GROW ... GROW ... GROW

From Kay Gray Wray comes this fabulous post about our growth in Christ.

GROW…GROW….GROW

Growth…Our hearts swell with generosity as our waists grow with all the wonderful goodies the holiday season brings.  Cookies, candies, cakes, Christmas party buffets—my mouth is watering as I write this! 

Growth… Parking lots at area malls and shopping districts overflow from macadam to grass.  What usually takes five minutes to “run in and out” of a store now takes twenty minutes.  Restaurants have a longer than usual wait time to seat and serve their customers.  Lines at the post office get longer and traffic, well let’s just say it can be a bit testy! The thoughts of someone being without the basics of a home, food or clothing is heightened during this holiday season and we respond generously.

Growth…While all the above growths are temporal there is a kind of growth that should never stop or be based purely upon a certain season or emotion.   This growth produces both long term and short term affects in our lives that has the potential to change the course of our lives and those around us.

Webster defines what I am writing about as “anything believed; complete trust or confidence.”  Faith.

Peter gives us a beautiful picture of growing in faith in 2 Peter 1:3-8.
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life…And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires... Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.  The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NLT)

 Since I am a very visual person, when I read this passage I liken it to the growth of a tree.

God has given us everything we need in giving us the rich soil of our lives.  God allows all circumstances (whether good or bad) to come into our lives which creates fertilization for the soil to produce good fruit (vs. 3-4).  When we realize God has carried us through a difficult situation our faith begins to grow.  This faith becomes the foundation to build upon for future circumstances.  We learn God can be trusted even though we may not be able to see the outcome or even want what the outcome becomes.

When our faith is placed in God the way we approach life changes.  Our moral values begin to change and we set higher standards to our life choices and what we put into our minds.  We begin to realize the depths of God’s love and compassion for us.   To understand that He doesn’t view us with a big club waiting to smash us for making a mistake brings freedom and openness for intimacy with Him. God longs and desires to have an intimate and daily friendship with us. We become hungry to know who He is how He wants us to live and treat others.  This creates a drawing to read His Word which increases our knowledge. 

Through this knowledge we become aware of issues or life styles within us that need to be dealt with in order for that freedom and intimacy to grow.  Self control is the result of this realization, which becomes a lifelong respect of the change starting within us.  Patient endurance becomes the byproduct of this knowledge and self control.  We begin to view others around us not with a judgmental attitude but one of the same grace and mercy God has extended toward us.  This produces a godliness within us because we are beginning to take on the character of Christ (vs4) living within us (Gal 5:22-26).  It is only because of these characteristics we can have true affection and love for those around us.

Just as we can’t plant a seedling and expect fruit the next day or without giving it water or fertilization, we can’t expect fruit in our lives without living this process.  One area cannot be bypassed to move to another and get the same results.  This isn’t a “once-and-done” event or a feeling of “I’ve finally arrived.”  It is a lifelong growth process, but the end result is well worth staying the course.  We produce not just fruit but everlasting fruit (John 15). 

                                     

BUDS/FLOWERS: Patient endurance, godliness,

brotherly affection, love for everyone……fruit that can change the world

ROOTS:Moral excellence, knowledge, self control,

Fertilized soil 
 

So in this season of growth don’t stop when January 1^st comes around. GROW…GROW….GROW.

                                                                                                                
                  
            

IS PRAYER NECESSARY?

IN THE FACE OF TROUBLE, WHO ARE YOU?

Jen Smidt is one of the writers for the excellent blog The Resurgence.  I found this post particularly poignant and insightful for real-world disciples.

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. - Psalm 22:24

I went to the doctor yesterday and was told I needed surgery. This is not a particularly unique event in many people’s lives. It happens every day. It has happened to me 15 other times in my 4 decades of life. Despite the frequency of this news, the blow is always felt.
I hate getting bad news. So much of our lives are spent trying to avoid or protect against it, but dealing with pain and disappointment is a daily occurrence on the face of this imperfect and fallen world.
Who do you become in the face of adversity?

Worst-Case Scenario Woman

This is the woman who immediately upon hearing difficult news goes off the deep end, filling in the blanks with a myriad of outcomes, all equally horrific. There is a strange illusion of control and comfort that goes along with catastrophizing life so as to brace yourself from the inevitable. A dear friend of mine described it as “walking way too far down the road of fear and shaking hands with all of the possible scenarios that live there.”
Worst-Case Scenario Woman isn’t simply preparing herself for what may come–she is sinning. Her heart is revealed in these difficult moments and her distrust in God is speaking loudly. If this describes you (and it certainly does me over the last 24 hours), we would do well to completely derail the thought train of speculation and disaster and simply state to ourselves truth. Truly, our current trouble may feel like too much, but it never is for God. I can’t maintain my life through this trial but God promises to sustain me in it.  Finish reading ...

'ISSUE CHRISTIANS" AND THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

Ed Stetzer has an excellent post called "Why I Have No Difficulty Helping "Issue Christians" Move On" is a very reflection on a problem that most pastors face.  If you are an "issue Christian" and are reading this, I would suggest you heed its words in your own conduct.

Yesterday, I had an "encounter" in the line where I shake hands after the Grace Church worship service. A well-dressed man came up to me after church, shook my hand, and immediately started a conversation about prophecy.


I listened initially, but within a couple of minutes he had quoted one passage he feels is related to the founding of Israel in 1948 and another about Israel occupying Jerusalem in 1967. "Why don't churches talk more about prophecy?" he asked.

At that point, I could have redirected our conversation and tried to persuade him that we believe in biblical prophecy and will teach on it another time (both of which are true). Or, since he approvingly referenced both Jack Van Impe and John Hagee, I could have found some ways of positively connecting with each of these men.

In most cases, I've decided that "this is not the church for you" is actually the right response for "issue Christians" who are visiting the church.

Honestly, if this person were unchurched and told me they thought highly of Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer, I would have sought a point of contact and encouraged further discussion. I probably would have tried to get together-- if they were open-- to see what the Bible says about the kinds of things that Wayne Dyer talks about. I would have used the bridge to talk about Jesus.

However, in this case, I simply said something like, "We are not one of those churches that you would think talks about prophecy enough-- this would not be the right church for you, but I do hope your search for a church home goes well."

You see, I don't spend a lot of time with "issue Christians."

