This week I spent some time thinking about second chances. I think all of us would like to have a few “do-overs” and go back and correct a mistake or an error in judgment. Because I am a golfer, it reminds me of the golf term, “mulligans”. In the game of golf, a mulligan will give you an immediate opportunity to re-hit an errant shot in the hope of a better outcome. If you readjust and do things correctly, then the results are usually a better shot. However, if you repeat the same swing, you will often get a similar bad result.
As I reflect on what Christ has done for me in my life, I am thankful for the second chances he has given me. When we read the Bible we see the second chances He gave to some of the greatest leaders and teachers in the Bible. They were people that made a mess of their lives just like we all do at times. Some of them made some major mistakes, while others just simply disobeyed God. King David, Moses and the prophet Jonah were chosen by God to do some great things, but without the second chances that God extended to each of them they would not have become the great people we read about in the Bible.
Aren’t we thankful that God loves us and is patient? He could have wiped any one of these people of the face of the earth and found a replacement. But He didn’t, and after each one of them began to show remorse and repentance, God extended love and forgiveness. In time each one was restored to the plan that God had for their lives and they continued in God’s work. It’s difficult for us to imagine that God will forgive us for some of the things that we have done in our lives. But He forgave these great Bible leaders and He will forgive you and me when we come humbly to Him and seek forgiveness.
Jesus Christ gave each one of us a second chance when He died on the cross. That second chance will last until we die, and then there will be no more second chances. God is good and He is patient, but our time on earth will eventually run out. My prayer is that if you are at a point in your life that you think that you have made too many mistakes, or done something to bad for God to care, that you will remember these people from the Bible. God’s grace is big enough for all of us and all of our failures, and He wants to give you a second chance to live eternally with Him. Don’t wait to take advantage of the second chance that Christ died for, this is a limited time offer and we don’t know how much time each one of us has. Hebrews 9:27-28 reads, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
In Christ,
Greg
Romans 3:23-24
A Prodigal's Journey
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Random thoughts from a great weekend
Well this week has been a blessing in so many ways. First, our congregation confirmed the Elders recommendation for a new lead minister on Sunday and we are excited about the direction that we will be taking as a body of believers. Then on Saturday we had a block party for the local food pantry which is supported by 6 local churches. It was truly an amazing event. As I reflected on both of these events I made a couple of observations that I wanted to share with you.
At the block party there were over 100 servants (volunteers) assisting and helping the various families in need. These volunteers ranged from Junior High in age to senior adults. They represented six different churches, and they all shared a common goal of reaching out, in the name of Jesus, to help those in need. It was truly a blessing to be a part of this. There were stations for face and fingernail painting, free haircuts for the kids, and free school clothes for those in need. They had various games and free lunch for everyone. It was a great way to be the hand of God in the local community to the people who needed to feel it.
The great thing about the event is that people were able to see Christ projected through the servants that were helping. Isn’t this what we are supposed to be doing everyday? Projecting Christ in our lives and showing how our life has been transformed by Him. As I thought about my own life, I know it is real easy to project Christ in my life when things are going well, but when the difficult times come along, it becomes harder. It will only be with the help of the Holy Spirit that I am able to do this, and it is a learning experience everyday for me. We are conditioned by the world to react and act out when things aren’t going our way, but because of Jesus we are transformed and that should show in our actions and words everyday.
As Christians we need to be projecting Christ in our life every day. When things are going lousy at work and the boss is on your case…project Christ. When the kids at school are being mean…project Christ. When you are having a disagreement with your spouse or your kids…project Christ. It is not easy, but we are called to do it. We are not to conform to the ways of the world but we are to be transformed by God. (Romans 12:2, 2 Cor. 3:18) So be aware this week of what you are projecting, because we live in a world that needs to feel, see and hear Christ-like words and actions.
The second thing I thought about concerned the confirmation of our new lead minister. There is always a certain level of excitement and apprehension when there is change involved in our lives. We humans don’t like change on any level because it moves us out of our comfort zones. Well, God has a way of challenging us and moving us into areas that we are not comfortable with. It is through change that He is challenging us to grow in Him. Remaining the same and doing the same things allows us to maintain, but maintaining is not what God desires for our lives. So as each of us encounters change in our lives, let us look for the ways that God is challenging each of us to grow. We serve a BIG God so let’s prayerfully anticipate the vision and directions that God will lead each of us as we encounter change in our daily lives.
