2 Corinthians 3:3 11/29/2016

2 Corinthians 3:3  "Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This letter is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts."

Where are your people?...Who is your letter?

If you can't answer that question you have some work to do. 

The great commission says to make disciples, and that takes action.  You have to do that on purpose. It may be one, or it may be one million,  but you should have people you pray for, counsel with, and minister to, in order to facilitate God writing on their hearts.  

You can start today.  

There are hospitals, retirement homes, and shelters full of hearts ready to be written on...God may have people in your home, neighborhood, at your office, or in your social circle, that have hearts in need of a letter from Christ...but it won't happen by accident. You have to love them, and love means action.

This holiday season look around as you give gifts ....make sure you find people to whom you can pass on the greatest gift ever given.  Let the result of your ministry be hearts that are changed by the grace, forgiveness, and joy that Christ gave when he redeemed us from sin.

That is the reason you are here.....Let God use you to change the world...one heart at a time
...that should be the result of your ministry, so get busy. 

“Strategy without execution is hallucination.”
― Mike Roach

1 Samuel 17:34 11/22/2016

1 Samuel 17:34-35  - "But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,  I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth."

This is seldom the verse we start with when we are discussing David's encounter with Goliath, but this is where the story begins.

As a young man David spent countless hours, by himself in the wilderness watching his fathers sheep. This lonely job was without status, or glamour, and yet God used it to prepare David for one of the greatest military victories ever recorded.

Unbeknownst to David his solitary hours of practice with a slingshot would one day be used to set in motion events that would transform him from a shepherd boy to a King.

What boring, mundane job is God using to prepare you for service in His Kingdom?....Like David, you don't know.  What you consider incidental may be the very thing God uses to bring glory to Himself.

Live your life aware that it is in bigger hands than yours.  Understand that there are no accidents, and no minor projects.  If God brings a job to you, do it with all your might.  Never question its worth or importance.  You have no idea what God may be planning to do with it.    The job you can't stand, or the nucense project you are so frustrated with, may be the thing God uses to change the very trajectory of your life.

Just do it well, and trust God with the results.

"Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation."
Robert H. Schuller

Philippians 2:14-15 11/15/2016

Philippians 2:14-15 ^"Do everything without grumbling or arguing,  so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky" 

What an important verse for us today.

Sometimes as Christians, we get on our high horse, and start loudly pointing out the unfairness, and filth in our culture.

The problem is, we are never heard...why would we be heard among all the grumbling and complaining from every other sector of society?

This verse tells us to be different.   This verse says that if we will stop feeling sorry for ourselves, and start reflecting the calm, confidence of our Father, the world will take notice.

What would happen if today your eliminated anything that could be considered negative from your conversations.  What if instead of being cynical and edgy, you were positive and uplifting. What if you did EVERYTHING without grumbling or arguing?

According to this scripture people would notice.  This verse says that you would shine like a beautiful star in a cold, dark, winters night.

You will never lead someone to a saving faith in Christ by bludgeoning them with your self-righteousness. They will not hear a single word until you show them you are different....so be different.

Remove grumbling and arguing from your repertoire, and replace it with a purity and blamelessness. That will make you different, and allow you to cut through the darkness and shine a light on the Cross.

"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."
- Marcus Aurelius

Phil 3:13-14 11/8/2016

Phil 3:13-14  "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus"

God says we should have a short memory.  Our energy should be focused on what's in front of us.

Whether you just dropped the ball, or caught the touchdown...forget it.
It doesn't define you either way, and what lies behind is not your focus.

Many of us waste precious time hashing over the mistakes we have made in life.  Yet the best soldiers come from the most terrible battles. God says He "comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled,..."(2 Cor 1:4)  Those mistakes you made that the enemy wanted to destroy you with,  have been turned into tools.  You can use them to pull your fallen brother up, as you were pulled up. Failures only give us empathy for others, and deep appreciation for amazing grace.

The other side of the coin is true as well. If you have been blessed enough recently to succeed...forget it.  The enemy is still prowling around like a lion waiting to steal, kill, and destroy. The landscape is littered with ministries that were "taken out" in their prime. You stay focused.  You lean into the tape...You strain toward the goal.

Forget what lies behind. As Christians we are to be forward thinkers.  We don't have time to worry about the past, when our God has plans to give us a "future and a hope" Jer. 29:11.

Your goal this week is to focus on that future. Your goal is to live out that hope.  There will be many distractions but you press on toward the goal...nothing matters but what God has for you to do today...get it done with a heart that directs the world to Christ.

"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."
Oscar Wilde

Matthew 9:36 11/1/2016

Matthew 9:36 "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

The crowds that came to see Jesus were comprised of various types of people.  Some who supported Him, some who didn't.  Some were apathetic and some were hostile towards Him.  Yet His heart hurt for them all because He knew they were harassed and helpless.

Are we that confident and perceptive?  Do we have compassion on the crowds because we know they are lost?  Or do we have contempt for them because they oppose us?   

Jesus' view came from a position of strength.  He was not threatened or intimidated by their opposition because He was confident in the truth.  Are we?  Are we secure enough in our faith to be more concerned about someones eternity, than our reputation?  Does our heart break for the things that break God's heart? Or do we become angry and defensive when we are disrespected?

Are we reacting to people, or responding to God?

As Christians we sometimes feel the need to "protect" our faith, when in reality it can defend itself. Your faith is like a pet lion...if you let it out of it's cage, it will have no need of protection.

Jesus was able to focus on the needs of others without fear because He was confident in the Love of His Father.

The Crowd will always be like a Chihuahua barking at a doberman... trying to give the impression that they are brave and secure...when in reality, like the little dog, they are scared to death. Have compassion on them. They are harassed and helpless, and you have the only truth powerful enough to set them free.

"Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world."
Francis Schaeffer