C. S. Lewis has gotten new notoriety in recent years with some of his works making it to the big screen. He is a brilliant mind and yet so simple in some of his wisdom. He said, "The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a sunhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it." — Lewis, C.S.
Let’s go from the mind of a man who may well have been a genius to that of a child who asked, “Mommy, the preacher’s sermon this morning confused me.”
The mother said,“Oh! Why is that?”
The girl replied, “Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s true,” the Mother replied.
“He also said that God lives in us. Is that true, too?”
Again the mother replied, “Yes.”
“Well,” said the little girl. “If God is bigger than us and he lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”
I like a child’s honest, literal interpretation of life. If God lives in us, then there’s no way of keeping him from “showing through.” That’s the essence of Christian living- living in such a way that people around us will see God in our lives. The Apostle Paul said it this way, “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:3 (NIV)
I have often said that in personal evangelism initially people are not impressed with the Scripture we can quote. That may even turn them off initially. The question in their mind is, “If this is so great how has it made a difference in your life?” If they are a stranger we need to tell them. If they are a co-worker they should have already seen it. Then affirm it with Scripture, but first we are the letter, the introduction.
At one time I was and itinerant speaker/evangelist. Often I would introduce myself to new pastors and areas of the country by having friends that knew me well send a letter of introduction ahead then I would call them or write them. Doing it this way, they were not just being presented with someone they were totally unfamiliar with, but they had been introduced to me by someone they knew already. We are those letters of introduction to Christ.
It’s quite a responsibility, isn’t it?!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want to be a good introduction to Your love and saving power. I know I am not perfect, but I can be genuine, real so that others will not be turned away with hypocrisy, but be attracted to You because You show through in my life. Help me today to show someone the way to You. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Amazing Grace
I grew up in the church hearing “Amazing Grace.” Yet, it seemed we lived under a cloud of never being quite good enough. We sang “amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me” but then heard about all the things we had to do and certainly should not do to avoid being “a wretch.” Don’t go there, don’t do that, don’t say that, don’t think that, don’t drink that, don’t wear that, don’t look like that. We were always hoping, but never sure that we were good enough, holy enough. I now know the answer to that question. I will never be good enough or holy enough, but I am loved enough by a loving God to be saved from my sinful self and live in fellowship with Jesus becoming more like Him daily until one day when He comes back for us we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is.
The novelist, A. J. Cronin, tells a story from his own experience as a doctor that illustrates the wonder of the gift of grace. The Adams family at the close of the Second World War decided to open their home to a little refugee boy with the difficult name of Paul Piotrostanalzi. The Adams had two daughters and a son named Sammy. Sammy and Paul became inseparable friends, but little Paul was a difficult child, and often disobeyed Mr. and Mrs. Adams.
One day, Paul went swimming in some contaminated water. He became very ill with a high fever, and the doctor suggested he sleep in an attic bedroom to protect others from catching his sickness. But little Sammy missed his friend Paul so much that one night he crept up the attic stairs and into bed with Paul. Paul’s hot, feverish breath fell on Sammy all night. In the morning, Sammy, never a strong child, became deathly ill. Paul recovered his health, but Sammy died within three days. It was a terrible tragedy for the Adams family.
A year later Dr. Cronin decided to pay a call on the Adams family. But as he pulled into their driveway, he was amazed and then angry as he saw Paul, the refugee boy, working in the garden with Mr. Adams. He got out of his car and angrily approached Mr. Adams. "What’s this Paul Pio........ “ he stumbled over his name and then said, “whatever his name is, doing here after what he did to your family?"
Mr. Adams looked at the doctor and then said quietly, "Dr. Cronin, you won’t have any more trouble with Paul’s name. You see, he’s Paul Adams now. We’’ve adopted him."
That is a wonderful story of costly grace.
Someone said, “Our worst days are never so bad that we are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And our best days are never so good that we are beyond the need of God’s grace.”
It really is Amazing Grace!
Prayer: Thank You, Jesus for the amazing grace of God that You made available to me through Your sacrificial death on the cross. Help me live holy not to earn Your grace, but to honor Your grace. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
The novelist, A. J. Cronin, tells a story from his own experience as a doctor that illustrates the wonder of the gift of grace. The Adams family at the close of the Second World War decided to open their home to a little refugee boy with the difficult name of Paul Piotrostanalzi. The Adams had two daughters and a son named Sammy. Sammy and Paul became inseparable friends, but little Paul was a difficult child, and often disobeyed Mr. and Mrs. Adams.
One day, Paul went swimming in some contaminated water. He became very ill with a high fever, and the doctor suggested he sleep in an attic bedroom to protect others from catching his sickness. But little Sammy missed his friend Paul so much that one night he crept up the attic stairs and into bed with Paul. Paul’s hot, feverish breath fell on Sammy all night. In the morning, Sammy, never a strong child, became deathly ill. Paul recovered his health, but Sammy died within three days. It was a terrible tragedy for the Adams family.
