09/28/18 - 1Tim 3

Sep 28, 2018

Those who serve well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.  1Tim 3:13 

Not only does serving God meet needs and fulfill God’s expectation, it grows faith and brings honor.

Money is the physical currency of the present culture, functioning as the primary measure of personal success in America.  But in many other cultures or eras, money is not the primary success currency.

In early Old Testament times, personal success was measured by children.  If you had male children, you were considered a great success.  The more children you had, the greater your success (just ask Jacob).  Later in Jewish history, it wasn’t just male children, but land ownership.  Since land was passed down from generation to generation, having a land deed carried the most value in their society.  In Eastern cultures, the primary currency of success is actually honor – to lose honor or demean your name was considered unimaginable, even to the point of suicide if you suffered defamation. Some cultures put the greatest value on other things, like career, power, attractiveness, and more. 

God’s culture values none of these, because they all are so temporary.  God has a different success measure, and it doesn’t involve physical possessions.  God values service to His Kingdom as the primary currency of success.  He watches & takes note of what people DO for His Kingdom, and who they Become (emphasis on BE).  Jesus says it often:  the greatest in the Kingdom of God is one who serves…  I (Jesus) came to serve…  Well done, good & faithful servant…  If anyone wants to be first---he must be servant of all.

God’s Kingdom honors & blesses service.  That doesn’t just mean volunteering, it means having a heart that desires to serve God.  He is looking for people that WANT to serve, and when God finds them, He gives those servants special blessings.

One of those blessings is honor --- we instinctively know that there is always honor & appreciation that comes with service.  People who serve are reality-makers, turning dreams and ideas into true happenings.  God looks for servants that He can perform his work through.

Another blessing is assurance --- nothing helps encourage us to believe in God and believe in our salvation more than service.  When people have served all their lives, it makes those left behind feel convinced in their loved one’s salvation.  It also encourages us to believe in God, and have faith in our eternal destination.

There are many other blessings from service, but most of all, serving is our response to God’s love for us.  In spite of all the distractions of life and the desires of sin, keep on serving.  By doing so, you will grow your faith in Christ.

09/27/18 - 1Tim 2

Sep 27, 2018

God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  1Tim 2:4 

Our greatest happiness doesn’t come from successes or experiences, but from finding a growing personal relationship with Him.

How do you define and measure personal success?

When that question was asked of people, the most significant answer related to what gave them happiness.  Money, career satisfaction, family connection, lifestyle and more make up the responses for how to achieve success and happiness.  All of these factors lead to a personal satisfaction, which equates to happiness, which then is considered success.

But what if all of those factors had nothing to do with true success?

Men have made this mistake for centuries.  Adam considered success as knowing good and evil.  Jacob thought it dealt with having the parents’ blessing.  Moses thought it was having everyone’s respect.  Saul thought it was about being all powerful.  Solomon thought it was having all the answers.  You can look through the Scriptures and find many examples of different definitions – but all of them come from man’s perspective.  The definition of success is as varied as the number of humans that have ever lived.

Maybe we need to change perspectives – maybe the perspective we need is to learn what God defines as success. 

Paul figured it out.  He realized by changing perspectives, we would discover the right definition of success.  God’s perspective on success was that everyone find Him and know His Truth.  (That’s far different than any of man’s definitions!)  God isn’t concerned about money, career satisfaction, family connection or lifestyle… He has control of all that!  He has the ability to make us feel happy … that’s not a big deal either.  What He doesn’t control is YOU!  You are the only one that can decide to pursue a relationship with God.  You are the only one that can decide to believe the Truth.  His definition of success is all about you wanting to turn your life over to God.

And here’s the ultimate Truth – when we put God in charge of our lives, we discover happiness in ALL of it!  We find contentment in our work, no matter what it is.  We find joy in our lifestyle and experiences.  We find appreciation for the family we have.  We discover success – because it no longer means comparing ourselves to others.  Success is about fulfilling the Will of God in our lives, wherever He has us.

Maybe it’s time to change perspectives.  Stop looking at what makes us happy … and start looking at what makes God happy.  Pursue happiness without God and you get neither, but pursue God and you will find both Him & Happiness.

09/26/18 - 1Tim 1

Sep 26, 2018

Jesus displays his immense patience in sinners as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 1Tim 1:16

God is not absent or weak in dealing with evil, but giving people the chance to repent.

These days, there is a lot of effort to stop bullying and protect people from violence or aggression.  But back in the day, bullying was often overlooked as a natural part of the childhood experience.  Not that it was appropriate, but it was a way of “toughening up kids”, or considered “just kids being kids”.  But every kid knew instinctively it was an exercise in finding the pecking order of the group.

