over thirty funerals in a little over two years.
The second quarter really began to pick up when we went to Pastor Emmanuel Baptist Church in Henderson, TX. For me it was the best thing that could possibly happenned in ministry. The Lord blessed that time greatly. However after three years all was turned to dust as I self destructed, revealing both wounds and weaknesses I had harbored and hidden for years. In addition to my fall I lost my natural Father immediately preceding this time. Honestly, I was ticked off because he died before I could tell him how utterly disgusted I was with him for ruining his life and beating my Mother and I down. I pause here to thank God for my Step-Father who is my real Dad. Dad, if you are reading this you did a great job!
It is miraculous to me that you can get your tail kicked so fiercly at the beginning of the second quarter and come back so strong halfway through. I am not saying I am strong though I hope that I am. I am talking about the way God works things for His glory to pick us up and "set our feet on solid ground". I have worked for Bank of America almost thirteen years. I have Pastored Dacus Baptist Church for eight. I have been incredibly blessed with a wife who stayed with when she did not have to and has grown to be a Godly teacher and influencer of women all over. As soon as her book is published I will be glad to be known as "Robin's husband". Additionally I managed to squirrel my way into having the three greatest kids in the world. Jonathan is called to lead and is musically gifted. Christa may start getting calls any day from comedians Chonda Pierce or Mark Lowery (sp?) as they look for new material. Then the caboose is Charissa, my Lil' Hunting Buddy and dangerous sidekick.
What does the future hold? I have no idea. Robin and I sense God's leading in a certain direction. God has put a burden on our hearts. An old dream has been dusted off and is being refitted for the 21st Century. Will it come to pass? Only the Father knows. The whole thing could end in a moments notice; not everyone gets to play all four quarters. Until that happens my desire is a passion for Jesus and a desire to keep running, passing, tackling and blocking until He pulls me from the game. This one thing I know; I have complete confidence in His game plan.
At some point I decided to divide my life up like a football game. A friend reminded me of this on his blog as he talked about reorienting his gameplan to adjust for changes. For me I am looking at four quarters and overtime if necessary. When I first thought of this I started to base it off of a lifespan of 80 years, twenty years per quarter. Now I have decided to make the lifespan 100 years and thereby give each quarter 25 years. I did this because I figure eighty is attainable for me and 100 is probably out of my reach so the optimistic path is to shoot for the 100 mark. Please do not take time to stop and analyse this line of thinking. It's my birthday; please allow me my delusions. Besides modern meds may keep me going and going and going.
My first quarter was pretty easy. Get born, have fun, grow up. Cool deal. There may have been some traumatic experiences along the way but I choose to look at the wonderful things of life instead. I think I was able to do that since I came equipped with the best Mother on the face of the earth! I managed to finish University and then a three year Masters degree in theology. Better than that I got married to Robin (Woman 2.0!) and then was blessed with child number one, Jonathan, otherwise know as the "test child". The first quarter ended pretty well as I started my first full time Pastorate after Seminary. This was actually my second Pastorate as I had served the Lord in a small church during my last year of college at East Texas Baptist.
The second quarter started rough. A little over two years of what I was not expecting to be a cross cultural experience. Don't get me wrong. There were some wonderful people there but it was like nothing I had ever seen or experienced. There had been severe division and only a short interim between the previous Pastor and my arrival. Still, the church grew. Perhaps it got better because I did over thirty funerals in a little over two years.
The second quarter really began to pick up when we went to Pastor Emmanuel Baptist Church in Henderson, TX. For me it was the best thing that could possibly happenned in ministry. The Lord blessed that time greatly. However after three years all was turned to dust as I self destructed, revealing both wounds and weaknesses I had harbored and hidden for years. In addition to my fall I lost my natural Father immediately preceding this time. Honestly, I was ticked off because he died before I could tell him how utterly disgusted I was with him for ruining his life and beating my Mother and I down. I pause here to thank God for my Step-Father who is my real Dad. Dad, if you are reading this you did a great job!
It is miraculous to me that you can get your tail kicked so fiercly at the beginning of the second quarter and come back so strong halfway through. I am not saying I am strong though I hope that I am. I am talking about the way God works things for His glory to pick us up and "set our feet on solid ground". I have worked for Bank of America almost thirteen years. I have Pastored Dacus Baptist Church for eight. I have been incredibly blessed with a wife who stayed with when she did not have to and has grown to be a Godly teacher and influencer of women all over. As soon as her book is published I will be glad to be known as "Robin's husband". Additionally I managed to squirrel my way into having the three greatest kids in the world. Jonathan is called to lead and is musically gifted. Christa may start getting calls any day from comedians Chonda Pierce or Mark Lowery (sp?) as they look for new material. Then the caboose is Charissa, my Lil' Hunting Buddy and dangerous sidekick.
What does the future hold? I have no idea. Robin and I sense God's leading in a certain direction. God has put a burden on our hearts. An old dream has been dusted off and is being refitted for the 21st Century. Will it come to pass? Only the Father knows. The whole thing could end in a moments notice; not everyone gets to play all four quarters. Until that happens my desire is a passion for Jesus and a desire to keep running, passing, tackling and blocking until He pulls me from the game. This one thing I know; I have complete confidence in His game plan.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Southern Baptist Convention: What Are It?
Last week we were at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Annual Meeting in Indianappolis, Indiana. Baptists can be a different lot to understand so I thought I might try to explain what an Annual Meeting is and what it does.
For those of you not familiar with Southern Baptists it is important to remember that we are a "bottom up" organization. In other words we have no "governing authority" as far as a denomination goes. Each local church is a seperate entity and governs itself. Each church calls it's own ministry staff, each minister is ordained by a local church, not the denomination. Each church sets it's own budget and gives to the work of the SBC as it sees fit. The denomination of "Southern Baptists" is made up of those churches who wish to cooperate with each other. Churches can join or remove themselves and the Convention itself can vote to "dis-fellowship" a church.
This "Convention" is merely a gathering together for the purpose of joining in and doing such things as mission work, evangelism and education. To make a long story short when the "Convention" meets it has no authority to force any church to do anything. Most of the meeting is built around three or four main business functions. First, reports from various "Boards" and "Agencies" of the SBC like the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board and six Seminaries just to name a few. The SBC exercises oversight of these entities by electing the Trustees for each one.
As an example of how this works well consider that the International Mission Board is the sending agency that deploys over 5,000 SBC Missionaries across the world. My church and the one down the street could hardly be able to send one. Together we fund a massive force.
A second portion of the meeting is the election of officers for the SBC. They serve one year terms and have fairly innocuous authority. The one exception is the President who leads in selecting the Committee which nominates Trustees for each entity. These nominations are rarely if ever opposed so the President effectively picks the people who will pick the Trustees.
The third important activity that makes up the meeting is the introduction of motions and resolutions from the floor. Motions are typically referred to one or more of the agencies to which they apply. In reality this means that we hardly ever actually get to vote on anything. One could get up and make a motion that we call day "day" and night "night" and it would be referred to some Board of Trustees. Every single motion this year was either ruled out of order or referred to one of the entities. Even if a motion is referred to the Trustees they are under no legal or constitutional duty to respond to it. Go figure.
Resolutions are different. They are statements of position or attitude that reflect the will of the Messengers at the Annual Meeting of the SBC. For example there is always a Resolution commending the host city for allowing us to meet and bring millions of dollars of revenue to local businesses. Most of the Resolutions, however, deal with matters of greater importance than thanking the city. For example this year we passed a motion condemning the California Supreme Court ruling allowing recognition of same sex marriage. Two years ago a motion was passed to condemn the use of alcohol. These resolutions represent the feeling of the people at the Convention at that time. It is important to understand that they have absolutely no binding authority on any individual church. If the SBC passed a resolution saying that all carpet in church should be blue it would have no authority over our church. We could have yellow carpet or stone tile or bare concrete.