A year later Dr. Cronin decided to pay a call on the Adams family. But as he pulled into their driveway, he was amazed and then angry as he saw Paul, the refugee boy, working in the garden with Mr. Adams. He got out of his car and angrily approached Mr. Adams. "What’s this Paul Pio........ “ he stumbled over his name and then said, “whatever his name is, doing here after what he did to your family?"
Mr. Adams looked at the doctor and then said quietly, "Dr. Cronin, you won’t have any more trouble with Paul’s name. You see, he’s Paul Adams now. We’’ve adopted him."
That is a wonderful story of costly grace.
Someone said, “Our worst days are never so bad that we are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And our best days are never so good that we are beyond the need of God’s grace.”
It really is Amazing Grace!
Prayer: Thank You, Jesus for the amazing grace of God that You made available to me through Your sacrificial death on the cross. Help me live holy not to earn Your grace, but to honor Your grace. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
How to Faith It
"Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact." -- William James
I have often said that faith is very misunderstood. Most people think that faith is some kind of extraordinary power to believe for the impossible or miraculous. Faith is not some mysterious power it is simply WHAT we believe. The exception to this might be “faith” as the gift of the Holy Spirit, but even this gift is a gift of confidence in what we believe or need to believe for.
The writer of Hebrews said, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
The King James version says it like this, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
The Greek word for “substance” is “hupostasis.” It is the compound of two words that mean literally “to place under.” It is simply the foundation, what is underneath. What the Word is saying in very simple terms is that everything begins, has as its foundation FAITH. Before it will happen we have to believe it. The opening quote from William James (whether or not he realized it) is just a restatement of Scriptural truth... “your belief will help create the fact.”
Now, the truth is that all of life is about believing. We all have faith for something. We cannot choose to have no faith. We are always believing and creating. While we cannot choose to believe or not believe, to have faith or no faith... we can choose what we believe. That is the power that we have. We can believe for success or for failure. We can believe for blessing or to be cursed. We make those choices in life.
We give life to beliefs by what we speak. The Bible says “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”(Lewis paraphrase).
“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 (NIV)
Paul talks about the opposing forces that live within him in Romans 7. We are all like that. Darkness and light, good and evil are in us all. Some say that “you can have what you say,” but the truth is that we only give life to what we have by what we say. Good and evil are like glowing embers buried within us waiting for just a breath of oxygen to spring to life in burning flames. We get to choose which embers get the breath.
So here’s a thought. If I don’t verbalize it, if I refuse to talk about it then it will die for lack of oxygen. It’s like fire. It’s there but if I cut off its supply of oxygen it will die. That fire that is negative, destructive, expecting failure needs you to speak it, give it life. We usually try to talk it to death. That just gives it more fuel to live longer. Starve it to death by choosing to believe for good, blessings, success, and the good things of God. Breathe life into those!
Remember we are made in the likeness of God. God in the beginning had a thought, a belief and spoke. At His words everything came into being from nothing.
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalms 141:3 (NIV) AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
I have often said that faith is very misunderstood. Most people think that faith is some kind of extraordinary power to believe for the impossible or miraculous. Faith is not some mysterious power it is simply WHAT we believe. The exception to this might be “faith” as the gift of the Holy Spirit, but even this gift is a gift of confidence in what we believe or need to believe for.
The writer of Hebrews said, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
The King James version says it like this, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
The Greek word for “substance” is “hupostasis.” It is the compound of two words that mean literally “to place under.” It is simply the foundation, what is underneath. What the Word is saying in very simple terms is that everything begins, has as its foundation FAITH. Before it will happen we have to believe it. The opening quote from William James (whether or not he realized it) is just a restatement of Scriptural truth... “your belief will help create the fact.”
Now, the truth is that all of life is about believing. We all have faith for something. We cannot choose to have no faith. We are always believing and creating. While we cannot choose to believe or not believe, to have faith or no faith... we can choose what we believe. That is the power that we have. We can believe for success or for failure. We can believe for blessing or to be cursed. We make those choices in life.
We give life to beliefs by what we speak. The Bible says “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”(Lewis paraphrase).
“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 (NIV)
Paul talks about the opposing forces that live within him in Romans 7. We are all like that. Darkness and light, good and evil are in us all. Some say that “you can have what you say,” but the truth is that we only give life to what we have by what we say. Good and evil are like glowing embers buried within us waiting for just a breath of oxygen to spring to life in burning flames. We get to choose which embers get the breath.
So here’s a thought. If I don’t verbalize it, if I refuse to talk about it then it will die for lack of oxygen. It’s like fire. It’s there but if I cut off its supply of oxygen it will die. That fire that is negative, destructive, expecting failure needs you to speak it, give it life. We usually try to talk it to death. That just gives it more fuel to live longer. Starve it to death by choosing to believe for good, blessings, success, and the good things of God. Breathe life into those!
Remember we are made in the likeness of God. God in the beginning had a thought, a belief and spoke. At His words everything came into being from nothing.
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalms 141:3 (NIV) AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
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