Holy not Oldie Week

The problem with reading a book we know the ending of, or watching a game we know the final score for, or viewing a movie we’ve seen before is that we can lose focus and excitement when engaging with it. This is the danger we all face once again walking through one of the most significant weeks on the calendar for our faith—Holy Week. This is the week we remember Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Please don’t miss the strong emotions that are evident in the accounts of this week in the Bible. Since we all seek someone or something we can trust in, when our trust is found to be wrongly placed our emotions can run from anger to betrayal. That is the challenge of Jesus’ disciples before as they stumble through this week dazed by the events that are taking place around them.

Some of us may be having the same challenges in our spiritual lives right now. We all wonder, if not doubt, the trustworthiness of an all powerful good God when bad things happen to us. We even hear this from Bible writers— “Righteous are You, O LORD, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?” (Jeremiah 12:1). But we also see the strength of those who are challenged by God’s actions expressing a strength of faith that we all need—“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him” (Job 13:15). How do we keep our faith through trying times? Here are a few insights on how to keep from doubting the one we should always trust:

1. Remember the faithfulness of God in the good times (Psalm 63:6-8).
2. Remember His promise that everything that touches us He would use for ‘good’ (Romans 8:28).
3. Respond in faith with ‘joy’—a clear byproduct of trust (James 1:2).
4. Remember that after the pain of the crucifixion comes the exhilaration of the resurrection.

“When you get to your wits end you’ll find God lives there.”

What If?

What if you gave an invitation to someone and they came to church Sunday?
What if that person heard the message and gave his/her life to Jesus?
What if that person left Sunday’s service with a sense of hope?
What if that decision delivered a person from an addiction?
What if that decision removed the option of suicide?
What if that decision rescued a family in need?
What if that decision kept touching lives?
What if we TRULY believed this? 
FRIENDS SUNDAY, 2/21/10.
INVITE SOMEONE!

A Marker

Throughout the process of Yahweh taking His people into the ‘promised land’ we see God continually instructing them to set up markers to remind them of their journey & His provisions. One such account is given in Joshua 4:8—10; 19—24 where Joshua was commanded to build a stone monument to mark God’s faithfulness in leading them. God was building a people, a history, a trust, and a force/movement.

From this pattern we gain a pattern for our own lives as a church—we should set up markers to let us know how we’re doing on the course of fulfilling the great commission we’ve received. As we approach another Friends Sunday I’d like for us to keep a marker in mind. This year we will put all of our energy in setting a new marker—having 350 or more people attend our service.
This would clearly be the largest number of people we have ever had attend a Friends Sunday at Grace!

Are you up for the challenge? To achieve this goal we will need everyone of us inviting someone who is either committed to the Lord or to a church.

P.T.A

Have you invited someone(s) for next Sunday (‘A Taste of Grace’ Sunday)? Here is a simple way to approach this endeavor. Remember P.T.A.—No, not Parent Teacher Association. Rather:

Pray—  Pray that the Lord would strengthen you to speak. Pray that He will prepare the person for your coming and that He
will open the door for you to speak with the person about spiritual things.

Target—Make a list of individuals you have relationships with, or have on-going contact with that you would like to extend an
        invite or tell about Jesus.

Ask—  The final step is to intentionally seek to speak with these individuals about their relationship with Jesus. Ask them to
        join you at your church this Sunday. 

Have a blessed end of the week and remember to trust God by stepping out in faith in this area. You will be amazed what He will do through your obedience.

        Remember, “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but He that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

A Quick Prayer

As we noted in yesterday’s examination of James 1:2—4 our attitude (‘consider it all joy’) in going through various trials determines God’s ability to use those challenges to buid endurance in us which will eventually make us more like Christ. So, have you started your day with the right attitude/outlook?

A great way to get our attitude/outlook on the proper focus is to whisper this prayer—“Lord help me to bear fruit today, to respond in a way that the world cannot, by bringing those things into my life that will grow me into the image of Jesus.”

Try it, and have a blessed day.

Hugged Your Angel Lately?

There are a lot of days dedicated to those who assist us. There is Secretary’s Day, National Fire Fighter Appreciation Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, etc. Yet, there is one group of servants we overlook—Angels. Yes, angels.