I know it may sound convoluted but it is similar to the old saying about democracy, "It's the worst form of government in the world...except for all the others!"
I guess one way to describe all this is that Southern Baptists practice "freedom of church" and cooperation for missions and ministry. More to follow...
For those of you not familiar with Southern Baptists it is important to remember that we are a "bottom up" organization. In other words we have no "governing authority" as far as a denomination goes. Each local church is a seperate entity and governs itself. Each church calls it's own ministry staff, each minister is ordained by a local church, not the denomination. Each church sets it's own budget and gives to the work of the SBC as it sees fit. The denomination of "Southern Baptists" is made up of those churches who wish to cooperate with each other. Churches can join or remove themselves and the Convention itself can vote to "dis-fellowship" a church.
This "Convention" is merely a gathering together for the purpose of joining in and doing such things as mission work, evangelism and education. To make a long story short when the "Convention" meets it has no authority to force any church to do anything. Most of the meeting is built around three or four main business functions. First, reports from various "Boards" and "Agencies" of the SBC like the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board and six Seminaries just to name a few. The SBC exercises oversight of these entities by electing the Trustees for each one.
As an example of how this works well consider that the International Mission Board is the sending agency that deploys over 5,000 SBC Missionaries across the world. My church and the one down the street could hardly be able to send one. Together we fund a massive force.
A second portion of the meeting is the election of officers for the SBC. They serve one year terms and have fairly innocuous authority. The one exception is the President who leads in selecting the Committee which nominates Trustees for each entity. These nominations are rarely if ever opposed so the President effectively picks the people who will pick the Trustees.
The third important activity that makes up the meeting is the introduction of motions and resolutions from the floor. Motions are typically referred to one or more of the agencies to which they apply. In reality this means that we hardly ever actually get to vote on anything. One could get up and make a motion that we call day "day" and night "night" and it would be referred to some Board of Trustees. Every single motion this year was either ruled out of order or referred to one of the entities. Even if a motion is referred to the Trustees they are under no legal or constitutional duty to respond to it. Go figure.
Resolutions are different. They are statements of position or attitude that reflect the will of the Messengers at the Annual Meeting of the SBC. For example there is always a Resolution commending the host city for allowing us to meet and bring millions of dollars of revenue to local businesses. Most of the Resolutions, however, deal with matters of greater importance than thanking the city. For example this year we passed a motion condemning the California Supreme Court ruling allowing recognition of same sex marriage. Two years ago a motion was passed to condemn the use of alcohol. These resolutions represent the feeling of the people at the Convention at that time. It is important to understand that they have absolutely no binding authority on any individual church. If the SBC passed a resolution saying that all carpet in church should be blue it would have no authority over our church. We could have yellow carpet or stone tile or bare concrete.
I know it may sound convoluted but it is similar to the old saying about democracy, "It's the worst form of government in the world...except for all the others!"
I guess one way to describe all this is that Southern Baptists practice "freedom of church" and cooperation for missions and ministry. More to follow...
Monday, May 26, 2008
Memorial Day 2008
We pause today to remember those brave men and women who have given their lives in service for this country. As Chuck Colson says we are citizens of two kingdoms, the Kingdom of God and the United States of America. We should never get the two confused. We should also never forget that it by the grace and rich blessing of the eternal King that we get to enjoy the fruits of freedom in the second. That freedom has been preserved time again through the selfless sacrifice of the sailor, the flyer, the soldier and the marine.
To those families who are grieving the loss of a loved one today may we say thank you for your tremendous sacrifice. We bear you pain as ours and we acclaim honor to your fallen hero.
To those whose sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters are serving at this moment we pray for their safety and security this day and in the days to come.
To those who serve this day. Thank you for your service to our country. We are both proud of and thankful for you.
May God bless you, may God bless America and may a revival of the King of Kings sweep our land.
PS to Rich: Go Air Force!
To those families who are grieving the loss of a loved one today may we say thank you for your tremendous sacrifice. We bear you pain as ours and we acclaim honor to your fallen hero.
To those whose sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters are serving at this moment we pray for their safety and security this day and in the days to come.
To those who serve this day. Thank you for your service to our country. We are both proud of and thankful for you.
May God bless you, may God bless America and may a revival of the King of Kings sweep our land.
PS to Rich: Go Air Force!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Where Is FEMA When You Need Them?
FEMA would, of course, be the Federal Emergency Milk Administration. Obviously both Congress and the Bush Administration have failed to protect us against this kind of disaster!
What disaster you say? 14 TONS of Oreo cookies spilled onto an Illinois highway. Read about the tragedy here.
Names of the cookies are not being release pending notification of their respective packaging.
Sorry for trying to MILK this story for all it's worth!
What disaster you say? 14 TONS of Oreo cookies spilled onto an Illinois highway. Read about the tragedy here.
Names of the cookies are not being release pending notification of their respective packaging.
Sorry for trying to MILK this story for all it's worth!
Short Book Review, Confessions Of A Pastor
I just finished reading Craig Groeshel's Confessions Of A Pastor. Wow. It's a short book with a big fist. Here is the basic premise. Craig confesses to 10 different challenges he faces in his life. It is authenticity to the tenth power. The purpose is to let people know of the humanity of the Pastor. Just because you are a spiritual leader does not mean that you always have your "stuff" together.
As I read the book I found myself agreeing that most of the challenges he face are issues that have been a struggle for me as well. Reading all ten will definitely remove any Pastor from the pedestal. Most spiritual leaders could benefit from this book as an example of the tremendous power of taking off the mask and being real with people.
At one point he tells the story of a Seminary Professor who told him that he should NOT drop his guard with people but should seek to maintain the "Pastoral Mystique". If that is your plan then let me know how it works out for you. While no one ever said that to me I can definitely identify with the spirit of that comment.
I am not going to tell you what all ten are; you will have to check that out for yourself. Here is my word of warning. If you are under someone else's spiritual leadership, your Pastor for example, you have a choice to make. You can either read the book or not read it. If you choose to read it be prepared to understand more about that leader. Therein lies the danger. If you are not a person of grace I suggest you skip the book. It will lower your opinion of your spiritual leader and you will be even more miserable than you already are right now.
If, however, you choose to read the book with an open and grace filled heart I believe you will finish with an understanding of your leader and an appreciation for them as well.I add a tip for spiritual leaders who read this book. I breezed through several chapters as I would most books. Suddenly I came to a chapter that literally took me over a week to read. The chapter wasn't too long; the subject was too close to home. That's when you know Craig is in your mailbox.
As I read the book I found myself agreeing that most of the challenges he face are issues that have been a struggle for me as well. Reading all ten will definitely remove any Pastor from the pedestal. Most spiritual leaders could benefit from this book as an example of the tremendous power of taking off the mask and being real with people.
At one point he tells the story of a Seminary Professor who told him that he should NOT drop his guard with people but should seek to maintain the "Pastoral Mystique". If that is your plan then let me know how it works out for you. While no one ever said that to me I can definitely identify with the spirit of that comment.
I am not going to tell you what all ten are; you will have to check that out for yourself. Here is my word of warning. If you are under someone else's spiritual leadership, your Pastor for example, you have a choice to make. You can either read the book or not read it. If you choose to read it be prepared to understand more about that leader. Therein lies the danger. If you are not a person of grace I suggest you skip the book. It will lower your opinion of your spiritual leader and you will be even more miserable than you already are right now.