In Christ,
Greg
John 3:16
At the block party there were over 100 servants (volunteers) assisting and helping the various families in need. These volunteers ranged from Junior High in age to senior adults. They represented six different churches, and they all shared a common goal of reaching out, in the name of Jesus, to help those in need. It was truly a blessing to be a part of this. There were stations for face and fingernail painting, free haircuts for the kids, and free school clothes for those in need. They had various games and free lunch for everyone. It was a great way to be the hand of God in the local community to the people who needed to feel it.
The great thing about the event is that people were able to see Christ projected through the servants that were helping. Isn’t this what we are supposed to be doing everyday? Projecting Christ in our lives and showing how our life has been transformed by Him. As I thought about my own life, I know it is real easy to project Christ in my life when things are going well, but when the difficult times come along, it becomes harder. It will only be with the help of the Holy Spirit that I am able to do this, and it is a learning experience everyday for me. We are conditioned by the world to react and act out when things aren’t going our way, but because of Jesus we are transformed and that should show in our actions and words everyday.
As Christians we need to be projecting Christ in our life every day. When things are going lousy at work and the boss is on your case…project Christ. When the kids at school are being mean…project Christ. When you are having a disagreement with your spouse or your kids…project Christ. It is not easy, but we are called to do it. We are not to conform to the ways of the world but we are to be transformed by God. (Romans 12:2, 2 Cor. 3:18) So be aware this week of what you are projecting, because we live in a world that needs to feel, see and hear Christ-like words and actions.
The second thing I thought about concerned the confirmation of our new lead minister. There is always a certain level of excitement and apprehension when there is change involved in our lives. We humans don’t like change on any level because it moves us out of our comfort zones. Well, God has a way of challenging us and moving us into areas that we are not comfortable with. It is through change that He is challenging us to grow in Him. Remaining the same and doing the same things allows us to maintain, but maintaining is not what God desires for our lives. So as each of us encounters change in our lives, let us look for the ways that God is challenging each of us to grow. We serve a BIG God so let’s prayerfully anticipate the vision and directions that God will lead each of us as we encounter change in our daily lives.
In Christ,
Greg
John 3:16
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A great day for Dad a greater day for Audrey!
On July 26th 2009, I had the honor of baptizing my 8 yr old daughter Audrey. This was a decision that had been in the making for several months as Audrey had started asking us questions, as well as her Sunday School teachers and youth leaders. Over those several months it was amazing to see how Audrey's faith firmed up and her decision to act on that faith became very strong.
Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Katie and I will not take credit for this because that all goes to God. But there are several people in Audrey's life that had a part in her decision. Don't discount the impact that you have on the young people around you, because the littlest things can make the biggest difference.
On Sunday night the 26th, with family and friends watching our little Miss Audrey became our sister in Christ. As a Dad there are certain milestones that happen in your childrens lives that you will cherish forever. This was one of them for me. I told Audrey this is the beginning of a new life and a closer walk with Jesus. As parents and friends we need to support her, as well as all the other new Christians in our lives. Pray for them and mentor them. Thank you for letting me share this with you today and please keep Audrey in your prayers as she begins her walk with Christ.
In Christ,
Greg
Religion or Relationship?
Regardless of our age, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ presents some hurdles for us that often trip us up. Recently, I was engaging in a conversation about evangelism, with a young man from our youth group, whom I will call Jeff. He proceeded to tell me a story about a conversation he had with a friend about his faith. His friends response was that he didn’t have a religion yet, and was still looking for what religion he was going to be apart of. For young people like Jeff, I believe the hurdles present in sharing their faith are even more daunting than they are to us as adults and his friend’s response is becoming an all too common answer.
The answer Jeff’s friend gave him is a microcosm of what our country is facing. Recent statistics from 2008 indicate that 92% of Americans consider themselves religious and believe in God, while 76% call themselves Christian. The number of Christians has declined over 10% since 1990 while the number of people who claim no religion at all has climbed to 15%.
There are a couple of things that stand out to me. One is if 92% believe in God and 76% are calling themselves Christians, then why is our country in the shape it is in? Two, what God are we serving? My guess is that some of them aren’t serving the God that created all of this!
