January 31, 2012

TODAY’S ENCOURAGING WORD – 1/31/2012

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.
–1 Corinthians 4:20, NLT

And he also said, ‘It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.’
–Revelation 21:6 NLT

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Victims of Assumicide: What to Do When You Are Misunderstood
Ray Pritchard

Text: 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4

12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity[a] and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. 13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, 14 as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.
15 Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. 16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas[b] and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

23 I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

2 Corinthians 2
1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? 3 I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. 4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

Are you guilty of assumicide?

That’s a word I discovered this week. It’s what happens when you make false assumptions about others so that you can portray them in the worst possible light. Michael Andrus says we do this all the time:

We are so prone to be suspicious. When we become offended or hurt, we immediately begin to look for evidence that someone did us wrong. I can’t tell you how many times I have done that in my marriage or in my parenting. But I can tell you how many times it’s been done to me; I keep track of those things. I’m being a bit facetious, but not much. It’s really amazing to me how often I am quick to assume that someone has it in for me.

Assumicide leads to the death of relationships because we end up believing the worst about others. We’ve all been guilty of drawing wrong conclusions on the basis of tiny scraps of evidence:

He didn’t call back so he must not want to talk to me.
I think she’s trying to ignore me.
They never hire people like me.
That church is so unfriendly.
How could he be a Christian and act like that?
I saw her in a bar. She must have a drinking problem.
I’ll bet they are sleeping together.
He’s probably a jerk at home too.
I don’t like him. I don’t know why. I just don’t like him.
She’s full of herself.
You can’t trust someone who dresses like that.
He’s a hypocrite.

On the other hand, if you are the victim of assumicide, it’s very hard to fight back against false assumptions. Few things hurt more than being misunderstood by our close friends. The closer they are to us, the greater the pain. When that happens we discover a lot about ourselves. How we respond when we’ve been misunderstood tells a great deal about the depth of our Christian faith.

We’ve all been guilty of drawing wrong conclusions on the basis of tiny scraps of evidence.

Our passage brings us face to face with a strange situation that at first glance doesn’t seem like it should be a big deal. The apostle Paul found himself in trouble with a church he had founded in the Greek seaport of Corinth. From Acts 18:1-18 we know that he spent 18 months in Corinth winning people to Christ and establishing the church. After he left a faction arose in the congregation that questioned his leadership. They challenged his authority, insinuated that he wasn’t a “real” apostle, attacked his character, and accused him of using the Corinthian church for his own gain. The troublemakers succeeded in turning most of the church against him.

And their chief complaint was this. Paul couldn’t be trusted because he had changed his travel plans – not once but twice. He hadn’t come back to visit the Corinthians as he said he would. That proved he was a fickle man whose character and message could not be trusted.

Just remember this. It started over something small. That’s how it usually happens. Someone didn’t greet us in the hallway, they didn’t answer our email, they didn’t invite us to their party, they didn’t show up for an appointment. Or we heard they said something negative about us. Or they didn’t laugh at our jokes. Or they suddenly seem cold when they used to be glad to see us.

Little things.
Small stuff.
Petty complaints.

From a tiny spark of discontent a mighty flame of unhappiness grows. That flame soon becomes a wildfire that threatens to destroy a relationship. Congregations have split and friendships have ended over things that started very small but grew all out of proportion.

Let’s check out this passage to see how Paul responded to a misunderstanding that threatened to destroy a friendship and a local church.

Our Actions May Be Questioned

From a careful reading of 1 and 2 Corinthians it appears that Paul made three different decisions about his trip to Corinth:

He planned to go to Macedonia and then to Corinth. We find that in 1 Corinthians 16:5-7. He plans to pass through Macedonia and hopes to spend the winter with them in Corinth. He doesn’t want it to be a brief visit but a longer time so that he can minister to them. He qualifies it all by saying “if the Lord permits”(1 Corinthians 16:7). But that trip never took place.
He later planned to go to Corinth, then to Macedonia, and then back to Corinth. He mentions this in 2 Corinthians 1:15-16. “I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice” (v. 15).
Finally, he decided to postpone his trip altogether. “I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit” (2 Corinthians 2:1).
What’s going on here? That question is hard to answer because we don’t have all the details regarding the trouble that threatened to overwhelm the church in Corinth. But this much is clear. Paul’s opponents used his changing plans as a way to attack his credibility. “See, you can’t trust him. He calls himself an apostle, he says he’s coming but he never shows up.”

Well, that is a problem, isn’t it? Keeping your word is hugely important for all us, but especially for spiritual leaders. It’s all about integrity, consistency, proving yourself trustworthy, showing up on time, and doing what you said you would do. If people feel like they can’t count on you, how will they ever listen to what you have to say?

Paul’s answer comes in three parts:

My conscience is clear (v. 12).

I haven’t hidden anything from you (v. 12).

I haven’t tried to deceive you (v. 13).

In his comments on this passage, William Barclay says we might add a new beatitude to the list: “Blessed is the man who has nothing to hide.” Sometimes all you can do is to simply speak the truth about your own heart. If that’s not enough, talking for hours isn’t likely to make a difference. In times of trouble I have often prayed this way, “Lord, let your will be done and let the truth come out.” That prayer satisfies the heart because it is a prayer for God’s will to be done, not my will. I usually have an idea of how I think things should work out, but my ideas do not equal God’s will. So in praying that prayer, I am implicitly admitting that my understand is flawed, that I see things from my point of view, and that God’s will is very likely to be different from my own perception. And it’s a prayer that God will bring the truth out by any means he chooses.

Our Words May Be Twisted

Paul doesn’t try to hide his change of plans. It’s true that he had changed his mind several times, but whether or not the Corinthians could understand it, his only concern was for their welfare (“Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm” 2 Corinthians 1:24). He wanted to come and see them but only if his visit would bring about healing and spiritual growth.

But what about the charge that he is inconsistent? Did he just say “Yes, yes” and then “No, no” just for the fun of it? (v. 17). Paul says, “Check out my message. It comes from God and he never changes. His message to us is always ‘Yes,’ and we his people say ‘Amen’ to all of God’s promises.” Everything God promises will come true. As D. L. Moody said, “God never made a promise that was too good to come true.” Look at the amazing things God has done for us in Christ.

He anointed us (v. 21).

He sealed us (v. 22).

He gave the Holy Spirit as a deposit (v. 22).

He did this so that we might stand firm in Christ, never wavering, never blown away by the winds of adversity, never swept away by the changing tides of life. It happens that I am writing these words on a Sunday night. Two days ago Matt Chandler, pastor of the Village Church, a large multisite church in Dallas, underwent very serious surgery to remove a tumor from the right frontal lobe of his brain. I mention this in part because Matt is a rising star among the younger pastors in the United States. In just seven years he has led the Village Church from 150 to over 6000 in attendance. And he has done it with very strong preaching that is authentic, biblical, accessible, and drenched in the sovereignty of God. Before he went into surgery, Matt (who is only 35 years old) recorded a brief video that was played in all the services this weekend. You can watch it on the Internet. I would summarize it as a ringing statement of his confidence in God. After talking about Hebrews 11 and the life of faith with its glorious victories and its difficult trials, Matt says that he knows some people have always said, “What do you know about suffering?” But now he can speak directly to those people and say, “I am so glad he counted me worthy of this.” A man in his position might lose it all. There are no guarantees for him or for any of us when we go under the surgeon’s knife. Matt acknowledged that he and his wife wept and prayed together before the surgery. He has hugged his children and kissed them. And with what faith did he approach his surgery on Friday?

“I get to show that he is enough. I get to praise and exalt him and make much of him.”

“God never made a promise that was too good to come true.”

He added that he would love to live to be 70 and drink coffee with his wife. He would love to walk his daughter down the aisle. He would love to see his son grow up.

“But none of those things is better than him.”

He closed by expressing his love for the church, and then he simply said,

“I am not afraid . . . My hope is that you would see that he is good in all things . . . He would never send us anything that he does not provide strength for.”

That’s a man standing firm in Christ. That’s the difference that comes from knowing Christ deeply and intimately and walking with him daily. That’s exactly the sort of foundation God wants to build in the lives of all his children.

What difference does it make to know all these things? It certainly matters when we face a life-changing crisis, but it matters just as much when we are misunderstood and our honorable words are twisted and our changing plans are made to appear sinister in some way.

Some people will choose to misunderstand no matter what we say or do. To them we have no answer except to say, “Our conscience is clear. We have done what we could. And we rest our reputation with the Lord.

We will never “stand firm” in our own strength when trouble comes our way. I’ve often said that “good theology will save your life,” and this passage amply proves it

Get to know the Lord.

Make God’s Word the standard for your life.

Rest in his love.

Revel in his righteousness.

Think about his greatness.

Give glory to his name.

When others twist your words, do not despair. Speak the truth, explain yourself clearly, and then entrust your future with the God who knows you through and through and in Christ who has anointed you, sealed you, given you the Holy Spirit, and promised to guide you.

If we trust in him, the time of chaos will pass, and we will be stronger for having gone through the struggle.

Our Motives May Be Challenged.

His critics thought Paul was some sort of fickle, fly-by-night preacher, the kind who is always on a power trip, a control freak who enjoys having his acolytes sing his praises. When he didn’t show up when they expected him, what else could they conclude but that he didn’t love them?

To that Paul says, “I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth” (v. 23). He stayed away so as not to have an angry confrontation. That’s why he made up his mind not to make another painful visit to them (2 Corinthians 2:1). He wrote them a tough letter (apparently lost to history) in which he boldly confronted his critics. Now he says, “I said what I needed to say and I wrote what I needed to write so I won’t do anything right now.” Then he adds a surprising revelation of his own heart for these young believers who viewed him with suspicion:

“For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you” (v. 4).