One gym class, we were playing a popular game called dodge ball – with these thick rubber balls that stung when they hit you.  If you were on someone’s bad side, it was not the game for you!  Bullies loved the game as a legal way to take out their aggressions and establish their dominance.  One of those kids was in my gym class and decided today was the day he would prove his superiority over me.  He POUNDED me in the first match, and I was grateful to be “out” away from the line of fire.   But in the second match, I threw a lucky toss (or maybe it wasn’t so lucky), and it caught him directly on the side of his face.  I knew I was toast, because later when the teachers weren’t looking, he tracked me down and used his fist instead of a ball to knock the wind out of my stomach.  Apparently I was taught a lesson.  It always bothered me that God would allow this guy to get away with stuff like that.  However, later in high school, I saw this guy’s life spin out of control, and the sports and success he had as “top of the heap” came crashing down.  The boy who dominated everyone found himself dominated by drugs and alcohol.  I remember later feeling a little sorry for him (and yes, I also had feelings of superiority at times).  His behavior had caught up with him, and it wasn’t pretty. 

God has a way of dealing with things in a different timing than ours.  For this guy, I believe God was giving him room to repent or change his ways, and delayed the consequences as long as possible.  In the Bible, we see God do that often.  He delayed punishing Adam, the Israelites, Goliath, Saul, David, and many others.  Some repented, some did not.  But God’s delay didn’t make him less powerful, He just gave people every chance to change.

Sometimes we believe we are better than the system, or the exception to the rule, or are good enough and deserve better than the consequences promised.  But if we’re messing with any evil, it will eventually come back to haunt us (ALL of us!).  These days – that’s not just true in bullying or drugs or alcohol – it’s true for immorality, pornography, abuse, anger, unforgiveness, and much more.  There are MANY ways to assert our aggression, and all of them are eventually punished.  Choose today to stop acting like a bully when it comes to the things of God.  Repent and turn back to Him … before the results catch up with you.

09/25/18 - 2Thess 3

Sep 25, 2018

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  2Thess 3:16

The only way to gain lasting peace is to know personally The One who has it to give.

A mom just wanted a few minutes of peace & quiet, so when nobody was looking, she snuck in the closet of her bedroom and sat in the dark.  In the midst of that room, she thought she would enjoy some quiet time away from the noise and craziness of her home.  What she found was quiet noise.  Instead of hearing the kids’ behaviors and discussions, she started thinking about all the damage her kids might be doing.  Instead of seeing what her husband was doing (or not doing) to help, she started imagining him sleeping on the couch and ignoring the fire drill happening around him.  The list she had been working on only kept growing in her mind, and the peace she had hoped to find was further drowned out by the busyness of her life.  Five minutes of escape turned into five minutes of tension.  She left the closet in worse condition than when she went in.

That’s exactly the way false peace is pursued in this world.  We equate peace with escape, but escape only delays the problems and shortens the deadlines.  You don’t find rest by escaping, you find anxiety, tension, and larger problems.  If you want to find peace, you need to do it another way.

Tommy was playing football with his friends in an abandoned lot of the city, when the punt sent the ball sailing to an area full of trash.  As he navigated through the junk toward the ball, Tommy ran across an old metal box that looked like a money container.  Shaking the box, he heard what sounded like coins and maybe bills inside, so he tried to pry it open.  When that didn’t work, Tommy tried finding keys or objects to help him open the box, to no avail.  Finally, the boy noticed a name inscribed on the box.  He pulled out a phone book, and called the one name that matched it in the white pages.  The person answered, and as Tommy described the box, the man on the other end of the phone excitedly described the box.  They ended up meeting, and the man opened the box to reveal not coins or money, but several items of jewelry and a large diamond.  Apparently someone had stolen the box out of the man’s car, but was unable to open it and dumped it in the trash.  Tommy’s reward was a crisp $100 bill for the find.  Tommy discovered the best way to gain the reward was to find the owner of the box.

The only way to find peace is to find its owner as well.

Peace doesn’t come from outward experiences.   Peace comes from inward calmness.  You can have peace in the most chaotic of circumstances, and have anxiety in the quietest of settings.  The One who owns peace is the God of heaven, because He is the only one who controls all outcomes.  So to find peace, don’t look for the absence of noise or challenge … look for the Presence of God.

Stop using escapes to create your peace – it doesn’t last, and often creates more problems. Find your peace by going to the source…  Jesus Himself.

09/24/18 - 2Thess 2

Sep 24, 2018

May God encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2Thess 2:17

True encouragement is not making people feel good, it's making them feel strong enough to do the right thing.

The culture today pushes for encouragement in every activity.  Parents only want teachers to encourage the students (not discipline them).   Athletic leagues give every team and player trophies, even if they never won a game all season.  Cameras are quick to pick up a negative rant or a harsh reaction for the evening news.  Moral behavior is no longer expected, as people just want everyone to support their right to choose. 

The problem isn’t the sentiment of encouragement.  The problem is the definition of it. 

In the middle of the word encouragement is the word courage!  The idea of encouragement is not to make us feel better, but to make us feel stronger.  You are an encouragement to people when you give them the strength to do better, to choose wisely, to act righteously.  There is no encouragement by promoting sin or selfishness – anybody can do those without help.