It leads me back to Jeff’s conversation with his friend. Jeff’s friend was searching for the same thing that we were seeking before we became believers, but he is getting derailed by a worldly point of view. As a Christian and a follower of Jesus, I don’t have a religion. I have a faith and relationship with Jesus Christ and there is a big difference. Jesus didn’t come to earth, suffer the things he suffered, and die on a cross so that you and I could have a religion! He came so that we could be in relationship with Him. He came to bridge the gap created by our sin, so that we could be in relationship with God! I believe God looks down at America and says “these people just don’t get it”. We are really not that much different than the Israelites when they made their golden calf. We take the parts of the Bible we like, the ones we can live with, and then we make our own little mini religion and mini god out of it. We go to church when it’s convenient and live pretty good moral lives, so we call ourselves “Religious” and “Christian”. That is not what Jesus died for.
There are people that are very religious about their sports teams and never miss a game or a score. There are people who religiously arrange their schedules around their favorite TV programs. The list of things we are religious about can go on and on. If we reduce our faith down to a religious exercise of going to church and living life a certain way then the label of Christian doesn’t mean much. We are to be servants, so everyday of our life, including Sunday, shouldn’t be about what God can give us. It should be about serving and giving back to God. It should be about a relationship with Jesus Christ. We were made to serve and Jesus served us by dying on a cross.
There are millions of people in this world that are searching for God. Unfortunately, Satan does his little game of trickery and takes the good things of the Bible and twists them around. He tells us, just like he told Eve, “Did God really say” and “you will not surely die”. He is telling us the same lies! Satan plants the seeds of doubt and discontent in our heads. We tell ourselves that surely God didn’t mean it the way it is written. I mean he loves me, and if he loves me then he would want me to be happy right? Justification…it is what we do so well and it is Satans master ruse. He is deceiving the world. The world has found religion and lost it’s faith in the process.
Jesus said in John 15:4-6, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."
There is a world full of people seeking to find something that makes sense to them. They are people that you and I come into contact with on a daily basis in our jobs, our families and our social and leisure activities. We need to introduce them to Jesus and help them to have a relationship with the only person that can make sense of a chaotic world. We need to remain in Him and produce fruit in our lives.
In Christ,
Greg
John 14:6
The answer Jeff’s friend gave him is a microcosm of what our country is facing. Recent statistics from 2008 indicate that 92% of Americans consider themselves religious and believe in God, while 76% call themselves Christian. The number of Christians has declined over 10% since 1990 while the number of people who claim no religion at all has climbed to 15%.
There are a couple of things that stand out to me. One is if 92% believe in God and 76% are calling themselves Christians, then why is our country in the shape it is in? Two, what God are we serving? My guess is that some of them aren’t serving the God that created all of this!
It leads me back to Jeff’s conversation with his friend. Jeff’s friend was searching for the same thing that we were seeking before we became believers, but he is getting derailed by a worldly point of view. As a Christian and a follower of Jesus, I don’t have a religion. I have a faith and relationship with Jesus Christ and there is a big difference. Jesus didn’t come to earth, suffer the things he suffered, and die on a cross so that you and I could have a religion! He came so that we could be in relationship with Him. He came to bridge the gap created by our sin, so that we could be in relationship with God! I believe God looks down at America and says “these people just don’t get it”. We are really not that much different than the Israelites when they made their golden calf. We take the parts of the Bible we like, the ones we can live with, and then we make our own little mini religion and mini god out of it. We go to church when it’s convenient and live pretty good moral lives, so we call ourselves “Religious” and “Christian”. That is not what Jesus died for.
There are people that are very religious about their sports teams and never miss a game or a score. There are people who religiously arrange their schedules around their favorite TV programs. The list of things we are religious about can go on and on. If we reduce our faith down to a religious exercise of going to church and living life a certain way then the label of Christian doesn’t mean much. We are to be servants, so everyday of our life, including Sunday, shouldn’t be about what God can give us. It should be about serving and giving back to God. It should be about a relationship with Jesus Christ. We were made to serve and Jesus served us by dying on a cross.
There are millions of people in this world that are searching for God. Unfortunately, Satan does his little game of trickery and takes the good things of the Bible and twists them around. He tells us, just like he told Eve, “Did God really say” and “you will not surely die”. He is telling us the same lies! Satan plants the seeds of doubt and discontent in our heads. We tell ourselves that surely God didn’t mean it the way it is written. I mean he loves me, and if he loves me then he would want me to be happy right? Justification…it is what we do so well and it is Satans master ruse. He is deceiving the world. The world has found religion and lost it’s faith in the process.
Jesus said in John 15:4-6, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."