As hard as it may be for some of us to hear, we can’t always solve every problem in the world.

Some people won’t listen.

Some people love to argue.

Some people have already made up their minds.

Some people have an answer for everything.

Evidently that was the situation in Corinth. Because the church was so rent with factions, and because Paul had already sent them a very stern and painful letter, writing with tears streaming down his face, and because he knew the situation was inflamed, he decided not to come to Corinth.

Talk about countercultural wisdom from the Lord. Paul knew that his personal presence in Corinth at that moment and in that situation would only make things worse. This isn’t a blanket rule for every time and place. It’s a principle to keep in mind. Sometimes you need to meet and hash it out. Sometimes you need to back off, give people space, give them time to think and pray and discuss, and give the Holy Spirit time to soften hearts.

I’m fascinated by the way this passage ends. Speaking of the difficult letter he wrote to the Corinthian church, he says, “I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you” (2 Corinthians 2:4).

It was a hard letter that Paul didn’t want to write.

It was a hard letter that the Corinthians didn’t want to read.

But he did and they did.

Here’s the mind-blowing part. He wrote the letter so they would know how much he loved them. I’m not sure they “felt the love” as they read his stern words. But love must be both tough and tender. In this case, Paul’s tough letter proved how much he loved them. If I shout at my son, “Watch out!” to keep him from being hit at a car, do I love him or do I hate him? I love him so much that I will risk raising my voice and scaring him in order to save his life. That’s love just as much as hugging my son and saying, “I love you.”

Love must be both tough and tender.

So now Paul decides to wait for God to work. In order not to stir up trouble, he decides not to come to Corinth at this moment. Here we see true Christian maturity at work. He has no desire to stir them up further. He only wants to share in their joy when he does come. And he does plan to visit. He says so in verse 2 (“when I do come”).

But for the moment he will wait.

Waiting can be hard, perhaps the hardest discipline of the Christian life. When I look back at the mistakes I’ve made in the ministry, many of them have come because I would not wait. Too many times I’ve jumped in like the proverbial bull in a china shop, trying to fix everything according to my own vision of right and wrong. This is not an argument for apathy or disinterest but rather an argument for “active waiting,” which is what David meant when he said, “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil” (Psalm 37:8).

If God is God, he can be trusted to do right.
But he doesn’t work on my timetable.

It’s worth noting what Paul doesn’t do in this passage:

He doesn’t avoid the problem.

He doesn’t call names.

He doesn’t assume motives.

In short, he doesn’t commit assumicide. He doesn’t do to his critics what they had done to him. He simply and clearly explains himself, his change of plans, and in the process he reveals his heart to his readers. That’s all any man can do in a situation like this.

When I look back at the mistakes I’ve made in the ministry, many of them have come because I would not wait.

How to Respond to Misunderstanding

Let’s wrap up this message with a few points of application:

1. Sometimes we will be misunderstood by our close friends. Paul clearly loved the Corinthians and knew them well. And they clearly knew him well. Yet a rift had grown between them. The same thing happens in marriage, in families, among friends and co-workers, and it certainly happens in every church. If you haven’t been misunderstood lately, don’t worry. It’s bound to happen before long. That’s part of the price of living in a fallen world. What happened to Paul happens to all of us sooner or later.

2. The best defense is an honest, clear, non-defensive explanation. Remember Joe Friday from the oldDragnet TV series? He was famous for saying, “Just the facts, Ma’am.” Paul doesn’t complain, doesn’t blame, and doesn’t point fingers. He isn’t long-winded. He lays out his explanation so his readers can decide for themselves why he had not come back to Corinth.

3. We can’t control how people respond to us. Rarely will our explanations convince everyone. Sometimes even our close friends will choose not to believe us. At some point we must decide to leave our reputation in God’s hands and walk away from the controversy. “If you live to please people, misunderstandings will depress you; but if you live to please God, you can face misunderstandings with faith and courage” (Warren Wiersbe).

4. Pray for those who misunderstand you. In Sunday School recently our teacher exhorted us about reaching out to the “lepers” around us, the people who cause us difficulty or pain, the folks we normally avoid as much as possible. Then he asked, “Who are the lepers in your life?” An uncomfortable silence filled the room. No one wanted to answer that question. Finally a man spoke up and said there were some people he found it difficult to be around. Referring to the call to reach out to the “lepers,” he commented, “That’s good preaching but hard living.” Very true. It’s easy to say “Love the people who misunderstand you,” it’s hard to put it into practice. But we must do it anyway.

5. We must not return evil for evil. This is also hard, especially when your motives are repeatedly attacked. But in this we are to be like our Lord who when he was reviled did not return evil for evil. When he faced the shouting crowd, he did not trade insults, he did not try to get even, and he did not make accusations. I submit to you that this is not a natural way to live. When we are insulted, our natural inclination is to return an insult for an insult. But Jesus chose another way. As the old spiritual puts it, “He never said a mumblin’ word.” “As a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth”(Isaiah 53:7). When he stood before Pilate and Herod, and when he faced the jeering mob, he uttered no insults, he made no threats.

When they swore at Jesus, he didn’t swear back.

When they scourged him, he didn’t retaliate.

When the soldiers pushed the crown of thorns on his head, he didn’t curse at them.

When they drove the nails in his hands and feet, he didn’t threaten them.

When the bystanders spat at him, he didn’t spit back.

When they swore at him, he didn’t swear back.

This will happen to you too. And that’s the real test of your faith. You find out what you really believe when others mistreat you. Sometimes the real test of your faith is what you don’t do. Sometimes you’ll be a better Christian by not saying anything at all.

What was his secret? How did he do it? The answer lies in the final phrase of 1 Peter 2:23, “He entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” In our day we hear lots of talk about claiming our rights. That spirit comes into the church and we hear people getting angry and saying, “How dare you trample on my rights?” Most of our problems stem from claiming our rights. But the Bible turns that upside down. You aren’t to think of your rights first. You are to think of others first.

When you are misunderstood, repeat these four sentences:

It’s not about me. It’s not about now.

It’s all about God. It’s all about eternity.

As you read these words, I encourage you to stop right now and say those four sentences out loud. Write them down on a card, and put the card where you can see it. Try repeating those sentences every day for a week so that the truth will be tattooed on your soul.

The followers of Jesus will sometimes be misunderstood not only by the world but by other Christians. May God give us the spirit of Jesus that we might walk in his steps.

Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries. He has ministered extensively overseas and is a frequent conference speaker and guest on Christian radio and television talk shows. He is the author of dozens of books, including Credo, The Healing Power of Forgiveness, An Anchor for the Soul and Why Did This Happen to Me? View recent entries on Ray’s blog.

Click here to offer your comments. You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.

Original publication date: December 8, 2009

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My Father’s Giving

“Prove me now” (Mal. 3:10).

What is God saying here but this: “My child, I still have windows in Heaven. They are yet in service. The bolts slide as easily as of old. The hinges have not grown rusty. I would rather fling them open, and pour forth, than keep them shut, and hold back. I opened them for Moses, and the sea parted. I opened them for Joshua, and Jordan rolled back. I opened them for Gideon, and hosts fled. I will open them for you–if you will only let Me. On this side of the windows, Heaven is the same rich storehouse as of old. The fountains and streams still overflow. The treasure rooms are still bursting with gifts. The lack is not on my side. It is on yours. I am waiting. Prove Me now. Fulfill the conditions, on your part. Bring in the tithes. Give Me a chance.
–Selected

***

I can never forget my mother’s very brief paraphrase of Malachi 3:10. The verse begins, “Bring ye the whole tithe in,” and it ends up with “I will pour” the blessing out till you’ll be embarrassed for space. Her paraphrase was this: Give all He asks; take all He promises.”
–S. D. Gordon

***

The ability of God is beyond our prayers, beyond our largest prayers! I have been thinking of some of the petitions that have entered into my supplication innumerable times. What have I asked for? I have asked for a cupful, and the ocean remains! I have asked for a sunbeam, and the sun abides! My best asking falls immeasurably short of my Father’s giving: it is beyond that we can ask.
–J. H. Jowett

***

“All the rivers of Thy grace I claim, Over every promise write my name” (Eph. 1:8-19).

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Are You Bearing Fruit?
Ryan Duncan, TheFish.com

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” – Luke 8:16

One of the traditions my family had while I was growing up was that every fall we would go apple picking at a place called Edwards Orchard. It was a great place. There were barn animals for kids to feed, a maze run that my siblings and I would always cheat to win, and a small kitchen that made the best apple doughnuts on this continent. Once we had exhausted ourselves on all the activities and eaten enough doughnuts to last us for days, our parents would load us up on the orchard’s wagons, and we would go into the trees to pick apples.

Afterwards, we’d enjoy a long stretch of apple-related meals at home, and I was particularly fond of my mother’s upside-down apple pie. Then one year, as we clambered out of our van like usual, we were met by an employee who informed us the orchard had closed that season. I don’t remember exactly why — I think a storm had damaged most of the trees — but the absence of our usual Macintosh apples was pretty noticeable the following week. This was the memory that jumped to my mind a few days ago, as I was reading the book of Luke. Take a look at the following verses,

And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” – Luke 13:6-9

The simple truth is that there is not much use in a fruit tree that doesn’t grow fruit, just like there isn’t much use in a Christian that isn’t living out Christ’s teachings. God made us, the Church, to be people of growth and action. It is his desire that we constantly seek to mature in our faith, and the way we do that is by getting involved in the world around us. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Become a greeter at your Church, make a small donation, of bring a meal to the couple that just had a baby. All that matters is if your heart is providing a harvest for God because you never know what he’ll do with the spiritual fruit you create.

