Discipleship isn't for whimps

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." Matthew 28:18-20

Pastor Bud (CRMC) spoke a powerful message this morning about discipleship. Powerful doesn’t translate, easy or warm and fuzzy, it translates, if you are serious about your relationship with Christ, then you need to understand this… Jesus gave the great commission to His disciples. We are His disciples.
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If we are neglecting this commission, then aren’t we also denying our role as a follower of Christ? Let that sink in for a minute. Scary, isn’t it.
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Craig Groeschel of Lifechurch.tv say’s that “Christians enjoy a personal relationship with Jesus. Disciples enjoy a shared relationship with Jesus. Our relationship should be personal, but not private".

Without an expressed desire and a plan, we find ourselves just going through life day after day. Let’s start living “intentional” lives. Tell the Lord you want to be His disciple, and show the Lord you will be His disciple.

Good Soldier by Mark Driscoll

If we are going to win the war, we need to know what needs to be done, and how to do it. This video gives us some valuable insight into Church planting. Check out Marks Blog for more info.

Let's give it all away

What if I gave you $500 cash and ask you to spend it wisely. What would you buy?

What if I said you had to spend it on someone else, whom would you choose?

Lets say the money needs to be spent to further Gods kingdom. Perhaps you would give it to the poor. How creative can you get? Could you use this cash to attract a non-believer to church? How many non-believers could you attract? How would you do it? Do you think you could lead someone to the Lord with only a few bucks for coffee? Imagine how far that would go. Maybe you could pay someone’s rent, fix their car, or mow their lawn.

How far can $500 go?

World Missionary Press can produce a 48-page scripture booklet and mail anywhere in the world for only 4¢ each (that’s 12,500 booklets).

Where will you invest yours? Think outside the box. How can you make your money go further. What will make the biggest impact?

Your Sunday school room might need new carpeting, but is that how you want to spend YOUR money? Will that make the difference when visitors come in, Will that be what it takes to push them over the edge, into the arms of Christ? (disclaimer: I'm not against new carpeting. I know that we have a responsibility to maintain our facility. Would you please stay focused on the point.)

Once we figure this out. We'll brainstorm on how we can get $5oo each. Did I mention, our Father owns a thousand cattle on a thousand hills. Maybe He could help.

This is the post most worthy of your comments. So please lets get creative together.

Stupid Dog

Ok. Something lite-hearted for today :)

Why me?

Do you ever feel frustrated by your situation? My wife and I have experienced several difficult ordeals that would qualify as real faith-shakers. I can’t say we ever blamed God, but we have been frustrated as to why, why, why. Why can’t anything seem to go right?

Our son Tyler lived only eight months, all of which was in the hospital. Tyler was premature, weighing only one pound, nine ounces. We were there every day, holding him, feeding him, changing his diapers and caring for him, as any parent should. Tyler didn’t struggle with one main disability, he fought many. At the time of his death, he was blind, deaf, had a tracheotomy, a shunt, brain hemorrhages, rickets, four rectal prolapses, and possibly cerebral palsy and retardation. I remember one of the doctors at Riley’s Children Hospital, telling us that they have seen all of this before, but never all in the same child. Doctors were good at giving us statistics. If ninety-seven percent were one way, Tyler was always in the other three percent. Why?

Our son had lots of love, not only from us, but the nurses loved him too. Tyler had plenty of prayer, not just from us, but also from the whole community. Sometimes as time passes, we can look back with greater understanding, we see how God was working. I’m not bitter, but I still don’t see it. Other times yes, just not this time.

Suppose and big black bear wandered from it’s home in the forest into a crowded resort. The bear had not had contact with humans before and was disturbed by the yelling, screaming and general chaos. In no time, he was surrounded, the men closed in on the bear and he became unnerved and riled up, so one of the men shot him with a single dart. Soon the bear was taking a nap. Several hours later the bear woke up back in the woods. He was safe and had no interest in returning to the resort. The experience was traumatic, “they only wanted to scare me and hurt me,” the bear thought.

Is it possible that we view God in a similar way? We can’t see the bigger picture, and we may never understand it. Sometimes God needs to corner us, or even stick us with a dart for our own protection or good. Not because we were wrong, but because he wants something better for us. Job wasn’t angry with God because he lost everything, He was angry because he had no answers as to why. When God did finally respond to Job, it wasn’t a cozy conversation about why He allowed those afflictions into his life, but rather, God began to mock him “Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand (Job 38:4).

My faith isn’t able to tell me bad things wont happen. Bad things happen everyday. Maybe not to us, but everyday someones son or daughter, mom or dad, will die. Faith is trusting that whatever the outcome, no matter the cost, God is still God, He knows what He is doing, whether or not we understand, He still loves us.

