You may read this and previous devotions on my blog at come2lifechurch.blogspot.com.
"Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity." — Lou Holtz
“People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity.” — John Adams
Adversity... a word, an experience that most of us avoid as much as possible. Yet, in life all of us face adversity in varying degrees at different times. I don’t know why some have more and some have less, but it seems to me the people who are the strongest, most successful, and most influential in our world are those that have come through adversity. Few of the wealthy people, successful business people of today had their wealth or success “handed to them on a silver platter.” A great number of their stories or “rags to riches” stories. They had to come through adversity. And even if they come from wealthy families they go through their own personal adversities to get where they are.
The Children of Israel could have left Egypt and traveled straight to the Promised Land without having to cross the Jordan River. It would have been less than half the distance of the journey they took. Does God just take pleasure in watching us in our struggles? Does He gain some kind of sick satisfaction in watching our pain? No! I believe He simply understands the power of adversity to shape us into what we need to be to accomplish His dream for our lives.
C. S. Lewis describes the role of suffering in the life of the believer as “soul-making.” It is the shaping of the Christian with the hammer and chisel of adversity. Lewis also said “God whispers to us in our pleasures; speaks in our consciences; but shouts in our pains.”
Some of you are in the heat of the deepest adversity of your life right now. Don’t despair. Don’t give up or give in to the temptation to take a shortcut. Stay in the fire until you have been forged and made strong and durable.
It is in adversity that our faith, our belief system is solidified. Until your faith, your beliefs have been tested they are just ideas, words, thoughts, but after testing they are proven principles.
UCLA alumni and fans made UCLA football coach Pepper Rodgers’s life miserable during a season when his Bruins got off to a horrible start. Nobody in Southern California would hang out with him. "My dog was my only true friend," Rodgers said of that year. "I told my wife that every man needs at least two good friends. She bought me another dog."
Rodgers can be rigid in the face of adversity. When his players at UCLA were having difficulty adapting to the wishbone offense he’d installed and the school’s alumni demanded that he adopt another system, Rodgers didn’t budge. “The wishbone,” he said, "is like Christianity. If you believe in it only until something goes wrong, you didn’t believe in it in the first place."
There are some interesting facts about the sisal plant from which is made tough sisal twine. It grows in Yucatan, Mexico, in hard stony soil. Some Americans visited the area and decided that there might be good money to be made in growing it in richer soil under better conditions. So they started a sisal plantation in Florida where the plant found life no longer a struggle for survival and grew to enormous size. The business promised tremendous returns until the time came for reaping. It was then that the leaf from which fibre vital for the twine comes collapsed into a soft pulp. The tough fibre-quality was missing. They learned then that the sisal plant acquired its toughness by its battle with adverse circumstances - the wind, the heat and the barren soil. God doesn’’t take pleasure in allowing the blasts of adversity to trouble His people but in His mercy and wisdom knows just what is necessary to foster the growth of spiritual character.
So, hang in there, hold on, hang tough, tie another knot in the rope, just don’t give up because of adversity, but rather expect adversity to be the making of a man or woman of God shaped to be great, shaped by adversity in the hands of a loving Lord. Don’t chase adversity, look for trouble, but when it comes and it is not of our own doing embrace it and get through it.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I confess that I don’t always willingly submit to Your work in my life with a gracious and grateful attitude. I complain far too much. Help me to see the incredible blessings of life, even adversity, and trust you to shape me and forge until I become what You have dreamed. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
What Are You Afraid Of?
John Ortberg in his book- “If You Want To Walk On Water You’’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat” notes this about fear:
“The single command in Scripture that occurs more often than any other - God’s most frequently repeated instruction - is formulated in two words: Fear Not. Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. You can trust me. Fear not. Why does God command us not to fear? Fear does not seem like the most serious vice in the world. It never made the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. No one ever receives church discipline for being afraid. SO why does God tell human beings to stop being afraid more often than he tells them anything else? My hunch is that the reason God says ‘Fear Not’ so much is not that he wants us to be spared emotional discomfort. In fact, usually he says it to people to do something that is going to lead them into greater fear anyway. I think God says, ‘fear not’ so often because fear is the number one reason human beings are tempted to avoid doing what God asks them to do (117,118).