I would argue that giving all teams trophies is not encouraging at all.  It devalues the purpose of the trophy and creates disinterest in trying to improve.  Encouragement would better serve us by rewarding the improvements and honoring faithfulness.

There is little encouragement for the student when parents rip the teachers or teachers pull a power play over students.  What is encouraging is when teachers and parents work together to create positive reinforcement of the objectives and goals a student is capable of achieving. 

If the cameras were as quick to show the apologies and the reconciliations over rants and reactions, we might discover more encouragement for people to humble themselves or seek forgiveness.

The point is, we need to go back to the purpose of encouragement, and use our words and actions to help people be courageous.  That means doing the right thing, speaking truth, giving people courage through our examples, and caring about their improvement as much as we care about their feelings. 

Maybe the best encouragement comes from Jesus Himself.  He taught in the Sermon on the Mount what God expects of us, and challenges people to live a holy life.  Be Perfect therefore, for your heavenly father is perfect.  That’s not ‘feel-good’ words, it’s powerful encouragement.

Let’s choose to give people a word of TRUE encouragement today!

09/21/18 - 2Thess 1

Sep 21, 2018

God will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 2Thess 1:8

His patience doesn't last forever, so PLEASE start your walk with Jesus and obey the Gospel fully!

Love is Patient.  It’s the first attribute of love described by Paul in the powerful 13^th Chapter of the 1^st Corinthians letter.  Amazingly, the primary demonstration of love is a patient attitude toward the person being loved – patience in waiting for a change, patience in attitude, patience in support.  The greek word that we translate patience is also translated forbearance – to bear with someone.

God is the essence of love, so appropriately, His primary demonstration of love to us is seen in His patience!  He is patient with our selfish behavior.  He is patient in granting mercy despite our sinful behavior.  He is patient in withholding judgment that we rightly deserve.  God’s patience is the landmark attribute of His love.  If He weren’t patient – we would all have been judged and eternally condemned long ago.

God’s patience was seen the most through the story of Jesus – God was patient in awaiting the right time for Jesus to appear, and showed patience in bearing with people while Jesus lived on earth, and demonstrated the greatest of patience watching His own Son die on the cross for our sins, and then even waited patiently for the right timing to bring Jesus back from the dead.  And now, as we live in the season of grace, God remains patient waiting for every last person destined to hear & respond to the Gospel, before He releases final judgment.  God’s love is seen in His patience.

But here’s the thing about patience.  When patience turns to abdication, it’s no longer love.  Patience with a child lasts for a while until the patience is destructive, then it’s time for the parent to take action.  Patience with a worker that turns destructive to the company requires a change in employment or discipline.  And God’s patience will last only as long as it remains loving.  Patience DOES have a deadline … not for selfish purposes, but for loving ones.

God’s patience runs out for every person.  We will either face death or face the second coming.  And God’s patience even WHILE we live on earth has its loving limits.  There are consequences to sin that will come about.  The warning has been given, and our only saving option is to fall on the gospel of Jesus and follow Him completely. 

Love is Patient --- but don’t test the limits of God’s patience.  Come running to Him now!

09/20/18 - 1Thess 5

Sep 20, 2018

Encourage one another and build each other up... 1Thess 5:11

Eliminate the destruction of sarcasm & demeaning words, and speak loving truth to each other.

When was the last time you said something sarcastic to get your point across?  Or how about the last time you said a cutting remark and then came back with the line: “just kidding”. 

Sarcasm and ‘joking around’ is often fun to give out, but doesn’t feel so good coming back at you.  In fact, targeted humor only creates a desire for retaliation, and usually results in distancing people in their relationships.  It’s a far distance from what Jesus wants for us, and how He treats us.

Dianna and I had a harsh moment many years ago when we were in the midst of a conversation with our daughter, and she started pulling out sarcastic responses to us.  At first we were in shock, not realizing how quick-witted she could be.  But then the reality of an 8-year old already growing a sarcastic spirit with her parents made us realize how difficult the future was going to be if we didn’t correct it.  The problem was, we came to realize the reason we were hearing sarcastic comments and cutting jokes was because we had been making those types of comments at her.  So we started a “sarcasm jar”, and every time anyone made a sarcastic remark, they had to put a dime in it.  I’m pretty sure I was the biggest contributor, and we found out that summer how much our language needed to change.

Something interesting happened when we worked on removing sarcasm and biting jokes from our language… we started noticing a more positive attitude and better scholastic results from our daughter!  It was amazing the correlation between the language and the results!  The more our conversation was encouraging and truthful, the better she did.  And the more we showed respect and kindness in our language to each other, the better our family functioned.