Iraq - to stay or not to stay

When it comes to Iraq, we could be critical on many levels. But as to whether to stay or not, ponder the following illustration. You are on a boat in a body of water. Your boat sinks. Do you plan to swim for an hour and quit, or do you plan to swim until you get to shore or are rescued?

Still saved?

I’ve heard the debate over once saved always saved, since I was in high school (a long time ago). I have never felt this theory could hold water. One argument for this has been the passage John 10:27-28 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. Ok, but can the sheep leave on their own?

Let me tell you where I am coming from and let you decide for yourself. Eli and his sons were priests during Samuel’s childhood. His sons were wicked, with no reverence for God. 1 Samuel 2:30 "Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would minister before me forever.' But now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. Did God plan this from the beginning or did Eli and his sons walk way from God to suffer the consciences of their own choices? I say the latter.

What about when God chose the king of Israel. Saul was hand picked, and then later God removed his blessing and replaced him with king David.

Does this confirm the principle of; once you’re in, you can’t get out, even if you willingly choose to? I understand that Gods grace covers us even when we stray. I’m not suggesting that one day your saved and the next day your not, until next week when your saved again. That’s silly. In a marriage you make a commitment. That marriage might be rocky, but you are still married. You will have ups and downs. There maybe unfaithfulness, but your still married. However, you can choose not to be married, even without a legal divorce, the marriage can be dead and lifeless. At what point does it actually cross over, I can’t say. God knows when our hearts have left Him. The thought that God will forgive my unbelief and rebellion even when I don’t seek forgiveness is a deception of false security. Paul writes in Phil 2:12b continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. God is always ready to welcome back his wayward children. God deserve more than a bunch of fence walking Christians planning on His grace to cover their lack of commitment. Live full abundant lives, pressing onward toward the goal, loving God and loving people.

Signs of the heart

In the movie “What women want” Mel Gibson acquires the ability to hear what women are thinking. These sometimes funny and sometimes disturbing thoughts give us a glimpse of the contrast between what we do and say, and what we are really thinking.
Suppose the next time you go to a high school basketball game, everyone in attendance is wearing a sign around their neck with a statement about the condition of their heart. Signs may read; "I’m lonely”, “my dad hates me”, “I hate my dad”, “I’ll give in, if he says he loves me”, “I’m no good”, “nobody loves me”, “I want to die”. That basketball game would become a real drag. Is this a true sample of some of the things what we might find? Suppose you found other signs reading; “if I were invited, I would go to church”, “I need to talk to someone who cares”, “does God know who I am”. How would you respond in these situations? It would be a lot easier to minister to peoples needs if they were right out there for us to see. The truth is, we meet people every day that have these needs. We go right on about our day with no idea what struggles our neighbors are facing.
The next time you are at youth group, at work or school, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you. Pursue an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit so that critical opportunities to minister don’t get overlooked. He can give you openings, lead your conversation, and empower your relationships with virtual strangers. But first we must seek Him. Jesus showed us how to do this when He spoke to the woman at the well. He got right to the point of her greatest need and then He filled it. Her life was changed. The rich young ruler might have had a sign that read, “I’m unwilling to surrender all”. Jesus saw this, and confronted his need. The young man rejected the call to change, and confirmed his own inability. If the next time you are at a restaurant and a little voice encourages you to ask your waiter if you can pray for him, will you do it? This is not a hocus-pocus mind game; it’s simply learning to hear and the willingness to obey when the Spirit.
Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit will be my companion as I strive to do Your will. Amen.

Are you ready for change?

Are you in need of a change? Are you ready to set the course of your life, as it is right now? Do you have the courage to say I want to do better? I grew up in the church. When I look back to when I got saved, I remember being six or seven years old, and I simply prayed that if I hadn’t ever said the words before I wanted to be a Christian. This was just a confirmation of what I had believed all my life. I wasn’t turning the course of my life; I was acknowledging the course of my life.

As a teenager, I attended a large bible study. It seemed that everyone who was “on fire” were ex-druggies. They had a life changing experience when they turned to Christ. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! I envied such an experience. Not that I desired to dive into sin, but rather to feel the joys and the hope of forgiveness. Like the frog in the frying pan, I’ve gotten so comfortable in “the church”. It’s hard to turn from sin that is socially acceptable. Even in the church.

Sin is bigger than the bad stuff I’ve done.
It’s all the stuff I should have done, but failed to do so.

Are you ready for a change? I am. Although I ‘m not sure what that change will look like, I pray that God will resurrect these dry bones into His service.

Power plant tour

A school class took a field trip to a nearby power plant. As they walked thought the complex the guide would explain how the raw materials were brought in, then converted to produce electric power. They were shown the engineering department, research & development, production and receiving areas. At the end of the tour, the guide asked if there were any questions. One little boy raised his hand and asked how they got the power to his house. The tour guide smiled at the young boys question, and then explained that with such a big facility, they needed all of the energy themselves just to keep the factory running.