It's not just the issue of prophecy either. I've had similar conversations with "issue Calvinists," "issue political Christians," "issue charismatics," "issue homeschoolers," and many others. These are often good people and those are important issues, but when these are the primary defining issues in the first (and every other) conversation, the correct response is help them move on and do so quickly.
Here are four reasons why I have no difficulty helping "issue Christians" to move on:

1. Some "issue Christians" get stuck on specific ideas--you don't have time to persuade them. It is simply not a good use of your time and energy to debate with "issue Christians." Instead, reach your community, pastor your people, and get on mission. Focus on reaching the unreached, not debating church members about eschatology or pneumatology. If they know Christ, but are stuck on an issue, they will be just fine without you. Generally, you can't "fix" them anyway and they will (eventually) come out of it on their own.
2. Some "issue Christians" have divisive views--you don't need them to fit in at your church's expense.
You can disagree in our church (to a reasonable degree) and still be a part--I've pastored cessationists, charismatics, Calvinists, and Arminians all in the same church. The issues are not the issue, it is that this person wants to make them an issue. Simply, "issue Christians" generally do not fit in well in a mission-focused congregation. They don't want to.
3. Some "issue Christians" drift from church to church looking for willing ears--you do not need to let that in your church.
"Issue Christians" love to debate and display their knowledge. It is not good stewardship of your time to have these debates and you are not being a good steward of your church to let them loose inside.
4. Some "issue Christians" will talk forever if you do not cut them off--you will probably offended them less than you think.
For many, listening for hours is the Christian thing to do. Many pastors listen, set up appointments, then seek to reason and redirect the confused. That's not a good plan if it is obvious that this person has dwelt in and studied on an issue.
My experience is that people like this get "cut off" all the time. So, I say, "Thanks Joe, but that's not what we are passionate about here--I do encourage you to find a church that is passionate about what your issues." Surprisingly, that does not generally offend--people like that have been cut off many times before this time.
So, let me encourage you to thank "issue Christians" for their passion and time, and encourage them to find a church home that fits their values. Of course, I should say, this is different if someone comes to me confused on an issue. In that case, we can counsel and provide more information.

In conclusion, we should always provide guidance, but we should not always provide a platform. "Issue Christians" want a platform with you and your church because they are passionate about an issue--don't let that distract you or your church from being and doing all that God has in store. Move on... and move them on.

WHAT IS SATAN REALLY SAYING IN GENESIS 3?

From the blog FORWARD PROGRESS comes this excellent observation.

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made”

(Genesis 3:1).

Really? When you look at what serpent, or Satan, said to Eve, it doesn’t seem THAT cunning. In seems in fact pretty straight forward. But read between the lines with me. Satan is saying something else – something more – than what he’s actually saying.

Satan led his attack with a simple question: “Did God really say you can’t eat from any tree in the garden?” It’s a twisting of God’s word, to be sure, but there’s also something else here. He is causing Eve to focus on the one prohibition God gave to His children. He’s moving her to a fixation on the negative – to what she can’t have – rather than focusing on the hundreds or thousands of trees she could.
The underlying message behind this simple question is this:
God is a miser. He is not generous toward you.

But let’s not stop there. If we continue to trace that thought down to the center, we see what Satan was really getting at:
God doesn’t really love you. If He did, He wouldn’t be holding out on you. But He is. He doesn’t want you to be happy, and the way you know it is there’s something else out there that He won’t let you have.

Now we see the cunning. The craftiness. But let’s  not stop there, because his cunning is evident in other subtle ways. Think, for example, of what the implications are of Satan going to Eve instead of Adam. God created the world, and humanity, within certain guidelines and systems. In His design, it was the male who was to lead the home. But Satan didn’t go to the male; he went straight to the female.
In this, too, we see the subversive attacks of the enemy. He is challenging the authority, wisdom, and plan of God simply by asking the question to Eve at all.

Then there’s the word choice of the snake. If you look back to chapter 2 of Genesis, it’s interesting to note that in this chapter, which talks much of the creation of man and his purpose in creation, the name of God reads like this:

LORD God.

That is, the revealed name of God signifying his dominance, mastery, and power with the name for God as creator. And yet here slithers the snake and says, “Did God really say…”

No LORD. Subtly, subversively, the snake strips the authority out of God’s name and causes Eve to hold God at an arm’s length. A creator who has no real claim on her or her husband.

Cunning indeed. This is the true genius of Satan, for with each one of these seemingly small choices of words or phrases, he steadily chips away not at the will of the human, but of her belief. That’s the real key, isn’t it? Satan recognizes that actions spring from beliefs. Always. So if you want to direct action, you must begin with belief.

Maybe God doesn’t know what He’s talking about.
Maybe He doesn’t have authority over me.
Maybe He is holding out on me.
Maybe He doesn’t really love me at all.

And the dominoes of a belief system begin to topple. It’s only a matter of time when belief begins to falter that actions follow.

I AM SYZYGUS

From The Church Whisperer comes this intriguing post about conflict resolution in the church.

I Am Syzygus

9 02 2010

Tuesday Re-mix – This is a popular post from last year, updated and resubmitted for your consideration and comments.

(This is the second in a series of posts from Philippians 4 about church conflict)

Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:3

Have you ever thought about your name and wondered how it has shaped you or influenced you as a person?  I have…

 

My name is Syzygus.  It is Greek.  There really isn’t a good English translation of it, but “yokefellow” comes pretty close.  It’s a bit of an embarrassing name, actually, because it is a reference to oxen in a yoke.  I have no idea what my parents were thinking.  But today, looking back on my life, I’m glad they named me Syzygus.  When I think of how God worked in my life, it fits.  I suppose it refers to a co-laborer wearing the same yoke as you, pulling along with you.  If there is any truth to the old adage that names do reflect something about us, then I am a true friend who has walked along with you during good times and bad times, never leaving your side.  I am a person who has been coupled with you through difficult service together.  I have grown to trust you and you have grown to trust me.  I am your “yokefellow”.

I suppose I was not surprised, then, when Paul called me out in his letter to my church in Philippi.  I had been yoked with him in ministry and had been yoked with Euodia and Syntyche as well.  I knew them well and they knew me and trusted me.  As much as I did not want this assignment, I was exactly the right person to confront them about their disagreement.  In his wisdom, Paul knew that.

I suspect Paul also knew that all of us in the church were a bit perplexed about what to do with these two sisters.  We knew their broken relationship had gotten out of hand, and we knew someone needed to love them enough to confront them about it, but none of us wanted to do it.  I suppose we were all hoping someone else would step up, or maybe by some miracle Paul himself would be released from prison and he would come and do it.  Hey, don’t laugh, it’s happened before.