Here’s a Test:  Make a pledge to eliminate sarcasm and coarse joking from your behavior for 30 days, and see what the results are for you.  My guess is, it won’t happen overnight.  Bad habits take time to break.  But watch for the tone of your home and work environment when you pull these out of the setting.  Grace and kindness can go a long way to meeting goals and generating success.  That doesn’t mean you ignore the facts or stop being truthful, but it does change the spirit and the attitude of every situation.

09/19/18 - 1Thess 4

Sep 19, 2018

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: to mind your own business and work with your hands. 1Thess 4:11

Legalism tells everyone else how to live, love shows everyone how to live.

Have you ever had someone in your life who was great at telling you how to live?  They seemed to know the answer to every problem.  They were glad to tell you the things you were doing wrong, and what you needed to do to change them.  They knew the answer – even in some cases could recite chapter & verse – or text and page number – always with a slight tone of arrogant ego.

The problem was … that same person has never lived in the circumstances you were experiencing.  Advice about marriage from someone who has never been married seems rather weak.  Listening to someone tell you how to parent when they have never had kids is just wrong.  Having a student tell a CEO how to operate the company won’t go very far.  All of them have one problem --- they haven’t SHOWN they know.  They are just talking the talk, but haven’t walked the walk.

Jesus had that problem with the Pharisees.  These experts in the law were great at telling the people how to live, but did little to show it.  Jesus saw through their legalism and condemned them for it.  Not that their advice was wrong – the problem was their example.  Jesus preferred they play Show & Tell.  (Show us how to live, then you have the right to tell us.)

Paul figured that out, and taught the churches that game.  He called for the early Christians to go against their historical upbringing, and instead choose to live out their faith FIRST, then share their faith with others.  Instead of being the expert advisor, Paul taught people to be the learning example.  The contrast to legalistic Jews, philosophical Greeks, or authority-hungry Romans would have been a stark difference!  Christians would be known for their humble spirits and righteous behaviors.

Too bad we all still struggle with that approach!  It’s much easier to be legalistic and tell people how to live.  It’s far simpler to come up with a set of rules and expect everyone else to follow them.  We still seem to act like the Pharisees more than we should.  But Jesus & Paul’s way of witnessing is STILL the best – lead with your example first.

That doesn’t throw out your opinion on things.  It just means we must recognize our limited knowledge.  Scriptures are still meant to be taught.  Biblical conduct is still expected to be followed.  And we’re allowed to share what the Bible has to say.  Just remember that if you don’t have kids, you’re not the expert parent.   And if you’re not married, you can’t know what marriage is like.  And if you’re not in the boss’s shoes, then you probably don’t know the full issues either.  We need to humble ourselves and recognize the limits of our knowledge, and choose to live out the advice we give first.

The next time you catch yourself TELLING people how to do things, stop speaking and start loving them enough to show it first.  As one person said:  Be the change you seek in the world.

09/18/18 - 1Thess 3

Sep 18, 2018

May God strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of Jesus when He returns.  1Thess 3:13

The strong heart is one that has the courage to live holy for Jesus.

The World’s Strongest Man competition happens at the end of March every year in Venice Beach.  Men from various countries compete in grueling events that involve lifting heavy weights, moving objects, showing agility, and outlasting their foes.  It is won by the person who competes best in all of the events, tallying the most points in the competition.  In 2014, Zydrunas Savickas won for the 4^th time, an amazing record in itself.

Unfortunately, as strong as Zydrunas is, the physical strength he demonstrated does not make him the strongest man in the world.  There is something that takes much more strength than weights and objects.  The strongest people in the world demonstrate it through a totally different challenge than what is exhibited on Venice Beach in March.  That’s because the event that requires the greatest strength in the world is not a physical event … it’s a spiritual one.  The STRONGEST people are those that stand against the culture’s unholy temptations and live a holy life.

Few people survive this competition.  Many slip and fall under its weight.  Some quit and never try.  The strength required to be holy is far greater than any physical or mental strength a man has ever had.  That’s why it takes a lifetime of training.  Without work on the soul, we are doomed to be weaklings and quitters.

The ironic thing is … people weak in holiness are good at calling the holy ones ‘weak-minded’!  Somehow, the world’s system promotes physical power, mental bullying or social prominence as signs of power over volitional fortitude.  It’s almost comical they would call Christians weak … since they have proven their own lack of a righteous backbone in their sinful lifestyles.

Sadly, I have been one of those weak-minded people.  Every time I willfully sin, it’s about choosing the weak way out of holy living.  Every cut-down or criticism of someone shows my own lack of spiritual backbone.  It’s pretty easy to claim to be strong, but I show my true stripes in the lifestyle I live … and you do too.

Choose to be STRONG today!  Make the holy decision!  Exercise your volitional muscles, and work out the strength of your character.  Stop listening to weak-willed people tell you that holiness is weakness.  Quite the opposite – your holiness is proof of your strength!

Who knows … you might just discover you’re the strongest person in the World!  (Or maybe you’ll be the strongest person in your family, which will help them be strong too.)

