Ecclesiastes 5:10 8/29/2017*12/16*

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”

The big lie…” if I could just make more money I would be happy”.

That is the lie that keeps us on the treadmill. The belief that what we acquire will give us joy is quicksand.  Materialism, like a drug, always demands more. And when what we desire is acquired without producing the promised happiness, it plunges some into lethal hopelessness.

Money, according to this verse, is worthless in achieving contentment and happiness. Some spend years in pursuit only to finally realize that wealth does not heal the heart. 

It is the opposite of “getting” that produces joy.  The act of giving is what lifts the heart.

One of our family traditions is the giving of “nacho money” at Christmas.  An envelope full of cash is given to someone so they can give it away.  It is “not your money” it all belongs to God. Your job is to find out who God wants you to give it to, and relay back the joy produced by giving it to them.

This is when money can bring joy … when it helps others.  When it is used as an expression of love it can produce happiness.  But when it is exercised in self-love it only makes the void bigger. 

Money is not the problem. Your undying love of it is.

Don’t waste another day misunderstanding the word wealth. 

Work hard and provide for your family.  But when it comes to your heart, pursue real treasure by loving God and loving your neighbor…. use money to do both.

 

Resolve today to set yourself free from the love of money, after all it is “Nacho” money anyway.

“Money is a great servant but a bad master.”

– Francis Bacon

1 Samuel 16: 10-11 8/22/2017

"Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.””


Do you feel unimportant? 
Does it seem like you’re not the kind of person who will ever be a “world changer”?

I bet David felt that way when his father sent him out to tend sheep instead of allowing him to be considered for greatness.


But it turns out that God, and man, have very different opinions, when it comes to choosing a team.  David, whose own father didn’t think he had potential, would one day be a great king, and God would use his lineage to usher in the savior of the world.

Likewise, when Christ chose twelve guys to establish Christianity not one scribe, priest, or religious teacher was chosen.  No one that a search committee would have recommended was selected. Just a bunch of unknown guys, whom God had equipped to change the course of humanity.

Nothing about you is an accident. God has a job for you, and when He puts you in the game, trust that He has prepared you to accomplish His plan.

Don’t listen when the world discounts your ability. God personally designed you. 

Be alert. Be confident ... knowing you cannot do it by yourself is the first qualification you need to achieve greatness. 

Look for needs that you are not qualified to meet, and meet them.  Have faith in God’s power, love your neighbor, and let those two forces guide your steps.

Boldly believe that you can do all things through Christ. Then be prepared to be amazed when God calls you out of the pasture to change the world.

“God doesn't call the equipped. God equips the called.
And you have been called.”  - Rick Yancey

Matthew 16:6-9 8/15/2017

“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread. “Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand?”

I think if the phrase “shake my head” was popular 2000 years ago, we would find it often in scripture.

 

The disciples actually believed Christ was upset because they had forgotten bread.  Never mind that two chapters earlier Jesus fed 5000 people with a few fish and a couple of rolls.  Somehow, they still thought Jesus was worried about lunch.

   

The disciples, like us, have trouble looking past the small issues of life, to find the truths that matter. We restrict our view to trivial daily task and it minimizes our existence.

 

Our prayer life consists of minor requests. Our faith involves tiny leaps. And our worship is shallow, and forced.  At times God must look at us, shake His head and ask, “Do you still not understand?”

   

We need to change our focus from earthly, temporal things, to the everlasting things of God.

   

When we pray it should be about eternally significant issues.  When we step out in faith it should be outlandish… if we do this… worship and praise will be natural and extravagant.

    

Starting today, let’s stop being distracted by mundane things and focus on what Jesus deemed important.  Practice being heavenly minded, focusing on issues more important than lunch…. If we can change our focus we can then begin to “understand”.

“What consumes your mind, controls your life.”  - Unknown

Hebrews 4:12 8/8/2017

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

Have you ever heard a sermon, or read scripture and thought of someone who really needed that message?  It is natural to think of those we love, but does that ever distracted you from hearing what God is saying to you? 

The Word of God is alive.  It is dynamic and if you are hearing, or reading it, it is directed at you.  It is examining the thoughts and attitudes of your heart.  God is talking to you, not your spouse, your child, or your friend.

We must train ourselves to pay attention.  We must stop treating the word of God as though it is common and natural.  It is not.  It is like nothing we have read or heard before… it is alive, and communicating directly to us. More powerful than any weapon known to man, it is the only thing that can change our hearts.

God’s word can penetrate your very soul. It can expose things, repair things, and change things in your life.  The temptation to think the message is intended for others can distract you. That distraction interferes with the words ability to impact your own “thoughts and attitudes.”