In the business world this would be unheard of, in our churches it is to often the norm.

How to Not Mess Up the Great Commission too Much.

I saw this on Under the Dome blog. Definitely worth sharing here.

About me

I’ve updated the “about me” profile the right. As a new blogger, I am still developing a theme or style that is both rewarding to me and interesting to others. I have already, and may continue to share articles from others, but I want this to be more than just a collection of posting of other things I’ve seen. Of course, I guess nothing is truly original.
We are all sums of our experiences. The good, the bad and they way that we have responded to them is what we are today. Whether we are reading, listening or watching, we have the ability to grow from what others have already experienced. As always I welcome your comments.

I'm Anrgy - part II

Our newly elected congress isn’t wasting any time while they pursue their agenda. Two bills are very disturbing to me. The first is the “hate crimes” bill. This is supposed to protect the more vulnerable in our society from being singled out and then persecuted. The opposite is true. This bill will make outlaws out of anyone who speaks anything that is not politically correct. Groups such as the ACLU and moveon.org will define what is considered politically correct speech. We are in trouble folks.
The other bill S.1 (grassroots gag bill) will restrict or eliminate non-profit groups such as Focus on the Family from mentioning any proposed legislation that may negatively or positively affect it’s listeners. In other words congress wants to be able to do what ever it wants without anyone finding out, until it’s to late. This may also affect others such as Rush Limbaugh or Shawn Hannity.
Is our Government out to get us? Perhaps you think I’m paranoid. Don’t be deceived there is a real war against our values and our beliefs. John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Check out this broadcast from Dr. James Dobson or CitizenLink for more details. If you think common sense will prevail, I’m afraid it may not. Remember we have real enemies, so lets respond in a powerful way by our fervent prayers.

A bike called grace

Paul from church was working in his back yard and struck oil. He became instantly wealthy and because he thinks I am a nice guy he wanted to buy me a brand new Royal Star Tour Deluxe (motorcycle). It was top of the line with all the extras. He wrote out a check for over twenty five thousand dollars and while we were checking out the clerk forgot to add a small fee of $5.30. Paul pulled out a five-dollar bill and was fishing for some change. I said let me get it, and toss down the thirty cents. A few days later I was showing off my new bike and mentioned that Paul and I had both chipped in to pay for it. Although technically I did help, logistically I had nothing to do with covering the cost. Don’t let us get confused about our good works in comparison to Gods grace. Gods grace has paid the bill for us, our works will never compare.

The part about Paul striking it rich and buying me a new motorcycle is fictional…..for now :)

Missing the mark

I sat back in the sound booth for years and was never disappointed when “upgrade” money came in for needed projects. At a previous church we had a donation for a new video projector so that the worship team could read the songs off the back wall. This seemed like a great move to me. Our currant projector was in need of an upgrade so we decided to move the old one to the back wall and use the new one in front. With the new equipment and new wiring the quote was just shy of ten grand. Wow. To those who work with the church budget this was really not such a big deal. We spend thousands on utilities every month and so on. To me this was huge. This was a lot of money. What else could we do with this same cash? If ten thousand dollars was all we had what could we do with it to directly increase the churches mission? What if we visited the homes around our church and offered to pay their utilities for a month. No strings attached. Or what if we got some guys in the church and fixed peoples cars for free. How far would that ten grand go? How many lives could be changed? I know that if we have building we will have needs and expenses. But if we spend all of our resources on us, our community will suffer and we will find ourselves missing the mark.

If you build it, they will come

If you build it, they will come. This has become the church growth strategy of this decade. Regardless of how the church is doing spiritually, if the pews are 80% full, it’s time to add on. A new family life center is just the ticket. The youth need more room and a gym would be great for basketball outreach on Thursday nights. It all sounds so good. Buildings don’t evangelize, people do. I’ve gone to church all my life and can’t remember ever being held accountable for my spiritual disciplines. Reaching the lost, praying, fasting, worship, time in the Word and more. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Luke 16:10. Are our growing churches more faithful, or do we just have more butts in the pews. Our definition of discipleship seems to be nothing more than attendance. If you can get them there every Sunday and sometimes on Wednesday’s then you must have a committed believer. Right? If we take an honest look at church growth, I would tend to think that it is mostly just shifting of the flock. Church splits, or a new pastor results in an exodus to the church down the street. Now the church down the street can start their building project. It’s not about the size of your building its about needing more Jesus loving, people serving, Bible reading, Gospel sharing, fired up followers of Christ. We can do better. I am as guilty as the rest. I want to challenge each of us to spend some quality time on our knees asking God what we (I) should do to advance Gods kingdom here on earth.