09/17/18 - 1Thess 2

Sep 17, 2018

Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 1Thess 2:8

The most loving thing we can do is to introduce our friend to Jesus, by giving our lives for them.

Loving is not about feeling, but about giving.

You know you love something when you are eager to sacrifice yourself for it.  Animal lovers don’t just enjoy the affection an animal gives them, but enjoys the feeling of seeing their animal happy when they do something to please them.  People in love enjoy the chance to please their mate, seeing their face light up when something kind is done for them.  Parents enjoy Christmas because of the joy they get to bring into the lives of their kids, not just because it’s a day off work… (well, maybe they enjoy Christmas for that reason too!)  When you love someone, it shows in your sacrifice for the one you love.

When you love God, it shows in sacrificing for His Kingdom.  However, since God owns everything and needs nothing, there is very little you can give Him that He doesn’t already own.  There is only two things we can sacrifice to demonstrate our love to God:  sacrificing our self-centered desires to pursue His desires for us, and sacrificing ourselves for others so that they too can know God.  Both are expressions of love to God that He cannot have without our choice to love.  By sacrificing ourselves for God & for others, we are loving God. 

Some simple examples of that are available to us every week.  When we sacrifice our own egos and worship God unhindered, that is loving God.  When we give to the needs of the church and its ministries, that is loving God.  When we invite friends to join us in worshipping God, that is loving God.  When we make a meal or help a neighbor or serve in a ministry, that is loving God.  Every sacrifice we make out of love for God and for others is a way of loving God.

Paul told his friends in Thessalonica that he loved them so much, it was easy to sacrifice themselves for the Gospel.  That is REAL love for your brother.  Their love was genuine, because it wasn’t just for the people of Thessalonica nor for selfish gain --- it was for God. 

We could use that reminder more often.  If you’re married, love your spouse out of love for God.  If you’re struggling with a parent, love them anyways out of love for God.  When you’re not liking your boss at work, choose to love them anyways because you truly love God.  Let your sacrifice for others be motivated out of love for God, and you won’t be so disappointed when it is not appreciated or returned.

God loved us SO MUCH that He sacrificed His one son.  Jesus loved you and I SO MUCH that He was willing to die on a cross in our place.  Maybe we can love our brother, parent, spouse, neighbor A LITTLE MORE as an expression of our love to God.  In most cases, He’s not asking us to shed blood for them. J

09/14/18 - 1Thess 1

Sep 14, 2018

You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering.... 1Thess 1:6

We are either imitators of Jesus' word, or imitators of the world.

The Cola wars were decades ago, but their impact still lingers on.  Years ago, when other companies were trying to diagnose and come up with the “secret formula” for Coca-Cola, the company chose to market their product with the tag line:  The Real Thing.  In spite of efforts to imitate the taste, Coca-Cola was still the original.  When Coke tried changing the taste to create a new market, it was the “real thing” that people demanded.  Imitations are just not the original.

Everyone imitates something, whether it’s someone they admire or a vision they desire.  God knew that we are designed to imitate something, so He walked with Adam to show him how to live.  When Adam chose to imitate the world, God provided the 10 Commandments and the Law for men to imitate righteousness.  When men broke that covenant with God, He used the negative examples of Assyria & Babylon to call men back to imitating Him.  And finally, God sent Jesus so that we could see what He expects us to imitate in flesh & bone.  Humans are designed to be imitators, we just need to choose the right thing to imitate.

Paul tells the church in Thessalonica to imitate Paul and Jesus.  Learn what Jesus does and do that.  Watch what Paul does like Jesus, and follow his example.  Be imitators, but imitate the right things.

Here’s the thing about imitation… by choosing what we imitate, we also choose what NOT to imitate.  By choosing to imitate Jesus, we will be opposed by Satan.  The devil’s only weapon is to attempt to make us suffer so that we stop imitating Jesus.  The answer is not to avoid suffering, but continue to imitate Jesus THROUGH the suffering.  By maintaining our imitation of Christ, God will make us victorious through His power & grace.

Take a look today at what you are really imitating.  Is it a person?  A system?  A vision?  An ideal?  Does what you’re imitating match Jesus, or match the world?  Choose carefully what you are imitating, and maintain course when tested in your faith. 

We are either imitators of Jesus’ word, or we’ll become imitators of the world.

09/13/18 - Col 4

Sep 13, 2018

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Col 4:6

Use speech to build people up with truth and encouragement, not tear down with sarcasm or manipulation.

Jesus says our words reveal our hearts.  So words have INCREDIBLE power! (So much for mom’s common statement that ‘sticks & stones may break our bones, but words will never hurt us’.  It sounds good, but isn’t true.)

Recent news has had several NBA owners selling their shares of teams because of apparent racist words.  We see the constant testing of words when politicians say, or don’t say, anything.  Other celebrities have been attacked for their words, and even lost careers by their weakest moments.  Certainly, that’s also true for pastors and spiritual leaders.