But there would be no miraculous prison break this time.  One of us (or perhaps a few of us) in the church would have to step up and deal with this conflict.  Personally, I usually run from it.  I really hate conflict.  I don’t like getting up in other people’s business, I don’t like being perceived as judgmental, and I don’t like sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.  Frankly, I can probably think of at least a dozen other excuses if you give me a little time.  Bottom line: none of us in the church wanted to do this, but we all knew it needed to be done.  Some argued it was the pastor’s job.  Others argued it was the elders’ job.  I was neither.  I was just someone who cared deeply for these two women, which is why Paul knew I was the right person to do this.  After all, if it were me who needed confronting, I would want it to be someone whom I trusted and who I knew loved me.  Why shouldn’t Euodia and Syntyche have the same benefit?

I pray that, when you need someone to tell you the truth about yourself, you will have a “Syzygus” in your life.  And I pray that, when someone you love needs a “Syzygus” in his/her life who will help him/her see the truth, you will step up and be that yokefellow for him/her.  I pray that, when God touches you on the shoulder with that assignment like Paul touched me, you will kneel down and pray and then go.  And I pray that God will use that experience to change your life the way He changed mine.

I am Syzygus.  And I am so very glad for that.

© Blake Coffee

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

ETERNAL LIFE--LIVING FOREVER OR SOMETHING MORE?

From the blog ALL THINGS IN CHRIST comes this post from Michael Young.

Eternal Life: the least understood phrase in the church today?

Maybe not, but possibly.

I believe these two simple words have been very much misunderstood in the church today. Not that it has been missed, ignored, or even wrongly interpreted, but instead it has only been partially interpreted and defined in our age.

We are all aware that, being washed in the Blood of Jesus, and having the promise of the Holy Spirit, “guaranteeing that which is to come”, that we will live forever with Jesus Christ in glory. This is a promise of God to His children, that we may dwell in the “New Jerusalem”. And this is what many take as the meaning of “eternal life” that Jesus spoke so freely of. However, I believe that this is only a small piece of a much greater, and much more blessed reality.

A Spring of Living Water Welling Up…
Jesus met with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He asks her, “Will you give Me a drink?” The woman, being a Samaritan who do not associate with Jews, replies, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How is it that You ask me for a drink?” So not only was this person a Samaritan, but a woman at that. In that time it would have been considered a taboo for a Jew male to interact with a Samaritan female! But nonetheless, Jesus responds. “If you knew the gift of God and who is is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” Of course, this woman had no clue who she was speaking to.

Then comes Jesus’ most beautiful, most life-filled response. This response is such a glorious summary of who He is, what He did, and how that changes the lives of you and me. It even explains how you and I are to live the Christian life while on earth.

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

In my estimation, this passage simply doesn’t make much sense if “eternal life” is reduced to only living forever in Heaven. Though that is a part of it, that is not the full reality.

The full reality is that Jesus Christ is the Living Water. He is the Eternal Life that is a spring welling up, pouring out, quenching thirst, and giving life to men and women. He is that life. The “spring of living water welling up to eternal life” is the very substance that holds all life together; the very thing that created all things, and lives in all things: Jesus Christ.
Yes, you have a deep spring of Life living within you. This Life, or living water, is the most fertile substance on earth. But it isn’t just a substance, or a thing–it’s a Person.

Jesus Christ isn’t this figure, this it that lives in Heaven that tells you and I what to do all day every day. He isn’t someone who just created a bunch of plant and animal life, earth and soil, stars and sky, that simply places you and me here to live to the best of our finite ability. No, that would make us like pets, and we simply are not that!

No, He is the God that not only created all things, but He is the very essence of His creation. He dwells within His creation and He is the life that causes trees to grow, stars to shine, and air to breath. He is all and in all.

The very Person that causes this life, the very Person that gave air to breath, lives inside of us once we believe. He comes to dwell in such a way that causes us to be springs, vessels, reservoirs of living water. This living water is something that at any second, any hour of the day, in any situation, we can draw from. This is what it means to “never thirst”. We are never in lack of any of the infinite riches that are in Christ.

We just have to learn how to use a bucket to draw from this well.

The Glory of the Church
So, eternal life isn’t just a neat phrase to describe living forever. No, it is the life that is in Jesus Christ, the life that is Jesus Christ. For His life is eternal, for He is eternal. That water has been shared with you and me. We may drink of Him at any moment. We may share and partake of this life as well. Not only for our own needs, but for others as well.

We may share this water that is within us to others. This is the task of the church and this is the glory of the church: to make Christ manifest and expressed by sharing the living water with one another and with those around us. This is at the very heart of the Father, that is, to make Christ known and visible here on earth. It is a very interesting thing to ponder that humans long so much to be in Heaven while God longs to be made known and visible on earth (I won’t go any further with that thought, I’ll leave that one to you )
So think about that next time you see or hear the phrase “eternal life.” Don’t think only of living forever, but think of Him!
Amen.

PATIENCE IS ROOTED IN FAITH

From the blog FORWARD PROGRESS comes this excellent insight into PATIENCE.


“Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry…”

I sang that song when I was a kid. It extols patience as a virtue that we should pursue. It is, after all, one of the fruits of the Spirit – and who couldn’t do with a little bit more of any of those? But patience is easier exhorted than practiced; easier extolled than embodied. Especially right now.

We live in a Twitter world. Instantaneous information. Quick gratification. Faster food. Microwave relationships. Multi-tasking tasking. Patience is bucking the entire culture around us.

I suppose that we might just decide to be patient; to will ourselves past our frustration. But I think we all know that won’t last. You decide to be patient, and you know what? It doesn’t happen fast enough. So you find yourself frustrated at how long it’s taking you to be patient.

But patience, like any of these other fruits of the Spirit, is rooted in faith. Think of it this way – what does a person of true patience communicate to those around them about what they believe?

- They communicate a belief in a sovereign God who is readily involved in even the most mundane areas of life.

- They communicate a trust that this God is orchestrating events for their good, even when those events seem haphazard and chaotic.

- They communicate an appropriate view of themselves, that their agenda and schedule is actually not the most important thing in the universe.

- They communicate an openness to divine interruption, believing that they might join God in some unexpected way for some unexpected work on behalf of the gospel.