There is a world full of people seeking to find something that makes sense to them. They are people that you and I come into contact with on a daily basis in our jobs, our families and our social and leisure activities. We need to introduce them to Jesus and help them to have a relationship with the only person that can make sense of a chaotic world. We need to remain in Him and produce fruit in our lives.
In Christ,
Greg
John 14:6
Monday, August 3, 2009
Where's your Joy?
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Philippians while he was a prisoner in Rome. It’s a remarkable statement when you think of what Paul was going through personally. Paul is literally living in chains, but his attitude is that of thanksgiving and encouragement…joy and humility. His joy is in Christ, and he knows that if he goes on living and preaching the gospel he will continue to win people to Christ. If he happens to die in prison, then he will gain a reward in Heaven that he cannot put into words. In Paul’s eyes, it is the greatest position to be in.
I wonder in our own life how often we see it this way. I think if we were to write that passage our self, it would read something like this . “For me, to live is to gain and to die is loss”. Our lives are geared around the present. We live our lives to gain the immediate pleasure we get from the temporary things of the world. I wonder how many of us would be worrying about sharing the gospel with a prison guard or a fellow prisoner if we were in prison. I think most of us would be focusing on our desperate situation. We don’t do a very good job witnessing to our friends and family when things in our life are good, how could we do it when things get tough? Paul didn’t care what his circumstances were because he was living for Christ.
Paul’s continual source of joy, despite his circumstances, was Christ and his ultimate concern and his most precious possession was his relationship with Christ. He shared that good news with everyone he came in contact with, no matter what his circumstances were. Paul chose to spend his time in prison working for the kingdom and he chose to look at his situation as an opportunity. He knew God had him there for a reason. He was in chains for Christ, and He was living every single moment for Him. He wasn’t afraid of dying; because he knew what awaited him in death was so much better than what he had on earth.
I wonder in our life what we are chained to? Are we chained to the things of this world or are we chained to Christ and living every moment for Him? We are all aliens living in a world of temporary things, and we need to remember that. Our home is in Heaven, so for however long we are here on planet earth, we should be living with joy for Christ, just as Paul did. We need to be a servant and a messenger for the gospel.
Jesus Christ entered this earth in the lowest possible way he could come. He came to serve and He came in a way that allowed Him to relate to all people. He suffered the persecution of those that hated Him from the very beginning, and ultimately He suffered the cruelest physical death imaginable on a Cross at Calvary. His death on a cross and His resurrection was for our eternal gain. It was out of His desire to save us that He died and our joy is found in Him! We’re free and we should live our lives that way! We were given a gift and we should be sharing that good news.
As you go about your daily lives this week, ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities to share your joy. They are in front of us everyday, but many times we let them pass by with out doing anything. We are projecting Christ in a positive or negative way every single day. Let us all strive to live our lives positively expressing the joy we find in Jesus Christ!
In Christ,
Greg
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
I wonder in our own life how often we see it this way. I think if we were to write that passage our self, it would read something like this . “For me, to live is to gain and to die is loss”. Our lives are geared around the present. We live our lives to gain the immediate pleasure we get from the temporary things of the world. I wonder how many of us would be worrying about sharing the gospel with a prison guard or a fellow prisoner if we were in prison. I think most of us would be focusing on our desperate situation. We don’t do a very good job witnessing to our friends and family when things in our life are good, how could we do it when things get tough? Paul didn’t care what his circumstances were because he was living for Christ.
Paul’s continual source of joy, despite his circumstances, was Christ and his ultimate concern and his most precious possession was his relationship with Christ. He shared that good news with everyone he came in contact with, no matter what his circumstances were. Paul chose to spend his time in prison working for the kingdom and he chose to look at his situation as an opportunity. He knew God had him there for a reason. He was in chains for Christ, and He was living every single moment for Him. He wasn’t afraid of dying; because he knew what awaited him in death was so much better than what he had on earth.
I wonder in our life what we are chained to? Are we chained to the things of this world or are we chained to Christ and living every moment for Him? We are all aliens living in a world of temporary things, and we need to remember that. Our home is in Heaven, so for however long we are here on planet earth, we should be living with joy for Christ, just as Paul did. We need to be a servant and a messenger for the gospel.
Jesus Christ entered this earth in the lowest possible way he could come. He came to serve and He came in a way that allowed Him to relate to all people. He suffered the persecution of those that hated Him from the very beginning, and ultimately He suffered the cruelest physical death imaginable on a Cross at Calvary. His death on a cross and His resurrection was for our eternal gain. It was out of His desire to save us that He died and our joy is found in Him! We’re free and we should live our lives that way! We were given a gift and we should be sharing that good news.