Let’s start seeing the Word, as a personal conversation with God.  

He has a message for you and that message has power to pierce your heart and change who you are. If someone else comes to mind, jot their name down for later, but get back to the discussion. You and God have business to attend to… He’s not talking to them… He is talking to you.

“To me the Bible is not God, but it is God’s voice, and I do not hear it without awe.”  -   Charles Spurgeon

2 Timothy 3:1-5 8/1/2017

"...There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power...”

Apparently the last days will be marked by a false Christianity that does not change those who posses it.  While they talk about faith, their lives are filled with a long list of traits that deny their faith has any power.

Do we hold to a form of godliness but deny its power?
Is our faith an outward decoration - or an internal engine that drives our lives?

The old illustration of not having faith in a chair until you sit on it applicable here.  We can speak of our trust in the chair.  We can discuss how sturdy it looks, but until we sit in it we really don't know if it will hold us or not.

Unfortunately, many of us have the same relationship with our faith.  We talk about it.  We tell others how important it is to us, we have jewelry and clothing that advertise it's value...but we have yet to sit in it.  We have yet to allow ourselves to completely depend on it to hold us up......and until we do that, we are denying it's power.

Powerless faith, is both useless, and dangerous.  It is not only destructive to the holder, but to those they influence as well.

If that is you today, let's change things. Let's take a seat in godliness.  Let's become lovers of God, not lovers of pleasure.  Put your hope and trust completely in Him ... not denying His power, but betting everything on it. Godliness is not something you have, it is something that has you. It is a powerful force that should drive and direct your every thought, and action. 

Your reflection of His love will be a light to others that shows that godliness is not a decoration, but a dominate force that shapes your life.

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." - Brennan Manning

John 3:30 7/25/2017*22*

"He must become greater; I must become less."

Most of us are OK with the first part of this verse, but we struggle with the second.

It goes against our nature to try to decrease in importance.  What we desire is for Christ to increase and we increase with Him.

The problem with that scenario is our job description.  We are flashlights, used to help others find the light switch.  Individually and collectively the church is supposed to lead others to Christ.  As mere reflections of His love we, by definition, will fade once our convert finds the source of love.

Understanding this verse can reduce anxiety and confusion for us.  It is not that we are to decrease by loving less, or not trying as hard....it is simply the nature of the arrangement.  Once the sun appears the brightness of the stars fade.  The stars have not changed, the environment of the viewer has.

Can we really "die with Christ" and have Him live through us?

The enemies' original weapon is "self ____" - conceit, Pity, loathing, absorption... Fill in the blank. What ever you put there will be a distraction because it is still about you.

Even the misinterpretation of this verse, resulting in a conscious self-centered humility, is destructive. The goal is not to think low of yourself, it's to  not think of yourself at all.

We must decrease, we must disappear...it must be Christ living in us.  If we can get there, it makes us immune to all insults, compliments, attacks, and praises. All of those are powerless to distract us if our goal is to show people the "light switch".

Strive this week to disappear.

Not  to feel good about yourself, not to feel bad about your self...disappear.

Have your needs met so completely in Christ that you need nothing but the opportunity to show His love to others.

“There are two types of people--those who come into a room and say, ' here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah, there you are."
―Frederick L Collins

Matthew 16:18 7/17/17*15*

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Why did Jesus choose Peter?

Peter is the linebacker of the Apostles. He reacts. He rushes in. He is passionate and spontaneous.

His mistakes are documented in scripture more than any other Apostle:
- he almost drowned when he walked on water - and was reprimanded.
- he cut off a soldiers ear in the garden defending Christ - and was reprimanded.
- he told Jesus that he would not allow Him to be crucified - and was reprimanded.
- he said he would die before denying Christ - and was reprimanded with a look, after denying Him the third time.
- and the list goes on and on...Why build the church on him?

The answer is in Peter's bold proclamation that Jesus was the "Christ...the Son of the living God!" Peter knew who, and what, Jesus was, and that moved him to action.  This is the attribute that made Peter the foundation that hell could not prevail against.

His passion for God moved him and overpowered any fear of failure.  He was not so concerned about his reputation that he was afraid to act.  Peter was "all in"...with nothing held back, and that is what God used to build the church.

Today we suffer paralysis by committee.  We hedge every bet, and make sure we have no possibility of embarrassment before we act. Each move is calculated to be sure we are protected. We have become so fearful of ridicule that we choose not to try.

Nothing can be built that way.

We must become men who realize "He is the Christ, the son of the living God".  And that knowledge must eliminate all hesitation.

Be a little reckless with your faith today.  If God prompts you to speak, start talking.  If God whispers for you to help someone, do it.  If someone needs something you can provide, give it to them.