Intersecting Faith and Life

Find your own way to serve Christ’s Kingdom, no matter how small.

Further Reading

Luke 14

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The Throne of Glory

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life – 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us- 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
1 John 1:1-4

When you pray, how do you approach God? Numerous Christians visualize a holy, righteous being and approach Him with feelings of fear, unworthiness, and reluctance. On the other hand, many believers picture the Lord as a pal and talk to Him with little reverence.

Neither approach is healthy. Our finite minds cannot fully grasp that God is both loving and holy. Let’s first explore the holy, fear-provoking side of the Lord. As you read today’s passage, visualize the incredible power around heaven’s throne. It fills my heart with awe and wonder.

Before Jesus walked on earth, the temple contained an area called the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence resided. Only the priest could enter—and just on specified days, after ritual cleansing and preparation. If he did not get himself ready exactly according to scriptural rules, he would be struck dead. To be in God’s presence requires obedience. In fact, because of the Almighty’s absolute holiness and perfection, He is unable to commune with sinfulness, which is the condition of all mankind (Rom. 3:9). Therefore, every one of us is guilty and deserving of condemnation. Thankfully, though, God did not leave us helpless, but out of His grace and love, sent His Son to be our Redeemer.

Every page of Scripture can deepen our understanding of God’s greatness. Are you amazed at His presence and deeds? To understand more about His character, discipline yourself to read and meditate on the Word. Then take time to praise Him, for He alone is worthy of our adoration.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.

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Sacrificing At What Cost
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Tuesday, January 31 2012

…”I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” – 2 Samuel 24:24

One day I was having lunch with a man who had a certain amount of notoriety in his life. After a time of getting to know each other, he said, “How can I help you?” Those words surprised me coming from a man who obviously already had many requirements on his time. My first thought was that I was impressed with the individual. My next thought was to wonder whether it was a genuine offer or just an effort to impress me with his humility and Christian piety. I have since discovered he was sincere.

This encounter reminded me that each of us must be willing to give to others without a motive to get anything in return. It is simply an act of serving others. Jesus said that we must consider others more important than ourselves. When is the last time you did something for another without a motive of getting anything in return?

When King David came to offer a sacrifice and pray for the removal of a plague on Israel, he was given the opportunity to make the sacrifice without the cost of purchasing the sacrificial animals.

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped (2 Samuel 24:24-25).

David, understanding the principle of giving, said he could not offer anything to God that did not cost him something. Otherwise, it was not a sacrificial gift.

When was the last time you sacrificed for another with no expectation of getting anything in return? We can all give something to others, such as our time, our money, or our expertise. This is real Christianity that models the Spirit of Christ. The next time you meet with someone, why not consider how you might be a blessing to that person. Why not ask, “How can I help you?”

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January 30, 2012

TODAY’S ENCOURAGING WORD – 1/30/2012

When you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
–Jeremiah 29:12, NLT

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’
–John 7:38 NLT

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Lord of the Living and the Dead

For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself ; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord ; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother ? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt ? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:7-12

In the New Testament, Lord is the most frequently used title for Jesus Christ. Although we rarely use this term in our daily lives, we are all quite familiar with another word: boss. That is basically what Lord means—one possessing authority, power, and control. The Word of God describes Jesus as the head of the church, the ruler over all creation, and the Lord of lords and King of kings (Col. 1:15-18; Rev. 3:14; 17:14).

The realm of Christ’s reign covers everything that happens in heaven and on the earth. No one—not even those who deny His existence—can be free of His rule or outside His sphere of authority. Although Satan tries to convince us that liberty is found in doing what we want, true freedom is acquired only through submission to Christ’s loving lordship.

Even death cannot release anyone from the authority of God’s Son. He is Lord of both the living and the dead. All people must decide to either yield or rebel against Him, but they have the opportunity to make this choice only while they are still living. After death, they will acknowledge Christ’s lordship through accountability to Him. If we have not bowed the knee to Jesus in life, we will be forced to bend it in the judgment.

Have you submitted to Christ’s rule over your life? His authority causes anger or fear in individuals who have not yet yielded to Him, but those who have experienced His lovingkindness, trusted in His goodness, and surrendered to His authority take comfort in knowing Him as the Lord of their lives.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.

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A Call To Worship
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Monday, January 30 2012

…but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. – Exodus 6:9

It is very difficult to lead when those you are leading believe they have been mistreated and have lost all hope. Such was the case when God called Moses to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. They had lived under many years of oppression and slavery. Yet God heard their cry. He sent someone to bring them out of slavery “so that they might worship God” (see Ex. 8:1). Interesting that God didn’t say, “to serve Him.” Above all else, God desires our worship. A person cannot enter into true worship of God while still in slavery and bondage.

In Proverbs, the writer tells us “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Prov. 13:12a). There is a place in life where life becomes so discouraging and hopeless that we lose all hope, and it can actually make us sick. I have been at this place; it is a scary condition. It brings you to the edge of despair.

The people would not listen to Moses. Yet God did not deliver immediately. In fact, it would be many plagues later before ultimate deliverance would take place. Why does God withhold deliverance at times? It is in order to bring greater glory from the situation. It isn’t because He doesn’t care. It is because His plan for mankind is resting in these events. It is a finely tuned plan that involves many people and situations – all operating at the same time. It can seem cruel at times. But God knows that His children cannot worship Him if they are in bondage and lose all hope. He won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, so He has a plan of deliverance for each of us. This plan is not always the kind of deliverance we might think is best. It sometimes has pain surrounding the deliverance. When a mother gives birth, that child is delivered into this world through much pain. But with that pain comes great joy on the other side. Every mother will say the pain was worth it because of the exceeding joy that child brought in the midst of the pain.

What are you in bondage to today? What keeps you from entering true worship? Work can keep us in bondage if we fail to enter into freedom in Christ during our workday. Today, ask God to show you the areas of bondage that you are living in so that you may worship Him.

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Waiting For Hope

“For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness” (Gal. 5:5, RV).

There are times when things look very dark to me–so dark that I have to wait even for hope. It is bad enough to wait in hope. A long-deferred fulfillment carries its own pain, but to wait for hope, to see no glimmer of a prospect and yet refuse to despair; to have nothing but night before the casement and yet to keep the casement open for possible stars; to have a vacant place in my heart and yet to allow that place to be filled by no inferior presence–that is the grandest patience in the universe. It is Job in the tempest; it is Abraham on the road to Moriah; it is Moses in the desert of Midian; it is the Son of man in the Garden of Gethsemane.

There is no patience so hard as that which endures, “as seeing him who is invisible”; it is the waiting for hope.

Thou hast made waiting beautiful; Thou has made patience divine. Thou hast taught us that the Father’s will may be received just because it is His will. Thou hast revealed to us that a soul may see nothing but sorrow in the cup and yet may refuse to let it go, convinced that the eye of the Father sees further than its own.

Give me this Divine power of Thine, the power of Gethsemane. Give me the power to wait for hope itself, to look out from the casement where there are no stars. Give me the power, when the very joy that was set before me is gone, to stand unconquered amid the night, and say, “To the eye of my Father it is perhaps shining still.” I shall reach the climax of strength when I have learned to wait for hope.
–George Matheson

***

Strive to be one of those–so few–who walk the earth with ever-present consciousness–all mornings, middays, star-times–that the unknown which men call Heaven is “close behind the visible scene of things.”

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The Impossible Is Possible
Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26, NIV

How many times have you said to yourself, “Well that will never happen!”

Oftentimes, it is easy to get discouraged in this life, to shelve our hopes and dreams and to keep our focus on what is instead of on what could be or what is promised to us in the Word.

I’ve been reading the book of Genesis again this winter and have been struck once more with how God worked in the lives of Abraham and Sarah. In Genesis 18, the LORD told Abraham that in a year from that moment, he and Sarah would have a son.

“I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son,” he said (v. 10).

Now, children are great and all, but beyond the pink and the blue what was so meaningful to Abraham and Sarah about this promise of things to come? It was significant because to the human eye it seemed impossible. Yes, God had made a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 17:1-2) and told him he would have many descendants. But Abraham was now 99 years old, and Sarah was 90 and barren. That’s the end of life for most of us in today’s space-time continuum and way past the typical childbearing years. But in God’s economy, it was the perfect time for him to deliver upon the promise he had made.

While Abraham was hearing this word and the exact timing of when God said it would come to pass, Sarah was also listening.

“So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?’” (v. 12).

I’m sure many of us have taken upon this “laughing attitude” as well in our own lives when considering what seems to be impossible in our current life circumstances. You’re probably thinking about whatever that is right now—a child, a soul mate, a dream job, a cure for your illness, no more debt . . . whatever.

You’ve also probably shed some tears over what seems impossible to you right now and you’ve moved on to laughter—or rather unbelief—like Sarah. Really, God … how could this ever happen in my life at this point? It’s too unbelievable.

But the LORD heard her and said to Abraham: “’Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (v. 13-14).

Ask yourself that same question. Is it? Is anything too hard for the Lord? What have you given up on in your own life? What are you “laughing” about today that signifies your unbelief?

In chapter 21, we see how God’s promise came to pass. He was “gracious to Sarah, as he had said,” and she bore a son to Abraham “at the very time God had promised him.” His name was Isaac, he was a miracle and he was—and is—a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness even when we laugh and don’t believe.