Money to share

When it comes to sharing the gospel, we have all heard (or given) the same excuses, “I’m waiting for the right opportunity” or “I don’t want to offend anyone”. As a matter of illustration, let’s pretend that Bill Gates gets saved and comes to our church next Sunday. He is real excited about his faith and wants to encourage us to share with our friends. He makes us an offer that for every attempt we make to share the gospel with someone he will give each of us $500. It doesn’t matter if they choose to follow Christ, but you must make an honest attempt. How many times will you share your faith the first week? How many the second? Or the third? It’s sad, but I’m afraid that we all might be able to quickly overcome those obstacles that seemed too high to cross the week before. As Christians do we really understand just how important it is to reach the lost? You’ve heard the saying “if you’re too heavenly minded, you’re no earthly good”. I guess I haven’t met anyone yet that has been too heavenly minded. But as for the no earthly good part, I think our quota has already been met. What do we need to do to motivate ourselves get going. The time is short, the rewards are plentiful and the need is great.

VA Tech shooting - Islamic?

The shooter at VA Tech had "ismails ax" (perhaps he cared more about killing than correct spelling) written in red ink on his arm. I googled it with little results. I did find this article. Let me know what you think.

Finger Paints

As the debate over evolution and “intelligent design” continues, it occurred to me just how simple this is. Primary colors such as blue and yellow can be mixed together to get green. Blue and red can make purple and so on. Now give a classroom full of two year olds finger paints of red, yellow and blue and twenty minute later you’ll end up with several varying shades of brown. The next day bring in another class of toddles and only let them use the colors produced on the previous day. How many days would it take before the color becomes irrelevant? This is evolution. Except in our example we were kind enough to grant them three primary colors to begin with. Colors that would have had to come from somewhere. Our toddlers although immature, do have some level of artistic intelligents. This very generous test of evolution cannot begin to compare with a visit to the paint isle at any home improvement store. There are literally thousands of color choices. You can grab hands full cards of different shades of just blue or just pink or sunset mocha delight if you would like. This is what we will call intelligent design. The earth and all of mankind is far more complex than a bucket of paint, so lets give credit to an almighty God that cared enough to create this world and than save us from our own destruction.

Don't wait until later !!

The following was taken from the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala

Dwight L Moody was haunted all his life by an occasion when he felt he got too clever in presenting the gospel. Six years before he died he recounted what had happened back in Chicago in the fall of 1871:

I intended to devote six nights to Christ’s life. I had spent four Sunday nights on the subject and had followed Him from the manger along through His life to His arrest and trial, and on the fifth Sunday night, October 8th, I was preaching to the largest congregation I had ever had in Chicago, quite elated with my success. My text was “what shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?” That night I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. After preaching … with all the power that God had given me, urging Christ upon the people, I closed the sermon and said, “I wish you would take this text home with you and turn it over in your minds during the week, and next Sunday we will come to Calvary and to the cross, and we will decide what we will do with Jesus of Nazareth.”
Just at that moment, a fire bell rang nearby. Moody quickly dismissed the meeting and sent the people out of the building. It was the beginning of the great Chicago fire, which over the next 27 hours left 300 dead, 90,000 homeless, and a great city in ashes. Obviously, Moody never got to finish his sermon series.

He continued:
I have never seen that congregation since. I have hard work to keep back the tears today… Twenty-two years have passed away… and I will never meet those people again until I meet them in another world. But I want to tell you one lesson I learned that night, which I have never forgotten, and that is, when I preach to press Christ upon the people then and there, I try to bring them to a decision on the spot. I would rather have (my) right hand cut off than give an audience a week to decide what to do with Jesus.

Jesus wept

The year was 1993, it was early in the morning the day before Thanksgiving and my wife just hung up the phone. Our daughter was only thirteen days old and in the NICU in Columbus, Ohio. We had made a call to the hospital to get an update before making the five-hour drive. Although the nurse was careful with her words, she said that Kayla might not survive until we get there. I was working for a Christian radio station at the time, and as we left town we had heard at least two separate pleas for prayer. This very heartfelt request was broadcast during morning drive time and I knew that literally tens of thousands of listeners were able to join with us in prayer for Kayla. We made the trip in record time. Upon entering the icu, we were greeted by the words “we’ve done all we can”. As we made our way to our baby girl, we dropped to our knees and openly wept after seeing her tiny one and a half pound body all blue. The wires and monitors were all removed, except for the single hand ventilator to keep her breathing until arrived. There we were huddled together on the floor totally crushed. I’d prepared for the possibly that she could die, but hadn’t expected it. I told myself as we made the drive, that with all the prayers that had been offered, no matter what the outcome, God had put his blessing on this. So as we lay there crying I didn’t feel Gods tears with us, He had known what was best for Kayla, and for us. So why should God cry? I believed that my God did what he thought was best. Although we were struggling with grief, He felt no doubts, no pain, and no regrets.