In the September 21, 2001 San Francisco Chronicle, the headline read, "Freedom and Fear Are at War." The truth is fear is at war with many aspects of life, not just with freedom. Fear wars against our health. Fear wars against making good decisions. Fear wars against obedience to God. Fear interferes with all of life.
Paul Harvey tells the story of a famous thief from the 1800s. His name stirred fear. He terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for thirteen years, roaring like a tornado in and out of the Sierra Nevada’’s, spooking the most rugged frontiersmen. In journals from San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier.
During his reign of terror, he is credited with robbing twenty-nine different stagecoach crews. And he did it all without firing a shot. His weapon was his reputation. His ammunition was intimidation. A hood hid his face. No victim ever saw him. No artist ever sketched his features. No sheriff could ever track his trail. He never fired a shot or took a hostage. He didn’t have to. His presence was enough to paralyze.
Black Bart. A hooded bandit armed with a deadly weapon. What was his deadly weapon? One word, it was FEAR! Black Bart, as it turns out, wasn’t anything to be afraid of. When the hood came off, there was nothing to fear. When the authorities finally tracked down the thief, they didn’t find a bloodthirsty bandit from Death Valley. They found a mild-mannered druggist from Decatur, Illinois. The man the papers pictured storming through the mountains on horseback was, in reality, so afraid of horses he rode to and from his robberies in a buggy. He was Charles E. Boles –– the bandit who never once fired a shot, because he never once loaded his gun. — Paul Harvey’’s The Rest of the Story; (New York, NY: Bantam, 1977) Page 117
Just like Black Bart’s unloaded gun most fear has no real power only perceived power. Like the mother who decided she would put the fear of a speeding ticket in the speeding drivers going past a local elementary school. Every morning she would park her car in front of the elementary school and point her black hair dryer - shaped like a radar gun, out of the window at speeding cars. The effect was dramatic as drivers slowed down fearing they might receive a speeding ticket.
What are you afraid of? Afraid to take that step into a new career or business? Afraid to take the plunge and make the commitment to get married? Afraid to try something new? Afraid to commit to Jesus Christ because you are afraid you will fail at living a Christian life? What are you afraid?
Dr. E. Stanley Jones was an Evangelical Methodist missionary to India. He said, “I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.”
There is only one fear I can find that we are told to possess. Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Oh, by the way (or btw in today’s new language), if you are afraid to commit to Jesus Christ because you fear you can’t live the Christian life... stop worrying about it because you are right. You can’t live the Christian life, at least not alone. All Jesus asks is that we trust Him. He has promised to never leave us alone and then He gave us the church family. So go ahead and face that fear... TODAY!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for allowing fear to drive my life. Today I commit my life to You and purpose to do Your will and take the opportunities that You bring to my life because I know that I am not alone... I have You as my friend and partner. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
“The single command in Scripture that occurs more often than any other - God’s most frequently repeated instruction - is formulated in two words: Fear Not. Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. You can trust me. Fear not. Why does God command us not to fear? Fear does not seem like the most serious vice in the world. It never made the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. No one ever receives church discipline for being afraid. SO why does God tell human beings to stop being afraid more often than he tells them anything else? My hunch is that the reason God says ‘Fear Not’ so much is not that he wants us to be spared emotional discomfort. In fact, usually he says it to people to do something that is going to lead them into greater fear anyway. I think God says, ‘fear not’ so often because fear is the number one reason human beings are tempted to avoid doing what God asks them to do (117,118).
