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.

You Need To Praise Him

Are you making Jesus more than an American Idol? There are those who know of Him but do not intimately know the greatness of who He is. In the account in Joshua 9 we learn an important lesson on how to introduce others to the greatness of our God.

Note in Joshua 9:1, 3, 9 that the surrounding nations and the Gibeonites knew of God’s great works and responded. Someone was telling others about the great acts of God. Note in Joshua 9:24 that the Gibeonites clearly knew of the command God gave to Moses & His people. Someone was telling others about the Word of God. You see, we are the ones responsible to spread the fame of God to those who do not know Him. This can be as simple as telling praise testimonies of God’s present actions in our daily lives. Attach the Word of God to those testimonies or to reasons for your outlook on life and God’s fame (Joshua 9:9), which is really the word for name in the Hebrew and denotes knowing a person, becomes real to others.

So get over your shyness about praising God before unbelievers. Your praise and testimonies may eventually move them from seeing Jesus as just another American idol to seeing Him as the true and living Savior they need to intimately know.

A New App.

Here’s a great application from our focus on Joshua 9 that was presented in an email to me yesterday:

“I went back and read Joshua 9 and saw the Gibeonites as ‘taking the shortcut.’  Thats a term we use in our house with our kids because that seems to be their choice when they just don’t want to do the right thing.  They come up with a ‘short-cut’ and it’s usually because they will lose something or miss out or in the case of the Gibeonites, there is just pure fear,  if they do the right thing.  The short-cut usually leads to more disaster as my kids always find out in the end and that’s what happened in the case of the Gibeonites.  They didn’t “trust” in this “god” they heard about.  They took a shortcut.”

It is great when the Body tailor’s the application of God’s Word to meet its needs.

Our Vision/Destination:
A Church Family where the Triangle will see, hear, & touch the diversity of God’s grace.

Enter This Way

I have a confession to make. Until studying the Joshua 9 text in order to preach it, I had always viewed the actions of the Gibeonites favorably. To tell you the truth, I thought they were quite wise and shrewd in their approach to dealing with the Israelites. I guess that reveals how much I still need to renew my mind from my fleshly ways.

I hope you saw yesterday that the actions of the Gibeonites ended in slavery and bondage because of sin. God is consistent, deception is counter to His character and those who seek a relationship with Him must approach Him in line with who He is.

Our Vision/Destination:
A Church Family where the Triangle will see, hear, & touch the diversity of God’s grace.