But the greatest power of words is not found in the political or professional world.  It’s found in the home.  The incredible power of words is seen in marriages and parenting, where the spirit and attitude of the words has even more impact than what is said.  More damage has been done by negative words from a parent than anything said by others in the public.  More divorce has occurred out of the words between spouses than the actions a partner took.  Words have way more power than we ever knew, and cannot be erased by the retractions of “just kiddings” or “you know what I means”.

That’s why the Bible puts so much emphasis on words – it’s your confession that shows your beliefs, it’s your words that reveals your hearts, and Scripture is the WORDS of God Himself! 

So when we are reminded to watch our words, it matters!  Let your Yes be Yes and your No be No.  Build each other up in love.  Let your conversation be seasoned with grace.  Your words can either encourage a positive direction, or send people reeling a negative one.  Your leadership will be judged by your words as much as your actions.  So be careful what you say!

Sometimes a lack of words can also be painful.  When the lack of words shows a lack of concern or an attitude of indifference, it speaks loudly.  Even in silence, people can feel our words. 

So … in every situation, look for words to build people up.  Give people the benefit of the doubt as often as possible.  Choose to find a positive way to say things.  Avoid sarcasm, manipulation and teasing.  Let your words create the power that blesses people and grows them in holiness.

After all – your words are the most powerful tools you have.

09/12/18 - Col 3

Sep 12, 2018

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Col 3:2

Don’t waste our efforts on the temporary when we were given access to the eternal.

In 2009 in Las Vegas, Bjorn Halvard Knappskog, 19, from Norway won the championship for Monopoly.  The tournament challenged some of the best players in the world to compete against each other in the popular board game.  Players had spent much of their lives learning strategies and approaches to defeat their opponents, and become masters at Monopoly.  For his efforts, Bjorn was awarded in cash the amount that is in a standard monopoly bank: just over $20,000.

While it sounds like a great victory, consider the cost.  Tens of thousands of hours were spent by the players learning and improving on a board game that makes no true difference in their lives.  The reward was fairly minimal, and only one person gained it.  Winning at Monopoly has a temporary satisfaction, but only lasts until the next game.  And eventually everything goes back in the box … an empty reality for any game played.

Most everything in life is just as empty as Monopoly.  Sure, it may gain more income or produce a slightly longer lasting enjoyment, but it never lasts forever.  Tasty food is great, but you still need to eat another meal.  Victories and successes are enjoyable, but fails to last.  We spend so much of our lives on the things that are temporary, that we don’t even know what we’re missing.

Look at your life and discern what activities are completely temporary:  like TV, social media, etc.  Replace some of it with some eternal activities: like knowing God’s Word, prayer, etc.  Put more effort into the things that last eternally.

09/11/18 - Col 2

Sep 11, 2018

When you were dead in your sins, God made you alive with Christ. Col 2:13

We are either living for eternal rewards or dieing for worldly pleasures.

September 11^th was just another day on the annual calendar until 2001, when planes crashed into the twin towers and the Pentagon.  That day changed American and World History.   Life changed after September 11^th permanently, and we now mark the day on our calendar as a day of remembrance and change.

There is another day in history that changed the world.  It was the day that a carpenter in Israel rose from the dead, something he had predicted and then actually did it.  This wasn’t an ordinary man, it was someone who lived a perfect life, claimed to be the Son of God, and taught people what God expected out of our lives.  That one day is called Easter, and is a significant day on our annual calendar for those who believe.

There’s one other day that may be marked on your calendar.  It’s marked on mine.  It’s the day you publicly proclaimed your surrender to Jesus as both your Lord and Savior.  That’s the day you turned over your heart to Jesus, and died to your sins, rising out of the waters of baptism to a new eternal life.  While the rest of the world may never have noticed, it was a day that God notices forever.  That was YOUR resurrection day.  It was a day that changed your eternal life.

The key to all of these calendar entries is not the date, but the change.  Our lives were changed on September 11^th.   The gates of eternity were changed on Easter Sunday.  And our lifestyles should have been changed on the day we surrendered our hearts to Jesus.  So why keep living for the same pleasures before that change?  We were dead before our conversion, so don’t go back to the lifestyle that was killing our souls.  Live for the eternal future instead of the deadly past.

Take time to remember those that died on September 11^th, and the way the world changed.

Take time to celebrate the day that changed eternity when Jesus rose from the dead.

And take time to recommit to your life to Jesus again – or if it is for the first time, then surrend your life to Him and mark the day your life was forever changed.

09/10/18 - Col 1

Sep 10, 2018

Jesus is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Col 1:17 

Jesus is the model for our life and the glue for our relationships.  Without Him, neither work well.

