“Let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.” Heb. 12:1 (LB)
“Love does not envy.” 1 Cor. 13:4b (NIV)
Growing up, Sunday afternoon Nascar racing was a tradition at my house. We would order Pizza King and gather around the TV to watch 42 cars go 500 miles, usually on an oval track. If you watch racing at all you know there is a particular groove on the race track that each car works the best in. If you were a Harry Gant fan in the 80's you knew he was going to run his car next to the wall all 500 miles. If you were a Rusty Wallace fan you would most likely see his car go the fastest on the bottom of the track.
Usually at the end of the race you would always see a few car switching lanes and trying to gt up to the front faster. Almost always, those cars would fall back because they weren't being patient running their car in the line where it worked best. They would get the idea to run a different line by looking at what other cars had been doing all day. They thought well if their car works good up high, then maybe mine will too.
We do this so often as followers of Christ. Have you ever looked at another person and said, "I wish I had what they had?" Or have you ever just wanted to be someone else because you liked their lifestyle better. God created each of us as unique individuals with a particular race to run. It may not seem like a glamorous race at times, but its a race uniquely designed for me. A God given race designed for me before I was born.
I encourage you this week to run the particular race the Lord has for you. Keep your eyes on the prize. We will all see the same finish line if we love God and love people.
Those races I grew up watching...I was always waiting for the guy who envied another guys car and switched grooves on the track because I knew what was coming...CRASH!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
What matters most?
“Keep company with God and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” Eph. 5:2 (Mes)
“In this life we have three lasting qualities: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love!” 1 Cor 13:13 (Ph)
How do you learn a life of deep love? The answer is found in the scripture above from Ephesians. The author says to “Observe how Christ loved us.” In the weeks ahead we will do just that. We will see how Christ loved us while here on earth. I want to give you a few things to think about this week as we start to understand how to love. Remember that without love, we will live a life with no purpose. The following will help us get on the road to becoming truly great lovers, a truly great person of love.
1. Learn how mature love acts and responds.
Personal change always begins with a change in perspective. It involves getting God’s perspective on what love is really like. Remember what is God? God is love.
2. Start your day with a daily reminder to love.
The first 10 minutes of your day sets your entire mood for the rest of the day. If you’ll get up in the morning and say, “God, I just want to remind myself that the most important thing is love. Loving You and loving other people. What matters more than accomplishments are relationships.”
3. Memorize what God says about love.
The Bible is filled with advice, inspiration, truths, principles on how to become a great lover, a great loving person. The problem is, you don’t have any of these in your mind. When you’re in a situation when you’re tempted to be unloving, to be jealous or envious or angry or impatient or judgmental or critical or any of the other unloving acts we’re all tempted to do on a daily basis – when those situations occur, because you don’t have any of those verses in your mind, your Bible is usually at home on a shelf and it’s no good in that situation. But if you will memorize a few verses of what God says about love and put them in your mind, then when you’re in a situation where you need them, God can bring them to remembrance – “Remember what I said…”
Some of you have never memorized anything out of the Bible. So when you get discouraged or when you’re depressed or when you’re angry or when you’re worried or when you’re fearful, there’s nothing for God to bring to mind. So you don’t have anything that God can use because your Bible is setting at home on a shelf. You need to memorize God’s word. The Bible says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”
4. Practice acting in unselfish, loving ways.
Love is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it develops. Practice makes perfect. How many of you were expert drivers the first time you sat behind a wheel? None of you. In fact the first time you got in a car to drive, it felt quite awkward. You didn’t know how much to push on the accelerator. You didn’t know how much to push on the brake. You didn’t even know how to adjust your seat probably, adjust the mirrors. When you had to make a major turn, you thought, “How do I do this? How do my hands go?” It felt very awkward and unnatural. So you began to practice driving. The more you practiced, the better you got at it. Now it’s second nature. You don’t even think about it. You drive and talk on the cell phone or answer e-mail or put on your makeup or a dozen other things. It’s second nature. You don’t even think about it any more.