- And finally, they communicate that they believe in the enduring patience of God, who instead of being frustrated with us, continues to love us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.

For me today, the exhortation is not just “be patient.” It’s “believe.”

THE RULE OF PERSISTENCE

From the blog CHURCH WHISPERER

The Rule of Persistence

15 09 2011

 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’   “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”  Luke 18:1-5

 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”   When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD.  The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”  1 Samuel 8:19-22

 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,  hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:4-5

Persistence, it seems, is a big deal to God.  We see it throughout the Bible, over and over again…so much so, in fact, that you could call it a rule: the Rule of Persistence.  Simply put, the spiritual rule of persistence is this: God’s nature is to reward persistence.  Mind you, that does not mean that persistence always wins out…it just means that, if scripture paints an accurate picture of God, then He is a God who is inclined to reward persistence.

Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18) is a positive example of it.  Jesus concludes that parable with these words: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”  The Rule works in our favor in many circumstances.  The people of Israel crying out for a king in 1 Samuel 8 is another, slightly less positive example of the rule of persistence.  As they persisted in their desire for a king, even in the face of Samuel’s counsel against it, God finally said, “Fine.  Have it your way.”  You see, it is God’s nature to reward persistence, and it does not always work in our favor.

By far the most horrifying application of the Rule of Persistence is how it applies to the sin in our lives.  Read Matthew 18 (and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector) or 1 Corinthians 5 (hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh) or Titus 3 (warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time…after that, have nothing to do with them).  The common truth underlying all of those passages is this: when by our actions we PERSIST in refusing to be held accountable, PERSIST in refusing to live in obedience to God, and PERSIST in fighting against the ways and means of God’s law, God is inclined to oblige us and to give us what we are PERSISTENTLY asking for.  Like the father to the prodigal son, He gives us what we want and sends us on our way…alone and without the spiritual protection of God’s people.

C.S. Lewis said it this way: There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done”, and those to whom God says, “All right then, have it your way.”  It is God’s wrath at its most painful point, when, in response to our persistence, He says to us, “have it your way.”

So as we persist in the messages we send to God, we must be careful…because God’s nature is to reward persistence.

What about the Rule of Persistence?  How will it operate in your life today?  How will it operate in the life of your church today?

© Blake Coffee

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.  Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU DROP THE BALL?

From THE LID-COLLABORATION FOR CHANGE ...

With College Football just around the corner I can feel the excitement build. It represents so much more than a game, College Football means a fresh start, a new year, a reunion with friends, and a deep loyalty to your favorite school. So many people I talk to love this time of year, including my Wife. I would have to admit, I’m pretty geeked up for the season to start as well. Whenever we watch football there is nothing that irks us more than when our team throws an interception or fumbles the ball. But have you ever noticed how much more lenient coaches are with interceptions versus fumbles? They expect their players to hold on to the ball. But the reality is we all drop the ball once in awhile. So it isn’t a question of whether or not we will ever fumble, it becomes a question of what to do when we do drop the ball. Here are 3 suggestions:

1. Recover: Try to make up for your mistake. Don’t just lay on the field with your head in your hands, try to fix what you did wrong. Do everything you can to stop the mistake from getting worse. If the enemy recovers your fumble you have to stop them from advancing the ball and magnifying the mistake in your life.

2. Admit: Don’t run over to the sidelines and start making excuses as to why you dropped the ball. Don’t start pointing fingers at him or her and blame shifting. Admit you dropped the ball, accept responsibility, and own up to your mistake.

3. Grow: Learn from your mistake. Listen to the coaches in your life on how you can prevent yourself from dropping the ball again. Heed instruction, gain knowledge, and seek wisdom. Reflect on why you dropped the ball and come up with a game plan that you can execute to help prevent you from dropping the ball in the future.

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CAN GOD MAKE A ROCK SO HEAVY EVEN HE CAN'T LIFT IT?

From Jared Wilson's blog THE GOSPEL-DRIVEN CHURCH comes this important reminder on communicating the Gospel. - Steve

Can God Make a Rock So Heavy Even He Can't Lift It?

I remember when I first heard this bit of immature atheistic reductio ad absurdum. I was in high school, and I didn't respond to it because the Nirvana-shirted, long-banged drama stud who said it didn't say it to me. He was laying it on his friend like it was theist's kryptonite.

My answer then, steeped in C.S. Lewis as I was, would have been along the lines of the nonsense of the question as framed. It is a rhetorical and hypothetical "gotcha" with no sincerity behind it, and in any event, it is sort of like asking, "Does the number nine smell red or yellow?"

My answer today is different. My answer today would not be to skewer the nature of the question but to inject its insincerity with the sincerity of God and all the weight of the gospel.

The truth is that God did make a weight so heavy he couldn't lift it. He did so not by building an immovable force -- we did that with our sin -- but by incarnating the frailty of humanity and willingly subjecting himself to the force. As one of us, yet still himself, he created the conundrum of the incarnate God, bearing a cross he both ordained yet could not carry by himself, becoming condemned in death and also victorious. And God was crushed according to the plan he himself projected from the foundation of the world.

So, can God make a rock so heavy even he can't lift it?

Yes. And he did. For three days only. And then he drop kicked it out of the mouth of the tomb.

THE WISDOM OF CHURCH SIGNS

I am a collector of church signs and these are some that can prompt some great discipleship reflections. - Steve

HONESTLY APOLOGETIC

“Loser’s Limp” and Avoiding Apologies

21 07 2011

 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  Luke 15:21

“A stiff apology is a second insult… The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.”  G.K. Chesterson

I have a pretty tough apology to make this week.  I will confess to you that I do not want to have to do it.  The more I think about it, the more my sinful mind begins thinking other thoughts…alternative thoughts…thoughts of deflecting the fault to someone else, or even of feigning my own “hurt” from the situation in an attempt to distract from my fault.  Do you ever have those kinds of conversations in your head?

My Dad called it “Loser’s Limp”.  I was about 10 years old.  I was the second-string quarterback of the Bellaire Panthers Pop Warner football team.  I was running plays with the second-string offense against our very formidable first-string defense.  I called a simple running play in the huddle, came to the line, called for the snap, and proceeded to turn the wrong direction to hand-off the ball.  It was a busted play and I got smeared all over the field by our entire defense.  I was the last to get up.  I was humiliated, and maybe just a little bit injured.  Maybe.  I did not want to face my coach, so I slowly but emphatically limped off the field, hoping everyone would forget my mistake and just feel sorry for me and my injury (which was growing worse and worse in my mind).  I got to the sidelines and met Dad’s gaze.  He was giving me the disappointed look (I didn’t get that look very often, but I still recognized it).  I protested the look and insisted that I was injured.  And that was the first time I can remember Dad using the term “Loser’s Limp”.  He saw right through my ploy, knew I was not really injured, and knew I was more humiliated than anything else.