In the September 21, 2001 San Francisco Chronicle, the headline read, "Freedom and Fear Are at War." The truth is fear is at war with many aspects of life, not just with freedom. Fear wars against our health. Fear wars against making good decisions. Fear wars against obedience to God. Fear interferes with all of life.
Paul Harvey tells the story of a famous thief from the 1800s. His name stirred fear. He terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for thirteen years, roaring like a tornado in and out of the Sierra Nevada’’s, spooking the most rugged frontiersmen. In journals from San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier.
During his reign of terror, he is credited with robbing twenty-nine different stagecoach crews. And he did it all without firing a shot. His weapon was his reputation. His ammunition was intimidation. A hood hid his face. No victim ever saw him. No artist ever sketched his features. No sheriff could ever track his trail. He never fired a shot or took a hostage. He didn’t have to. His presence was enough to paralyze.
Black Bart. A hooded bandit armed with a deadly weapon. What was his deadly weapon? One word, it was FEAR! Black Bart, as it turns out, wasn’t anything to be afraid of. When the hood came off, there was nothing to fear. When the authorities finally tracked down the thief, they didn’t find a bloodthirsty bandit from Death Valley. They found a mild-mannered druggist from Decatur, Illinois. The man the papers pictured storming through the mountains on horseback was, in reality, so afraid of horses he rode to and from his robberies in a buggy. He was Charles E. Boles –– the bandit who never once fired a shot, because he never once loaded his gun. — Paul Harvey’’s The Rest of the Story; (New York, NY: Bantam, 1977) Page 117
Just like Black Bart’s unloaded gun most fear has no real power only perceived power. Like the mother who decided she would put the fear of a speeding ticket in the speeding drivers going past a local elementary school. Every morning she would park her car in front of the elementary school and point her black hair dryer - shaped like a radar gun, out of the window at speeding cars. The effect was dramatic as drivers slowed down fearing they might receive a speeding ticket.
What are you afraid of? Afraid to take that step into a new career or business? Afraid to take the plunge and make the commitment to get married? Afraid to try something new? Afraid to commit to Jesus Christ because you are afraid you will fail at living a Christian life? What are you afraid?
Dr. E. Stanley Jones was an Evangelical Methodist missionary to India. He said, “I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.”
There is only one fear I can find that we are told to possess. Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Oh, by the way (or btw in today’s new language), if you are afraid to commit to Jesus Christ because you fear you can’t live the Christian life... stop worrying about it because you are right. You can’t live the Christian life, at least not alone. All Jesus asks is that we trust Him. He has promised to never leave us alone and then He gave us the church family. So go ahead and face that fear... TODAY!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for allowing fear to drive my life. Today I commit my life to You and purpose to do Your will and take the opportunities that You bring to my life because I know that I am not alone... I have You as my friend and partner. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Are You Accepted?
Romans 15:7 (NIV) Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
A child psychologist told about a boy brought to him for treatment who was labeled "incorrigible." The child was supposed to be "uncontrollable." He was moody, and at first wouldn't even talk to the doctor. There simply seemed to be no "handle" with which to take hold of him. The boy's own father, said, "This is the only child I've ever seen who doesn't have a single likeable trait, not a single one."
Hearing the father’s statement the doctor realized this was his starting point. He started looking for something he could approve. He found several things. The boy liked to carve and he did it well. At home he had carved up the furniture and been punished for it. The doctor bought him a carving set, a set of carving knives, and some soft wood. He also gave him some suggestions about how to use them, and didn't hold back his approval. "You know, Jimmy," he said, "you can carve out things better than any boy I ever knew."
To make a long story short, the doctor soon found other things he could approve, and one day Jimmy surprised everyone by cleaning up his own room without being asked. When the doctor asked him why he did it, Jimmy answered, "I thought you would like that."
Acceptance changes lives. You and I have seen it happen in other situations with adults as well as young people. This is the strength of 12 Step Groups and other support groups. When people feel accepted, they find the power to change.
It’s a wonderful thing to be accepted. That is what Jesus did for us. He has accepted us with all our flaws and blemishes so that He could transform us through His love.