As you go about your daily lives this week, ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities to share your joy. They are in front of us everyday, but many times we let them pass by with out doing anything. We are projecting Christ in a positive or negative way every single day. Let us all strive to live our lives positively expressing the joy we find in Jesus Christ!
In Christ,
Greg
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Monday, July 27, 2009
What's your Ninevah?
I am leading a Sunday School class this quarter on the Book of Jonah and we are using a study guide by Dr. David Jeremiah called “The Runaway Prophet”. Now we all know the story of Jonah and the great fish, but for many Christians that’s really all they know about the book, and in some cases it’s viewed with some skepticism by both believers and non-believers. Today I thought I would share some thoughts with you on what we have discussed so far in class.
In Jonah 1:1-3 it reads, The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Ninevah was a huge city, very populated and very well fortified. It had caused great harm to the people and nations around it, and they built their wealth by destroying and plundering others. God called His prophet Jonah to do a specific thing; go to Ninevah and preach against it. It was a direct and simple word from God and it should have been a relatively short trip for him, but Jonah didn’t like God’s idea and disobeyed.
Jonah’s actions are a warning for all of us. It doesn’t make any difference what our circumstances are, if we have a clear word from God about a subject we need to follow it. Jonah thought differently. He decided to go the exact opposite direction that God called him to go. He ran toward Tarshish as fast and as far as he could from God. Jonah thought he could outrun God. Maybe he was thinking God would go away if he hid and didn't acknowledge Him. Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t like what God was telling you, so you ignored him hoping that you wouldn’t have to do it?
Jonah didn’t want to go to Ninevah because he didn’t like them. He didn’t want to show any compassion to the Ninevites. He thought they should be destroyed. He didn’t see any good in them and he didn’t understand why God would want to save them.
That leads me to some thoughts for all of us. Who or what is our Ninevah? Who do we have in our life that has caused us some pain or distress and we don’t care what happens to them now? Maybe it is someone that we don’t like the way they live their life. See God loved the Ninevites so much, that He was willing to give them an opportunity to change their ways in spite of their evil and sinful nature. Are we willing to show that same compassion to those people in our lives who have harmed us or are living in way that we disagree with?
What about Jonah’s act of disobedience. Have you ever pulled a Jonah 1:3? Have you ever questioned why God would want you to do a certain thing? Maybe it’s helping out in some capacity at your church? Perhaps it is reaching out to an enemy, or a less fortunate person, or sharing your faith with your family or friends. Whatever it is, God has you right where you are for a reason and although it may not be clear to you, it will do you no good to run to your Tarshish! We need to seek God’s wisdom and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. We need to start looking for the blessing that God wants to richly bless us with. When we disobey God, He will pursue us just as He did with Jonah. He will correct us to get us back on the right path.
This week I challenge all of us to acknowledge what our own personal Ninevah is and run to it instead of away from it. We need to reach out to those that have hurt us and show them the same compassion that God has shown us. If your being called to do something for the Kingdom don't get on a boat, get on with serving our King. It won’t be easy, but when God calls us to do something for His Kingdom, we need to do it with the understanding that He loves us and we were made to serve Him.
In Christ,
Greg
Galatians 5:13
In Jonah 1:1-3 it reads, The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Ninevah was a huge city, very populated and very well fortified. It had caused great harm to the people and nations around it, and they built their wealth by destroying and plundering others. God called His prophet Jonah to do a specific thing; go to Ninevah and preach against it. It was a direct and simple word from God and it should have been a relatively short trip for him, but Jonah didn’t like God’s idea and disobeyed.
Jonah’s actions are a warning for all of us. It doesn’t make any difference what our circumstances are, if we have a clear word from God about a subject we need to follow it. Jonah thought differently. He decided to go the exact opposite direction that God called him to go. He ran toward Tarshish as fast and as far as he could from God. Jonah thought he could outrun God. Maybe he was thinking God would go away if he hid and didn't acknowledge Him. Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t like what God was telling you, so you ignored him hoping that you wouldn’t have to do it?
Jonah didn’t want to go to Ninevah because he didn’t like them. He didn’t want to show any compassion to the Ninevites. He thought they should be destroyed. He didn’t see any good in them and he didn’t understand why God would want to save them.