When you want to become a great lover, a truly loving person, you have to intentionally do some things that seem awkward at first. They don’t fit. They don’t seem natural. But if you’ll practice, the more you practice, the more it becomes second nature and you become a genuinely loving person. By the way, there are no natural lovers. It’s all learned through practice.
5. Get support from other loving people.
You only learn it in connection to others, in the context of community, in the environment of relationships. Get involved in a LifeGroup at Grace Harbor!
“In this life we have three lasting qualities: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love!” 1 Cor 13:13 (Ph)
How do you learn a life of deep love? The answer is found in the scripture above from Ephesians. The author says to “Observe how Christ loved us.” In the weeks ahead we will do just that. We will see how Christ loved us while here on earth. I want to give you a few things to think about this week as we start to understand how to love. Remember that without love, we will live a life with no purpose. The following will help us get on the road to becoming truly great lovers, a truly great person of love.
1. Learn how mature love acts and responds.
Personal change always begins with a change in perspective. It involves getting God’s perspective on what love is really like. Remember what is God? God is love.
2. Start your day with a daily reminder to love.
The first 10 minutes of your day sets your entire mood for the rest of the day. If you’ll get up in the morning and say, “God, I just want to remind myself that the most important thing is love. Loving You and loving other people. What matters more than accomplishments are relationships.”
3. Memorize what God says about love.
The Bible is filled with advice, inspiration, truths, principles on how to become a great lover, a great loving person. The problem is, you don’t have any of these in your mind. When you’re in a situation when you’re tempted to be unloving, to be jealous or envious or angry or impatient or judgmental or critical or any of the other unloving acts we’re all tempted to do on a daily basis – when those situations occur, because you don’t have any of those verses in your mind, your Bible is usually at home on a shelf and it’s no good in that situation. But if you will memorize a few verses of what God says about love and put them in your mind, then when you’re in a situation where you need them, God can bring them to remembrance – “Remember what I said…”
Some of you have never memorized anything out of the Bible. So when you get discouraged or when you’re depressed or when you’re angry or when you’re worried or when you’re fearful, there’s nothing for God to bring to mind. So you don’t have anything that God can use because your Bible is setting at home on a shelf. You need to memorize God’s word. The Bible says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”
4. Practice acting in unselfish, loving ways.
Love is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it develops. Practice makes perfect. How many of you were expert drivers the first time you sat behind a wheel? None of you. In fact the first time you got in a car to drive, it felt quite awkward. You didn’t know how much to push on the accelerator. You didn’t know how much to push on the brake. You didn’t even know how to adjust your seat probably, adjust the mirrors. When you had to make a major turn, you thought, “How do I do this? How do my hands go?” It felt very awkward and unnatural. So you began to practice driving. The more you practiced, the better you got at it. Now it’s second nature. You don’t even think about it. You drive and talk on the cell phone or answer e-mail or put on your makeup or a dozen other things. It’s second nature. You don’t even think about it any more.
When you want to become a great lover, a truly loving person, you have to intentionally do some things that seem awkward at first. They don’t fit. They don’t seem natural. But if you’ll practice, the more you practice, the more it becomes second nature and you become a genuinely loving person. By the way, there are no natural lovers. It’s all learned through practice.
5. Get support from other loving people.
You only learn it in connection to others, in the context of community, in the environment of relationships. Get involved in a LifeGroup at Grace Harbor!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
i think thats stupid
How does a person lose weight? Really, answer that question to yourself. Now you tell me why I can find 38,000 books on Amazon when I type in the words, "weight loss."
Isn't the way to lose weight to, burn more calories each day than what you take in? Which means, eat less and exercise more, right? Well, I have to ask the same question of our church's. Why do we over complicate our purpose and our mission?
I've seen hundreds and hundreds of different mission statements of church's and dozens and dozens of books written on how to write a church mission statement. I think that's stupid!