The lesson Dad was teaching me was to own my mistakes…to be willing to confess them and learn from them.  He caught me trying to hide behind a fake injury, and he called me on it.  Lesson learned!

Picture the “lost son” in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal.  Wouldn’t it have been easy for him to come home with a bad case of “Loser’s Limp”?  Can’t you just see him limping home and gushing all over his father about the hardships he had been through and playing on his father’s sympathy?  How easy that would have been!  But he did not.  He came home and completely owned his mistake: “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you…I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”  No Loser’s Limp there.  It is a model confession and apology.

Let’s be honest here.  I do not enjoy confession and apologies any more than you do.  But my short-lived Loser’s Limp together with many years and a great deal of practice making mistakes has taught me that, in the long run, it is always easier to just own my failures and make my apologies than to do any of the “alternative” things my mind can conceive.  Believe me, my mind can get pretty creative when humiliation sets in and an apology is needed.  It can convince me that my own “injury” is just as serious as the one I caused.  It can keep me so focused on my own Loser’s Limp that my apology comes out stiff and lifeless, and ends up doing more harm than good.

I would like to think I have learned my lesson and can own my mistakes and can make my apologies.  So, here I go…I have a call to make.  FOLLOW CHURCH WHISPERER

© Blake Coffee

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.  Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

WHERE ARE THE FISH BITING TODAY?

From Steve - I came across a blog called ALAN'S CORNER written by a NASA scientist and Christian. This post is an example.  It also reminds us that faith is never simple.

 by Alan Ward

I am by no means an authority on fishing; it’s not really a hobby of mine. I do know, however, that many factors go into determining where the fish will be biting today. The temperature of the water, the winds, the supply of nutrients, and other factors can all impact the fish. Fish tend to follow their food sources, so if you find what the fish eat in the water, then the fish are likely to follow. 

From my work at NASA, I know that today’s commercial fishing industry is becoming more and more rooted in science. It’s not uncommon for fishermen to consult weather maps, ocean topography charts, and other data from satellites and other sources to help them try to maximize their chances of bringing in a good catch. But at the end of the day there’s still an “art” to fishing. You can go where the data tells you to go and still find no fish…

The men that Jesus encountered along the shores of the Sea of Galilee did not have access to sophisticated technology to track schools of fish, but I am quite certain that fishing the same waters day after day, year after year, gave them an intuitive feel for when and where to cast their nets on a given day. When they put down their nets in a given place, it was because they thought they had a reasonable chance of catching something.

Imagine then how you might feel if a non-fisherman standing on the shore presumed to tell you where to drop your nets? Imagine further that it’s already been a long and unproductive night of fishing. You are tired and would just assume call it a day. Would you listen to the suggestion?

Well, in John 21:1-14 we’re told that these seasoned fishermen did listen to the advice of the “stranger”. They knew Jesus, but John tells us they didn’t recognize him at first—they couldn’t see him clearly from where they were. It’s only when they pull in the huge catch of fish it becomes clear to them who was standing there all along. Peter swims to shore (vintage Peter here!) leaving the others to haul the boat into shore. They all sit down to breakfast with Jesus and not one of them asks: “Who are you?” It’s as if what they witness that morning along the shores of Galilee removes any lingering doubts they may have had about whether Jesus is really alive. (These doubts are very apparent in the disciple’s previous encounters with Jesus in Jerusalem after the resurrection—e.g., Luke 24:36-43; John 20:24-29)

I find it interesting that the disciples obey Jesus’ commands to “cast your nets on the right side” before they actually recognize Jesus in the flesh. It says something about having faith in and placing our trust in what we cannot see. I often think it was easier for the first disciples to believe because Jesus was there with them in the flesh, and maybe it was, but this is a good reminder that faith is never simplistic.

Just as these men have an instinctive sense for where the fish are biting, they seem to instinctively recognize Jesus’ authority—he commands not only the fish but the fishermen as well. And after this encounter, these rugged fishermen from Galilee leave their boats on the shores of Galilee once and for all and follow the Risen Lord where he leads them. After Jesus ascends and the Holy Spirit descends these men are sent forth to drop their nets on other seas and their labors lead to a huge “catch” for the Kingdom of God—all because they were obedient to Jesus, and put down their nets on the right side of the boat.

SOMETIMES FAITH DOES TAKE FAITH - From C. Michael Patton

Sometimes Faith Does Take Faith

by C Michael Patton Many things are easy to believe. Its easy to believe that I just finished counseling a couple who are getting married next week. Why? Because I just experienced it. Its easy to believe that I am writing on my computer right now. Though I don’t have the first clue as to how computers work, the experience is enough to persuade me of the reality of my actions. I believe it. So many things in life that we have faith about are easy to believe. But some things are harder to believe.

One thing that we have to keep in mind about the Christian faith is that it often does take faith. I spend a good deal of time trying to help people understand that belief in Christ is not irrational. In fact, I believe that, when we understand things well, it is the most rational thing that we can do. However, just because some thing is rational does not mean it is always easy to believe. Some things that God calls on us to believe are simple and self-evident. Very often, many aspects of our faith are easy and require about as much effort as belief in the reality of my present action of writing this message. Sometimes faith seems to take very little faith.
However, there are things that are not quite so easy to believe. There are times in our lives (often extended) when belief is hard to come by. There are things that cause us to doubt and slip into a mire of uncertainty.

When faith does not come so easy, we often panic, making the situation much worse as we sink deeper into a pit of despair.

It is easy to believe God loves me when things are going well in my life. When the kids are obedient, when my marriage is going well, and when there is enough in the bank to pay the bills. It is easy to believe because we often think that these are the things we should experience if our faith was true. However, when things are not going so well, faith takes a little more faith…
FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW TO CONTINUE READING >>>
Sometimes Faith Does Take Faith | Parchment and Pen

"JESUS IS NOT GOING TO DROWN ... THAT'S WHERE I WANT TO BE"

One of the most compelling stories in the Bible for me personally is found in Matthew 14.22-33. Jesus is walking on the water and his invitation to Peter to get out of the boat and join him on the waves.  Part of me is captivated by the vision of joining Jesus in being part of something immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine.  As a servant of Christ--the safe, the mundane, the routine are a slow death and lost opportunity in the eternally significant work of the Kingdom.