That leads me to some thoughts for all of us. Who or what is our Ninevah? Who do we have in our life that has caused us some pain or distress and we don’t care what happens to them now? Maybe it is someone that we don’t like the way they live their life. See God loved the Ninevites so much, that He was willing to give them an opportunity to change their ways in spite of their evil and sinful nature. Are we willing to show that same compassion to those people in our lives who have harmed us or are living in way that we disagree with?
What about Jonah’s act of disobedience. Have you ever pulled a Jonah 1:3? Have you ever questioned why God would want you to do a certain thing? Maybe it’s helping out in some capacity at your church? Perhaps it is reaching out to an enemy, or a less fortunate person, or sharing your faith with your family or friends. Whatever it is, God has you right where you are for a reason and although it may not be clear to you, it will do you no good to run to your Tarshish! We need to seek God’s wisdom and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. We need to start looking for the blessing that God wants to richly bless us with. When we disobey God, He will pursue us just as He did with Jonah. He will correct us to get us back on the right path.
This week I challenge all of us to acknowledge what our own personal Ninevah is and run to it instead of away from it. We need to reach out to those that have hurt us and show them the same compassion that God has shown us. If your being called to do something for the Kingdom don't get on a boat, get on with serving our King. It won’t be easy, but when God calls us to do something for His Kingdom, we need to do it with the understanding that He loves us and we were made to serve Him.
In Christ,
Greg
Galatians 5:13
Saturday, July 18, 2009
A Call to Action
In Matthew 28:16-20 Jesus gave us what is known as The Great Commission. It reads as follows, "Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
In these four verses, Jesus has left us a great command. Not all of us were put in positions to “make disciples of all nations” but we were all told to “go”! Each one of us has our own sphere of influence, but what are we doing to make disciples of those that are in it? Do we even know what their beliefs are? Do we know if our family, our friends or our neighbors are saved? Are we reaching out to people regardless of their social, economic or political backgrounds? I was dining in a local restaurant the other night with my wife, and God was really convicting me. As I looked around at the 50 plus people in there, I realized that there were only a handful of them that I knew for sure believed in Christ. God started to open my eyes to the fact that I am failing to live up to the command to "Go"! I started to think about how many people have passed through my eyesight on any given day that I didn't even give a thought to their salvation. It is sad but true; I haven't always been sowing the seed.
We all have reasons that we use to justify why we don't share our faith. Fear of rejection, our own pride, fear of not knowing the answers to their questions and even the sin in our own lives. In 1st Peter 3 :14 it tells us, "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." Listen, we are going to suffer for our faith. We are going to experience some discomfort and some outright hatred from those outside of Christ. We may even suffer some separation from family or friends because of our belief in Jesus Christ. But whatever that discomfort, rejection and persecution we suffer, it is only minor compared to what Jesus suffered for us on the Cross.
The following article is based on a sermon by missionary Del Tarr who served fourteen years in West Africa with another mission agency. His story points out the price some people pay to sow the seed of the gospel in hard soil.
(I was always perplexed by Psalm 126 until I went to the Sahel, that vast stretch of savanna more than four thousand miles wide just under the Sahara Desert. In the Sahel, all the moisture comes in a four month period: May, June, July, and August. After that, not a drop of rain falls for eight months. The ground cracks from dryness, and so do your hands and feet. The winds of the Sahara pick up the dust and throw it thousands of feet into the air. It then comes slowly drifting across West Africa as a fine grit. It gets inside your mouth. It gets inside your watch and stops it. The year's food, of course, must all be grown in those four months. People grow sorghum or milo in small fields.
October and November...these are beautiful months. The granaries are full -- the harvest has come. People sing and dance. They eat two meals a day. The sorghum is ground between two stones to make flour and then a mush with the consistency of yesterday's Cream of Wheat. The sticky mush is eaten hot; they roll it into little balls between their fingers, drop it into a bit of sauce and then pop it into their mouths. The meal lies heavy on their stomachs so they can sleep.
December comes, and the granaries start to recede. Many families omit the morning meal. Certainly by January not one family in fifty is still eating two meals a day. By February, the evening meal diminishes. The meal shrinks even more during March and children succumb to sickness. You don't stay well on half a meal a day. April is the month that haunts my memory. In it you hear the babies crying in the twilight. Most of the days are passed with only an evening cup of gruel.