The first question is who or what is the church? If my church building burned to the ground today, my church is still there, unless the people were in it when it burned. The church is people! We are the church. As we look in Acts chapter 2, I don't see any talk about building a grand building or doing a capital campaign for 1.4 million dollars for a new education wing. It just wasn't the focus. So what was their focus? Acts 2:44 says, "And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had."
What was their focus? EACH OTHER! Go figure, that the church would actually fulfill the greatest commandment by "loving God" and in this case "loving their neighbor."
So, if the church is the people, then what should our mission statement be. Well, let's look at Mark 16:15. Jesus is speaking to the disciples, i.e. the church, and tells them this. "Go into all the world and preach the Good news to everyone." Why? TO MAKE DISCIPLES! So, has our mission statement changed, or have I missed something? Some church's wonder why they aren't growing and why they have become stagnant. My suggestion is to look at your mission statement and see if it is Mark 16:15. If its not, you've missed the whole point of the church.
One last thought. Do you have your own personal mission statement? If we are the church, and we aren't fulfilling God's missions statement in Mark 16, the church will never be successful. Let's get to work!
Thoughts?
Isn't the way to lose weight to, burn more calories each day than what you take in? Which means, eat less and exercise more, right? Well, I have to ask the same question of our church's. Why do we over complicate our purpose and our mission?
I've seen hundreds and hundreds of different mission statements of church's and dozens and dozens of books written on how to write a church mission statement. I think that's stupid!
The first question is who or what is the church? If my church building burned to the ground today, my church is still there, unless the people were in it when it burned. The church is people! We are the church. As we look in Acts chapter 2, I don't see any talk about building a grand building or doing a capital campaign for 1.4 million dollars for a new education wing. It just wasn't the focus. So what was their focus? Acts 2:44 says, "And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had."
What was their focus? EACH OTHER! Go figure, that the church would actually fulfill the greatest commandment by "loving God" and in this case "loving their neighbor."
So, if the church is the people, then what should our mission statement be. Well, let's look at Mark 16:15. Jesus is speaking to the disciples, i.e. the church, and tells them this. "Go into all the world and preach the Good news to everyone." Why? TO MAKE DISCIPLES! So, has our mission statement changed, or have I missed something? Some church's wonder why they aren't growing and why they have become stagnant. My suggestion is to look at your mission statement and see if it is Mark 16:15. If its not, you've missed the whole point of the church.
One last thought. Do you have your own personal mission statement? If we are the church, and we aren't fulfilling God's missions statement in Mark 16, the church will never be successful. Let's get to work!
Thoughts?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
the power of one
"As evening came, Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let us cross to the other side of the lake.'" Mark 4:35
It will help if you have your Bible and read the rest of this story, but let me paraphrase what happened here. Just before this story we see Jesus had been teaching many parables to great crowds of people. Jesus was tired and told his disciples, to cross to the other side of the lake. As they were crossing, a huge storm came up and the disciples were very scared and afraid they were all going to drown.
While they were all freaking out, Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat. So the disciples woke Jesus up and and said to Jesus, "Don't you care were going to drown." Jesus then rebukes the storm and says, Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Isn't it interesting that Jesus told the disciples to cross to the other side, thus sending them into a storm, that He knew was coming. I mean, this is Jesus, the all knowing God man, the creator and yet He led them straight into the storm. After reading this passage I have many questions. The first question is, why? Why would Jesus lead them straight into a storm?
In chapter 5 verse 1, we see that immediately after Jesus steps out of the boat, He meets a man who is demon possessed and He casts the demons from the man. Then immediately after touching the man, He gets back into the boat and goes back to the other side! Seems sort of crazy doesn't it? So why? Why cross the river, in a storm, to heal just one man?