I believe stories like Abraham and Sarah’s are included in God’s Word so that we will better understand the nature of God. It’s about him and not us. It’s about what he has done, is doing and will do. It’s about the joy that only he can bring. It’s about trusting him along the journey and believing in the One who created all things, knows all things and can do all things—even the impossible.

Intersecting Faith & Life: What circumstances in your life require a mountain-sized miracle today? Thank God for the ultimate miracle of making the impossible possible—that he saves us through HIS indescribable work and by HIS amazing grace.

Further Reading:

1 Kings 17:7-16, NIV

Job 38:4-38, NIV

Rev. 4:11, NIV

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January 29, 2012

TODAY’S ENCOURAGING WORD – 1/29/2012

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
–Matthew 7:7, NLT

The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.
–Proverbs 27:9 NLT

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In The Zone
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Sunday, January 29 2012

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. – Joshua 1:7

In sports, there is a term known as “in the zone.” It is a description of a person executing his skills so well that total concentration is taking place, and the athlete is performing flawlessly. It is a wonderful feeling. Performance seems effortless because it comes so easily. For the tennis player, it is hitting every shot right where he wants. For the baseball pitcher, it is throwing to a strike zone that seems big as a house. For the golfer, the fairways are wide, and the hole is big. Everything is flowing just right.

I grew up playing competitive golf. I turned pro out of college for a few years, but later God led me away from playing professionally. When I played competitively, I knew when I was in the zone and when I wasn’t. A few years ago, I played in my club championship. It was the opening round, and I was in the zone. I recall the difference was that my mental attitude was focused on executing the swing I wanted to make with little regard to the outcome. I could visualize the swing so well; it was like a movie picture in my mind. Very little thought was given to the outcome of the shot. I knew that if I could make the right swing, the outcome would take care of itself. That day I shot four under par 68. I went on to win the golf tournament. I have had few such days of being “in the zone.”

Obedience in the Christian life is being in the zone. When we live a life of obedience, we begin to experience the reality of God like never before. Wisdom grows in our life. Meaning and purpose are accelerated. In the early Church, the Hebrews gained wisdom through obedience. Later, the Greeks were characterized as gaining wisdom through reason and analysis. Today, we live in a very Greek-influenced Church. Many Christians determine if they will obey based on whether the outcome will be beneficial to them. Imagine if the early Church had adopted this philosophy. No walls would have fallen down at Jericho. No Red Sea would have parted. No one would have been healed. No coins would have been found in the mouth of a fish. Reason and analysis would not have led to making the obedient decision. Trust and obey. Leave the outcome to God.

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Like the Cedars of Lebanon
“What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter” (John 13:7).

We have only a partial view here of God’s dealings, His half-completed, half-developed plan; but all will stand out in fair and graceful proportions in the great finished Temple of Eternity! Go, in the reign of Israel’s greatest king, to the heights of Lebanon. See that noble cedar, the pride of its compeers, an old wrestler with northern blasts! Summer loves to smile upon it, night spangles its feathery foliage with dewdrops, the birds nestle on its branches, the weary pilgrim or wandering shepherd reposes under its shadows from the midday heat or from the furious storm; but all at once it is marked out to fall; The aged denizen of the forest is doomed to succumb to the woodman’s stroke!

As we see the axe making its first gash on its gnarled trunk, then the noble limbs stripped of their branches, and at last the “Tree of God,” as was its distinctive epithet, coming with a crash to the ground, we exclaim against the wanton destruction, the demolition of this proud pillar in the temple of nature. We are tempted to cry with the prophet, as if inviting the sympathy of every lowlier stem–invoking inanimate things to resent the affront–”Howl, fir tree; for the cedar has fallen!”

But wait a little. Follow that gigantic trunk as the workmen of Hiram launch it down the mountain side; thence conveyed in rafts along the blue waters of the Mediterranean; and last of all, behold it set a glorious polished beam in the Temple of God. As you see its destination, placed in the very Holy of Holies, in the diadem of the Great King–say, can you grudge that “the crown of Lebanon” was despoiled, in order that this jewel might have so noble a setting?

That cedar stood as a stately prop in Nature’s sanctuary, but “the glory of the latter house was greater than the glory of the former!”

How many of our souls are like these cedars of old! God’s axes of trial have stripped and bared them. We see no reason for dealings so dark and mysterious, but He has a noble end and object in view; to set them as everlasting pillars and rafters in His Heavenly Zion; to make them a “crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of our God.” –Macduff

***

“I do not ask my cross to understand,
My way to see–
Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand,
And follow Thee.”

Posted in Christian Ministry | Leave a Comment »

January 28, 2012

It was an awesome day today hanging out with Sam Acho and Ricky Lumpkin at the Bicycle Haus Criterium. Sam Acho was inspiring and a blessing to everyone that came to Chapel, we got to know more about Sam and how his faith in Jesus has made him the man he is today. Sam’s testimony was powerful, inspiring and reflected God’s glory! I know each one of us walked away wanting to be a living sacrifice for Jesus! We are looking forward to seeing Sam and Ricky at the races again, this was their first bicycle race (criterium) they had attended, it appeared they had a pretty good time. Well, we sure hope they had a good time because we hope to invite them back again!

Posted in Christian Ministry, Press Release, Sports, Track News, cycling | Leave a Comment »

TODAY’S ENCOURAGING WORD – 1/28/2012

By his wounds you have been healed.
–1 Peter 2:24b, NLT

Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.
–Proverbs 19:20 NLT

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Pat Liu Information about services

Visitation will be held Sunday, February 5th from 12-2 pm at Green Acres Mortuary and Cemetery, 401 N. Hayden Rd. in Scottsdale. An outdoor memorial service will follow at 2pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations should be directed to The Patrick T. Liu Memorial Fund, c/o Arizona Community Foundation, 2201 E. Camelback Rd, Suite 405B, Phoenix 85016

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Believe in Order to See

“Then believed they his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel; but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul” (Ps. 106:12-15).

We read of Moses, that “he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” Exactly the opposite was true of the children of Israel in this record. They endured only when the circumstances were favorable; they were largely governed by the things that appealed to their senses, in place of resting in the invisible and eternal God.

In the present day there are those who live intermittent Christian lives because they have become occupied with the outward, and center in circumstances, in place of centering in God. God wants us more and more to see Him in everything, and to call nothing small if it bears us His message.

Here we read of the children of Israel, “Then they believed his words.” They did not believe till after they saw–when they saw Him work, then they believed. They really doubted God when they came to the Red Sea; but when God opened the way and led them across and they saw Pharaoh and his host drowned–”then they believed.”

They led an up and down life because of this kind of faith; it was a faith that depended upon circumstances. This is not the kind of faith God wants us to have.

The world says “seeing is believing,” but God wants us to believe in order to see. The Psalmist said, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Do you believe God only when the circumstances are favorable, or do you believe no matter what the circumstances may be?
–C. H. P.

***

Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. –St. Augustine

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The Message the World Needs to Hear

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved ; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. “These signs will accompany those who have believed : in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues ; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover .” So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.] [And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. ]
Mark 16:15-20

Suppose I asked what the mission of the church is—how would you answer? Although the church accomplishes many tasks, its only message to the world is the gospel of Christ. Everything else we do is merely an extension of that primary goal. The gospel we offer the lost is superior to every worldly philosophy. Never outdated or in need of correction, it is always sufficient to meet humanity’s greatest need: reconciliation with the Creator.

Although the message is always the same, methods of making it known are many—including the spoken word, music, printed material, and electronic media. But all these avenues of communication require the individual involvement of God’s people. It is every Christian’s responsibility to use his or her spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities to help fulfill the Great Commission.

Some Christians think that this role is given only to pastors, missionaries, or other people with an “up-front ministry.” But all of us have the responsibility to be involved in whatever way we are able and in whatever opportunity God gives us. Not everybody is called to go abroad as a missionary, but we all can give, pray, and tell friends and family what the Lord has done for us.

When you’re truly committed to getting the gospel out, God will reveal what work He is calling you to do. He has a place for every one of us—nobody is insignificant or unusable. The limiting factor is not the Lord’s ability to use us but our availability to His call.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.

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Placing Trust in our Strength
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Saturday, January 28 2012

So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. – 1 Chronicles 21:14

When was the last time your overconfidence cost the lives of 70,000 men? That is exactly what happened to David. David made what might appear to be an innocent request of his general, Joab. But the minute Joab heard the request he cringed. He knew David was in big trouble for this one. You see to number the troops was a great sin in Israel because it was against the law. Why? Because it demonstrated that you were placing more trust in numbers than in the living God. David displayed enough pride to cost the lives of 70,000 fighting men. God gave him three choices of punishment for his sin. A plague was the one he chose, and it resulted in the loss of 70,000.

Throughout Israel’s history, God set the stage for battles to be won, miracles to take place, and people to exercise faith. The stage was always set so that man could not take credit for what God did. Consider Gideon who was only allowed 300 men to fight an army of 100,000. Consider Jehoshaphat, who had to lead his army with his singers. God defeated the enemy. Consider Joshua, who was told simply to walk around Jericho seven times, and they would get victory. God did things in some very unconventional ways!

How does this relate to you and me as workplace believers? Well, the minute you and I place more trust in our abilities than in God, we are guilty of numbering the troops. How does He punish us? Sometimes it’s through letting a deal go sour. Sometimes it’s through problems with a client or vendor. Sometimes situations just blow up in our face. Other times, He lets us go on for a long time doing our own thing, but eventually He deals with it.

The lesson here is to learn daily and complete dependence on God. Use your gifts and abilities through the power of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him daily for direction and wisdom. His ways won’t always line up with conventional wisdom. When we begin depending on our abilities only, God has a responsibility to make known to us who is the giver of the blessings.