Yet part of me recoils at the thought of stepping out of the boat.

Unlike many people, I enjoy being on the cutting edge of what God is doing to transform people's lives and the world.  But like many people, I don't want to be too close to the edge lest I stumble and fall over that edge.  I am aware of how easily I stumble.

But what is my fear (because that is what it is)?  Am I afraid of failing, or appearing foolish, or having more trouble than I can handle?

Or am I afraid of being truly transformed?

Peter tended to be on the leading edge of discipleship.  He was drawn towards the potential of being more than a mere Galilean fisherman. He threw himself passionately into what he was given to do.  And although he stumbled many a time along the way ... big time; ultimately he found himself in the vortex of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost where 3000 people gave their lives to the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

I once heard it said that Peter inside the boat out on those angry waves was involved. Peter fifteen steps out on the water was committed.  And Peter was in an entirely different place in his faith and his experience (and ultimately his impact) than the eleven who clung to the sides of the boat.

I don't want to be involved.  I want to be committed.

I don't want to be better. I want to be transformed.

And that will require to answer Jesus' invitation to step out of the boat and walk on the water.  Walking with him on the water. And if I have any hesitation at all, I need to remember that Jesus is out there.  "Jesus is not going to drown ... that's where I want to be."


Leonard Lee has written an excellent blog post on this passage from which I have taken my title quote. (Read Leonard's post ...)

WHY ARE WE SO CONFUSED ABOUT IMMORALITY

From an excellent blog by Bill Pratt called Tough Questions Answered

Why Are We So Confused about Morality?

Post Author: Bill Pratt
My good friend, Wes, sent me a video link (see below) because he knew it would drive me crazy!  (maybe he’s not my friend, after all)  The video features a guy named Lamar talking about illegal activities that people give a pass to.  The speaker mentions several activities that he thinks are wrong, and he even explains why they are wrong, but then he inexplicably trots out the tired postmodern cliche of, “These things are wrong for me, but maybe not for you” and one of my other personal favorites, “I don’t judge other people.”  He says that his position is one of neutrality.

Here we have a textbook example of moral relativism.  There are no absolute moral duties, because, according to Lamar, we were all raised with different moral compasses and we must remain neutral and not judge each other’s moral compasses.  You have your compass and I have mine.   This all sounds so fair and tolerant and high-minded, doesn’t it?

The problem is that Lamar doesn’t believe a word of what he is saying.  He really does believe that stealing is wrong.  The moment you stole something from him, I guarantee he would judge you, and harshly!  And what about moral laws against things like murder and rape?  Would Lamar hesitate to call those things wrong for everyone?  Would he say that he remains neutral about murder and rape?  I think not.

What irritates me so much about this kind of thing is that folks like Lamar are trying to portray themselves as heroes of tolerance and non-judgmentalism when they really are not (almost nobody really is).   I’m guessing  that if we could just ask Lamar’s family and friends whether he never judges anybody else’s morality, we would find out he’s just like the rest of us - judging every day.

And don’t we want there to be some judging?  Do we really want people to remain neutral about stealing?  How would you like it if your neighbor saw someone breaking into your house and taking your new LCD TV, but instead of calling the police, he just thought to himself, “I’m going to remain neutral.  Maybe the thief just has a different moral compass than me.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad that my neighbors aren’t neutral.  In fact, I think most of them own guns…

THE BIBLE IS NOT SIMPLY AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Jared Wilson puts us onto this excellent post from Michael Kelley.

Why Won’t God Just Tell Me What To Do?

That would certainly make things simpler in life, wouldn’t it? Like if there was a blank page at the back of every Bible, and every morning you woke up and there was a personal, hand-tailored message for you from God. Telling you where to eat lunch. Letting you know how to get another job and when it’s going to happen. Informing you of the right choice to make about your relationship.

But it doesn’t work that way. At least not for me. At times, it feels like we are stumbling through the dark, groping along with our hands outstretched in front of us to keep us from bumping into something.

I suppose you could take this as evidence of the absence of God – of His distance. That He is aloof. That the details of life don’t matter that much to Him.

Or you could recognize that this apparent absence is actually evidence of the exact opposite.

Often, the Bible has been called an instruction manual for life. That’s not true. Nowhere in the Bible did I find instructions that I was to marry Jana. That we were to have children and what we should name them. That I should take a job at Lifeway or that we should move to Nashville.

If this is an instruction manual for life, it’s a bit like trying to put together a model airplane using the picture on the box. Sure, you can glean some broad details, but what about how the tiny engine blocks fits inside the frame? Or how the steering apparatus is put together? It’s those little details that are missing.

Thing is, the Bible isn’t an instruction manual for life, and because it’s not, we see that God is not absent from those small details. The Bible is the means by which we might know God in Christ, not primarily the means by which we might figure out the details of our own lives. God is the main character of the Bible; not me. And not you.

One of the characteristics revealed in the pages of Scripture is God’s desire for intimacy with His people. And perhaps that’s exactly the reason why you don’t find blank pages waiting to be filled in on a daily basis. If that were the case, then where would our relationship with God be? We would reduce Him to a cosmic slot machine who spits out answers when we pull the lever.

And you don’t love a slot machine. You USE a slot machine.

Maybe the reason God doesn’t always just tell us what to do in the details is because in this, He’s doing what He does in so many other areas of life: developing intimacy with us. He’s forcing us to talk and listen. To even argue sometimes. But to know Him rather than just His plan.

That, after all, is what eternal life is about: knowing God. Not knowing the answers.

BLAKE COLLINS ON HEARING GOD

Hearing God Speak through the Noise of My Brother

5 05 2011

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”… Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  John 20:24-25, 29

The ears and the mind are necessarily connected.  That is because hearing requires much more than just ears.  When we were children, we could hear the wind blowing through a sea shell but we thought we were “hearing the ocean”.  We could hear just fine, but we could not discern very well.  Now, as I get older (alas), I am finding that my ears don’t always hear very well.  I can be sitting with you in a crowded restaurant, trying to hear what you are saying and my “discernment” has to kick in so that I can make up for what my ears cannot hear.  I suppose that balance shifts more and more with time.