After Jesus heals this man of demon possession he tells him to "go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he was." The man then went into the Ten Towns, telling of this man called Jesus and the miracle that he experienced. Jesus did not usually tell a person to speak about his healing but He did in this instance. But Jesus was in ‘Decapolis’. ‘Decapolis’ is a Greek word that means ‘Ten Towns’. This was an area full of Gentiles and an area where Jesus would not return. This man would be a witness among Gentiles to the saving power of Jesus. I also believe this mans own faith was strengthened because of telling his story over and over to others.
One man. This one man, Jesus knew had great potential to change the world he lived in. Just one man. Jesus needed a voice in this part of the world because He knew He would not return here. He needed a representative, he needed an ambassador, he needed just one man.
There will be times in your life when Jesus will lead you into a storm because He has a greater work for you. Jesus expects that we know and understand, as He did with the disciples, that we know He is with us daily. 24/7. He asked the disciples, where their faith was. Jesus expects that if we serve Him, then we will trust Him.
If Jesus promised to never leave us nor forsake us, I'm confident that as the storms of life come, that Jesus has a very specific role for me just on the other side of the lake, that just may change the world.
Looking back over the trials in your own life, what are some very specific reasons you can point to, as to why Jesus allowed you to go through a storm? Please share them today as encouragement to others.
It will help if you have your Bible and read the rest of this story, but let me paraphrase what happened here. Just before this story we see Jesus had been teaching many parables to great crowds of people. Jesus was tired and told his disciples, to cross to the other side of the lake. As they were crossing, a huge storm came up and the disciples were very scared and afraid they were all going to drown.
While they were all freaking out, Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat. So the disciples woke Jesus up and and said to Jesus, "Don't you care were going to drown." Jesus then rebukes the storm and says, Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Isn't it interesting that Jesus told the disciples to cross to the other side, thus sending them into a storm, that He knew was coming. I mean, this is Jesus, the all knowing God man, the creator and yet He led them straight into the storm. After reading this passage I have many questions. The first question is, why? Why would Jesus lead them straight into a storm?
In chapter 5 verse 1, we see that immediately after Jesus steps out of the boat, He meets a man who is demon possessed and He casts the demons from the man. Then immediately after touching the man, He gets back into the boat and goes back to the other side! Seems sort of crazy doesn't it? So why? Why cross the river, in a storm, to heal just one man?
After Jesus heals this man of demon possession he tells him to "go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he was." The man then went into the Ten Towns, telling of this man called Jesus and the miracle that he experienced. Jesus did not usually tell a person to speak about his healing but He did in this instance. But Jesus was in ‘Decapolis’. ‘Decapolis’ is a Greek word that means ‘Ten Towns’. This was an area full of Gentiles and an area where Jesus would not return. This man would be a witness among Gentiles to the saving power of Jesus. I also believe this mans own faith was strengthened because of telling his story over and over to others.
One man. This one man, Jesus knew had great potential to change the world he lived in. Just one man. Jesus needed a voice in this part of the world because He knew He would not return here. He needed a representative, he needed an ambassador, he needed just one man.
There will be times in your life when Jesus will lead you into a storm because He has a greater work for you. Jesus expects that we know and understand, as He did with the disciples, that we know He is with us daily. 24/7. He asked the disciples, where their faith was. Jesus expects that if we serve Him, then we will trust Him.
If Jesus promised to never leave us nor forsake us, I'm confident that as the storms of life come, that Jesus has a very specific role for me just on the other side of the lake, that just may change the world.
Looking back over the trials in your own life, what are some very specific reasons you can point to, as to why Jesus allowed you to go through a storm? Please share them today as encouragement to others.
Monday, January 24, 2011
what is love?
"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind. And Love your neighbor as your self." Luke 10:27
This scripture has become one of my favorites! We've had many fights in this country about the 10 commandments, yet Jesus says this is the most important commandment. Love God and Love people! This basically sums up the gospel, doesn't it?
There is a verse in 1 Corinthians that says God is Love. I've asked several people "how do we love our neighbor?" I get all kinds of good answers. Serve them, invite them to church, tell them you care, fix them supper and many other good answers. They all great answers but they aren't the correct one.