Weeks passed and God opened up my eyes. The all-knowing God that took our baby was also an all-loving God. I saw us again huddled there on the floor as he wrapped us in his arms and released a loud moan over the parents of a little girl that they were sure to miss. A little girl they were sure to love. His sorrow came not for Kayla, they came for us.

I'm Angry

I get angry when the double standards in our society are so obvious and blatant. Don Imus made a stupid statement on the air and was fired from both MSNBC and CBS radio for it. NBC News president, Steve Capus said "there shouldn't be any room for this kind of conversation or dialog on our air" and "it was the only decision we could reach". Hear me when I say that I am no Imus fan. I don't listen to him on the radio nor do I watch his TV show. I do know however, that these kind of degrading and stereotypical remarks are commonly heard by those who choose to listen to his programs. I am not necessarily angry that Imus was fired. I don't really care. But what gets me worked up is when Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton condemn this man, the left wing media machine moves in support for this mans crucifixion. While at the same time, Miss O'Donnell spews out any and all anti-Christian hate speech that pops into her head and it's considered "just a ploy for ratings". Sure there are those few voices crying injustice, but it is very clear that "the powers to be" will never come to the defence of Christian views, beliefs or values, but rather will be standing with our adversaries on nearly every occation. Please pray for America.

A few days off

I'm going to be out of town for a few days, so I won't be posting anything until I get back.

Robin Hood's Mansion

I'm sorry this is so long but I think it's worth it.

There’s a man who has spent most of his adult life in the kitchen. He has attended the finest of culinary schools and has on several occasions he has been asked to speak. He subscribes to all of the trade magazines and has an extensive collection of the latest cookbooks. His kitchen it is equipped with stainless steel counters, except for a large dark gray granite bar top. All of the appliances are top of the line commercial grade, he has a walk in cooler and humidity controlled wine cellar. He makes his living primarily by writing articles, public speaking or teaching private classes. His knowledge is remarkable but he rarely cooks anymore. Several times a year he will show-off with an elaborate display of his talents, but even then his assistants will do most of the work.

We have a lady at my church that loves to cook. She’s been there forever. Her husband passed away years ago and I guess she doesn’t have anything else to do, so she is always baking cookies or pies or something. There hasn’t been a funeral dinner at our church that didn’t have a least a dozen of her homemade pies. I don’t know how she manages to do it all. She’ll make all the crusts at home and then she’ll put a few pies in her oven and brings the rest to the church. Our kitchen here at the church isn’t that fancy but it’s has got to be two or three times as big as hers. I know she is probably lonely because her son and his family live out of state. I guess that’s why she always doing things for everyone else. I doubt if there is a single cookbook in her kitchen. She never makes anything fancy or exotic. But if you’ve ever been in need of a meal, you can sure testify that she can cook. You've got to love that lady, I do.

