Monday, April 27, 2015

WHY RESTFUL IS BETTER THAN RESTLESS

God says, “Be still, and know that I am God;” (Psa. 46:10).  We can become so busy we lose touch with the reality and truth of God.  We must carve out regular time to “be still” before the Lord.  Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29).  Our souls can become so jumbled and troubled by the busyness of life that we lose touch with who we really are.  It’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves (Rom. 12:3 Mes).  Over the years we may not deal with what’s beneath the surface, maybe we even forget what’s there, and we add layers of scripts that we would rather follow than confront the unresolved pain and wounds deep down in our souls.  Instead of restful souls we live with restless souls.  Jesus says to commit your life to Him and learn from Him so you can have a restful soul.

In his book Prayer, Richard Foster writes:  “At first we thought solitude was a way to recharge our batteries in order to enter life’s many competitions with new vigor and strength.  In time, however, we find that solitude gives us power not to win the rat race but to ignore the rat race altogether.  Slowly, we find ourselves letting go of our inner compulsions to acquire more wealth than we need, look more youthful than we are, attain more status than is wise.  In the stillness, our false, busy selves are unmasked and seen for the impostors they truly are.”  Take the time to be still and unmask and know the Lord is your God.

Monday, April 20, 2015

DON’T SETTLE FOR ORDINARY

God wants to take ordinary lives and make them extraordinary.  We weren’t made to live boring lives where it’s the same old same old.  There’s more to life than living and dying.  We were made to live an exciting adventure.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

Many people live dull and mundane and stressful lives, and they have no sense of lasting motivation or joy or enthusiasm.  God never intended for us to live depressed, worried, fearful, powerless, and mundane lives.  But for many that’s their normal way of life.  Maybe you feel inadequate; God wants you to live with competence.  Maybe you feel defeated; God wants you to live in victory.  Maybe you feel anxious and worried; God wants you to live confidently.

God wants to take your ordinary way of living life and transform it into a life that is extraordinary.  You were made for more than you think.  Ephesians 3:20 states, Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think (NLT).  God created you to live an extraordinary life.

The followers of Christ in the Early Church lived extraordinary lives.  Acts 4:13 states that,
The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures (NLT).

How do we live extraordinary lives through days that are good, or bad, or just plain ugly?

·         Value your future resurrection.
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Hebrews 11:35 (NLT)

Life is tough, but if you’re a believer in Jesus, Who rose from the dead, you have your own future resurrection and eternal life to look forward to.  Even now as a believer you’ve been raised from spiritual death.  You have a new life now with Christ.  You have a “new liveliness”.  You’ve been raised from the dead, spiritually.

·         Make what matters in Heaven matter most.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)

Because you’ve placed your belief in Jesus Christ for your forgiveness of sin, you’re guaranteed Heaven.  You’re on your way to a new life with a new body in a perfect world.  Get excited about it!  Think about it!  Focus on it!  Talk about it!  Live it!

·         Follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them … Acts 4:7-8a (NLT)

To be filled means to be under the influence, to be led, to be under the management of.  If you’re a believer in Christ you have the Holy Spirit living in you.  Now make it a daily practice of consciously submitting to His leadership and take action based on what you learn from God’s Word.  God’s Spirit and God’s Word never contradict one another.

·         Live saved.
Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing.  2 Corinthians 6:1 (NCV)

Live it.  Love it.  Live the saved life.  Reflect often on God’s grace in your life such that your mind, will, emotions, and relationships reflect His grace.

Your salvation for whatever is on the line – your eternity, your livelihood, your finances, your family, your marriage, your heart and soul – is found in Jesus Christ.

·         Live with Jesus.
They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus. Acts 4:13 (GNT)

Peter and John had lived day in and day out with Jesus.  They were “followers” of Him.  They not only associated with Jesus, they followed Him as their Leader, and ultimately as their God and Savior.

How do we “live with Jesus?”  We live with Him “spiritually”.  We don’t live with Him physically yet.  One day we will. But for now we live with Him spiritually.  Therefore we must give a lot of attention to the spiritual dimension of our lives. Why? – Because that’s where we talk and walk with Jesus.  That’s where we live, really live.  And that’s where our lives start transforming from ordinary to extraordinary.

Monday, April 13, 2015

ME VS. WE

We live in an “idolize me” society.  The “me mentality” has been accepted into the spiritual thinking of many.  In terms of spiritual maturity it has become about “our selves.”  It’s about “my” spiritual gifts, “my” spiritual growth, “my” spiritual life, “my” calling, “my” place of service, “my” word from God to you.   I’m not saying those things don’t exist, but there’s a danger.  The danger is that we tend to revolve the spiritual around ourselves and our preferences and our feelings and our way of wanting to do something.  Even in our spiritual lives we can be self-absorbed.  We should never underestimate the power of self-centeredness.  The “globe head” lives.  In our spirituality we tend to revolve everything around ourselves.

The truth about spiritual maturity is this:  Spiritual maturity is not about me; it’s about “we”.

There are three kinds of people:
The “spiritual Christian” who is spiritually alive by the Holy Spirit with Christ in his life,
The “non-Christian” who is spiritually dead without the Holy Spirit and faith in Christ, and
The “me Christian” who is connected with God, but he’s living like someone who is without Christ.  Though he is spiritually alive he’s living as though he’s spiritually dead.

The “me Christian” is:

·         Infantile
… you were infants in the Christian life. 1 Cor. 3:1 (NLT)

·         Weak
I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. 1 Cor. 3:2 (NLT)

·         Conflicted
You are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. 1 Cor. 3:3 (NLT)

·         Divisive
When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos … 1 Cor. 3:4 (NLT)

On the other hand the “we Christian”:

·         Serves with others so that people come to believe in Jesus.
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul?  Only servants, through whom you came to believe…, 1 Cor. 3:5

·         Sees God grow the church.
… God, who makes things grow. 1 Cor. 3:7
When we’re serving together according to God’s purpose, He causes growth.

·         Realizes building a church takes more than one person; it includes “us”.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 1 Cor. 3:10

If you’re a believer in Christ God has given you a spiritual gift, an ability for serving in the church in a particular way.  And it’s connected to your life purpose, your calling, your assignment which God has given you.  Therefore you’re responsible to carry out His assignment, being faithful with His grace in His church.  You are included in the building of the church.  You’re needed.  You are a necessity to the building of God’s family.

Monday, April 6, 2015

ROAD TRIP

Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).

You’re on a road.  Which one is it?  Jesus implies there are only two.  You’re on one or the other.  You get to choose which way you want to go.

The way to real living and eternal life is narrow because it’s through One Person – Jesus Christ.  The world believes the road to real life is a freeway with many lanes, many philosophies, many ideologies, and all belief systems.  But it leads to destruction.

For those of you who’ve already chosen the “narrow gate” and you’re on your way to Heaven, you need to look over to the freeway and flag some people down before it’s too late.  Care about the destination of those around you.