Ephesians 1:5-6 (KJV) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
You may be rejected by many in this world, but you are “accepted in the beloved.” You may have been rejected by those closest to you, but you are “accepted in the beloved.” Your mother or father may have rejected you, but you are “accepted in the beloved.” Your spouse may have rejected, but you are “accepted in the beloved.” When you feel discouraged or the rejection comes crashing down on you just stop and say, “I am accepted in the beloved.” Of course “the beloved” is Jesus Christ. Consequently, I no longer strive to do what is right to avoid hell but to please Jesus. I spent a lot of my life just trying to avoid hell. It is so much more fulfilling to live to please Jesus (and avoid hell in the process). One day we will stand before Him and hear Him say, “Well done” and we can reply, “I thought You’d like that.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want my life to bring pleasure to You. I want You to be pleased with what I do. Thank You for accepting me not because I changed, but so that You could change me. I love You and live to please You because you accepted me when I was not a pleasure. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
A child psychologist told about a boy brought to him for treatment who was labeled "incorrigible." The child was supposed to be "uncontrollable." He was moody, and at first wouldn't even talk to the doctor. There simply seemed to be no "handle" with which to take hold of him. The boy's own father, said, "This is the only child I've ever seen who doesn't have a single likeable trait, not a single one."
Hearing the father’s statement the doctor realized this was his starting point. He started looking for something he could approve. He found several things. The boy liked to carve and he did it well. At home he had carved up the furniture and been punished for it. The doctor bought him a carving set, a set of carving knives, and some soft wood. He also gave him some suggestions about how to use them, and didn't hold back his approval. "You know, Jimmy," he said, "you can carve out things better than any boy I ever knew."
To make a long story short, the doctor soon found other things he could approve, and one day Jimmy surprised everyone by cleaning up his own room without being asked. When the doctor asked him why he did it, Jimmy answered, "I thought you would like that."
Acceptance changes lives. You and I have seen it happen in other situations with adults as well as young people. This is the strength of 12 Step Groups and other support groups. When people feel accepted, they find the power to change.
It’s a wonderful thing to be accepted. That is what Jesus did for us. He has accepted us with all our flaws and blemishes so that He could transform us through His love.
Ephesians 1:5-6 (KJV) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
You may be rejected by many in this world, but you are “accepted in the beloved.” You may have been rejected by those closest to you, but you are “accepted in the beloved.” Your mother or father may have rejected you, but you are “accepted in the beloved.” Your spouse may have rejected, but you are “accepted in the beloved.” When you feel discouraged or the rejection comes crashing down on you just stop and say, “I am accepted in the beloved.” Of course “the beloved” is Jesus Christ. Consequently, I no longer strive to do what is right to avoid hell but to please Jesus. I spent a lot of my life just trying to avoid hell. It is so much more fulfilling to live to please Jesus (and avoid hell in the process). One day we will stand before Him and hear Him say, “Well done” and we can reply, “I thought You’d like that.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want my life to bring pleasure to You. I want You to be pleased with what I do. Thank You for accepting me not because I changed, but so that You could change me. I love You and live to please You because you accepted me when I was not a pleasure. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Monday, June 11, 2007
Are You a Producer?
The pressure is on in our world today to be producers. You have quotas to meet weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. Sometimes your job depends on the numbers you produce. Pastors even feel this in ministry. It’s just the atmosphere of our world. Everybody wants production. That’s what we get paid for. My Friend, Pastor Vic Schober, does a devotional he calls God’s Favored. Today’s was from John 15:16. He got me to thinking about this.
Maybe this production things is not just the way of our world. Jesus talked in this entire 15th chapter of John about bearing fruit. Sometimes in the Bible we get so wrapped up in spiritual meanings that we forget that Jesus was very interested in our daily lives. I know the primary purpose for each of us is to accomplish the great commission of reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But even in that “production” is not our responsibility just “proclamation” through our word, lives, and relationships. So what is this fruit? Of course it is the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Certainly we know that when we produce more of these qualities in our lives it impacts every relationship we have in life in a very positive way.