Growing up in the Midwest winters creates some interesting hobbies.  There’s all kinds of things you learn to enjoy in the cold winters: sledding down hills, snow ball fights, making snow men, driving on ice, and the one I grew a love: putting together puzzles.  I found a joy in taking large complicated puzzles and spending cold winter days putting them together.  It still is something I enjoy!

Putting together a puzzle is all about details.  My pattern is to start with the frame, then put together large unique objects, and finally build the duller parts of the puzzle that are more difficult.  But crucial to my work on the puzzle is to have the picture as a model.  Without the model, it’s defeating to try and figure out what you’re trying to build.

We build our lives much like a puzzle is built.  We tend to see a model or imagine something we want to do, then try to duplicate that vision.  Even if it is a new idea, the model in our head helps us create the outcome.  We need a model.

Enter Jesus.  After God had been giving men instructions and experiences to tell us what life is supposed to be, He sent Jesus to SHOW us.  Jesus lived out everything God had been saying for centuries, and showed us the model of life we were designed to live.  That doesn’t mean God sends every person to a physical cross, but He has a purpose for every person that builds our relationship with God and supports the picture He is trying to create on earth.  In other words, Jesus showed us the model of being a piece of God’s Puzzle. 

Not only is Jesus the model, but He is also the glue that holds us together.  Without the fruits of love, faith, hope, forgiveness, grace, peace, kindness and more, we would have no connection to God and poor connections to each other.  Our life would fall apart without the glue of God’s love, just like a puzzle crumbles when you start to pull it up off the table. 

Jesus is our model and our glue.  So if that’s the case, then why do we try to live without Him?  Why do we try to build our puzzles different than the model? 

Paul says all of life is found in Jesus and bound by Jesus.  If you want to know what your life is supposed to look like, look at Jesus.  If you’re struggling with relationships and connections, live more like Jesus.  Let the God of the universe be your model & your glue, and you’ll build a great puzzle out of your life.

09/07/18 - Phil 4

Sep 7, 2018

Do not worry about anything, but in every situation, present your requests to God with thanksgiving. Phil 4:6 

Worry puts focus on the problem, worship puts focus on God's Greatness over the problem.

If there is one sin that is accepted as unchangeable, it’s worry.  Most people claim to worry, know they shouldn’t worry, even realize it’s a sin… yet hold onto worry as their right and privilege as human beings.  Some even believe it cannot be removed, like it is built into our DNA.

Maybe we need a reality check on the deadliness of worry:

-          Worry is a demonstration of pride.  It is deciding that my will is more important than God’s will.

-          Worry is a lack of trust in God’s ability to take care of us.

-          Worry is about focusing on the problem instead of focusing on God.

-          Worry wastes our thinking on what could happen instead of what IS happening.

-          Worry limits the solutions to what I can create instead of what God can create.

-          Worry often creates the fear we are trying to avoid.

-          Worry makes ME god … which is the ultimate slap in the face of the God we claim to worship.

There’s much more, but the point is clear.  God HATES it when we worry, and Jesus forcefully taught us NOT TO WORRY.  Worry is not to be managed, it must be removed.  We must make a commitment to stop worrying EVERY TIME we find ourselves doing it.

How do you stop worry? Paul tells the Philippian church to immediately present our concerns and requests to God.  But when we do that, don’t just keep praying about them like we’re still worrying nothing will happen.  Present them to God KNOWING that God will handle them.  That’s why we should present them to God with thanksgiving.

When a small child comes to their parent with a need, they come expecting the parent to care for them.  Good parents leave no doubt in their mind that the child will be taken care of.  God is a FAR BETTER parent to us than our earthly parents ever will be.  He promises to take care of us, and has been doing it for people for thousands of years.  So present your requests to Him with a childlike faith and thank Him for always doing the right thing in your life.

Then, whatever happens, you won’t need to worry about it any longer.

09/06/18 - Phil 3

Sep 6, 2018

One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.  Phil 3:13   

Don't look back at sin, guilt, regret, or pain--- walk forward toward forgiveness, holiness & freedom.

How much time do you spend thinking about the past?

A friend shared with me his discovery that over half of his day is spent looking at the past.  He gave examples: reviewing a conversation or argument for hours, talking about past memories with friends, regretting decisions or rehearsing victories, watching reruns, and more.  His point was, the more time we spend looking at our past, the less we can change our future.

Jesus constantly called people out of their past.  He shared the message of forgiveness, not to let people off the hook, but to get them to focus on a different future.  Regrets can be good reminders of what NOT to do, but they don’t help us focus on what TO do.  Sin and guilt enslave us to reviewing the past over & over, but forgiveness lets us learn from the past to do something different.  If the goal of life is holiness, then our focus should be on Truth & Righteous actions instead of failures and regrets. 

Some might argue that if we don’t discuss and remember our past, we will be doomed to repeat it.  However, rehearsing our past can keep us focused on it.  The past is our best form of education – on both what to do and not do, but it’s not to be our focus.  Many people are committed to “never being like someone” or “never doing that”, however, that means they are focused on the negative thing they are trying to avoid.  Instead, Jesus wants us to focus on the positive direction we are trying to travel.

