Monday Morning 5/28/2012

Today is Memorial Day. It is a day to thank those who have served faithfully defending our country whether they are military, law enforcement, fire protection, or medical. It is a day to honor those who are now serving. It is a day to thank and remember their families. And it is a day to honor those who have served and their families who have made the ultimate sacrifice that you and I can worship freely.

Every company has a purpose. The purpose of Apple Computers is to make computers and to make money. General Motors makes cars and hopefully makes a profit for its investors. The purpose of a school is to teach students. The purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous is to help people overcome addiction. Even the church has a purpose. Jesus told us what that is when He said, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) The church has the right purpose because sharing Jesus is that purpose!

There is a story about two churches on the same block in a big city. One was a large church with many members. Their desire was to reach non-Christians and those who, for one reason or another, had quit going to church. They were not as “traditional” as some churches, but their first goal was to make sure everyone understood what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. They went into the community, not as “door knockers” but as “relationship builders.” This is where the “family of God,” the “body of Christ,” the “church" came together for instruction, inspiration, fellowship, and worship and then brought Jesus to their homes, their workplaces, and to their neighborhoods.

The other church on the block in the early 1900’s through the 1960’s was a powerful witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with more than a thousand active members. But their number shrank to about 120. It was discovered that over the years a subtle change crept in as their emphasis switched from presenting the Gospel to helping the homeless. They set up soup kitchens in the church building and began feeding programs for those in need. We all know that helping those in need is a very worthy and Christian thing to do. We are called to do that. But prayers were never offered in the soup kitchens, nor was the name of Jesus ever mentioned. The reason was because they were concerned that someone might be offended. In turning away from Christ’s command to “… preach the gospel…” they made no effort to communicate the Gospel. The result was that the same people were coming through the food lines year after year with no improvement, no change for good taking place in their lives. They were feeding their bodies, but ignoring, starving, their souls. And the church itself there was almost dead.

These are two very different churches. Both of them are very busy in what they are trying to do. But one is dying. Why? What is the church supposed to be? And what is the church supposed to do?

I don’t know how you see the church. I don’t know if you picture a little church where you and a few of your friends can get together. Or maybe it’s a church where thousands of people gather together in worship. But I know this. The church does not exist solely for its members. The members are to obey Jesus to “GO.” The church exists to help reach the lost. And the moment we turn our sights inward, and begin to think that the church is just for us, then we are no longer the Lord’s church. We are a private little club. We exist for a lost world. We exist to give ourselves away. We exist to touch a world that doesn’t know Jesus Christ and to show them the way to be saved from their sins and to live for all eternity.

There are too many people who can tell you what’s wrong with their church. Are you willing to stand up and tell people about what is right with God’s church?

The church, as God planned it, is the body of Christ, and the family of God. It has been entrusted to us with a message of salvation for the world. Now, go and make disciples.

Monday Morning 5/21/2012

We live in a society that has a very foggy view of God.

When the prophet Isaiah saw his vision of God in Heaven, he saw a God who was glorious in holiness. Around His throne, angels cry out with never ending worship, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory."

God could have chosen any part of His character and nature to show everyone. He could have commanded the angels to cry out words like "Love, love, love" or "Righteous." But He has especially created angels to declare that God is completely HOLY.

To understand that God is holy means that we understand how far His righteousness is above our own. Anyone who truly understands how exalted God is can only fall on their face and beg for mercy.

Isaiah understood that the way we do things and the way we think cannot come close to the way God thinks and acts. As a result of this, things get misunderstood. Some people think God has to do things for us; that God should agree with every decision we make.

Not true my friends. It’s actually the other way around.

In the Book of Exodus God has a plan. But He was hitting some roadblocks with people.  But look at what God did.

In Exodus Chapter 4 God moves Moses out of the way.

In Exodus Chapter 5 God moves Pharaoh out of the way. (Verses 1-2)

Also in Exodus Chapter 5 God moves HIS OWN PEOPLE out of the way. (Verse 20)

Exodus 6:1 God basically says to Moses, “Get out of the way. You have tried and not done so well. So now watch me and see what real power looks like.” God says that when He is finished, Pharaoh will be begging the people to leave.

WOW.

God then goes on and tells Moses seven (Yes, Seven) things He is going to do that Moses cannot do by Himself.

1.       First, God says, “I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.” They had been slaves for 400 years. Now God says they are going to be freed.

2.       God says, “I will free you from being slaves to them.” Freedom? What’s that?

3.       God says, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.” God is bringing redemption and deliverance.

4.       God says, God says, I will take you as my own people.” God loves them. God provides whatever they need. God will bring them home.

5.       Then God says, “I will be your God.” God gives Himself to us. We give ourselves to God.

6.       God then says, “I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.” He gave them a home, a place to call their own. God brought them to it after raising them up as a nation, and after seeing them almost destroy themselves. God did exactly what He said He would do.

7.       Finally, God said, “I will give it to you.” It’s yours. It’s done. It’s signed, sealed, and delivered. It’s just for you. Jesus said, If it isn’t true, I wouldn’t tell you.