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Watch this short video…..

http://videos2view.net/2believe-JE.htm#.TyPW43HrGA4.facebook

Posted in Christian Ministry, Press Release, cycling | Leave a Comment »

January 27, 2012

TODAY’S ENCOURAGING WORD – 1/27/2012

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
–Hebrews 4:16, NLT

Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.
–Proverbs 15:22 NLT
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Caringbridge Journal Entry
by the gracious, Peggy Liu

My friends,

We all have a great sense of loss today. I, as many of you, expected and hoped for this latest accident to be part of Patrick’s narrative of heroic recoveries from horrible tragedies. I think that makes it especially hard for everyone; Pat’s ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds has been inspirational for all of us.

This time, though, it was too much to ask. Last Tuesday, when I got the call that he had fallen into the pool, I didn’t know if I would get to the hospital to find him dead or brain-injured. When he quickly recovered consciousness and was awake and alert, my sense of relief was overwhelming. The boys saw him be Pat, dismissed the machinery as old news, and also felt comforted. We all just thought that was Pat’s miraculous ability to recover again.

Over the next days, I had the privilege to talk with him both using our spelling language when he was on the ventilator and could not speak, and real talk when he was not. I think he still had a sense of shock from the accident, and also the feeling of…AGAIN? REALLY? When he started having more difficulty breathing, he agreed to go back on the ventilator for a couple of days of rest and recovery for his lungs.

A couple of days were not enough. Pat’s pneumonia got worse and worse, and yesterday he started to show other signs that his body could not win this fight. He and I have talked for a long time about how much outside intervention is acceptable and appropriate in a situation such as this, where either care would be futile, or would leave him even more disabled. Last night, we respected his wishes, and on his own terms, we gave him the privilege of a peaceful death, without machinery, guided by his fierce will and spirit onto the next stage of his journey.

My husband kept going in a life that was very hard for him to lead. He lived to move, and he lost that, but persevered for me and our boys. But there are things that are too much to ask, even of our superman. He gave us the gift of 18 months, and last night we gave him the gift of peace.

For all of our family, friends and colleagues, we know how much Patrick has meant to you. We will all struggle with the unfairness of so many bad things happening to such a lovely man. It seems fundamentally wrong, but that is what we face. Please also give him the gift of understanding and compassion for not being able to win this last fight for all of us.

Right now, I am surrounded by family. We will take the next days together to plan how to celebrate Pat’s life with all of you that can be with us, and will do so both here in Phoenix and also on the East Coast at a later time. In lieu of flowers, please direct gifts to the soon-to-be established Patrick Liu Memorial Fund, details for which will be announced when we have them.

So many of you have offered support for food, rides, and everything in between. We’ll re-open the Care Calendar soon. Right now, we’re working through some pretty overwhelming details.

Your entries in the guestbook today make me laugh and cry. I’m so glad that Ben, Jasper, and I will have these thoughts to treasure today and for far into the future. You all continue to be a source of strength for me.
Peggy
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Our Great Mission

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always , even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20

If you’re a believer, you are part of the awesome body of Christ, which is called to bring His light to the world both individually and corporately. Though many see the church as a social organization, that’s not what the Bible says it is. Sometimes we forget that our purpose isn’t simply to have fellowship, sing, preach, and worship. Jesus entrusted us with good news of the true life He offers to everyone. This calling isn’t just for foreign “missionaries”—it’s for every believer. Your mission field includes your family, friends, coworkers, and perhaps even a people group God puts on your heart, often right in your community.

Before returning to heaven, Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission, in which He promised to be with believers to the end of the age. That pledge still stands. He doesn’t send us out to do His work on our own. Vowing never to leave us, He gave the assurance that all tasks He assigns will be achieved through us by His Holy Spirit.

What an honor to be included in the Lord’s redemptive plan for the world! He invites you to have a vital part in His kingdom work of transforming what is broken and giving new life. Everything you do in obedience is an opportunity for His Spirit to work powerfully through you!

He is still speaking His message of assurance to us: You’ll have Me as your companion, your captain, your victory. You’ll have Me as your resource, your energy, your anointing. Everything you need, you’ll find in Me. How does recognizing the greatness of your calling change the way you see your daily life?

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.
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Seeing the Works of God
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Friday, January 27 2012

Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord…. – Psalm 107:23-24a

When you were a child, perhaps you may have gone to the ocean for a vacation. I recall wading out until the waves began crashing on my knees. As long as I could stand firm, the waves were of no concern to me. However, as I moved farther and farther into the ocean, I had less control over my ability to stand. Sometimes the current was so strong it moved me down the beach, and I even lost my bearings at times. But I have never gone so far into the ocean that I was not able to control the situation.

Sometimes God takes us into such deep waters that we lose control of the situation, and we have no choice but to fully trust in His care for us. This is doing business in great waters. It is in these great waters that we see the works of God.

The Scriptures tell us that the disciples testified of what they saw and heard. It was the power behind the gospel, not the words themselves, which changed the world. The power wasn’t seen until circumstances got to the point that there were no alternatives but God. Sometimes God has to take us into the deep water in order to give us the privilege to see His works.

Sometimes God takes us into the deep waters of life for an extended time. Joseph was taken into deep waters of adversity for 17 years. Rejection by his brothers, enslavement to Pharaoh, and imprisonment were the deep waters for Joseph. During those deep waters, he experienced dreams, a special anointing of his gifts to administrate, and great wisdom beyond his years. The deep water was preparation for a task that was so great he never could have imagined it. He was to see God’s works more clearly than anyone in his generation. God had too much at stake for a 30-year-old to mess it up. So, God took Joseph through the deep waters of preparation to ensure that he would survive what he was about to face. Pride normally engulfs such young servants who have such access to power at such a young age.

If God chooses to take us into deep waters, it is for a reason. The greater the calling, the deeper the water. Trust in His knowledge that your deep waters are preparation to see the works of God in your life.
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Joy, Joy, Joy
by Ryan Duncan, TheFish.com

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. – Psalm 5:11

I am a pessimist, just ask anybody I know. For me, the cup will always be half empty and whatever’s in the cup will probably be backwash. So you can imagine the concept of joy has always been rather hard for me. The Bible, particularly the book of Psalms, is constantly telling Christians to have joy. Reading about joy is easy though, putting it into practice is a lot harder.

How are we supposed to have joy when our cars break down, when bills pile up, when bad days just get progressively worse? For me, it’s almost insulting for someone to tell me things like, “count your blessings” or, “things could have been worse” when I’m in the middle of cleaning up a crisis. I’ve often wondered if this makes me a bad Christian. Over time, I did realize my attitude could certainly use some work, but I also learned that our idea of joy has become somewhat skewed.

Take a look at these verses from the book of John,

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.- John 16:20-22

A pastor of mine once told me being joyful is not necessarily the same thing as being happy. We live in a fallen world, and odds are, we are going to have tough times over the years. So when the bad times come it doesn’t mean we have to dance around and be happy about it, you just have to remember that these moments won’t last forever. The bad things in our life cannot become what define us, instead, we have to trust God and remember the grace he has shown us. He will help us endure and won’t abandon us to sorrow or despair. So take a moment, whatever your situation, to be joyful. No matter how bad things get, God is with us.

Intersecting Faith and Life

Take moment to pray and search your Bible for scripture that applies to your life.

Further Reading

Psalm 132
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Everything You Need

Are you hoping that a change in circumstances will bring a change in your attitude? If so, you are in prison, and you need to learn a secret of traveling light. What you have in your Shepherd is greater than what you don’t have in life.

May I meddle for a moment? What is the one thing separating you from joy? How do you fill in this blank: “I will be happy when ________________”? When I am healed. When I am promoted. When I am married. When I am single. When I am rich. How would you finish that statement?

Now, with your answer firmly in mind, answer this. If your ship never comes in, if your dream never comes true, if the situation never changes, could you be happy? If not, then you are sleeping in the cold cell of discontent. You are in prison. And you need to know what you have in your Shepherd.

You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need.

ENCOURAGE A FRIEND:

From Lucado Inspirational Reader
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How to Google God
Dr. James Emery White

Few topics incite discussion as much as effective discipleship. Most of the time, the debate centers around the content of effective discipleship; what is it a Christian should be able to do, or know, or be? Other times the discussion revolves around the method of discipleship, such as whether it should be a classroom experience or carry more of a mentoring dynamic.

In a recent address at The New York Times Schools for Tomorrow conference, former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers offered a new dynamic to the conversation.

Namely, how a changing world is changing learning.

His premise was that despite a rapidly changing world, education has changed very little:

“Students take four courses a term, each meeting for about three hours a week, usually with a teacher standing in front of the room. Students are evaluated on the basis of examination essays handwritten in blue books and relatively short research papers. Instructors are organized into departments, most of which bear the same names they did when the grandparents of today’s students were undergraduates. A vast majority of students still major in one or two disciplines centered on a particular department.”

But, wonders Summers, suppose the system was altered to reflect “the structure of society and what we now understand about how people learn?”

Here’s some of what Summers suggests would become manifest:

1. Education would be more about how to process and use information and less about imparting it.

2. Tasks would be carried out with far more collaboration.

3. New technologies would profoundly alter the way knowledge is conveyed.

4. Learning would become less passive, and more active.

5. The educational experience would become more international.

All five of these points are worth digesting in light of the task of discipleship, for you cannot help but hear the ring of truth in each of them:

*There is little collaboration in the formation of disciples beyond mentoring and small groups, and much of that is not intentional, but serendipitous.