The Bible says we are to "love our neighbor." So we first have to answer, what is love? The answer is simple, GOD! God is love. So we may do all kinds of nice things for our neighbor, but if we aren't showing them Jesus, then we aren't really loving them are we?
I want to put this in a specific context today. How are you living out your faith around your friends and your family? Are you showing them love (Jesus), or are you showing them something else?
So often we realize we are doing sinful things and our relationship with Christ is awful, but we don't give too much thought about how that affects our neighbor. How do your sins affect your friends? Are you saying to them, "I love you and want to show you Jesus", or are you helping them spend eternity in hell?
I'm at the age where I have started having regrets in my life. My #1 regret in life is knowing there have been times in my life when I've pushed my friends closer to hell by my actions. I've had to ask for forgiveness from some of those friends and its a humbling experience.
Ask yourself today who you need to show Love (Jesus) to and also ask yourself who you need to ask forgiveness from because your actions have shown them the exact opposite of love.
Remember that God is Love and the only way we can love our friends, family and neighbors is to show them Jesus!
This scripture has become one of my favorites! We've had many fights in this country about the 10 commandments, yet Jesus says this is the most important commandment. Love God and Love people! This basically sums up the gospel, doesn't it?
There is a verse in 1 Corinthians that says God is Love. I've asked several people "how do we love our neighbor?" I get all kinds of good answers. Serve them, invite them to church, tell them you care, fix them supper and many other good answers. They all great answers but they aren't the correct one.
The Bible says we are to "love our neighbor." So we first have to answer, what is love? The answer is simple, GOD! God is love. So we may do all kinds of nice things for our neighbor, but if we aren't showing them Jesus, then we aren't really loving them are we?
I want to put this in a specific context today. How are you living out your faith around your friends and your family? Are you showing them love (Jesus), or are you showing them something else?
So often we realize we are doing sinful things and our relationship with Christ is awful, but we don't give too much thought about how that affects our neighbor. How do your sins affect your friends? Are you saying to them, "I love you and want to show you Jesus", or are you helping them spend eternity in hell?
I'm at the age where I have started having regrets in my life. My #1 regret in life is knowing there have been times in my life when I've pushed my friends closer to hell by my actions. I've had to ask for forgiveness from some of those friends and its a humbling experience.
Ask yourself today who you need to show Love (Jesus) to and also ask yourself who you need to ask forgiveness from because your actions have shown them the exact opposite of love.
Remember that God is Love and the only way we can love our friends, family and neighbors is to show them Jesus!
where are you?
A friend if mine wrote this of his blog and it was so good, I thought I would use it today!
These past few weeks Satan has really been successfully putting me down, and hitting me with some pretty strong temptations. I always notice the more that I give in to temptations, the less I ask for Christ's help. I just seem to try to hide myself from Him, because I am so ashamed of some of the things that I do.
My mind tells me that God doesn't want to see my face or hear my voice, because I have sinned against him, but that is exactly the opposite of what God wants. Everyone knows the story of Adam and Eve. They ate the fruit from the forbidden tree and thus sin was born. The part of the story that intrigues me though is what happens next.
"When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. so they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" Gen. 3:8 (NLT)
The point of that verse is this: no matter where you are, who you are, or what you do, the Lord our God wants to be with you. He wants to walk with you. He wants to talk to you. He wants to be the one who you go to when you fail, not the one you run away from.
People these days have a twisted idea of how our God works. When you fall into sin, He doesn't sit there on his throne with a stone face, saying "whenever you're ready to love me I'll love you." No when you sin, He calls out to you saying "where are you?" You are His child. His love for you is beyond human ideas and human words. When you do good He loves you. When you sin He loves you. Even if you wanted Him not to love you, you could never make Him not love you. The question is not if He loves you. That's a given. The question is if you love Him, and if you're willing to give Him your sin, your pain, and ultimately yourself. Where are you today?