Interestingly, our Spiritual hearing works in a similar way.  When we are young (spiritually), we don’t discern all that well.  We may hear God’s voice, but we hear it along with all the noise and may not have the spiritual maturity to discern that which is God and that which is other.  I believe we develop that discernment over time, with the help of the Spirit.  I also believe this spiritual skill is critical to our life together in the church.  Wasn’t that the point of Jesus’ lesson to Thomas in John 20?

Thomas’ brothers came to him, filled anew with the Spirit and sharing testimony of Christ’s appearance, i.e., the transformation which had happened in their lives as a result of the resurrection.  Thomas heard their testimony, but he missed the Spirit in it.  He could not (or would not) hear it.  He wanted to hear it directly from Jesus.

Not surprisingly, Jesus showed him grace despite his disappointment in Thomas.  Here is an important implication of his words to Thomas in v.29: Thomas, you’re going to need to develop spiritual eyes to see the Spirit at work in your brother and spiritual ears to hear God’s voice in him in order to be effective in helping to start this revolution…that is how it will work in my church!

In the church, discerning the voice of God is a sign of spiritual maturity.  When we are spiritual babies, we may hear the wind in the sea shell and believe it is the ocean.  But as we grow older, we really must develop the “spiritual mind” to know the difference.  In order to be effective as leaders among God’s people, we must be getting better and better at discerning the voice of God in His people.  Despite their many flaws and despite the “noise” of their flesh, we must learn to listen and to discern and to recognize the Shepherd’s voice when we hear it…even through the thorniest of relationships with our most difficult brothers/sisters.  Our effectiveness as a leader depends upon this skill.

Will you listen closely today?  What unexpected message will God bring you through a brother today?

© Blake Coffee

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Blake Coffee.  Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: © Blake Coffee. Website: churchwhisperer.com

THE LIVING LOGIC OF EASTER

This from a great blog called REAL LIFE WITH GOD

the logic of living Easter
April 25, 2011

In the first few days following Easter, a great Scripture transforms it into a 365-day theology (instead of a 3-day weekend): “In view of God’s mercy . . . offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1–niv).

Jim Elliot, martyred missionary to the Ecuadorian Waodani Indians, journaled in 1949, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Prophetically, he had journaled these words a little over six years before he would actually be forced to reveal how much he believed them true. He and four other brothers in Christ were brutally murdered while simply attempting to reveal the truth of Jesus to those who did not yet know Him. This–Elliot firmly believed–was a Reason worth laying his life down for. He would leave a wife and a 10-month-old daughter behind. Of course, we see this as tragic–and it is. But, it’s not as tragic as we might think.

What did he lose? His life, yes. But, that’s something we’re all going to lose . . . since it’s never a matter of if, but when. Since we’re all going to die, did he really lose anything? He certainly had to let go of his family faster than most of us will or would ever want to. That’s tragic, too, of course. But, what if giving up his family in the short-term meant he could grow THE FAMILY OF GOD in the eternal term? You see, those 5 missionaries’ deaths weren’t the final chapter of what happened in Ecuador. The man who actually killed Elliot later noted that the missionaries had guns in their possession, but refused to use them. They didn’t defend themselves, so as to sacrificially communicate God’s kindness. It cost them their lives, but it didn’t cost them something they were going to be able to hold onto anyway. The Waodani who killed Elliot would later say: “I have killed twelve people with my spear! But I did that when my heart was black. Now Jesus’ blood has washed my heart clean, so I don’t live like that anymore.” Was God saddened and outraged that His servants were murdered? Yes. Is that the only way the Waodani could have come to know Christ as their Savior? That’s unknowable. But, did God use this tragedy for good? Yes. In that way, it confounds our sense of what tragedy is. Jim Elliot was no fool to lay down his life as a “living sacrifice.” Neither are you a fool when you do the same thing. In fact, when it says this decision is our “true and proper worship,” literally he says that it is the logikos (lah-gee-koss) choice of how to live (and die) in light of God. It’s where we get our word logical.

Basically, reasonable people know where to invest their lives. Illogical people invest it into stuff that they can’t carry with them across eternity’s threshold. In Jim Elliot’s journal where he first penned those famous words in 1949, his immediate thoughts that followed were a reference to Luke 16:9–

Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.

What are YOU investing in?

DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?

Justin Holcombe writing for THE RESURGENCE

Sin & Its Effects

We all know we will end up dead. Because of sin’s entrance into the world, every human dies, every human suffers, animals suffer, tsunamis sweep cities and villages away, volcanoes destroy whole regions, AIDS and malaria and cancer and heart disease kill millions of people old and young, and droughts and famines cause millions to starve.

Because of sin, we also hurt ourselves and others. Because of sin, others hurt us. This is why we experience condemnation, guilt, shame, despair, pain, and filth.

Our Hope--God Endures

We collapse under the weight of this destruction. Only God could endure all this. And that’s exactly what God did in Jesus—who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorned its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of God. That’s the world’s one hope, and that hope is fulfilled in the resurrection.
If we don’t pin our hope for redemption on Christ, then we are left to our own feeble strategies to fight back at death and guilt. Here’s an example.

Death, Where is Your Bling?

A strategy for dealing with death is seen in the newest piece of art by the British artist Damien Hirst. A few years ago, he unveiled his masterpiece—a diamond-encrusted platinum cast of a human skull priced at $98 million. The skull, cast from a 35-year-old 18th-century European male, is coated with 8,601 diamonds, including a large pink diamond worth more than $8 million in the center of its forehead.

His explanation of his work is fascinating: “I hope this work gives people hope—uplifting, take your breath away…. It shows we are not going to live for ever. But it also has a feeling of victory over death.” Unfortunately, that’s the only hope some have for dealing with death—a feeling of victory over death.

What We Need

We don’t need diamond-encrusted skulls that give the feeling of overcoming death. We need substitutionary atonement and real victory over death. What we need is not myth or feeling; we need sin and death overcome. That’s why Romans 4:25 is so important: “Jesus Christ was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

He is risen! Because of the death and resurrection of Christ and your faith in him, you are declared pure, righteous, saved, blameless, holy, forgiven, and without condemnation. These are all words God uses in Scripture for those who are in Christ. This good news relates all the way down to your anxiety, the memories of specific sins, your fears and insecurities, the shame you feel because of what’s been done to you, the sinful impulses that seem to control you.