That is God’s “Exodus plan.” We join His work. We look for the places He is working. He brings us together in the Holy Name of His Son, for the purpose of going into the world in the Holy name of His Son, for the purpose of showing EVERYONE HIS POWER and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

What Moses learned, and what we also need to learn, is that there is nothing safe or easy about following God’s call. When we respond to God’s call, and if He chooses to do things the hard way, which he seems to usually do, He will also give us all of His strength and wisdom to accomplish what He wants us to do. In the end, following God in His “Exodus Plan” can certainly be tough – but it is well worth it.

Monday Morning 5/14/2012

When Jesus wanted to teach his disciples and help them feel important about the work they were doing and the work they were called to do, He took them on the road, not into the classroom. They went into the community.

Jesus' mission was not education. He was not here to motivate or inspire. His mission was always to rescue. To His core, He knew exactly what this meant. As a result, He was very good at what he did and He never gave up in His pursuit. Every word, every move, every step was a planned move to free men from the prison of their minds, untangle the knots of the knowledge of good and evil and lead them back to God as the center of the universe. Right about now I’m feeling pretty important to God.

Clearly Jesus defined freedom in a particular way, and watching what He did can help us understand how Jesus, the Author of freedom, thinks about freedom and shows just how important we are in God’s eyes.

He took a group of men and traveled across the countryside teaching them how to change everything they encountered and touched. Think of it this way: He was showing twelve guys and a crew of persistent women what it looked like and how to practice God-given authority.

“Fever go away,” He would say, and then he would make sure that His followers caught what had happened.

“Peace, be still,” He would say to a storm, and then he would turn and be sure their eyes had been on Him.

Encountering a crowd of religious know-it-alls? He peered inside their hearts and told stories. “Once upon a time there was a man who owed a little bit of money…” and then He would steal a glance at His disciples. “Get it?” the gleam in His eye would say.

A scared insecure tax collector? A shame-filled near-death prostitute? A self-confident Pharisee? All of these fell under the sway of Jesus restoring God’s blueprint to the universe He so perfectly created.

Two things stand out about Jesus' strategy. 

First, He spent the bulk of His time teaching them how to be and what to do, not on rules and restrictions.

Second, He taught them on the move in the community, not in a church or classroom.

Jesus was restoring God’s intended design. He was showing men and women how Adam and Eve might have taken authority over the creation, authority which God gave them. This is different from how our “religious” minds want to think.

Jesus was not spending His time trying to get them to behave well. He was not showing them what not to do. He was showing them who to be. His approach to this was to go and do, and teach on the way.

Jesus was showing them how to step into the role for which they were created.  We were created to have God-given authority over the planet; over the kingdom of darkness; over sickness; over hopelessness; and over fear and insecurity. All of these things and more were designed to be subject to us. Jesus took His team on the road and showed them how to do this.

Young athletes are taught on the playing field and not in a classroom. Classrooms without experience teach information and that’s pretty much it.  If someone wants to grow and learn, take them right out in the middle of reality and then begin to show them how to be.

Jesus did not come to teach about how to avoid bad behavior or better ways to study the Bible.

Jesus did not come to motivate people to get up off their chairs and try harder.

Jesus came to because you and I are so important that He came to earth and gave his life so we could be rescued from the prison of the world that has been wrapped around our minds.

I’d say He thinks we are worth it. I’d think you and me are pretty important to God.

Monday Morning 5/7/2012

Yesterday at Master’s Hands we talked about traveling. Here on earth, our human existence is not our final goal. Earth is not our home. Heaven is our home and until we understand this, we will keep on wandering. Until we are safely home in heaven, God will NOT stop going ahead of us with Jesus being THE way, THE truth and THE life.

And on this journey through life, WE ARE NOT ALONE!

“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” (Proverbs 27:17 NLT)

We are ALL travelers on a journey. Some go ahead making a way for us. Some follow us letting us prepare the way for them. Some travel beside us. We are surrounded by travelers.

I have heard Christian fellowship being described as “one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” Think about it. That pretty much describes all of us doesn’t it?

A young boy was sent to the corner store by his mother to buy a loaf of bread. He was gone much longer than it should have taken him. When he finally returned, his mother asked, "Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick about you."

"Well," he answered, "there was a little boy by the side of the road with a broken bicycle who was crying. So I stopped to help him."

"I didn’t know you knew anything about fixing bikes," his mother said. "I don’t," he replied. "I just stayed there and cried with him."

The word “Encourage” means to “add courage” or to come alongside to pass on courage to another.

A newspaper in England gave a reward for the best definition of a friend. Thousands answered, and the winning entry was this: "A FRIEND IS ONE THAT COMES WHEN EVERYONE ELSE GOES."

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13 NLT)

God’s desire is for all of us travelers to walk the same direction. Some will fall back. Some will lose their way. Some will go ahead and sometimes we will move ahead of others. The point is to keep moving forward. Seek to relate to other travelers in your journey through life in such a way that you bring support, strength, and success to those on the path.