Have you ever noticed that in the bible, Jesus always seemed to get in the faces of the Pharisees. Luke 12:1b "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." Just like the chef, who cherished his own education and loved to display all that he had, what benefit is it if you don’t do anything with them. As Christians we must “live” our faith or our faith is useless.  What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? James 2:14 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.James 2:18. Personally this touches an area in my life that I have always struggled. I have spent a great deal of time over the past several months thinking on this topic. I believe that my greatest sin is not what I done, but rather what I've failed to do. Certainly I do sin by doing thing I shouldn't, but I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs. I don’t use bad language. I don’t cheat on my wife. I don’t steal. I don’t lie. Ok, I just lied. But I do go to Church. I go on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. I get up and go to work everyday. I try be nice to everyone. Are you getting the picture? Would you say that I am impressing God? Do you think God is saying to those around Him, that I am one fine individual? I doubt it. Yes God loves me and yes God cares about what I am doing. But please follow this thought. The bad stuff I’ve done can all be forgiven. The everyday things that I do, is somewhat irrelevant. What’s left? Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins James 4:17. I need to change my life, so that my life can change others.
I don’t know too much about Robin Hood so for the purpose of this illustration I will make up my own profile. Robin Hood is mid-thirties, has a couple tattoos, an earring and his language is not always family friendly. He is divorced. He rarely goes to church. He hates Rush Limbaugh and doesn’t even know James Dobson. Yet he says he is a Christian. The crowd he runs with is pretty much the same. He takes from the rich and gives to the poor. “Takes from the rich” isn't that stealing. I hope God has mercy on his soul.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames I Cor 3:12-15.
Let me illustrate this with a big bag of M&M’s. We separate the colors and call the red ones sin. The green ones are the good deeds that we do and the brown ones are indifferent. Throughout the day I assign each of my deeds into one of these categories by placing one of the colored M&M’s into a clear glass jar. I get up and go to work. That is good, but that is what is required of me so I will add a brown M&M to the jar. I didn’t swear at jerk that pulled out in front of me. Ok, but another brown. After nearly a week of this I am proud to see just a very small amount of red in my jar. I feel good about my life, I really don’t struggle with all the temptations that others seem to. One Sunday my wife told me that we needed to take a family home after church again. They live the other direction and I can’t figure out why they can’t get their car fixed and drive themselves. I did it anyway, and added one more brown to my jar. I happen to notice my wife was able to add a green M&M to hers. She must have been reaching out in love or something. Months go by and we all assemble together with our jars. I’ve noticed that our clear jars all have covers on them now. Some are decorative fabric with lace and others are just paced into paper bags. Not mine. I didn’t work that hard, In fact I barely change my life at all and there is still only a small number of red among my jar. I noticed that Robin Hood had just come in. He was late. We were given instructions to take off the coverings to our jars so that the contents were visible. Then we were to bring them forward to have them displayed. I was first. By this time we all had accumulated several jars and I emptied mine onto the table up on the platform. Those at the table quickly separated the colors. As I’ve mentioned, I had very few red ones. Then they took the red and brown colored M&M’s and slid them off the table into the trash. The green M&M’s were put back into one of my jars and I was asked to have a seat again. This is it. This is all I have left. One by one each of us received the same treatment. We were nearly finished when Robin Hood made it to the front of the line. I remember thinking earlier how embarrassing it would be to have nothing but red and green, it looked like Christmas. I bet he had four or five times as much red M&M’s as most of us. What a sinner I had thought. But after his red and brown were discarded what remained seemed odd. He had a couple of jars; no it was more like a bunch of jars, all green. Unfair! Unfair! I wanted to scream but it was to late now. If we believe in the saving grace of Jesus and ask Him into lives, we will be saved. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten. King David wrote in Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. King David was a man after God’s own heart. God loved and blessed David. David also had plenty of sin in his life. Not only did he covet another mans wife and have her husband killed but other men died as well so that David’s own sin would not be exposed. I would assume that if David was living today, he would most likely struggle with internet porn. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all had major issues in their own lives. Jacobs’s life reads like a soap opera. The prostitute Rahab is celebrated in Hebrews 11 for hiding the spies. How did she do this? She lied.  What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Romans 6:1-2.  God hates sin. We should live a life so that other may not stubble on account of us. If you go to see your favorite basketball team and throughout the entire game you restrain yourself from any negative outbursts, are you supporting them? Your lack of negativity isn’t good enough. You also need to stand up and cheer, let them know your there, show your support by what you do. As Christians we need to get off the bench and heat things up a bit.  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth Rev 3:16. Robin Hood had made plenty of poor decisions in his life. But he possessed an intense passion that always had him running hot or cold. The bible is filled with risk takers. Those who often went out on a limb, sometimes for God and sometimes for themselves. My prayer today is that I begin to live a life that stretches my faith, builds my courage and pushes my limits. How will you respond? By thinking, Gods forgiveness is great enough for me to do wrong, or rather when I’ve done wrong, God still wants to use me.  "Yes, I'm on my way! I'll be there soon! I'm bringing my payroll with me. I'll pay all people in full for their life's work. I'm A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and Conclusion. Rev 22:12

I wish that there were a magic pill that you could take to turn all of our good intentions and Godly desires into actions. As you know it is not that easy. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, learn to recognize His leading and then obey.

1 GOD

I was at the gas station the other day filling up our van. Out of the store comes an older gentleman with a walker. He was heading right towards me. As he approached I said hello, wandering if I was supposed to know him. He wanted to thank me for displaying a plate on the front of my van reading "1 GOD". He told me "us Christians need to stick together". We talked for only a few minutes. But when he left, I felt as if I had made a new friend. What a nice old man. When I'm on my motorcycle, I stick out a hand and give a small wave to every motorcyclist I see. Young or old, rough or tame we all are bonded by our love of bikes. How much more should we as Christians be to those around us. In the church, or in the world, why don't we try and take a little extra time to share a smile, or a kind word. You never know just how far a act of kindness can go.