If, however, you choose to read the book with an open and grace filled heart I believe you will finish with an understanding of your leader and an appreciation for them as well.I add a tip for spiritual leaders who read this book. I breezed through several chapters as I would most books. Suddenly I came to a chapter that literally took me over a week to read. The chapter wasn't too long; the subject was too close to home. That's when you know Craig is in your mailbox.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Wrestling With God And Man
I have always had a problem with the term "wrestling with God". I think I know why. In my heart and mind I know that every time I have done it I was only doing it to avoid doing something I already knew in my heart was the right thing to do. Got it?
So why do we wrestle with God? We know Him to be full of grace and mercy and love for His people. We know He loves us better than we can love ourselves. Yet we wrestle.
I know the answer is simple: we are frail creatures of dust, following in the footsteps of Adam and even the Apostle Paul..."the good that I know to do I do not do...". The problem is that answer is not good enough.
Chalking it up to my weakness and a sin nature sounds and feels like a cop out. Rather, I need to see that it is a grievous sin before God to be puffed up with pride and pursue my own agenda while he waits for me to quit squirming and do the right thing.
Wrestling with man is often the same exercise in futility. I have been reading the blogs of several prominent Southern Baptist bloggers. For several years there has been a running war of words over the direction/policies/actions related to our Convention, especially our International Mission Board. I know that many things we do in life could stand the scrutiny of a little more light but I tire of the time and energy that is being spent dickering with each other. I feel some of it is necessary but overall it seems to be dirtying up our witness to planet earth.
I am not condemning others for in this matter I am chief of sinners. Move over Paul, I think I have outdone in my heart whatever evil you ever contemplated.
Lord, help me to be more in love with you and those who do not know you than I am with my reputation, my love for self and most especially my wicked affection for always having to be right.
So why do we wrestle with God? We know Him to be full of grace and mercy and love for His people. We know He loves us better than we can love ourselves. Yet we wrestle.
I know the answer is simple: we are frail creatures of dust, following in the footsteps of Adam and even the Apostle Paul..."the good that I know to do I do not do...". The problem is that answer is not good enough.
Chalking it up to my weakness and a sin nature sounds and feels like a cop out. Rather, I need to see that it is a grievous sin before God to be puffed up with pride and pursue my own agenda while he waits for me to quit squirming and do the right thing.
Wrestling with man is often the same exercise in futility. I have been reading the blogs of several prominent Southern Baptist bloggers. For several years there has been a running war of words over the direction/policies/actions related to our Convention, especially our International Mission Board. I know that many things we do in life could stand the scrutiny of a little more light but I tire of the time and energy that is being spent dickering with each other. I feel some of it is necessary but overall it seems to be dirtying up our witness to planet earth.
I am not condemning others for in this matter I am chief of sinners. Move over Paul, I think I have outdone in my heart whatever evil you ever contemplated.
Lord, help me to be more in love with you and those who do not know you than I am with my reputation, my love for self and most especially my wicked affection for always having to be right.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Denominational Depression
I just got through reading a post on Ed Stetzer's blog regarding the "Official" decline of Southern Baptists. Let me say first that I by no means think we Southern Baptists are the only ones going to heaven. The old joke is that the Pastor of ______________ Denomination Church was telling a Baptist Pastor that he believed his own denomination was the only true church and hence the only ones who were really going to heaven. The Baptist Pastor replied, "I am more closed minded than that. I don't believe half of our are going!"
I am, however, deeply grateful to be a Baptist Christian. I love the freedom and autonomy every church has and the lack of a denominational hierarchy telling us what to do. Our unity and growth in the past has been built around our mutual zeal for missions and evangelism. The problem, to quote an old seminary Professor, is that "what we are doing isn't working".
We are now baptizing fewer people, the only means I know of to measure the harvest of new believers. Our churches (people) grow older and entire generations are missing. If you believe Reggie McNeal many of our churches will not have enough money or staff to run their existing ministries within the next 1-2 decades. We might as well admit that currently we are a denomination in decline.
I once thought that God would somehow use the SBC to reach the world and usher in a revival like none ever known. Now I find myself praying for that revival with the selfish tinge of self preservation, or denominational preservation.
Ultimately it is not just about saving a denomination. God can and will raise up others. It is about missed opportunities. Opportunities not for the glory of a group of churches but for the glory of seeing those who do not know Christ come to Him for life everlasting. I feel like we have let victory slip through our hands.
How about you?
I am, however, deeply grateful to be a Baptist Christian. I love the freedom and autonomy every church has and the lack of a denominational hierarchy telling us what to do. Our unity and growth in the past has been built around our mutual zeal for missions and evangelism. The problem, to quote an old seminary Professor, is that "what we are doing isn't working".
We are now baptizing fewer people, the only means I know of to measure the harvest of new believers. Our churches (people) grow older and entire generations are missing. If you believe Reggie McNeal many of our churches will not have enough money or staff to run their existing ministries within the next 1-2 decades. We might as well admit that currently we are a denomination in decline.
I once thought that God would somehow use the SBC to reach the world and usher in a revival like none ever known. Now I find myself praying for that revival with the selfish tinge of self preservation, or denominational preservation.
Ultimately it is not just about saving a denomination. God can and will raise up others. It is about missed opportunities. Opportunities not for the glory of a group of churches but for the glory of seeing those who do not know Christ come to Him for life everlasting. I feel like we have let victory slip through our hands.
How about you?
Monday, March 10, 2008
Those Pesky Obscure Passages
If you can overcome the depression caused by watching and listening to your average presidential candidate then you may be able to catch the real benefit of said candidate: to say such stupid things that you will wallow in riotous laughter.
Enter Barak Obama. In speaking in support of homosexual rights this little gem made it's way from his lips, “If people find that controversial, then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which, I think, is, in my mind, more central than an obscure passage in Romans...”
Ok, I am not laughing; I am gasping in startled bewilderment. I am going to give a pass to the press' actions in this by not asking what they would be doing if he had misquoted the Koran or the New York Times in such a distorted way. I will point out that this comment was greeted in the mainstream media with the sound of a thousand crickets chirping on a moonlit night.
Let's address for a moment the two major fallacies of his assertion. The Sermon on the Mount is in fact one of the central bodies of the teachings of Jesus recorded in Scripture. A careful reading of it will find our Lord taking quite a few moral stands with no "wiggle room" for alternate interpretations.
A good portion of His message was built on a formula that goes something like this: "You have heard it said...but I say to you..." In most of these cases the "you have heard it said" part referred to a specific Old Testament teaching. The "but I say to you" part was a teaching Jesus was giving people to go beyond the ordinary standard of the law. In each case He did not water down the Old Testament teaching but strengthened it. For example, "Do not murder" became, "Don't even be angry with your brother". "Do not commit adultery" became, "Don't even look at a woman lustfully". Jesus' own statement about His view on Old Testament law was, "I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it".
Perhaps the Presidential candidate might want to actually read the Sermon on the Mount before he attempts to wield it. Note to Presidential candidates and the press: Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7. That's in the new part. Such a reading will reveal that Jesus did not change the Old Testament law, which clearly forbid homosexuality, bestiality and several other important "alitys".
Many a person has appealed to the Sermon on the Mount as an example of how Jesus was a great teacher but few have actually gone the "extra mile" and realized that Jesus was actually serious about the "thou shalts" and the "thou shalt nots". If He really is such a great teacher, and He is, then it's time for us to take His actual teachings seriously.