The Bible tells us that they are ministering spirits assigned to serve God’s people and to carry out God’s task on earth. These are servants who are always working on our behalf. Some of us have probably caused a few to take early retirement because we’ve worked them so hard. Yet, have you ever done something to say ‘Thank You’ to the angels who serve you? Ever seen a bumper sticker that read ‘Thank You Angels For All You Do,’ or ‘Hug Your Angel Today’? Have you ever given them a reason to celebrate and to have a little joy during their hard days’ work?

On Sunday, February 21st Grace has a great way for us to bless those who bless us. On that day invite your friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family members who do not know Jesus to come and get introduced to Him and to Grace. How will that bless the angels? Well, the Bible tells us that heaven rejoices when one sinner comes to know Jesus as Savior. So if our invitations result in many coming to know Jesus as Savior on that day we will give the angels in heaven an opportunity to stop their hard work for a moment to celebrate and party because of these decisions. So, remember the date—Sunday, February 21st and start prayerfully considering who you might invite to church that Sunday.

Why December 25th?

In accordance with my responsibility to not only feed but to also equip our church for ministering to others I am including this brief write up and article. It addresses the issue of why December 25th is celebrated as the birth date of Jesus (For those of you who don’t know it is probably not the day on which He was born). There are many who are aware of this fact and would love to pounce on an unsuspecting Christian to “educate” him/her with one more item of truth to diminish that person’s boldness in the faith. But it does not have to diminish your boldness in light of the reasons behind the selection of this date by the early church.

The text says nothing about the time of year in which Jesus was born. The traditional date for Jesus’ birth was set hundreds of years after the event to coincide with a pagan festival honoring the sun, thus demonstrating that the “Sol Invictus” (the pagan belief in the “Unconquerable Sun”) had indeed been conquered by Jesus, God’s Son. December 25 was widely celebrated as the date of Jesus’ birth by the end of the fourth century. January 6 was also an important date in the early church, held by many as the occasion of the arrival of the wise men, an event known as Epiphany.

So, you don’t have to shy away from celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25th, for Christians have done it for centuries as a statement of Christ’s supremacy. Yet as the early church selected this date to confront the power of a secular and pagan holiday, so let us confront the unbelief of our society in this season by keeping Christ and His birth prominent in our celebration during this season.

Don’t Forget To Act

In the birth account of Jesus there are two individuals who stand in stark contrast to each other—Zecharias and Simeon. As we noted this Sunday from Luke 1:5—23 Zecharias was a priest who should have been looking for the coming of the promised man of God, the Messiah. Yet when the announcement came that God had begun to fulfill His promise Zecharias’ lack of expectancy verged on unbelief. On the other hand Simeon was not only expecting the coming of the Messiah but Luke 22—28 tells us that he was actively looking for this special person to be revealed to him.

What was the difference? The difference between these two godly men is that one lived out his expectation in his daily life while the other’s expectation was limited to what he believed.

In this special 40 Days of Prayer season when we’re asking God to bless our church let us combine our expectancy with our actions. As we go through these 40 Days let us have an attitude of expectancy where we not only believe God’s promises but that we also act upon them. So, combine with your prayers these actions:

Faith Sharing— Seek opportunities to share your faith daily.

Followers of Jesus— Commit to participate in upcoming discipleship opportunities.

Families— Plan to participate in marriage, singles, and family strengthening opportunities as they are announced.

Fellowship— Commit to reach out to members & attendees of Grace and to interact with them according to biblical instruction in order to grow us as a biblical community.

In this Christmas season do you believe God’s promises that He will answer our prayers? Do you believe that He will bless us as a church as we enter 2010? If so, Live Out Your Expectation!

Thanks

I want to thank you for your partnership in my outreach yesterday to a person I’ve been building a relationship bridge to for a few months now. Your prayer for increased ‘Faith Sharing’ during the 40 Days of Prayer opened a great opportunity for me to invite this person to faith in Christ.

Please don’t underestimate the faith sharing/holiday invitation extending opportunities you will be having during this season of prayer for Paul knew its great value— “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19—20).

Faith Sharing—Praying that the Lord would give boldness & opportunities to our body to see more nonbelievers trust in Jesus.

Followers of Jesus—Praying that we would see more disciples (sold out followers of Jesus) developed at Grace.

Families—Praying that we would see more marriages, singles and families strengthened in their walk together and with the Savior.

Fellowship—Praying for more members & attendees to deepen their commitment to one another for us to experience biblical community.