True love with an eternal perspective

This story was borrowed from http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8216
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

After A Few Of The Usual Sunday Evening Hymns, The Church's Pastor Slowly Stood Up, Walked Over To The Pulpit And, Before He Gave His Sermon For The Evening, He Briefly Introduced A Guest Minister Who Was In The Service That Evening. In The Introduction, The Pastor Told The Congregation That The Guest Minister Was One Of His Dearest Childhood Friends And That He Wanted Him To Have A Few Moments To Greet The Church And Share Whatever He Felt Would Be Appropriate For The Service. With That, An Elderly Man Stepped Up To The Pulpit And Began To Speak. "A Father, His Son, And A Friend Of His Son Were Sailing Off The Pacific Coast," He Began. "When A Fast Approaching Storm Blocked Any Attempt To Get Back To The Shore. The Waves Were So High, That Even Though The Father Was An Experienced Sailor, He Could Not Keep The Boat Upright And The Three Were Swept Into The Ocean As The Boat Capsized." The Old Man Hesitated For A Moment, Making Eye Contact With Two Teenagers Who Were, For The First Time Since The Service Began, Looking Somewhat Interested In His Story. The Aged Minister Continued With His Story, "grabbing A Rescue Line, The Father Had To Make The Most Excruciating Decision Of His Life: To Which Boy Would He Throw The Other End Of The Life Line. He Only Had Seconds To Make The Decision. The Father Knew That His Son Was A Christian And He, Also, Knew That His Son's Friend Was Not. The Agony Of His Decision Could Not Be Matched By The Torrent Of Waves. As The Father Yelled Out, 'i Love You, Son!' He Threw Out The Life Line To His Son's Friend. By The Time The Father Had Pulled The Friend Back To The Capsized Boat, His Son Had Disappeared Beneath The Raging Swells Into The Black Of Night. His Body Was Never Recovered. By This Time, The Two Teenagers Were Sitting Up Straight In The Pew, Anxiously Waiting For The Next Words To Come Out Of The Old Minister's Mouth. "the Father," He Continued, "knew His Son Would Step Into Eternity With Jesus And He Could Not Bear The Thought Of His Son's Friend Stepping Into An Eternity Without Jesus.. Therefore, He Sacrificed His Son To Save The Son's Friend. " How Great Is The Love Of God That He Should Do The Same For Us. Our Heavenly Father Sacrificed His Only Begotten Son That We Could Be Saved. I Urge You To Accept His Offer To Rescue You And Take A Hold Of The Life Line He Is Throwing Out To You In This Service." With That, The Old Man Turned And Sat Back Down In His Chair As Silence Filled The Room. The Pastor Again Walked Slowly To The Pulpit And Delivered A Brief Sermon With An Invitation At The End. However, No One Responded To The Appeal. Within Minutes After The Service Ended, The Two Teenagers Were At The Old Man's Side. "That Was A Nice Story," Politely Stated One Of Them, "but I Don't Think It Was Very Realistic For A Father To Give Up His Only Son's Life In Hopes That The Other Boy Would Become A Christian." "well, You've Got A Point There," The Old Man Replied, Glancing Down At His Worn Bible. A Big Smile Broadened ,his Narrow Face. He Once Again Looked Up At The Boys And Said, "it Sure Isn't Very Realistic, Is It? But, I'm Standing Here Today To Tell You That Story Gives Me A Glimpse Of What It Must Have Been Like For God To Give Up His Son For Me. You See... I Was That Father And Your Pastor Is My Son's Friend."

Anyone writing a book?

If I ever wrote a book (highly unlikely) I think I would title it "Common sense isn't very common". Sometimes I watch the news and think that if people would just shut up for a minute and think about what they are saying we could solve a lot of our societal issues. Unfortunately, I don't see this as a popular trend in our society.

I'm curious what titles you would have for your books? (HINT: this is a good time to leave me a comment)

Multi-Level Marketing/Church?

I have been approached several times to join a multi-level marketing organization. Each meeting is filled with the superstars that hit it big. Each were average people like myself and are now they’re driving fancy cars and living in big houses. The formula to their success is laid out in front of me and it seems just to good to be true. All I have to do is just sign up tonight and in just a matter of months I to will be living the high life. I’ve always come back to the same questions for my friendly host, how long have you been involved with this organization? How much money have you made? Since you’ve signed up do really feel you’re climbing the road to success? I’m always greeted by the similar sounding pre rehearsed excuses about it taking time, and that we haven’t really worked very hard at it (but we’re going to). Only after I leave a meeting to find out that same friend went on to his first million in just a short year or so, will I consider the promises to be more than just talk.

Is this how the world looks in on the church? Do we talk a talk that we our selves have not totally bought into? Are we making promises of peace and joy we ourselves do not feel every day? The church doesn’t need to be near perfection to be effective, but we do need to be real with each other and ourselves. The message of Jesus Christ is far beyond our human representation. So lets stop trying to pretend that it is. Let’s be ourselves and be real with people. Real means we don’t always have an answer, We may not always feel or act like we should. If I were an unbeliever I would ask, If you really believe this why haven’t you told me this before. Why haven’t you told lots of people before? These are good question for us to ask ourselves now, because sooner or later we will be asked.

What will you do with this Man they call the Christ?