These past few weeks Satan has really been successfully putting me down, and hitting me with some pretty strong temptations. I always notice the more that I give in to temptations, the less I ask for Christ's help. I just seem to try to hide myself from Him, because I am so ashamed of some of the things that I do.
My mind tells me that God doesn't want to see my face or hear my voice, because I have sinned against him, but that is exactly the opposite of what God wants. Everyone knows the story of Adam and Eve. They ate the fruit from the forbidden tree and thus sin was born. The part of the story that intrigues me though is what happens next.
"When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. so they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" Gen. 3:8 (NLT)
The point of that verse is this: no matter where you are, who you are, or what you do, the Lord our God wants to be with you. He wants to walk with you. He wants to talk to you. He wants to be the one who you go to when you fail, not the one you run away from.
People these days have a twisted idea of how our God works. When you fall into sin, He doesn't sit there on his throne with a stone face, saying "whenever you're ready to love me I'll love you." No when you sin, He calls out to you saying "where are you?" You are His child. His love for you is beyond human ideas and human words. When you do good He loves you. When you sin He loves you. Even if you wanted Him not to love you, you could never make Him not love you. The question is not if He loves you. That's a given. The question is if you love Him, and if you're willing to give Him your sin, your pain, and ultimately yourself. Where are you today?
Friday, January 21, 2011
open the door
"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." Philippians 4:13 (the message)
Before reading on, read the verse again. What word stands out to you? For me its the word "in." For most people the Word that stands out is the word "anything," and that word stands out for me as well. But today I would like to look at the word "in."
There was a very specific time in my life when I decided I didn't want to live "in" Christ. I wanted to live, "in" me. It really was a satisfying feeling for a short period of time. You know, just living for yourself and only worrying about your desires and wants. Up front it seemed like a good plan, but soon after I walked that path, something changed. I came to a place in my life where I no longer knew who Christ was and I was no longer "in" Christ.
Let me put it this way. In the book of Revelation there is a scripture where Jesus says, "I stand at the door and knock." Have you ever answered the door for the UPS man or the Fed Ex man? They usually have a package of some kind to deliver to you. Before opening the door to them, the natural question to ask is "who is it." So we know its the UPS man, but unless we open the door, we can't receive whatever they have for us.
It works the same way with Jesus. If we never open the door to Him, we may know that he is there and know He is on the other side, but we can never be "in" him or able to accept what He has for us, unless we open the door to him.
Are you living in Christ today? Jesus promised that we can make it through anything, but we have to be "in" Christ and to be in Christ, we must have opened the door to Him. Have you accepted Christ? If so, His promise is an amazing one. If you haven't accepted Christ, why?
Before reading on, read the verse again. What word stands out to you? For me its the word "in." For most people the Word that stands out is the word "anything," and that word stands out for me as well. But today I would like to look at the word "in."
There was a very specific time in my life when I decided I didn't want to live "in" Christ. I wanted to live, "in" me. It really was a satisfying feeling for a short period of time. You know, just living for yourself and only worrying about your desires and wants. Up front it seemed like a good plan, but soon after I walked that path, something changed. I came to a place in my life where I no longer knew who Christ was and I was no longer "in" Christ.
Let me put it this way. In the book of Revelation there is a scripture where Jesus says, "I stand at the door and knock." Have you ever answered the door for the UPS man or the Fed Ex man? They usually have a package of some kind to deliver to you. Before opening the door to them, the natural question to ask is "who is it." So we know its the UPS man, but unless we open the door, we can't receive whatever they have for us.
It works the same way with Jesus. If we never open the door to Him, we may know that he is there and know He is on the other side, but we can never be "in" him or able to accept what He has for us, unless we open the door to him.
Are you living in Christ today? Jesus promised that we can make it through anything, but we have to be "in" Christ and to be in Christ, we must have opened the door to Him. Have you accepted Christ? If so, His promise is an amazing one. If you haven't accepted Christ, why?
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