Don’t Underestimate The Effect

“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”  2 Cronicles 16:9

There is great power when people unite around a cause,*
Yet there is even greater power when the people of God unite around God’s cause! ~

I know our 40 Days are special in the eyes of God as we His people unite for a cause that is in His will. Remember, we are calling out to the Lord for MORE—

Faith Sharing—Praying that the Lord would give boldness & opportunities to our body to see more nonbelievers trust in Jesus.

Followers of Jesus—Praying that we would see more disciples (sold out followers of Jesus) developed at Grace.

Families—Praying that we would see more marriages & families strengthened in their walk together and with the Savior.

Fellowship—Praying for more members & attendees to deepen their commitment to one another for us to experience biblical community.

*  Note God’s coming down to examine, admire, but thwart the united ation of humanity to disobey God in building the great ………….Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:5—8).

~ Note the promise of Jesus that where as little as 2 or 3 are gathered in agreement He would show up (Matthew 18:20).

Thirsts

“God thirsts to be thirsted after.”  —Saint Augustine

This is one of the days I have signed up to fast during our 40 Days of Prayer and having selected to ‘food fast’ I already sense my thoughts running towards my need for food and eating. Yet as Augustine so beautifully points out there is a greater need I have which is to connect with the God who I can not do without and is even more vital to my life than food.

It is for this reason that throughout the Bible God’s people have put aside eating or some other activity that they have come to enjoy in order to connect with Him. As we go through these 40 Days it is my prayer that the Lord will draw you closer to Himself as you pray for your church family and our being strengthened to do more for our Heavenly Father in the new year and years to come.

Remember, we are calling out to the Lord for MORE—

Faith Sharing—Praying that the Lord would give boldness & opportunities to our body to see more nonbelievers trust in Jesus.

Followers of Jesus—Praying that we would see more disciples (sold out followers of Jesus) developed at Grace.

Families—Praying that we would see more marriages & families strengthened in their walk together and with the Savior.

Fellowship—Praying for more members & attendees to deepen their commitment to one another for us to experience biblical community.

Royal Friendships

A great reason to be discerning of who we call a friend is that friends influence us. They are given the opportunity by the proximity we allow them and the privileges we give them to download their beliefs, outlook on life, attitudes, counsel, and values into our lives. It is for this reason the writer of Proverbs strongly cautions us to let the heart and character of a person determine if we give them the privilege of being called a friend. As the writer of Proverbs 22:11 states, “He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.”
So, does the buddy or girlfriend you love to cut up with deserve to be at the top of your friends list? In what direction are they taking you? What keeps you in a friendship with your closest friends?

This is also an important reason to get involved in our kid’s list of friends. In the New Testament we are given a strong warning in 1 Corinthians 15:33—“Be not deceived, evil company corrupts good morals.”  Are their friends encouraging or discouraging what you desire to see in the life of your children?

Givers & Takers

The second important characteristic of true friends that the writer of Proverbs notes is that they Give & Take. They lend benefits to the relationship and are not just in it to see what they can get from you.

Proverbs 19:4— Wealth adds many friends, but a poor man is separated from his friend.

Proverbs 19:7— All the brothers of a poor man hate him; how much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

Do you give your friends a chance to contribute to your friendship? Do you have friends that seek to both give & take as occasions arise? Or, do you have takers only? Remember, don’t set yourself up to be disappointed by not reserving the word ‘friend’ for those who truly understand this important characteristic.

Stickers

As we noted yesterday it is very important in a modern society that is always redefining our basic concepts that we understand what we are looking for in a ‘friend.’ The writer of Proverbs gives us some great characteristics to look for. The first of these characteristics is that Friends Stick.

We all need to raise our standards for friends & never lower them! The writer of Proverbs is clear that a true friend takes on a state of permanency and commitment that is akin to that of family relations. As family members can’t ‘un-family’ you, so a true friend stays/sticks even through your most difficult times.  As the latter part of Proverbs 17:17 is translated in the Contemporary English Version—“Relatives are born to share our troubles.” 

• Prv 17:17—“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

• Proverbs 18:24—“A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Do you have friends who have stuck over the test of time? If not pray for some.

Even Better When Served…

The Golden Rule is not only radical in how we are to treat those we don’t get along with (our enemies), but it also gives an incredible boost to relationships we enjoy.

“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” (Luke 6:31).

Or in a shortened version—

“Do as you desire done to you.”

Try it and see.