Now we come to that "obscure passage in Romans". Memo to Paul: apparently your greatest theological treatise has recently been downgraded from "central teachings of Christianity" category to the "obscure passages" category. One of my Seminary professors used to say, "The book of Romans has more theology per square verse than any other book in the Bible". I am inclined to agree.
The only way for Obama's statement to be true is for us to overlook the fact that Paul was perhaps the greatest missionary ever, introducing the Gospel to the Gentiles on two continents, writing thirteen letters in our New Testament including some of the earliest synopsis of the Gospel message and the theological importance of the entire book and the importance of Paul's reference to homosexuality in Romans 1 as he set the tone for the reason Christ needed to die for the salvation of mankind, namely, the sinful depravity of man. Did I mention that the reference to homosexuality was offered as evidence of the depravity of man. Kind of hard to miss that one.
The scary thing is there will me many people, perhaps millions, who would hear this statement and think nothing of it. At first look it would be easy to write Obama off as just an obscure little candidate at the beginning of the 21st Century. Yet this type of drivel is all too common in our post Christian (or post-post Christian) society. Rather than simply condemning ignorance and cursing the darkness let's pray that Obama will get a grip on another teaching of Jesus, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free".
Enter Barak Obama. In speaking in support of homosexual rights this little gem made it's way from his lips, “If people find that controversial, then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which, I think, is, in my mind, more central than an obscure passage in Romans...”
Ok, I am not laughing; I am gasping in startled bewilderment. I am going to give a pass to the press' actions in this by not asking what they would be doing if he had misquoted the Koran or the New York Times in such a distorted way. I will point out that this comment was greeted in the mainstream media with the sound of a thousand crickets chirping on a moonlit night.
Let's address for a moment the two major fallacies of his assertion. The Sermon on the Mount is in fact one of the central bodies of the teachings of Jesus recorded in Scripture. A careful reading of it will find our Lord taking quite a few moral stands with no "wiggle room" for alternate interpretations.
A good portion of His message was built on a formula that goes something like this: "You have heard it said...but I say to you..." In most of these cases the "you have heard it said" part referred to a specific Old Testament teaching. The "but I say to you" part was a teaching Jesus was giving people to go beyond the ordinary standard of the law. In each case He did not water down the Old Testament teaching but strengthened it. For example, "Do not murder" became, "Don't even be angry with your brother". "Do not commit adultery" became, "Don't even look at a woman lustfully". Jesus' own statement about His view on Old Testament law was, "I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it".
Perhaps the Presidential candidate might want to actually read the Sermon on the Mount before he attempts to wield it. Note to Presidential candidates and the press: Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7. That's in the new part. Such a reading will reveal that Jesus did not change the Old Testament law, which clearly forbid homosexuality, bestiality and several other important "alitys".
Many a person has appealed to the Sermon on the Mount as an example of how Jesus was a great teacher but few have actually gone the "extra mile" and realized that Jesus was actually serious about the "thou shalts" and the "thou shalt nots". If He really is such a great teacher, and He is, then it's time for us to take His actual teachings seriously.
Now we come to that "obscure passage in Romans". Memo to Paul: apparently your greatest theological treatise has recently been downgraded from "central teachings of Christianity" category to the "obscure passages" category. One of my Seminary professors used to say, "The book of Romans has more theology per square verse than any other book in the Bible". I am inclined to agree.
The only way for Obama's statement to be true is for us to overlook the fact that Paul was perhaps the greatest missionary ever, introducing the Gospel to the Gentiles on two continents, writing thirteen letters in our New Testament including some of the earliest synopsis of the Gospel message and the theological importance of the entire book and the importance of Paul's reference to homosexuality in Romans 1 as he set the tone for the reason Christ needed to die for the salvation of mankind, namely, the sinful depravity of man. Did I mention that the reference to homosexuality was offered as evidence of the depravity of man. Kind of hard to miss that one.
The scary thing is there will me many people, perhaps millions, who would hear this statement and think nothing of it. At first look it would be easy to write Obama off as just an obscure little candidate at the beginning of the 21st Century. Yet this type of drivel is all too common in our post Christian (or post-post Christian) society. Rather than simply condemning ignorance and cursing the darkness let's pray that Obama will get a grip on another teaching of Jesus, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free".
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Missions Offering
For those of you who are strangers to Southern Baptist life we have at least one tradition that is a real keeper. Every year at Christmas we take up an offering for international missions call The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering For Foreign Missions. It is named after a Southern Baptist Missionaty to China who literally gave all for the cause of Christ to reach the people of China. God used her in a tremendous way to reach people and she is revered today for the life she sacrificed for Christ and His Kingdom.
I had some convicting and random thoughts...
Our church set a goal of $3000.00 for the offering this year. We have three Sunday until Christmas and so far we are only 10% of the way. Most people will spend about ten times what they give to the offering on Christmas presents to people which they do not need.
Missionaries are people who will go around the world to share Christ. Many Christians have a hard time going down the street to church services on Sunday.
Unless I upgrade my giving this Christmas I will have spent more food on horse feed and dog food than what I have planned to give to the offering. I think I will upgrade what I plan to give.
If every active family in our little church gave $100.00 we would blow past this offering amount. If I take my family out to eat twice in one month I will likely spend more than $100.00.
Southern Baptist Mission leaders will receive a budget for their areas this year. Their decision boils down to one question: "Which people group will I decide will not have a Christian witness for another year?" Next year they will be asking the same question, perhaps about the same people group.
Southern Baptists have one of the largest missionary prescences in the world, 5,388. If you divide that number by the low number of 42,000 Southern Baptist Churches that is .13 missionaries per church. Is it unrealistic of me to think there is no reason we could not have one person per church called and sent as a missionary?
The greatest missionary ever was not Lottie Moon or the Apostle Paul. The greatest Missionary is Jesus.
Before you buy someone a tie or shirt they will likely not wear think about how those funds could be used by a missionary seeking to do what you and I have not been willing to do.
Just some random thinking.
I had some convicting and random thoughts...
Our church set a goal of $3000.00 for the offering this year. We have three Sunday until Christmas and so far we are only 10% of the way. Most people will spend about ten times what they give to the offering on Christmas presents to people which they do not need.
Missionaries are people who will go around the world to share Christ. Many Christians have a hard time going down the street to church services on Sunday.
Unless I upgrade my giving this Christmas I will have spent more food on horse feed and dog food than what I have planned to give to the offering. I think I will upgrade what I plan to give.
If every active family in our little church gave $100.00 we would blow past this offering amount. If I take my family out to eat twice in one month I will likely spend more than $100.00.
Southern Baptist Mission leaders will receive a budget for their areas this year. Their decision boils down to one question: "Which people group will I decide will not have a Christian witness for another year?" Next year they will be asking the same question, perhaps about the same people group.
Southern Baptists have one of the largest missionary prescences in the world, 5,388. If you divide that number by the low number of 42,000 Southern Baptist Churches that is .13 missionaries per church. Is it unrealistic of me to think there is no reason we could not have one person per church called and sent as a missionary?
The greatest missionary ever was not Lottie Moon or the Apostle Paul. The greatest Missionary is Jesus.
Before you buy someone a tie or shirt they will likely not wear think about how those funds could be used by a missionary seeking to do what you and I have not been willing to do.
Just some random thinking.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Missions re-Minder
This past Saturday we had our annual Associational Meeting. For those of you not familiar with the way Baptists do things "Associations" are local groups of Baptist churches that cooperate together to do mission work in their area and many times beyond. The treat this year was having Dr. Jerry Rankin, President of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB)as our key speaker. First I would like to say that I felt in everything he said and did that he is a man of integrity and humility. I appreciate that so much.