Then, inevitably, it happens. A six-or seven-year-old boy comes running to his father one day with sudden excitement. "Daddy! Daddy! We've got grain!" he shouts. "Son, you know we haven't had grain for weeks." "Yes, we have!" the boy insists. "Out in the hut where we keep the goats -- there's a leather sack hanging up on the wall -- I reached up and put my hand down in there -- Daddy, there's grain in there! Give it to Mommy so she can make flour, and tonight our tummies can sleep!"
The father stands motionless. "Son, we can't do that," he softly explains. "That's next year's seed grain. It's the only thing between us and starvation. We're waiting for the rains, and then we must use it." The rains finally arrive in May, and when they do the young boy watches as his father takes the sack from the wall and does the most unreasonable thing imaginable. Instead of feeding his desperately weakened family, he goes to the field and with tears streaming down his face, he takes the precious seed and throws it away. He scatters it in the dirt! Why? Because he believes in the harvest.
The seed is his; he owns it. He can do anything with it he wants. The act of sowing it hurts so much that he cries. But as the African pastors say when they preach on Psalm 126, "Brother and sisters, this is God's law of the harvest. Don't expect to rejoice later on unless you have been willing to sow in tears." And I want to ask you: How much would it cost you to sow in tears? I don't mean just giving God something from your abundance, but finding a way to say, "I believe in the harvest, and therefore I will give what makes no sense. The world would call me unreasonable to do this -- but I must sow regardless, in order that I may someday celebrate with songs of joy." )
If sowing the seed of the gospel was easy then everyone would be doing it. But Jesus never said it would be easy. The path is narrow and the workers are few. So how do we reach out to those people in our lives that need Jesus? Well, if we learn anything from how Jesus dealt with people it should be that he reached out to all people. He was not a respector of persons. He didn't care what social, economic, ethnic or racial background they were from. He didn't avoid them because they were living their life the wrong way or in the wrong place. He didn't hold up religious signs, berate people for the way they were living or ambush them with religious material.
Look at how He talked to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. He was gentle, he didn’t preach at her or belittle her for the way she was living her life. He reached out to her, built a bridge of love and compassion and shared the good news. He was a Jew, she was a Samaritan. Her life was a wreck and full of bad decisions. She had five previous husbands and now had a boyfriend. They were not supposed to associate with each other for many reasons. Yet Jesus left us the example and broke those barriers down. He reached out!
We have a tendency to believe that evangelism is a process with a certain number of steps to take to get to the goal. We need to scrap that way of thinking because Jesus didn’t follow a 10 step process. His instructions to us were very simple; they were to “GO”. We have no problem sharing the good news about the birth of a child, an accomplishment we have achieved or even our political opinions. We need to follow His example and start reaching out to those around us, build that bridge of love and compassion and share the good news of Jesus Christ. If we want to experience revival in our lives, our churches and our communities then we need to start sowing the seed. Revival will only happen when you and I put ourselves in position to let God use us. We can pray all we want, but if we’re not willing to “sow in tears” there will be no joy later.
In Christ,
Greg
Phillipians 2:1-5
In these four verses, Jesus has left us a great command. Not all of us were put in positions to “make disciples of all nations” but we were all told to “go”! Each one of us has our own sphere of influence, but what are we doing to make disciples of those that are in it? Do we even know what their beliefs are? Do we know if our family, our friends or our neighbors are saved? Are we reaching out to people regardless of their social, economic or political backgrounds? I was dining in a local restaurant the other night with my wife, and God was really convicting me. As I looked around at the 50 plus people in there, I realized that there were only a handful of them that I knew for sure believed in Christ. God started to open my eyes to the fact that I am failing to live up to the command to "Go"! I started to think about how many people have passed through my eyesight on any given day that I didn't even give a thought to their salvation. It is sad but true; I haven't always been sowing the seed.
We all have reasons that we use to justify why we don't share our faith. Fear of rejection, our own pride, fear of not knowing the answers to their questions and even the sin in our own lives. In 1st Peter 3 :14 it tells us, "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." Listen, we are going to suffer for our faith. We are going to experience some discomfort and some outright hatred from those outside of Christ. We may even suffer some separation from family or friends because of our belief in Jesus Christ. But whatever that discomfort, rejection and persecution we suffer, it is only minor compared to what Jesus suffered for us on the Cross.
The following article is based on a sermon by missionary Del Tarr who served fourteen years in West Africa with another mission agency. His story points out the price some people pay to sow the seed of the gospel in hard soil.