*Even something as rudimentary as electronic readers, which allow for constant revision along with the use of audio and visual effects, are seldom used in church’s discipleship efforts.

*Churches rarely allow for a variety of learning experiences when it comes to discipleship, but rather go for a programmatic design, which most of the time is passive in nature. Seldom do we ask anyone to actually use the knowledge they are acquiring as part of the discipleship process.

*The church is both local and universal, and increasingly centered not in the West, but in the global South. The way faith is often Americanized is not simply insular, but potentially heterodox, yet internationalizing our discipleship is hardly considered.

But it’s the first of Summers’ points that may be the most challenging.

Education would be more about how to process and use information and less about imparting it.

There has been a knowledge explosion with an aftershock of access. Summers suggests that in a day when the entire Library of Congress will soon be accessible on a mobile device with search procedures, factual mastery will become less and less important.

He’s right.

But this means there will be an ever-widening chasm between wisdom and information. Quentin Schultze writes that the torrent of information now at our disposal is often little more than “endless volleys of nonsense, folly and rumor masquerading as knowledge, wisdom, and even truth.”

Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, recently noted that “Google has changed the relationship of people to information. For the last 300 or 400 years, information has been collected on college, university and seminary campuses … You went to the collected information to learn. Today the information is available anywhere you want, just Google it.”

This creates a new challenge for those engaged in Christian discipleship. Rather than primarily dispensing information, we must spend an increasing amount of time helping people evaluate information. It is as if we’ve dropped a library card onto the world, but removed the classroom that gives us the literacy to read its contents, much less the education needed to interpret its contents.

Yet there is also a danger if the church was ever tempted to form discipleship wholly along technological lines of learning.

Namely the danger of dependence.

In an article on what would happen if solar storms knocked out the internet, the Los Angeles Times techblog team mused that “remembering who directed a movie would be a major project.” Their point is that we have become so accustomed to instant access to information through Wikipedia, IMDB and Google that a world without the Internet would leave us unable to answer the most basic of questions.

Yet with discipleship, knowledge is not simply that which is stored until needed, but often that which is practiced until habit. As Dallas Willard has written throughout his works, you do the things Jesus did in order to live the life Jesus lived.

The difference between spiritual formation and formal education is a profound one. The goal of Christian discipleship is never mere knowledge, but always becoming formed in Christ. So while we can look up a verse with ease, that’s no substitute for the importance of hiding it away in our hearts.

But let’s return to Summers’ main point.

How we learn has changed, which means how we disciple – at least in part – must also change.

In other words, whether you like it or not, they’re going to google “God.”

We need to teach them how.

James Emery White

Sources

Lawrence H. Summers, What You (Really) Need to Know, The New York Times, January 20, 2012.

“What if solar storms knocked out the Internet?,” The Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2012.

Quentin J. Schultze, Habits of the High-Tech Heart (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002).

On Chuck Kelley’s comments, see “Theological ed. is “being redefined,” Gary D. Myers, Baptist Press.

The best introduction to the work of Dallas Willard in this area is The Spirit of the Disciplines.

Editor’s Note

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which he also served as their fourth president. His latest book is What They Didn’t Teach You in Seminary (Baker). To enjoy a free subscription to the Church and Culture blog, log-on to www.churchandculture.org, where you can post your comments on this blog, view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on twitter @JamesEmeryWhite.
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We Need Minor Keys Too

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God” (Eph. 5:20).

No matter what the source of the evil, if you are in God and surrounded by Him as by an atmosphere, all evil has to pass through Him before it comes to you. Therefore you can thank God for everything that comes, not for the sin of it, but for what God will bring out of it and through it. May God make our lives thanksgiving and perpetual praise, then He will make everything a blessing.

We once saw a man draw some black dots. We looked and could make nothing of them but an irregular assemblage of black dots. Then he drew a few lines, put in a few rests, then a clef at the beginning, and we saw these black dots were musical notes. On sounding them we were singing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below.”

There are many black dots and black spots in our lives, and we cannot understand why they are there or why God permitted them to come. But if we let God come into our lives, and adjust the dots in the proper way, and draw the lines He wants, and separate this from that, and put in the rests at the proper places; out of the black dots and spots in our lives He will make a glorious harmony. Let us not hinder Him in this glorious work!
–C. H. P.
***
“Would we know that the major chords were sweet,
If there were no minor key?
Would the painter’s work be fair to our eyes,
Without shade on land or sea?

“Would we know the meaning of happiness,
Would we feel that the day was bright,
If we’d never known what it was to grieve,
Nor gazed on the dark of night?”

Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.
–C. H. Spurgeon
***
When the musician presses the black keys on the great organ, the music is as sweet as when he touches the white ones, but to get the capacity of the instrument he must touch them all.
–Selected

Posted in Christian Ministry, Sports, cycling | 1 Comment »

January 26, 2012

Such a sad day…. Pat Liu passed away last night, please pray for Peggy Liu and their children. This is absolutely heartbreaking…… Such a big loss to the cycling community. We will miss you Pat! He was a great man, great father, and great friend and if you only new him as cyclist, the best sprinter around! Bell lap, Bell lap….
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TODAY’S ENCOURAGING WORD – 1/26/2012

Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
–1 Thess. 5:17-18, NLT

Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
–Proverbs 12:15 NLT

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The Priesthood of Believers

9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals ; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God ; and they will reign upon the earth.”
Revelation 5:9-10

According to Scripture, the believer’s citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). In other words, we’re not going to be citizens of an eternal kingdom; we already are.

What’s more, every person who professes Jesus Christ as Lord is part of God’s priesthood. In the ancient Israelite culture, priests were the privileged servants of Almighty God. They carried out all the tasks related to keeping the Law and preserving the spiritual well-being of the people. They cared for the temple, offered sacrifices, and interceded on behalf of the community.

When John says in Revelation 1 that you and I are priests, he is placing us among the ranks of a people set apart as God’s servants. It is a blessing and calling to worship the Lord, to adore and honor Him, and to ensure that all glory is given to His name. Our duties also include interceding on behalf of others.

The one priestly task we do not have to do is perform sacrifices. God Himself offered the final sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, when His Son died in our place. Our part is to bear witness to the breadth and depth of His love for all people. Once you grasp the fact that God looks on His children—every one a former slave to sin—with unconditional devotion, you can’t keep quiet about it.

Believers are special in the eyes of their God and King. We are a sacred people and a holy order. What are you doing with your life? As a believer, you are not your own anymore (1 Cor. 6:19). You are a priest and a privileged servant of the Most High God.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.
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Training in the Fruit of the Spirit
Jason Pankau and John Donovan

“Train yourself in righteousness.” (1 Tim 4:8)

We might think of training in righteousness in terms of becoming more intentional about two things — praying and practicing – praying to receive more of the fruit of the Spirit and then practicing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Let’s consider training in regard to love. Consider the experience of a salesman of our acquaintance who was meeting continually with strangers, and who decided to focus more on trying to see everything from their perspective. In due course, he found that he had truly developed an ability to care, quite apart from whether he succeeded in his sales effort. This experiment led to other successful efforts to be more intentional about loving those around him.

What about joy? Can we train ourselves in joy? Standing out prominently in the Old Testament among the things that God hates is “murmuring,” or complaining. There is no suggestion that the causes of murmuring never really existed, but it is clear that the relationship with God requires that the attitude of ingratitude should be replaced by an attitude of thanksgiving and praise. In other words, it’s a decision, not a mere response to natural circumstances.

Joy can be intentional. When St. Paul was being held in a dungeon at Philippi, his situation surely couldn’t have been a natural cause for celebration. But in the Acts of the Apostles we read that St. Paul was rejoicing and singing. God seemed to be allowing such events in his life to train him to trust, while he was training himself in what we might call “righteous rejoicing.” It is not recorded whether he felt the actual emotions of joy, but it is a verifiable fact that such feelings will follow a firm intention to act as if one already had them. He made the choice to rejoice.

This applies as well to peace and patience. A great Quaker writer, Hannah Whitall Smith, reported that she prayed for more patience and that just after her prayer her cleaning lady broke a valuable piece of china. To Smith, this seemed like God granting her an immediate opportunity to exercise the gift that He was more than willing to bestow. Her acceptance of this was her way of training herself in the art of living under God and above circumstances.

In another situation, a friend of ours took a job in an office where the boss turned out to have the temperament that ranged from volatile to over-the-top volcanic. Our friend wasn’t typically the object of these tirades, which were usually poured out over the telephone line. Still, he found his inner state to be a foaming cauldron most of each day — at least before it dawned on him that he could train himself in God’s peace. This he did each morning before work by soaking himself in certain scriptures, reading them very slowly. In addition, when the ordinary inconveniences of life occurred, such as traffic delays, he formed the habit of drawing on God’s peace. As a result, his emotions at the office became, in the words of the novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, “like the ticking of a clock in a thunderstorm.”

Let’s resolve this week to pray and practice, that is, to pray for the fruit of the Spirit to be made manifest more obviously in our lives and then to put into practice we know He wants us to have.
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Passing The Test
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Thursday, January 26 2012

The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors – to David. – 1 Samuel 28:17b

When God anoints a person, a pattern of testing appears to take place at specific times in the leader’s life. God often takes each leader through four major tests to determine if that person will achieve God’s ultimate call on his or her life. The person’s response to these tests is the deciding factor in whether they can advance to the next level of responsibility in God’s Kingdom.

Control – Control is one of the first tests. Saul spent most of his time as king trying to prevent others from getting what he had. Saul never got to the place with God in which he was a grateful recipient of God’s goodness to him. Saul was a religious controller. This control led to disobedience and ultimately being rejected by God because Saul no longer was a vessel God could use.