He began with a statement which, after making it, he could have sat down and let an invitation be given. He said, "Jesus did not give the Great Commission to the IMB to do on behalf of Southern Baptists." He was identifying a common sin in our churches of thinking that once we give our money for missions we have done all we need to do. We do not see the need to go ourselves.
He went on to speak of how the various crisis around the world are opportunities for God to work. He says he has seen God do more in the last 10 years than during his entire missionary life which included 23 years as a church planter in Indonesia and now 14 years as head of the IMB. He suspects that baptisms of new Christians through our work may well top 600,000 this year. We have been used of God to reach 100 new people groups in the last 8 years.
One of the powerful illustrations of the need for more people to "go" and do missions is found in a contrast of the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Tsunami that hit Sri Lanka and India a couple of years ago. He pointed out that the twin sisters of destruction had destroyed over 600 church buildings. The tsunami on the other hand killed over 250,000 people in a brief moment of time and destroyed zero evangelical churches. It destroyed no churches because there were none there to destroy.
Of course he gave some examples of the work before us. There are three hundred people groups in Central Asia who have no Good News witness. 1.3 billion people live in isolated geographic or culturally separated areas with no Good News witness.
He used Psalm 67 as an example of how we read verse 1 and ask God to bless us. That verse is often used as a blessing at the end of a worship service. He noted we rarely follow that up with verse 2: "...that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations." Ouch.
He told a funny story of starting as President of the IMB and knowing next to nothing about computers. He did, however, learn of the spell check feature. His program did not recognize the word "unreached". When he clicked on the suggested spellings it offered "unrelated". He applied this to unreached people being unrelated to God. Our task is to help "relate" them.
Somewhere near the end he noted Jesus' perspective on missions from Luke 24:46-47: He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations,..."
His message was especially on target for me in a week when God had already spoken of a need for me and for our church to identify and try to reach an unreached people across the globe.
I wrote down a side note as he was preaching. I remembered that Avery Willis, author of MasterLife discipleship and my seminary professor in church growth, Ebbie Smith and the past two presidents of the IMB, Keith Parks and Jerry Rankin all served in Indonesia. Coincidence?
He began with a statement which, after making it, he could have sat down and let an invitation be given. He said, "Jesus did not give the Great Commission to the IMB to do on behalf of Southern Baptists." He was identifying a common sin in our churches of thinking that once we give our money for missions we have done all we need to do. We do not see the need to go ourselves.
He went on to speak of how the various crisis around the world are opportunities for God to work. He says he has seen God do more in the last 10 years than during his entire missionary life which included 23 years as a church planter in Indonesia and now 14 years as head of the IMB. He suspects that baptisms of new Christians through our work may well top 600,000 this year. We have been used of God to reach 100 new people groups in the last 8 years.
One of the powerful illustrations of the need for more people to "go" and do missions is found in a contrast of the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Tsunami that hit Sri Lanka and India a couple of years ago. He pointed out that the twin sisters of destruction had destroyed over 600 church buildings. The tsunami on the other hand killed over 250,000 people in a brief moment of time and destroyed zero evangelical churches. It destroyed no churches because there were none there to destroy.
Of course he gave some examples of the work before us. There are three hundred people groups in Central Asia who have no Good News witness. 1.3 billion people live in isolated geographic or culturally separated areas with no Good News witness.
He used Psalm 67 as an example of how we read verse 1 and ask God to bless us. That verse is often used as a blessing at the end of a worship service. He noted we rarely follow that up with verse 2: "...that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations." Ouch.
He told a funny story of starting as President of the IMB and knowing next to nothing about computers. He did, however, learn of the spell check feature. His program did not recognize the word "unreached". When he clicked on the suggested spellings it offered "unrelated". He applied this to unreached people being unrelated to God. Our task is to help "relate" them.
Somewhere near the end he noted Jesus' perspective on missions from Luke 24:46-47: He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations,..."
His message was especially on target for me in a week when God had already spoken of a need for me and for our church to identify and try to reach an unreached people across the globe.
I wrote down a side note as he was preaching. I remembered that Avery Willis, author of MasterLife discipleship and my seminary professor in church growth, Ebbie Smith and the past two presidents of the IMB, Keith Parks and Jerry Rankin all served in Indonesia. Coincidence?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Shaking The Place
When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God’s message with boldness. Acts 4:31
I guess I could simply ask, “Do you have a prayer life that shakes places?” I don’t. The problem with that is not that I do not have a prayer life that shakes, nor even stirs on the typical day. No, the real problem is most of the time I do not even desire that kind of a prayer life. On those rare occasions when I desire it I fail to pursue it. You might say I do not want a “shake the place” prayer life so much as I like the idea of that kind of a prayer life.
The praying that went on in this passage was a heartfelt desire, a “beseech” you kind of request. I would say it is a “begging” kind of prayer. I do not mean that negatively. The place of that prayer is not important. They were “gathered together” or “with one another”. The result of that prayer is the outrageous part.
The place was “shaken”. I looked up the word shaken used here. It means “a motion made by winds, waves and storms” or “shaking something’s contents” or to “overthrow”. Pick your favorite but in each case you will find that the point of “shaken” is that a power beyond our selves kicks in and we are no longer in control.
This kind of prayer is begging God with all our heart until we pray beyond our control. I’m ready for more than the idea of that kind of a prayer life. How about you?
I guess I could simply ask, “Do you have a prayer life that shakes places?” I don’t. The problem with that is not that I do not have a prayer life that shakes, nor even stirs on the typical day. No, the real problem is most of the time I do not even desire that kind of a prayer life. On those rare occasions when I desire it I fail to pursue it. You might say I do not want a “shake the place” prayer life so much as I like the idea of that kind of a prayer life.
The praying that went on in this passage was a heartfelt desire, a “beseech” you kind of request. I would say it is a “begging” kind of prayer. I do not mean that negatively. The place of that prayer is not important. They were “gathered together” or “with one another”. The result of that prayer is the outrageous part.
The place was “shaken”. I looked up the word shaken used here. It means “a motion made by winds, waves and storms” or “shaking something’s contents” or to “overthrow”. Pick your favorite but in each case you will find that the point of “shaken” is that a power beyond our selves kicks in and we are no longer in control.
This kind of prayer is begging God with all our heart until we pray beyond our control. I’m ready for more than the idea of that kind of a prayer life. How about you?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Hidden In The Love Chapter
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
Browsing through the love chapter I spotted this illustration Paul uses that is often overlooked. An illustration is often a common truth that everyone reading or hearing it can readily understand. Well, almost everyone. Let me tell you about this truth in my life before I get to the punch line.
In my junior year of High School I participated in Close Up. This is a group that learns history together then travels to Washington D.C. to see the real deal, Whitehouse, Congress, Pentagon and assorted beuracracies. I remember being under the mistaken concept that by the questions I asked government would suddenly change and become rational overnight. I also remember being a smart Alec. I would ask questions with a hateful tone and refuse to accept answers to those questions which were complex but I viewed as simple. I also asked questions at the wrong places. This morning I realized that two of the questions I asked were actually good questions just addressed to the wrong people. The one I asked my Representative should have been asked at the Pentagon while the one I asked at the Pentagon should have been asked on Capitol Hill. (I cannot explain why, after 26 years, I woke up this morning and thought about this.)
The truth behind this is I thought, spoke and acted like a child. I have since grown up. That is the same general truth Paul appeals to here. This brings me to my point. Some of us have never grown up. We still think, speak and act as children when maturity should be the order of the day. While childlike faith is commended by Jesus the Bible never commends immature actions.