The fruit of the spirit is comprised of attitudes that will impact our daily lives as well. They will cause us to produce, to be successful at whatever we do in life. We all know that connections in life are important to our production as well. It is often said, “It’s not so much what you know, but who you know.” I heard a story from many years ago about a young man who wanted to be a stock broker and financial investor. He tried and tried to get an interview with Mr. Rothchild a prominent and very successful investor and financier of that day. He was in fact one of the richest men in the world. The young man was persistent in asking for an interview to get a job with Mr. Rothchild. One day Mr. Rothchild came out of his office and said to the young man, “Let’s go for a walk.” He put his arm around the shoulder of the young man and they walked through Wall Street Stock Exchange while they chatted. It took a few minutes and they returned and said “goodbye.” It wasn’t long until the young man’s phone began ringing with offers... because they had seen him with “the master.”
John 15:16 (NIV) says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
Be connected to Jesus, get connected to Jesus. He is the key to everything we have and need in life. You may have many good connections in life, but the first and most important is Jesus. He wants you to be successful in life. In John 15:8 He says it is to His Father’s glory that we bear MUCH fruit.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, today make me a producer of the fruit of spirit and a producer in my business. I want to bring glory to You in all I do in life. Thank You for choosing me to partner with You. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Maybe this production things is not just the way of our world. Jesus talked in this entire 15th chapter of John about bearing fruit. Sometimes in the Bible we get so wrapped up in spiritual meanings that we forget that Jesus was very interested in our daily lives. I know the primary purpose for each of us is to accomplish the great commission of reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But even in that “production” is not our responsibility just “proclamation” through our word, lives, and relationships. So what is this fruit? Of course it is the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Certainly we know that when we produce more of these qualities in our lives it impacts every relationship we have in life in a very positive way.
The fruit of the spirit is comprised of attitudes that will impact our daily lives as well. They will cause us to produce, to be successful at whatever we do in life. We all know that connections in life are important to our production as well. It is often said, “It’s not so much what you know, but who you know.” I heard a story from many years ago about a young man who wanted to be a stock broker and financial investor. He tried and tried to get an interview with Mr. Rothchild a prominent and very successful investor and financier of that day. He was in fact one of the richest men in the world. The young man was persistent in asking for an interview to get a job with Mr. Rothchild. One day Mr. Rothchild came out of his office and said to the young man, “Let’s go for a walk.” He put his arm around the shoulder of the young man and they walked through Wall Street Stock Exchange while they chatted. It took a few minutes and they returned and said “goodbye.” It wasn’t long until the young man’s phone began ringing with offers... because they had seen him with “the master.”
John 15:16 (NIV) says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
Be connected to Jesus, get connected to Jesus. He is the key to everything we have and need in life. You may have many good connections in life, but the first and most important is Jesus. He wants you to be successful in life. In John 15:8 He says it is to His Father’s glory that we bear MUCH fruit.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, today make me a producer of the fruit of spirit and a producer in my business. I want to bring glory to You in all I do in life. Thank You for choosing me to partner with You. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Friday, June 8, 2007
What is Your Vision?
"If you don’t have a vision, then your reality will always be determined by other’s perceptions." -- Melanee Addison
The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
Here are a couple of other translations of that verse.
“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18 (NIV)
“When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.” Proverbs 29:18 (NLT)
Vision is a big word in our world today. It is a word very common in the church and in business. People are drawn to people with vision. People who have a picture of what they want for their life, their company, their business, their country, etc. Right now we are trying to determine the vision of the plethora of candidates we have on both sides of the aisle for President of the United States. Everybody needs a vision to be successful in life.