Bitterness – Every major character in the Bible was hurt by another person at one time or another. Jesus was hurt deeply when Judas, a trusted follower, betrayed Him. Despite knowing this was going to happen, Jesus responded by washing Judas’ feet. Every anointed leader will have a Judas experience at one time or another. God watches us to see how we will respond to this test. Will we take up an offense? Will we retaliate? It is one of the most difficult tests to pass.

Power – Power is the opposite of servanthood. Jesus had all authority in Heaven and earth, so satan tempted Jesus at the top of the mountain to use His power to remove Himself from a difficult circumstance. How will we use the power and influence God has entrusted to us? Do we seek to gain more power? There is a common phrase in the investment community, “He who has the gold rules.” Jesus modeled the opposite. He was the ultimate servant leader.

Greed – This is a difficult one. Money has the ability to have great influence for either good or bad. When it is a focus in our life, it becomes a tool of destruction. When it is a by-product, it can become a great blessing. Many leaders started out well – only to be derailed once prosperity became a part of their life. There are thousands who can blossom spiritually in adversity; only a few can thrive spiritually under prosperity.

As leaders, we must be aware when we are being tested. You can be confident that each one of these tests will be thrown your way if God calls you for His purposes. Will you pass these tests? Ask for God’s grace today to walk through these tests victoriously.
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God is Waiting Upon Us

“And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you…blessed are all they that wait f or him” (Isa. 30:18).

We must not only think of our waiting upon God, but also of what is more wonderful still, of God’s waiting upon us. The vision of Him waiting on us, will give new impulse and inspiration to our waiting upon Him. It will give us unspeakable confidence that our waiting cannot be in vain. Let us seek even now, at this moment, in the spirit of waiting on God, to find out something of what it means. He has inconceivably glorious purposes concerning every one of His children. And you ask, “How is it, if He waits to be gracious, that even after I come and wait upon Him, He does not give the help I seek, but waits on longer and longer?”

God is a wise husbandman, “who waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it.” He cannot gather the fruit till it is ripe. He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing to our profit and His glory. Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul for His blessing. Waiting under the cloud of trial, that breaks in showers of blessings, is as needful. Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. God waited four thousand years, till the fullness of time, ere He sent His Son. Our times are in His hands; He will avenge His elect speedily; He will make haste for our help, and not delay one hour too long.
–Andrew Murray

Posted in Christian Ministry, Sports, cycling | Leave a Comment »

January 25, 2012

Click Here to check out Sam Acho, our guest Chaplain this weekend at the Bicycle Haus Criterium, Wired vs the Bengals.

NBoundZ Racing Chapel Service
When: Saturday, January 28, 2012
Where: Firebird International Raceway (East Track)- Chandler, AZ
Time: 1:15pm
Chaplain: Sam Acho
Admission: Free
Look for signs at Registration, Chapel to be held at NBoundZ camp (red Helmetek tent, blue pop up tent)

Posted in Christian Ministry, Press Release, Sports, cycling | Leave a Comment »

TODAY’S ENCOURAGING WORD – 1/25/2012

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
–Psalm 37:4, NLT

Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.
–Proverbs 11:14 NLT

You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good; teach me your statutes. The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts; their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law. It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

–Psalm 119:65-72 ESV
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Pastor Resources Daily

Previously, I wrote about Satan’s Great Desire which is to bring about disunity in your local church, somehow convincing you that the people in your church are no longer worthy of your love. I ended by giving the encouragement that God has equipped us to build and maintain this kind of unity and that all we need to do is use the tools he has equipped us with. How has he equipped us? According to Ephesians 4, he has given each of us a spiritual gift that is to be used to build unity through service to one another.

This area of spiritual gifting is noticeably Christ-centered and along the way Paul makes three big points:

First, Christ is the giver of gifts. Paul goes all the way back to Psalm 68 and shows that this Psalm speaks of the resurrected Jesus giving gifts to the people he loves. These aren’t gifts wrapped in paper that we can open and put on display, but gifts in the form of abilities we possess. Christ doesn’t toss these gifts out to Christians in a random way, but thoughtfully and deliberately gives a gift to each person as he sees fit. Christ has a plan in giving out these gifts. He is the one who determines who will receive each gift and how much of that gift each person and each community of Christians will receive.

Second, Christ gives gifts that are diverse. If we look throughout the whole New Testament we’ll find several lists of these gifts and when we put them together we find that there are at least 20 of them; there are undoubtedly many more than the ones listed. What we see is that Christ gives out diverse gifts. In this letter Paul gives a partial list and one that focuses specifically on teaching. Some Christians are given gifts of teaching and here he lists apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. The job of these teachers is not to do all the ministry or to use all the gifts, but to shepherd and teach and equip every Christian to use his own gift. These teachers are to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Why? So each one can then use his gift in a fuller, more comprehensive way.

Third, Christ’s gifts are given to bring unity through service. Paul makes a surprising statement here. He says that I am not the minister of my church; neither are the other pastors. Who are the ministers? Everyone is! The pastors are the shepherds, the equippers, the leaders, but we are all ministers. We are to do this work together.

There are profound implications to this. This brings into focus a passage like Titus 2 which instructs older women to disciple younger women—to do that work of ministry. Your pastors simply cannot disciple young women to love their husbands and children nearly as well as some of the older women can. So we need older women to do that work of ministry! Now we see that the work of visiting those who are sick or caring for those who are in need is the job of each one of us. We are all to minister to one another.

This leads us to one important application: You need to plant yourself in a local church. Why? Because you need the gifts of the Christians there and they need your gifts. There is a church that is incomplete without you and you are incomplete without that church. You do not have all that you need, all that is necessary for your growth in holiness.

Each of us needs to learn how the Lord has gifted us and each of us then needs to use our gifts to minister to one another. How do we learn how we are gifted? We serve! We just do the work of the ministry, whether that is setting up and cleaning up or visiting people in hospital or making meals or doing one-on-one discipleship, and we allow the Lord to reveal our strengths and open up opportunities. In your church you may find that you have teachers and evangelists, encouragers and discerners and servers and so many others. And that’s perfect because I’m sure you then also have people there who need to be served and people who lack discernment or people who are desperate for encouragement or people who need to respond to the gospel. There Lord has made it so that each of us has a gift designed to serve the people around us.
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Streams in the Desert
Degrees of Faith

“Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece” (Judges 6:39).

There are degrees to faith. At one stage of Christian experience we cannot believe unless we have some sign or some great manifestation of feeling. We feel our fleece, like Gideon, and if it is wet we are willing to trust God. This may be true faith, but it is imperfect. It always looks for feeling or some token besides the Word of God. It marks quite an advance in faith when we trust God without feelings. It is blessed to believe without having any emotion.

There is a third stage of faith which even transcends that of Gideon and his fleece. The first phase of faith believes when there are favorable emotions, the second believes when there is the absence of feeling, but this third form of faith believes God and His Word when circumstances, emotions, appearances, people, and human reason all urge to the contrary. Paul exercised this faith in Acts 27:20, 25, “And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” Notwithstanding all this Paul said, “Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”

May God give us faith to fully trust His Word though everything else witness the other way. –C. H. P.

When is the time to trust?
Is it when all is calm,
When waves the victor’s palm,
And life is one glad psalm
Of joy and praise?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is when the waves beat high,
When storm clouds fill the sky,
And prayer is one long cry,
O help and save!

When is the time to trust?
Is it when friends are true?
Is it when comforts woo,
And in all we say and do
We meet but praise?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is when we stand alone,
And summer birds have flown,
And every prop is gone,
All else but God.

What is the time to trust?
Is it some future day,
When you have tried your way,
And learned to trust and pray
By bitter woe?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is in this moment’s need,
Poor, broken, bruised reed!
Poor, troubled soul, make speed
To trust thy God.

What is the time to trust?
Is it when hopes beat high,
When sunshine gilds the sky,
And joy and ecstasy
Fill all the heart?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is when our joy is fled,
When sorrow bows the head,
And all is cold and dead,
All else but God.
–Selected
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Fits Any Niche
By Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Managing Editor

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105

All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

As the editor responsible for all devotional content here at Crosswalk, one of the questions I’m asked most frequently by our beloved users goes something like this:

“Your devotional offerings are great, but could you please include one for cousins of divorcees with sleeping disorders who have befriended agnostic vegetarians? Because that would be really great.”

Okay, that’s an exaggeration (but only barely). And it’s not like we dislike filling niches. We have devotionals for women, the workplace, weight loss and the list goes on. We’re continually adding to the selection and have plans for a men’s devotional, a children’s devotional, a singles devotional, and more. To an extent, we’re at the mercy of what’s well-written, theologically sound, recognizable, and most of all, available.

But when I’m asked a question like, “My fiance and I are interested in a devotional for yet-to-be-married couples living in the mid-Atlantic from different church backgrounds who are both post-millenialists. What do you recommend for us?” my answer is always the same:

Just study the Word, man.

Whether you find it here or somewhere else, locate a ministry, author, preacher, or regular old Joe/JoAnn whom God has gifted with insight into his holy scriptures, and read their take regularly. Follow that up with your own deeper individual study. Take that into praying with a spouse, accountability partner, disciple, or mentor. Join a group Bible Study. And take notes during sermons.

It’s not much more complicated than that. We sometimes make it so. We pigeonhole ourselves or our current life situation or level of belief, and so risk hindering the effective wholeness of the Word.