Now before I finish casting this broad range of stones at others let me admit that I too sometimes slip back into childishness. My thoughts, words and deeds fall short of the maturity mark expected of a follower of Christ. I will endeavor to be a man today. I purpose to let my thoughts, words and actions be those of an adult believer.
How about you?
Browsing through the love chapter I spotted this illustration Paul uses that is often overlooked. An illustration is often a common truth that everyone reading or hearing it can readily understand. Well, almost everyone. Let me tell you about this truth in my life before I get to the punch line.
In my junior year of High School I participated in Close Up. This is a group that learns history together then travels to Washington D.C. to see the real deal, Whitehouse, Congress, Pentagon and assorted beuracracies. I remember being under the mistaken concept that by the questions I asked government would suddenly change and become rational overnight. I also remember being a smart Alec. I would ask questions with a hateful tone and refuse to accept answers to those questions which were complex but I viewed as simple. I also asked questions at the wrong places. This morning I realized that two of the questions I asked were actually good questions just addressed to the wrong people. The one I asked my Representative should have been asked at the Pentagon while the one I asked at the Pentagon should have been asked on Capitol Hill. (I cannot explain why, after 26 years, I woke up this morning and thought about this.)
The truth behind this is I thought, spoke and acted like a child. I have since grown up. That is the same general truth Paul appeals to here. This brings me to my point. Some of us have never grown up. We still think, speak and act as children when maturity should be the order of the day. While childlike faith is commended by Jesus the Bible never commends immature actions.
Now before I finish casting this broad range of stones at others let me admit that I too sometimes slip back into childishness. My thoughts, words and deeds fall short of the maturity mark expected of a follower of Christ. I will endeavor to be a man today. I purpose to let my thoughts, words and actions be those of an adult believer.
How about you?
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Open Doors and Opposition
This year I am reading two devotionals as part of my devotional time with Father. As I once heard Chuck Swindoll describe a book they are both "little books with big fists". One is Henry Blackaby's "Experiencing God Day By Day". The other is Selwyn Hughes "Every Day Light". This morning the two joined forces to nail me on a specific issue, namely, open doors.
Blackaby zeroed in on 1 Corinthians 16:9 "For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." Hughes followed suit with pointing out that Jesus was always headed to the "next village" (Ex. Luke 9:56), but the "next village" was never His ultimate goal. I quickly recognized my guilt in not looking for the open door, not taking it or taking it grudgingly because of the opposition, not realizing that one open door leads to the next (and it's corresponding opposition) and finally for looking at the "next village" as the goal when in reality it is not the ultimate destination. Four direct hits in two short pages.
I am especially amazed that when the open door comes there seems to always be opposition. Can we be honest for a moment? More often than not I have seen that opposition come from INSIDE the church rather than from the world and it's flawed systems.
I ask you today to join me in looking for the open door. Join me in taking it without grumbling or complaint. Join me in committing to NOT be part of the opposition.
Side note. As I read Acts and the letters of Paul, one of his greatest tests of opposition came in Ephesus. That church became one of the strongest of Paul's church plants and the base of many of His missionary journeys. It was the sight of His longest recorded stay, the longest farewell before His fateful trip to Jerusalem and his strongest support base.
Blackaby zeroed in on 1 Corinthians 16:9 "For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." Hughes followed suit with pointing out that Jesus was always headed to the "next village" (Ex. Luke 9:56), but the "next village" was never His ultimate goal. I quickly recognized my guilt in not looking for the open door, not taking it or taking it grudgingly because of the opposition, not realizing that one open door leads to the next (and it's corresponding opposition) and finally for looking at the "next village" as the goal when in reality it is not the ultimate destination. Four direct hits in two short pages.
I am especially amazed that when the open door comes there seems to always be opposition. Can we be honest for a moment? More often than not I have seen that opposition come from INSIDE the church rather than from the world and it's flawed systems.
I ask you today to join me in looking for the open door. Join me in taking it without grumbling or complaint. Join me in committing to NOT be part of the opposition.
Side note. As I read Acts and the letters of Paul, one of his greatest tests of opposition came in Ephesus. That church became one of the strongest of Paul's church plants and the base of many of His missionary journeys. It was the sight of His longest recorded stay, the longest farewell before His fateful trip to Jerusalem and his strongest support base.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Rise Up And Walk, 07/25/2007
Following are the rough notes from my sermon this morning. All definitions unless otherwise noted are from Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. I would appreciate any comments/critiques and responses.
Rise Up And Walk: A Different View Of Healing Acts 3:1 - 13
SST: Peter and John put aside their “planned” spiritual mission in order to take advantage of a “God planned” moment of ministry. This resulted in a clear presentation of the Gospel message to a crowd of amazed and willing hearers from which about 5,000 men were brought into a relationship with Jesus.
Introduction: Is there a difference in doing something spiritual as opposed to doing something Godly? My answer is “yes”. The dictionary says “spiritual” means of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit. Something can affect your spirit without it being of God. In fact, there are many things that we could say are “spiritual” that are actually quite harmful to us. There are things that we do that we think are spiritual but in fact have no positive spiritual impact upon us. There are also those things we do which we falsely think are spiritual.
By contrast, something is Godly when it is “like” God; it is similar to God or to His attributes or character. Something can be Godly when it is “of God”, that is from God or representing His blessing or gifts. Additionally something can be described as Godly when it is in relation to God, for example in receiving something from God or in imitating Godlikeness.
We live in a time in history where there is a great pursuit of the “spiritual” and a limited pursuit of that which is “Godly”. I am told that in some places in the United States there are more New Age bookstores than there are Christian bookstores. Many are seeking to be spiritual, few are seeking to be Godly.
This is only unusual in light of the truth that Christians have feverishly been spreading the truth through books and music, a movement which began in earnest in the 1970’s and has reached fruition in our day and time. The impact of this Christian retail movement has not been lost on the world. Contemporary Christian music is the fastest growing sector of the music industry. A trip to your local bookstore will reveal that in addition to walls and walls of books and CD’s you will find DVD’s, bumper stickers, t-shirts, pictures, trinkets, cards, decorations and a slew of what can only be called “Jesus Junk”. Please understand, I am not opposed to any of these items or to the spread of Christian bookstores. They are a healthy move in the right direction for expanding the Kingdom and the awareness of the Kingdom of God.
I cannot escape, however, the sense that many people shop at these places out of a desire to “be spiritual” rather than with an attitude of humility, seeking to be like our God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who loved to be seen praying in the marketplace, there is a contingent of us who want to be “seen” as Christian. In that respect we are no different than the church people who attend for the prestige and not the powerful worship of our Creator. We are like the businessman who plays the percentages by joining the biggest church in town. I once had a boss who, upon finding out I am called to minister, told me, “Well, I hope you just the biggest (blankety blank) church in town!”
With that in mind I want to tell you a story from the New Testament book of Acts. It is the fifth book in the New Testament and it details the early days of the church after Jesus’ return to heaven. Our story occurs in chapter 3 and involves two of Jesus’ most prominent disciples, Peter and John:
Acts 3:1 - 13 (NKJV) 1Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
TS: Now you probably think that with a story about healing and a title that says, “Rise Up and Walk” this message would be all about healing. Instead I want you to know that it is all about opportunity and obedience. I want to use this text to paint a picture in our minds. This picture will be built around five truths drawn from the sacred text. We will also take time to have a conversation about several important words that will point us in the right direction. This picture is not about how God would have us to be healed though He does desire this. It is about what God would have us do in order to fulfill His purpose for our lives and in doing, offer healing to others.