What are you doing because of your belief in God? If you say you aren’t a murderer, big deal. I know that is a good thing not to be a murderer, but really how is your life changing your world? Are you making an impact? As Christians we can say we believe the Christmas and Easter stories and though that is great, even satan believes those things. How is what you believe being acted out in your every day life? The good things we do are good things. But what are they good for? Good character will support your testimony. Have you shared your testimony lately…or ever? If we live our lives careful and safe we may keep ourselves from harmful or destructive activities (that’s good). Does God want more than that from us? Remember the story of the talents, each of the three servants was given different allotments of money and while in their care two of the servants invested (took risks) their talents with a return to the master. The third played it safe. Burying his talents, he produced no return for his master and thus lost all that was given to him. The American church is currently filled with such servants. Our good deeds can be valuable resources. Knowledge of the Bible, honesty and integrity are valuable and important. Imagine a chef with years of schooling, a nicely equipped kitchen and a well-stocked pantry and never cooks. Everything he has is good but it doesn’t do any good.

What will you do with this Man they call the Christ? How are you going to apply your life to the cause of Christ? If your thought is coming to church every week and trying to be a good person, I would like to encourage you to do better. I beg you to do better.

What will you do with this Man they call the Christ? I’m not asking what you believe about this Man, but what will you do. James says you show me your faith without deeds and I’ll show you my faith by what I do. It’s so much more that not doing bad things. The Pharisees were great at following the law. They kept from sin but were filled with sin. King David sinned often and yet he blessed God so much because of his heart for God. Step out take some risks and follow God with all of your heart. The greatest of the commandments weren’t about not doing bad things, but rather, doing great things. Loving God and loving others.

Palm Sunday

So what do you think about the Palm Sunday story? The parade, the palm branches, and the many shouts of praise. Jerusalem was packed during Jesus triumphant entry into the city. I’m sure there were many who had heard of Jesus, but had no personal experience of their own with Him. How exciting it must have been to be there when their new King arrived to establish His kingdom once and for all. Perhaps it was a little odd that He came riding on a donkey, but they say this Jesus is radical and unconventional, so I guess it’s ok for Him to do things differently. The masses rallied together to usher in this new King of theirs. Is it surprising to know that by the end of the week this same crowd cried out for His crucifixion? Not really, it’s easy to follow the crowd. After all He had made that scene just the other day at the temple. Screaming at all the vendors to get out. I guess He must be a troublemaker after all. Public opinions will shift in an instant if there isn’t any foundation to their beliefs. We see this everyday in today’s world. One day we want to go to war the next we want to pull out. We watch as the media spoon feeds us our opinions and tells who is on top this week. We live in a “Christian” nation. Our shallow roots may not be so evident right now but what will happen to the masses if we see a little persecution. Not to long ago two gentlemen from Fox News were captured in Iraq, they simply changed their names and vowed allegiance to Mohammad and all was better. Right? I’m afraid that this “Christian” nation will turn on a dime, just like the people in Jesus time turned on Him. Very soon we maybe approaching troubled times of our own. Our freedoms could be in jeopardy. How will we respond? How will you respond? Now is the time to set our roots firmly into the everlasting Word of God.

A Coach

My son played soccer for the first time a few summers ago. I helped out as the assistant coach (knowing nothing about the game). We had a lot of fun and everyone got to play. As a coach we encouraged, cheered and gave a lot of high fives. We did what we could to improve their skills. Whether they came to practice or not, and regardless if they could kick a ball or not, everyone played and everyone had fun. Sure we worked on the fundamentals but our expectations remained within a 3rd grade level. I can see God as this type of coach. In His mercy, His understanding and His patience. His grace allowed the game to be fun and not stressed by the immaturity and inability of the players. In stark contrast lets look at the coach from the movie Remember the Titans. An all American lineman had only one choice. Do what the coach said, or sit on the bench. If any player fumbled the ball regardless of the circumstance, he ran a mile. No question asked. How many of his players could’ve skipped a practice and then showed up for a game and expected to ever touch the ball. Not a chance. Obedience and commitment are required to perform at this level. This team was molded into State Champions. Can you see God as this type of a coach? I can. God has called us to be Holy Leviticus 19:2. God expects us to grow up in our knowledge and our abilities. Not as babies still on milk, but on solid food 1 Corinthians 3:2. Don’t you think God cares about winning? Of course He does. Why then after years of sitting in our pews are we content with just being a part of the team? It’s time we get to the weight room and pumped some iron, get on a diet to shed that flab, and it’s time to pick up a playbook and learn what it is that were expected to do and then practice it over and over again until we start to get it right. Lets play to win. God will still be there with His grace and His mercy when we fall. But there is little excuse for those who after years of service can’t produce a single piece of fruit to offer to our God.