(I was always perplexed by Psalm 126 until I went to the Sahel, that vast stretch of savanna more than four thousand miles wide just under the Sahara Desert. In the Sahel, all the moisture comes in a four month period: May, June, July, and August. After that, not a drop of rain falls for eight months. The ground cracks from dryness, and so do your hands and feet. The winds of the Sahara pick up the dust and throw it thousands of feet into the air. It then comes slowly drifting across West Africa as a fine grit. It gets inside your mouth. It gets inside your watch and stops it. The year's food, of course, must all be grown in those four months. People grow sorghum or milo in small fields.
October and November...these are beautiful months. The granaries are full -- the harvest has come. People sing and dance. They eat two meals a day. The sorghum is ground between two stones to make flour and then a mush with the consistency of yesterday's Cream of Wheat. The sticky mush is eaten hot; they roll it into little balls between their fingers, drop it into a bit of sauce and then pop it into their mouths. The meal lies heavy on their stomachs so they can sleep.
December comes, and the granaries start to recede. Many families omit the morning meal. Certainly by January not one family in fifty is still eating two meals a day. By February, the evening meal diminishes. The meal shrinks even more during March and children succumb to sickness. You don't stay well on half a meal a day. April is the month that haunts my memory. In it you hear the babies crying in the twilight. Most of the days are passed with only an evening cup of gruel.
Then, inevitably, it happens. A six-or seven-year-old boy comes running to his father one day with sudden excitement. "Daddy! Daddy! We've got grain!" he shouts. "Son, you know we haven't had grain for weeks." "Yes, we have!" the boy insists. "Out in the hut where we keep the goats -- there's a leather sack hanging up on the wall -- I reached up and put my hand down in there -- Daddy, there's grain in there! Give it to Mommy so she can make flour, and tonight our tummies can sleep!"
The father stands motionless. "Son, we can't do that," he softly explains. "That's next year's seed grain. It's the only thing between us and starvation. We're waiting for the rains, and then we must use it." The rains finally arrive in May, and when they do the young boy watches as his father takes the sack from the wall and does the most unreasonable thing imaginable. Instead of feeding his desperately weakened family, he goes to the field and with tears streaming down his face, he takes the precious seed and throws it away. He scatters it in the dirt! Why? Because he believes in the harvest.
The seed is his; he owns it. He can do anything with it he wants. The act of sowing it hurts so much that he cries. But as the African pastors say when they preach on Psalm 126, "Brother and sisters, this is God's law of the harvest. Don't expect to rejoice later on unless you have been willing to sow in tears." And I want to ask you: How much would it cost you to sow in tears? I don't mean just giving God something from your abundance, but finding a way to say, "I believe in the harvest, and therefore I will give what makes no sense. The world would call me unreasonable to do this -- but I must sow regardless, in order that I may someday celebrate with songs of joy." )
If sowing the seed of the gospel was easy then everyone would be doing it. But Jesus never said it would be easy. The path is narrow and the workers are few. So how do we reach out to those people in our lives that need Jesus? Well, if we learn anything from how Jesus dealt with people it should be that he reached out to all people. He was not a respector of persons. He didn't care what social, economic, ethnic or racial background they were from. He didn't avoid them because they were living their life the wrong way or in the wrong place. He didn't hold up religious signs, berate people for the way they were living or ambush them with religious material.
Look at how He talked to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. He was gentle, he didn’t preach at her or belittle her for the way she was living her life. He reached out to her, built a bridge of love and compassion and shared the good news. He was a Jew, she was a Samaritan. Her life was a wreck and full of bad decisions. She had five previous husbands and now had a boyfriend. They were not supposed to associate with each other for many reasons. Yet Jesus left us the example and broke those barriers down. He reached out!
We have a tendency to believe that evangelism is a process with a certain number of steps to take to get to the goal. We need to scrap that way of thinking because Jesus didn’t follow a 10 step process. His instructions to us were very simple; they were to “GO”. We have no problem sharing the good news about the birth of a child, an accomplishment we have achieved or even our political opinions. We need to follow His example and start reaching out to those around us, build that bridge of love and compassion and share the good news of Jesus Christ. If we want to experience revival in our lives, our churches and our communities then we need to start sowing the seed. Revival will only happen when you and I put ourselves in position to let God use us. We can pray all we want, but if we’re not willing to “sow in tears” there will be no joy later.
In Christ,
Greg
Phillipians 2:1-5
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