What would a day in our lives look like if we reduced the amount of time we spend on the past?  Arguments would be about what to do in the future, meetings would be about where we are going, commuter traffic or last year’s accomplishments would not be long conversations, and life would have more freedom.  People would still learn from their past, but not let it define their day.

Jesus died on the cross so we could be released from our past, so don’t let it define your life any longer.  Move forward toward a new life of forgiveness, holiness & freedom.

09/05/18 - Phil 2

Sep 5, 2018

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure. Phil 2:14-15  

Grumbling is a viral infection to relationships – get rid of it before it gets hold of you.

The Flu Pandemic of 1918 was one of the worst natural disasters in history.  It infected over 500 million people, and killed 50-100 million of them.  The spread of the virus was so rapid and widespread, that no preventive measures worked.  In the end, it was discovered that the virus originated in a small military hospital camp in France, and what started as an isolated virus ended up ravaging the world.

Like flu is to the body, grumbling is a viral infection to relationships.  One person with a grumbling spirit can break a marriage, a family, a company, even a church.  The problem is that most of the time the grumbler comes off like they are “trying to help”.  Grumbling is often covered with facts and data and opinions that even appear fair or accurate.  But it’s not the information that’s the problem.  It’s the spirit of the person.  One person’s grumbling can infect people faster than the flu bug.

Worse yet, usually the grumbler doesn’t know they have a problem.  Like a virus carrier, they have become so immune to the virus’s effects, that they cannot see how deadly their attitude really is.  Confronting a grumbler is more difficult than just giving a dose of antibiotics, it takes ongoing treatment with grace and kind accountability.

Paul told the Philippian church to do EVERYTHING without grumbling or arguing.  That means EVERYTHING!  In fact, Paul says no matter what the problems are, you cannot be pure or blameless when you have a grumbling spirit.  In fact, the ATTITUDE destroys the ACTIONS! 

If you find yourself complaining about something all the time, or always seeing the problems that need fixing, or feeling like everyone needs to perform according to your method, then you are probably a grumbler.  Confess that sin to God and to some close friends, and get the help you need to break the virus in your soul.

And if you are around grumblers (which all of us are at some point), then work hard at NOT being infected by the same virus.  Find the positive in people, give the benefit of the doubt, have an attitude of love, believe in people that they can do more than you think, and trust that there are many ways to accomplish a task.  Push aside the grumbling and arguing, and start looking for blameless and pure attitudes.

After all, the person your virus might infect next is someone you love!

09/04/18 - Phil 1

Sep 4, 2018

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.  Phil 1:27  

Let our lifestyle reflect our gratitude and respect for the incredible, undeserved salvation we have been given by Jesus.

A man was caught in an affair by his wife.  She found out after it had been happening for years, and confronted him with the evidence.  After trying to come up with lies to get out of the interrogation, he realized it was useless to hide any longer, and confessed to the affair.  They fought, separated, then sought counseling, and eventually tried to get back together.   Over time, she forgave him, and gave the man a second chance.  All seemed to go well until a few years later, something very minor unearthed his continued adultery, and the wife discovered her husband had never ended the affair.  It still was going on, in spite of her forgiveness and reconciliation.  She divorced the man after that.

Second chances are a great blessing in life, but don’t always create great results.  In some cases, being given a second chance can be the difference in a person changing their life and finding success.  In others, it just permitted the problems to continue on, hidden from the eyes of the kind giver.

Jesus is the bearer of second chances.  His whole life and death were mankind’s second chance to have an eternity with God.  He provides us the opportunity, but doesn’t force us to accept it.  It’s up to us what we do with our second chance.  That chance is called ‘Grace’.

Some use Grace to sin on earth even more.  They see life as their only chance, and prefer to make their own rules instead of using the second chance to turn back to God’s plans.

Some see Grace as handcuffs.  They believe God provided the second chance for them to go back to the original rules, and expect everyone else to match their set of rules or else.  While their lives may improve in behavior, it doesn’t change them in nature.  In the end, they become like modern day Pharisees.

Some use Grace like a ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card … thinking that they can still hold onto their favorite sin habits and be saved.  While there is nobody who lives perfectly after receiving grace, it is not a speeding license.  Eventually, God will discipline Grace-abusers, just like a loving parent disciplines their child.

Some eventually figure out that Grace is not handcuffs or a license for sinning – it is a calling.  God gave us a second chance in order to discover what living for His Purposes can look like.  He offers us the second chance so that all of us prodigals can come home.  He provided the second chance through Jesus so that we would recognize just how GREAT His love is for us.

If you have accepted God’s second chance, don’t waste it on selfish living, rules management, or abuse.  Choose to look daily at the incredible gift of life Jesus offers us, and live every day worthy of your second chance.  The Gospel is calling you home!  Answer that call.