Let’s take a closer look at the above verse. The King James rendering says that we “perish” without vision. That’s strong language... but not too strong because it is true. The NIV says vision brings restraint (another word would be discipline) to our lives. The New Living Translation says that vision is “divine guidance” and brings restraint to our lives or “keeps us from running wild.”
The primary purpose of the Scripture here is to communicate that we all need a personal revelation of God that we know leads to a personal relationship with Him leading us to know and keep the spiritual laws He has set in motion. Living outside those laws brings pain and destruction. If you don’t know Jesus Christ now is the time. Invite Him into your life today with His vision for your life and begin living by His laws designed to cause you to succeed in life.
Vision is also a sense of purpose, a knowing where you are headed and a picture of what it will look like when you arrive. Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychologist who survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. Frankl made a startling discovery about why some survived the horrible conditions and some did not.
He looked at several factors - health, vitality, family structure, intelligence, survival skills. Finally he concluded that none of these factors was primarily responsible. The single most significant factor, he realized, was a sense of future vision - the impelling conviction of those who were to survive that they had a mission to perform, some important work left to do.
Survivors of POW camps in Vietnam and elsewhere have reported similar experiences: a compelling, future-oriented vision is the primary force that kept many of them alive.
A vision, a sense of purpose beyond today is necessary for success in any venture in life. When you have no vision you are scattered, running in too many directions, instead of focused and disciplined. People who are poor financial manager have no vision for their lives so they spend all they make and then some and have little to show for it.
Here’s what I know. God has a vision for my life and your life. If we will simply ask Him to reveal it to us He will. It begins by accepting His vision that we be in right relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Turn to Romans 10:9,10 today. Acknowledge Jesus’ power to save, repent of your sins, and invite Him into your life today. Then begin to open your heart to know what He wants for you in this life as you prepare for the life to come. But remember that vision without action is only a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to know and develop, with Your guidance, a vision for my life. Help me to understand that I have purpose in life and to live out that purpose with Your help. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
Here are a couple of other translations of that verse.
“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18 (NIV)
“When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.” Proverbs 29:18 (NLT)
Vision is a big word in our world today. It is a word very common in the church and in business. People are drawn to people with vision. People who have a picture of what they want for their life, their company, their business, their country, etc. Right now we are trying to determine the vision of the plethora of candidates we have on both sides of the aisle for President of the United States. Everybody needs a vision to be successful in life.
Let’s take a closer look at the above verse. The King James rendering says that we “perish” without vision. That’s strong language... but not too strong because it is true. The NIV says vision brings restraint (another word would be discipline) to our lives. The New Living Translation says that vision is “divine guidance” and brings restraint to our lives or “keeps us from running wild.”
The primary purpose of the Scripture here is to communicate that we all need a personal revelation of God that we know leads to a personal relationship with Him leading us to know and keep the spiritual laws He has set in motion. Living outside those laws brings pain and destruction. If you don’t know Jesus Christ now is the time. Invite Him into your life today with His vision for your life and begin living by His laws designed to cause you to succeed in life.
Vision is also a sense of purpose, a knowing where you are headed and a picture of what it will look like when you arrive. Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychologist who survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. Frankl made a startling discovery about why some survived the horrible conditions and some did not.
He looked at several factors - health, vitality, family structure, intelligence, survival skills. Finally he concluded that none of these factors was primarily responsible. The single most significant factor, he realized, was a sense of future vision - the impelling conviction of those who were to survive that they had a mission to perform, some important work left to do.
Survivors of POW camps in Vietnam and elsewhere have reported similar experiences: a compelling, future-oriented vision is the primary force that kept many of them alive.
A vision, a sense of purpose beyond today is necessary for success in any venture in life. When you have no vision you are scattered, running in too many directions, instead of focused and disciplined. People who are poor financial manager have no vision for their lives so they spend all they make and then some and have little to show for it.