“We don’t need the feeling of overcoming death. We need substitutionary atonement and real victory over death. ”

Because of the resurrection, we have the hope of heaven and being with Christ, and “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4).

Christ Conquers

The resurrection is why Paul taunts death in 1 Corinthians 15. He does it much like a child would do to his bullies when his father is behind him and he feels secure in his father’s protection: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

In the cross, God turned his wrath away from you and toward Christ. In the resurrection, God turns your eyes away from your sins and directs them to Christ. Our sins hurled him to the ground and trampled him, but God delivered Christ and made him alive. He has conquered the tyrants of sin and death. Christ is too strong for them. He overpowers them and he takes sin and sorrow captive and rules over them for all eternity. Because there is no condemnation, you can have a clear conscience—loves replaces darkness, joy replaces despair, and peace replaces fear.

PERRY NOBLE ON WHY WOULD YOU NOT DO IT?

Why Would You Not Do It?

One of my life verses that is always in front of me is Hebrews 11:6…
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

One of the myths that has been crippling to Christianity for years is that Jesus has called us to “play it safe”…when that is not taught OR modeled by Jesus OR His followers in the Scriptures.  (See Acts 20:24 and Galatians 2:20)

Jesus didn’t play it safe…Paul didn’t play it safe…none of the Apostles played it safe…the church in Acts 4:23-31 upon being threatened and persecuted did NOT pray for safety…they prayed for boldness!
Yet today we seem to want to play it safe…that cannot be the goal.

So what about you church leader?  Church member?  Whoever…what is that ONE THING that you KNOW the Lord is calling you to do?  You know it’s a risk…you know that in order for it to take place you are going to need divine intervention?  What is it?  Why not do it?

People have asked me before, “Pastor P, how do I know that it’s God telling me to do it and not just an idea I had?”  GREAT question…allow me to share three identifying marks that I have personally experienced.

#1 – This thing that you believe you are called to do by God will not contradict God’s Word! I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit…and I believe that He speaks as loud today as He did in the book of Acts; however, I also know according to the teachings of Scripture that the Holy Spirit will not contradict the Word of God.  So…if “that thing” that you feel called to is in direct conflict with God’s Word…then it’s not God telling you to do it.

#2 – You can’t get away from this thought…it dominates your thinking and the more you marinade on it the more you feel like you might explode. For example…I really did believe back in 1996 that Jesus was telling me I needed to start a church.  BUT…instead of running out and doing it immediately I began to read books on it (Rick Warrens books and Bill Hybels book on the subject of church planting impacted me significantly) and dove into the Scriptures to see what they taught about the subject.  AND…the more I prayed, studied and read about it…the hotter the fire inside of me became.

#3 – Godly people in your life affirm it. (SEE Proverbs 15:22)  What I have learned from personal experience is that if I do not want to share my idea with those in my life who I know really do love Jesus and love me…then…I usually know it’s not a “God idea” but rather a Perry idea.  One of the things that EVERY believer in Christ needs is godly men and women who love Jesus and love the person enough to speak the truth in love…people who value the friend more than the friendship and are willing to say what needs to be said.  ANYTIME I have ever shared a thought/idea that I really believe the Lord has placed in my heart and the people the Lord has placed in my life to love and challenge me push back…I ALWAYS take a step back and pray and think through the idea more until the Lord either gives me greater clarity OR shows me that the wise counsel of my friends is exactly what I needed to hear.

That is what works for me…so how about you?  What is that thing that you know you should do?

Life is short, hell is hot and eternity is forever!!!  The world has NEVER been impacted by Christians who spend their whole lives in a car seat and beg God to never let anything bad happen to them!
Ask HIM to set you on fire with HIS plans…and THEN GO FOR IT!

GRACE

From Leonard Lee, an important Lenten reminder



Grace is scandalous.  Plain and simple, if we understood where grace trafficked we would gossip about it.  We would tell stories of the places grace went, who grace hung out with the way grace entered into the darkest and seediest places of the human soul.  If we understood grace we might get lost in its wake and end up upside down in our living.  Grace defeats more than we know and triumphs where will power and self discipline cannot stand.  Grace.  Wow, what a friend.

I grew up in the church by the way but this is not the grace I discovered.  The grace I grew up with was more like a gritty soap, getting stains off of mostly clean people.  We didn’t celebrate it as much more than a stringent cleaner, getting out the tough spot.

We used phrases like “easy believism” to describe the teaching of those who brought us scandalous grace.  We said that too much grace would be like giving people “a license to sin.”  We even said we had to be careful about teaching grace or “people will abuse it.”  Sadly, many of us never got grace, at least the scandalous kind.  Our brand of grace produced two kinds of people.

One kind is the person who slid from guilty to self righteous – which by the way is never what scandalous grace produces.  This is the person whose journey from death to life was never seen as that long a trip.  In reality it was more like a journey from a severe head cold to good health.   The other kind is the person who lived in the reality of spiritual poverty without ever finding freedom.  Interestingly enough, both of these persons spend a lot of time trying to do to their sin what only grace can.

When we get grace, truly get grace, it becomes like an unending onion and after we peel a layer off there is another layer and then another and another.  Each layer points us to a new level of love, humility and hope and holiness.  Wanna know a secret?  There has never been a person alive who did not abuse grace and if it cannot be abused, it is probably not grace.

Paul writes these words, “Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have gained access into this grace in which we now stand.”  Romans 5 Justified, Peace, Access, Grace, Stand.  WOW!  Take those words and understand them.  Dig into their richness and you will discover that if it cannot be abused, it probably is not grace.

If we dare fall into these words and splash around in them like a giant spring rain puddle, we will soon discover that each of us already had a license to sin and what grace offers is actually a license to live free from sin.  WOW, WOW, WOW!

Grace is not about God being good to sinners; it is about God raising the dead.  Grace is not about God cleaning us up; it is about God applying His own righteousness to our lives in such a way as to declare us once and for all NOT GUILTY!

For what it’s worth, I don’t have to feel like this is true in order for it to be true nor do I have to feel it to live it.  What I do have to do is get out of the way of myself and live as one whom God loves.  I do need to tell myself daily that I am saved by grace, kept by grace and taught by grace.

Here is how I know when I am getting the scandal of grace deep within my soul.  I love God enough to let him change me.  I live better not because it is how I measure myself but because I can.  Grace teaches me to grow.  Grace makes me generous.  Grace shifts the focus off of me and on to the generous and amazing Father.  It is good to be back, Off… we go now.