God builds things with people who move.

Get out of the boat.  You will probably get wet, but you also might walk on water.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." -  Wayne Gretzky

Matthew 6:25 7/11/2017*8*

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"

We are a nation of worker ants, never disconnected from a phone that drives our lives minute by minute.

Personal computers did not emerge until the 1980's.  And Apple didn't introduced the Iphone until 2007.  Yet somehow we survived prior to that.  We paid bills, and balanced check books without computers, and managed businesses, and relationships without constant contact.    

Computers were introduced as a way to make us more efficient and provide more leisure time. But we now work longer hours than ever before with electronic leashes that allow us to be on call 24/7. Anxiety and stress have skyrocketed, and our battery and reception level dictate our mood.

Jesus said life is more than that.

Relax and simplify.

Don't allow the urgent to replace the important.  Stay focused on the things that matter.  Answer the question that Christ asked ... Isn't life more than what you have made it?

If it is, do something about it.  You do not have to mindlessly follow the crowd.  Make your own plan based on what you think matters.  Don't waste another minute chasing things you don't need.

Try an experiment today and turn off all your electronics for a few minutes. Open a bible, spend some time in prayer and enjoy being still.  Determine what is important in your life, and what is not.

Life is much more than what you purchase. Go deeper.  Simplify your life and make sure you don't miss the dance obsessing over what you are going to wear.

"Our life is frittered away by detail....Simplify, simplify."
- Henry David Thoreau

2 Corinthians 5:2 Romans 8:38 7/4/2017*1*

"For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling"

We are spiritually homeless.

Paul refers to our earthly bodies as tents, as temporary dwellings that we live in, while our eternal dwelling is being prepared.

We are in essence staying on the street until we reach our heavenly home.

Why then do we waste our days trying to avoid death, rather than living life?  Why focus so much on postponing dying,  that we don't take time to live?

What if we changed our mind-set?  Not a morbid obsession with death, but a change in the way we view it.  If we are in Christ, death has lost it's sting.  In fact, it is a graduation, a promotion.  Not something to be feared, but instead a natural part of our pilgrimage.  And certainly not the part that deserves all our attention.

We don't have much input into the beginning, or the end of our lives...but we have lots of control over the middle. Let's live today focused on today.  Trust God.  Don't toss the word "faith" around flippantly...really use it.  Trust God and stop obsessing about things that are in bigger hands than yours.

Remove that constant undercurrent of fear and dread in your life.  Exercise your faith in God and use your energy to live with reckless joy and abandon.  Live each moment to its fullest,  comfortable in the fact that God has ordained your days.   If you'll do this you may discover that the enemy has continually robbed you of today, by making you worry about tomorrow.  

Why worry about an event that takes away your tent and gives you a mansion?  Instead enjoy the camp out....you have things to do now, so do them.  But know that the joy to come will be beyond your ability to imagine.

Death is a paper tiger...it has been gutted by the cross.  Don't let the fear of it rob you of another minute.

Rest in the fact that today is a simply a glorious continuation of the eternal relationship God purchased for you at Calvary. And "neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)


"Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there’s a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see." - Helen Keller

Psalm 103:12 Isaiah 43:25 6/27/2017

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

God has so thoroughly removed your sin from you, the distance is described with the largest measurement the world has to offer.  If there was a distance on earth, farther than the East from the West it would have been used here. The simple fact is that we do not have words to describe how completely God has forgiven His children.

Your salvation is based on your acceptance of the greatest sacrifice ever offered.  The shear magnitude of the price paid at Calvary makes the obliteration of your sin the only feasible outcome. The cross was love's nuclear weapon.  Your sin has been destroyed. Nothing of what you have done remains.

How else could scripture truthfully say that God, who is omnipotent, has forgotten you ever committed the offense?  God, who sees all and knows all, does not remember your sin (Isaiah 43:25)...has there ever been a more glorious statement?

The enemy is called the "father of lies" and your guilt is his biggest one.  He wants you to believe you are damaged...you have a stain...you can never be clean.  But when you again ask God to forgive the same offense, God by His own decree, is unaware of what you are talking about.  All He sees is a child standing in the righteousness of Christ.

Don't cheapen the sacrifice by doubting its potency.  It is finished. There is no stain, no blemish and you are free to enter His glory, and rest in His love.

Live today free in the justification that was purchased at so high a price.  Hate the sin that made it necessary, but know the blood of Christ has emptied sin of its strength.  What we confess, and repent of is gone. Not hidden, not reduced....gone.  Stop carrying it around with you, and walk free in His amazing grace.

“If God has justified a man it is well done, it is rightly done, it is justly done, it is everlastingly done.”   ― Charles Haddon Spurgeon