First, I see in this passage this truth…
1. The best way to live life is found in doing what God has called you to do.
Many people who seek to be “spiritual” are doing it honestly. They truly want to find purpose and meaning in life. That is why we need to understand that if we really want to find purpose in life we need to discover God’s purpose for us and pursue it relentlessly. Peter and John were two guys who had found that purpose and followed it.
They were on the way to the Temple to worship. These two guys were the real thing when it came to being followers of Jesus. There was no hypocrisy here. They were on their way to worship because worship is an important part of who we are. We were created with worship of God in mind. Genesis tells us we were created in the image of God. A beautiful way of expressing God’s desire that we worship Him is found in 1 Chronicles 16:29 where the Word says “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!”
Worship of God and God alone is so important that it is the central point of two of the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other God’s before me” and “You shall make no carved image of anything to worship it”.
Peter and John had a reason to worship, a command to worship and a desire to worship. In effect they were fulfilling what God had called them to do. They were fulfilling a responsibility.
That brings us to our first key word, Responsibility. My definition of responsibility is the action of faithfully fulfilling an obligation.
Peter and John were being responsible by coming to worship. The sacred text says they came at the ninth hour, or at 3:00 PM. In that day there were as many as five prayer times observed during the day. They were being faithful to come and worship through prayer. My point is not that you have to be at church every time the door is open. It is that we are responsible for our own relationship with God.
TS: A funny thing happened as they went to worship. God stopped them! God did so by means of an interruption. That interruption came in the form of a crippled man begging at the entrance to the Temple. This leads to the second truth I draw from this passage, in the words of baseball great Yogi Berra…
2. When you come to a fork in the road, take it!
Peter and John were two of Jesus’ lead disciples. Along with James they had spent more individual time with Jesus that the other disciples. They were part of Jesus’ inner circle. We could definitely say they were busy men. Peter had recently preached about Jesus on a special day called Pentecost and three thousand people had come to know Jesus. Yet here is the truth of Scripture…
When their road forked they took the time to stop for this man. In the midst of their busy schedule and important lives they made themselves available to God for the benefit of one man. Availability is our second key word.
Availability means: the quality or state of being available. Being available means: qualified or willing to do something or to assume a responsibility. It means to be accessible or obtainable.
TS: Now being available is only the first step down the new road they took. The second step was…
They took the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel. We would say they “seized the day”. The word that comes to mind is Usability.
Usability can be described as: convenient and practicable for use.
Something or someone can be available but not usable or even useful.
TS: We have talked about being responsible, available and usable but what happens when the task or the need seems to great?
3. They met the need they could.
They had no money and no ability to help his financial request. They had an Inability. Inability is our next focus word. It means: lack of sufficient power, resources, or capacity. It means being powerless and it can be a pretty depressing word. It is all about our limited nature. There are just some things we cannot do. At the very least there are some things we think we cannot do. Peter and James were up against the wall and the hard place. They were being asked publicly to show the kind of love Jesus was known for and they had nothing that would meet the need they were asked to fill. What they did have was greater…
They did have the power of God flowing through them. What they lacked in financial ability they made up for in Supernatural ability. They literally had a power beyond themselves. They were not limited to what they themselves could do but by the Divine power of God.
The key word here is Supernatural. It means: of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe; especially : of or relating to God. Some would describe it as: departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature or attributed to an invisible agent (as a ghost or spirit).
Seeking Supernatural outcomes is a matter of exercising incredible faith. How many of us would even dare to look past the immediate need, and the embarrassment of not being able to meet it, and in faith boldly say, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
TS: For us, if we are to really have a supernatural impact upon others we must first realize that…
Every person we meet has a spiritual need that we can meet. Awareness.
Awareness is our next conversation word. It means: having or showing realization, perception, or knowledge. It also implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences. My way of saying it is that we see what is going on around us. Often this means we see needs others miss.
Jesus showed this kind of compassionate awareness when He looked upon the City of Jerusalem where He would be crucified and said in Matthew 23:37 - 39 (NKJV) 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Jesus said that shortly after His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. In other words, just when others were praising Him and just when the disciples were thinking their King had finally arrived He was aware of the vast spiritual vacuum before Him and just what it would cost Him.
4. Their obedience caused an increasing circle of influence for others to glorify God.
Influence is our next conversation word. It means: an emanation of spiritual or moral force or the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command. It can also be described as the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways.
Peter and John, because of their faithfulness, were now influencing more than just the crippled man. They now had an audience of thousands. If you read through the end of the encounter you will find this simple statement in Scripture from Acts 4:4: “However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
5. They shared the Gospel clearly so that those around them could understand and accept.
In other words they shared the Jesus message with simple Clarity. Clarity is our next to last conversation word. It means “the quality or state of being clear or visible”.
For us it means that we need to tell the story of Jesus in a way that is clear and understanding to the world around us, or at least to whoever will listen to us.
Conclusion: The focus of this story in the Bible could easily be drawn simply to the man who was healed. My point, however, is that this man is a minor character whose name we never know. God is the main character in this Divine show, providing the power and majesty to change the lives of at least 5003 people that day: the crippled man, the five thousand who started a faith walk with Jesus that day and two obedient disciples whose faith was reinforced because they were:
Responsible in their actions
Available to God when the opportunity cam
Usable in His hands for a good work
Supernatural in their faith
Aware of the real need in the midst of the crowd
Influential by their obedience
Clear in their message
Peter and John get the award for best supporting actors in a life changing reality drama. It is there example I call you to follow today. Are you willing to surrender today to the life God wants you to have? It is not a life that is filled with empty spirituality. It is not a life of selfish pursuit of personal happiness. It is not a life of timid faith. It is not a life of going with the crowd so much as a calling to show the crowd where to go. It is not a life of silence but a life of boldly proclaiming truth even if in a still small voice.
Surrender is our final conversation word for the day. It means to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand. To be surrendered means to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another or to give oneself up into the power of another especially as a prisoner.
Are you willing today to surrender your fruitless pursuit of spirituality in favor of a life surrendered to God and being like Him?
Rise Up And Walk: A Different View Of Healing Acts 3:1 - 13
SST: Peter and John put aside their “planned” spiritual mission in order to take advantage of a “God planned” moment of ministry. This resulted in a clear presentation of the Gospel message to a crowd of amazed and willing hearers from which about 5,000 men were brought into a relationship with Jesus.
Introduction: Is there a difference in doing something spiritual as opposed to doing something Godly? My answer is “yes”. The dictionary says “spiritual” means of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit. Something can affect your spirit without it being of God. In fact, there are many things that we could say are “spiritual” that are actually quite harmful to us. There are things that we do that we think are spiritual but in fact have no positive spiritual impact upon us. There are also those things we do which we falsely think are spiritual.
By contrast, something is Godly when it is “like” God; it is similar to God or to His attributes or character. Something can be Godly when it is “of God”, that is from God or representing His blessing or gifts. Additionally something can be described as Godly when it is in relation to God, for example in receiving something from God or in imitating Godlikeness.
We live in a time in history where there is a great pursuit of the “spiritual” and a limited pursuit of that which is “Godly”. I am told that in some places in the United States there are more New Age bookstores than there are Christian bookstores. Many are seeking to be spiritual, few are seeking to be Godly.
This is only unusual in light of the truth that Christians have feverishly been spreading the truth through books and music, a movement which began in earnest in the 1970’s and has reached fruition in our day and time. The impact of this Christian retail movement has not been lost on the world. Contemporary Christian music is the fastest growing sector of the music industry. A trip to your local bookstore will reveal that in addition to walls and walls of books and CD’s you will find DVD’s, bumper stickers, t-shirts, pictures, trinkets, cards, decorations and a slew of what can only be called “Jesus Junk”. Please understand, I am not opposed to any of these items or to the spread of Christian bookstores. They are a healthy move in the right direction for expanding the Kingdom and the awareness of the Kingdom of God.