Besides, if there’s one thing I’ve noticed through almost a biblical generation of life, it’s that our specific situations are many times made more complex by our non-stop obsession with them, and are often made more simple by backing off and getting at them indirectly through solid study that may not at first seem related to what we are going through.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to hear which verses were blessings to folks who have gone through heartbreaks or challenges similar to what you are now experiencing. What I’m suggesting is that the Word of the Lord never returns void. And that there have been several topics I’ve tried to understand (and been disappointed in the lack of direct guidance the Bible appears to give on the subject), or several life situations I’ve wanted to study (and not known where to start or how to find others who have biblical wisdom to offer in the form of a devotional) that have been solved when I stepped away and just studied sound teaching with prayer.

One example is when, as a young man, I wanted to find everything the Bible said about the “big sins” our youth ministers were so concerned with keeping us from — sex and drinking. I shortly exhausted all the verses that dealt directly with these topics. But it wasn’t until I backed away from a focus on these issues and began more comprehensive studies of what God had to say about all things that the picture grew bigger and the reasons for abstinence, purity, sobriety, and not causing others to stumble became clear in the light of grace, righteousness, sacrifice, and ministry.

Another example is the time I was battling a crippling depression. I found few answers and little comfort in attacking the problem directly — even if there didn’t seem to be a lack of correlative verses or devos, which only would have reminded me double of the state I was in. What did help was reading other topics from the Bible, and books from established Christian authors and preachers about the Bible itself, about faith, about truth. Eventually the clouds lifted, and I was stronger for having gone through the darkness and for the overarching principles that brought me home.

Let me encourage you today not to wall yourself off from the full richness of the Word, but to seek out sound doctrine and study on general principles regularly that I promise will apply to your specifics, whether directly or indirectly, immediately or eventually.

Further Reading

A Plea to Use the Bible Every Day
How to Have a Meaningful Quiet Time

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Stop Robbing the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:14-21

Every day, you get out of bed, put on clothes, and walk to the table to eat breakfast. You greet the rest of the household and maybe read the paper. A few minutes later, you drive to work at 60 m.p.h. on a strip of asphalt where other vehicles can pass by within four feet. In the first hour or so that you’re awake, your body completes thousands of complex tasks that are so routine they go unnoticed.

Our physical frame is a creation of remarkable beauty and intricacy. And while certain parts seem more attractive than others, all are useful. The body’s interdependent nature—that is, the way every part relies on other parts to perform properly—is an apt metaphor for a Christ-centered church. When believers use their gifts and talents to operate together lovingly, the whole body functions properly to the glory of God.

However, churches today are filled with people who feel insignificant. Upon seeing the successful work of others, they decide they’re not really needed or assume they haven’t got the “right” talents to make a worthwhile contribution. Those are lies from the Devil. When his misguidance succeeds—which is all too often—he manages to get one more Christian to back away in hopes that someone else will do the Lord’s work.

Hanging back instead of seeking a place to serve is a form of thievery: you’re robbing the Lord’s church—His people—of your unique contribution. Your role might be small or go unnoticed, but it is vital to Jesus Christ and to the smooth functioning of His body on earth.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.
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Horizontal Versus Vertical
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Wednesday, January 25 2012

Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. – Exodus 2:12

Moses saw the pain of his people. He saw the bondage and the injustice. His heart was enraged, and he decided he would do something. He would take matters into his own hands. The result was murder. The motive was right, but the action was wrong. He went horizontal instead of vertical with God. Moses fled to the desert, where God prepared the man who would ultimately be the deliverer of a nation. But it took 40 years of preparation before God determined Moses was ready. He was a professional businessman – a sheepherder. It was during the mundane activity of work that God called on him to be a deliverer.

Moses was like a lot of enthusiastic Christian workplace believers who seek to solve a spiritual problem with a fleshly answer. The greatest danger to the Christian workplace believer is his greatest strength – his business acumen and expertise to get things done. This self-reliance can become our greatest weakness when it comes to moving in the spiritual realm. We’re taught to be problem solvers. But, like Moses, if our enthusiasm and passion are not harnessed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will fail miserably. Peter had to learn this lesson too. His enthusiasm got him into a lot of trouble. But God was patient, just as He is patient with each of us. Sometimes He must put us in the desert for a time in order to season us so that Christ is allowed to reign supreme in the process.

Before you act, pray and seek the mind of Christ until you know it is God behind the action. Check it out with others. You may save yourself a trip to the desert.

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January 24, 2012

TODAY’S ENCOURAGING WORD – 1/24/2012

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
–John 3:17, NLT

Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.
–Proverbs 9:9 NLT

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Blessed are the Meek
by Sarah Phillips, Crosswalk.com Family Editor

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Mt 5: 5 (NIV)

I used to have a strong dislike for the word “meek.” It brings me back a decade to a defining moment during my sophomore year of high school.

I was a shy teenager who had stepped outside of her comfort zone by enrolling in several theater classes, including a class on “behind the scenes” theater productions. This should have been the easiest of all the courses for my sensitive nature. But my instructor, while delegating roles for the Spring production of Peter Pan, proved me wrong when she voiced her choice of stage manager like this:

“I’ve chosen Melissa because I need someone with a strong personality – someone who isn’t meek, like Sarah.”

Of course, I only drove her point home when I didn’t stick up for myself. I spent years after that scene developing assertiveness, determined to prove that Sarah Jennings was not meek. Like this teacher, I associated meekness with weakness and both were traits that needed to be eradicated if I was going to get anywhere in life.

At least that’s what I thought until I found that dreaded word jumping off the pages of scripture at me in the Gospel of Matthew. There it was, one of the first things Jesus says in his famous Sermon on the Mount.

Our deacon offered some thoughts on this verse that helped put things in perspective for me. He shared that it’s in the Sermon on the Mount where we see Jesus begin to expand on His true purpose – and to the disappointment of many, He was not going to be an earthly king bestowing power and prestige on His people, not just yet. Instead, God’s plan for mankind included an interior transformation of souls for the sake of an eternal kingdom. To properly prepare us for this kingdom, God rejected earthly methods of acquiring power in favor of the healing that comes with merciful love.

It is God’s mercy that changes our hearts from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. It’s Christ’s humility, His lowliness, that beckons us into a relationship with Him. And ultimately, it was Christ’s willingness to give up earthly glory that opened the door for us to share in His eternal glory.

Now, as much as I would like earthly power, He asks us to “learn from him.” As our souls find rest in God, He can continue His redemptive work through us as we display these same “weaker” virtues to the world.

This isn’t to say God lacks power or that Christians should throw out virtues like courage. I think sometimes cultivating traits like meekness and humility are trickier than learning boldness because we can easily tip the scales too far and become passive. It’s a difficult balance, but a necessary one if we want to reflect Christ to a hurting world.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Is there a situation in your life right now that would benefit from a little meekness, humility, or gentleness on your part? Ask God to show you how to have a meek and humble heart like His – one that offers healing and restoration while maintaining your God-given dignity.

Further Reading:

Psalm 37: 11

Ephesians 4: 2

James 4: 10
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Do We Really Need One Another

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Believers have two responsibilities. The first is to worship God and the second is to work for His kingdom. Where and how we serve is based upon our unique talents, skills, and calling. But the one place where we are all expected to give of ourselves is the local church.

When you were saved, the Lord baptized you by the Holy Spirit into His church—the body of believers who live all over the world but are united by trust in Jesus Christ. You then chose, according to the will of God, to become part of a local, autonomous group of believers. He placed you there because He knows that you are needed (1 Cor. 12:18). You are significant to your home church.

The church is more than a community. It is an interdependent body with individual members who were created by God to function in communion with one another. We Christians, like the world at large, are a diverse group, and that means we often have to strive hard for unity. But our differences are actually something to be celebrated, because each person uniquely contributes to God’s purpose. A church that is truly operating as a unit—with all its varied gifts, talents, personalities, and intellects focused toward kingdom goals—must be a beautiful sight before the Lord.

Christianity isn’t a spectator religion. We all have jobs to do in God’s kingdom. The body of Christ functions best and most beautifully when all members resolve to serve God and each other to the best of their ability (v. 25). What are you doing for your church?

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.
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Seeing A Greater Purpose In Adversity
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Tuesday, January 24 2012

But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” – Acts 16:28

Paul and Silas had just been thrown into prison. An earthquake erupted and the jail cell was opened. It’s Paul and Silas’ opportunity. “Deliverance! Praise God!” might be the appropriate response. But this is not what Paul and Silas did. In fact, rather than leave, they sat quietly in their cell area. The guard, in fear of his life, knew that it would be automatic death if prisoners escaped. Paul and Silas did not leave because they saw a higher purpose for which they were in prison. They were not looking at their circumstance; they were much more concerned about the unsaved guard. The story goes on to explain how Paul and Silas went home with the guard and his family. Not only did the guard get saved, but his entire household as well.

What a lesson this is for us. How often we are so busy looking for deliverance from our circumstance that we miss God completely. God is looking to do miracles in our circumstances if we will only look for them. Sometimes as workplace believers we become so obsessed with our goals we miss the process that God involves us in, which may be where the miracle lies. What if that bill collector who has been hounding you is unsaved and he is there for you to speak to? What if a problem account has arisen due to something God is doing beyond what you might see at this time? Our adverse situations can often be the door of spiritual opportunity for those who need it.

I saw this personally when God allowed me to go through a number of adversities. It took some time, but I saw some great miracles as a result of those adversities. When God said that “all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purposes” (see Rom. 8:28), He meant all things. It is up to us to find the “work together for good” part by being faithful to the process. In the next adversity you face, tune your spiritual antennae and ask God for discernment to see the real purpose for the adversity.

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