I cannot escape, however, the sense that many people shop at these places out of a desire to “be spiritual” rather than with an attitude of humility, seeking to be like our God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who loved to be seen praying in the marketplace, there is a contingent of us who want to be “seen” as Christian. In that respect we are no different than the church people who attend for the prestige and not the powerful worship of our Creator. We are like the businessman who plays the percentages by joining the biggest church in town. I once had a boss who, upon finding out I am called to minister, told me, “Well, I hope you just the biggest (blankety blank) church in town!”
With that in mind I want to tell you a story from the New Testament book of Acts. It is the fifth book in the New Testament and it details the early days of the church after Jesus’ return to heaven. Our story occurs in chapter 3 and involves two of Jesus’ most prominent disciples, Peter and John:
Acts 3:1 - 13 (NKJV) 1Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
TS: Now you probably think that with a story about healing and a title that says, “Rise Up and Walk” this message would be all about healing. Instead I want you to know that it is all about opportunity and obedience. I want to use this text to paint a picture in our minds. This picture will be built around five truths drawn from the sacred text. We will also take time to have a conversation about several important words that will point us in the right direction. This picture is not about how God would have us to be healed though He does desire this. It is about what God would have us do in order to fulfill His purpose for our lives and in doing, offer healing to others.
First, I see in this passage this truth…
1. The best way to live life is found in doing what God has called you to do.
Many people who seek to be “spiritual” are doing it honestly. They truly want to find purpose and meaning in life. That is why we need to understand that if we really want to find purpose in life we need to discover God’s purpose for us and pursue it relentlessly. Peter and John were two guys who had found that purpose and followed it.
They were on the way to the Temple to worship. These two guys were the real thing when it came to being followers of Jesus. There was no hypocrisy here. They were on their way to worship because worship is an important part of who we are. We were created with worship of God in mind. Genesis tells us we were created in the image of God. A beautiful way of expressing God’s desire that we worship Him is found in 1 Chronicles 16:29 where the Word says “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!”
Worship of God and God alone is so important that it is the central point of two of the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other God’s before me” and “You shall make no carved image of anything to worship it”.
Peter and John had a reason to worship, a command to worship and a desire to worship. In effect they were fulfilling what God had called them to do. They were fulfilling a responsibility.
That brings us to our first key word, Responsibility. My definition of responsibility is the action of faithfully fulfilling an obligation.
Peter and John were being responsible by coming to worship. The sacred text says they came at the ninth hour, or at 3:00 PM. In that day there were as many as five prayer times observed during the day. They were being faithful to come and worship through prayer. My point is not that you have to be at church every time the door is open. It is that we are responsible for our own relationship with God.
TS: A funny thing happened as they went to worship. God stopped them! God did so by means of an interruption. That interruption came in the form of a crippled man begging at the entrance to the Temple. This leads to the second truth I draw from this passage, in the words of baseball great Yogi Berra…
2. When you come to a fork in the road, take it!
Peter and John were two of Jesus’ lead disciples. Along with James they had spent more individual time with Jesus that the other disciples. They were part of Jesus’ inner circle. We could definitely say they were busy men. Peter had recently preached about Jesus on a special day called Pentecost and three thousand people had come to know Jesus. Yet here is the truth of Scripture…
When their road forked they took the time to stop for this man. In the midst of their busy schedule and important lives they made themselves available to God for the benefit of one man. Availability is our second key word.
Availability means: the quality or state of being available. Being available means: qualified or willing to do something or to assume a responsibility. It means to be accessible or obtainable.
TS: Now being available is only the first step down the new road they took. The second step was…
They took the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel. We would say they “seized the day”. The word that comes to mind is Usability.
Usability can be described as: convenient and practicable for use.
Something or someone can be available but not usable or even useful.
TS: We have talked about being responsible, available and usable but what happens when the task or the need seems to great?
3. They met the need they could.
They had no money and no ability to help his financial request. They had an Inability. Inability is our next focus word. It means: lack of sufficient power, resources, or capacity. It means being powerless and it can be a pretty depressing word. It is all about our limited nature. There are just some things we cannot do. At the very least there are some things we think we cannot do. Peter and James were up against the wall and the hard place. They were being asked publicly to show the kind of love Jesus was known for and they had nothing that would meet the need they were asked to fill. What they did have was greater…
They did have the power of God flowing through them. What they lacked in financial ability they made up for in Supernatural ability. They literally had a power beyond themselves. They were not limited to what they themselves could do but by the Divine power of God.
The key word here is Supernatural. It means: of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe; especially : of or relating to God. Some would describe it as: departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature or attributed to an invisible agent (as a ghost or spirit).
Seeking Supernatural outcomes is a matter of exercising incredible faith. How many of us would even dare to look past the immediate need, and the embarrassment of not being able to meet it, and in faith boldly say, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
TS: For us, if we are to really have a supernatural impact upon others we must first realize that…
Every person we meet has a spiritual need that we can meet. Awareness.
Awareness is our next conversation word. It means: having or showing realization, perception, or knowledge. It also implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences. My way of saying it is that we see what is going on around us. Often this means we see needs others miss.
Jesus showed this kind of compassionate awareness when He looked upon the City of Jerusalem where He would be crucified and said in Matthew 23:37 - 39 (NKJV) 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Jesus said that shortly after His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. In other words, just when others were praising Him and just when the disciples were thinking their King had finally arrived He was aware of the vast spiritual vacuum before Him and just what it would cost Him.
4. Their obedience caused an increasing circle of influence for others to glorify God.
Influence is our next conversation word. It means: an emanation of spiritual or moral force or the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command. It can also be described as the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways.
Peter and John, because of their faithfulness, were now influencing more than just the crippled man. They now had an audience of thousands. If you read through the end of the encounter you will find this simple statement in Scripture from Acts 4:4: “However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
5. They shared the Gospel clearly so that those around them could understand and accept.
In other words they shared the Jesus message with simple Clarity. Clarity is our next to last conversation word. It means “the quality or state of being clear or visible”.
For us it means that we need to tell the story of Jesus in a way that is clear and understanding to the world around us, or at least to whoever will listen to us.
Conclusion: The focus of this story in the Bible could easily be drawn simply to the man who was healed. My point, however, is that this man is a minor character whose name we never know. God is the main character in this Divine show, providing the power and majesty to change the lives of at least 5003 people that day: the crippled man, the five thousand who started a faith walk with Jesus that day and two obedient disciples whose faith was reinforced because they were:
Responsible in their actions
Available to God when the opportunity cam
Usable in His hands for a good work
Supernatural in their faith
Aware of the real need in the midst of the crowd
Influential by their obedience
Clear in their message
Peter and John get the award for best supporting actors in a life changing reality drama. It is there example I call you to follow today. Are you willing to surrender today to the life God wants you to have? It is not a life that is filled with empty spirituality. It is not a life of selfish pursuit of personal happiness. It is not a life of timid faith. It is not a life of going with the crowd so much as a calling to show the crowd where to go. It is not a life of silence but a life of boldly proclaiming truth even if in a still small voice.
Surrender is our final conversation word for the day. It means to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand. To be surrendered means to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another or to give oneself up into the power of another especially as a prisoner.
Are you willing today to surrender your fruitless pursuit of spirituality in favor of a life surrendered to God and being like Him?
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