Here’s what I know. God has a vision for my life and your life. If we will simply ask Him to reveal it to us He will. It begins by accepting His vision that we be in right relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Turn to Romans 10:9,10 today. Acknowledge Jesus’ power to save, repent of your sins, and invite Him into your life today. Then begin to open your heart to know what He wants for you in this life as you prepare for the life to come. But remember that vision without action is only a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to know and develop, with Your guidance, a vision for my life. Help me to understand that I have purpose in life and to live out that purpose with Your help. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Renew Your Mind
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Romans 12:1-3 (NIV)
“...but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It did not say “transformed by some supernatural force” or “transformed by someone who loves you” or “transformed by changing jobs” or “transformed by losing weight” and the list could go on and on. We all know people who have changed jobs and for a while they were different, but then they fell back into the same patterns as before or people who lost a great amount of weight and for a while they were different but then you see them a year or a few years later and they are like they were. The reason is that they only changed what they DID for a while and never changed the way they THINK... the renewing of the mind.
The word “renew” in that Scripture is from a Greek word that means literally “to renovate.” The word for “transformed” is “metamorphoo” from which we get our word “metamorphosis.” Metamorphosis is what takes place when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It is transformed from a wooly, creepy, worm that crawls at a snail’s pace to a beautiful butterfly, brilliant with color, flitting around with such speed they are difficult to catch. That’s transformation!
Yet Paul says that we can be transformed, be so changed that the new hardly resembles to old, by renewing, renovating our minds. Now, there is both the act of our will and the help of the Holy Spirit involved here. The Holy Spirit helps us, but He waits for us to by an act of the will begin to change the way we think. Some of you getting this spend way too much time berating yourselves for your mistakes. “I am so stupid” or “How could I be so stupid to to that or think that or allow this to happen?” or “I am just not smart enough” or “I am just not pretty enough” or “I am just not quick enough.” Well... you get the point. Stop that! Renovate your mind. Fill it with God’s word. Fill it with uplifting conversation. Fill it with thoughts of who you are in Christ. Stop hanging out with people that talk negatively all the time. Renovate! Renovate!
“Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NLT)
I am amazed at how often the Bible tells us to do things that we ask God to do for us. He will help us through the power of the Holy Spirit, but there are just some things we must do. Notice in the Scripture above, “Throw off” and “Let the Spirit” and “Put on.” Admonitions from the Holy Bible that all depend on our action and our decisions. What needs to change in your mind, your thinking?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the powerful help of the Holy Spirit to aid me, but I realize today that His help only follows by actions and decisions. Today, I decide to be a stronger, better person in my life. I am changing, renovating my mind... the way I think and the attitudes I have. I anticipate Your supernatural participation as I become what and who God has planned for me to be. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
“...but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It did not say “transformed by some supernatural force” or “transformed by someone who loves you” or “transformed by changing jobs” or “transformed by losing weight” and the list could go on and on. We all know people who have changed jobs and for a while they were different, but then they fell back into the same patterns as before or people who lost a great amount of weight and for a while they were different but then you see them a year or a few years later and they are like they were. The reason is that they only changed what they DID for a while and never changed the way they THINK... the renewing of the mind.
The word “renew” in that Scripture is from a Greek word that means literally “to renovate.” The word for “transformed” is “metamorphoo” from which we get our word “metamorphosis.” Metamorphosis is what takes place when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It is transformed from a wooly, creepy, worm that crawls at a snail’s pace to a beautiful butterfly, brilliant with color, flitting around with such speed they are difficult to catch. That’s transformation!
Yet Paul says that we can be transformed, be so changed that the new hardly resembles to old, by renewing, renovating our minds. Now, there is both the act of our will and the help of the Holy Spirit involved here. The Holy Spirit helps us, but He waits for us to by an act of the will begin to change the way we think. Some of you getting this spend way too much time berating yourselves for your mistakes. “I am so stupid” or “How could I be so stupid to to that or think that or allow this to happen?” or “I am just not smart enough” or “I am just not pretty enough” or “I am just not quick enough.” Well... you get the point. Stop that! Renovate your mind. Fill it with God’s word. Fill it with uplifting conversation. Fill it with thoughts of who you are in Christ. Stop hanging out with people that talk negatively all the time. Renovate! Renovate!
“Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NLT)
I am amazed at how often the Bible tells us to do things that we ask God to do for us. He will help us through the power of the Holy Spirit, but there are just some things we must do. Notice in the Scripture above, “Throw off” and “Let the Spirit” and “Put on.” Admonitions from the Holy Bible that all depend on our action and our decisions. What needs to change in your mind, your thinking?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the powerful help of the Holy Spirit to aid me, but I realize today that His help only follows by actions and decisions. Today, I decide to be a stronger, better person in my life. I am changing, renovating my mind... the way I think and the attitudes I have. I anticipate Your supernatural participation as I become what and who God has planned for me to be. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Monday, June 4, 2007
Strength for the Storms
It seems these days in DFW it rains everyday. Is this the South Central United States or have we moved to the Northwest? Somedays I feel lost. But we all no that in August we’ll be ever so grateful for the rains we have had in surplus. It’s just that it seems right now the storms will never stop.
Life feels that way sometimes doesn’t it. We wonder, “Will they ever stop?” Mark Twain and a friend walked outside one day in the rain. The friend said, “You think it will stop?” Mark Twain replied, “It always does.”
It’s true about the storms of life too. They never last forever. I am one who sleeps well and often do not even know about storms when they come in the night until the next morning. Jesus slept in storms too. In Gospel of Mark chapter 4 the story is told of Jesus sleeping in the back part of the ship and a storm blew in. The disciples were afraid and woke Him, saying, “Don’t you care that we are about to perish?”
Now, why would they wake Him except because they believed He could do something about the storm? It becomes apparent that was not their expectation at all when after He did still the storm the Bible says, “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’" Mark 4:39-41 (NIV)
They were afraid in the storm and now they were terrified because Jesus stilled the storm. Tough bunch to please weren’t they! The truth is that Jesus is with us in all the storms of our life.
My friend Richard Exley wrote a book titled “Strength for the Storms.” He’s written many books but this one is at top or at least near the top of my favorites. I think it is because we all have storms no matter who we are. Richard writes in his book, “There are some who believe that God sends the storms in our lives, but I cannot conceive of our loving heavenly Father doing something like that. Perhaps He allows them to come. For certain, He redeems them—that is, He touches them with His Spirit, transforming them into instruments of grace that work for our eternal benefit. Of course this does not make the troubles we suffer painless, but it does give our pain purpose. Now instead of viewing pain as an enemy to be overcome, we see it as an ally.”
The storms blow and we see the damage, but He takes the rain and fills the lakes so that in the drought we have water we need. Jesus redeems our pain and turns it to good. Whatever storm you are in just remember it will stop, it always does and begin to look for the hand of God redeeming your storm.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me strength for the storms of life and faith to see Your blessed hand at work making them something blessed and profitable in my life. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Life feels that way sometimes doesn’t it. We wonder, “Will they ever stop?” Mark Twain and a friend walked outside one day in the rain. The friend said, “You think it will stop?” Mark Twain replied, “It always does.”
It’s true about the storms of life too. They never last forever. I am one who sleeps well and often do not even know about storms when they come in the night until the next morning. Jesus slept in storms too. In Gospel of Mark chapter 4 the story is told of Jesus sleeping in the back part of the ship and a storm blew in. The disciples were afraid and woke Him, saying, “Don’t you care that we are about to perish?”
Now, why would they wake Him except because they believed He could do something about the storm? It becomes apparent that was not their expectation at all when after He did still the storm the Bible says, “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’" Mark 4:39-41 (NIV)
They were afraid in the storm and now they were terrified because Jesus stilled the storm. Tough bunch to please weren’t they! The truth is that Jesus is with us in all the storms of our life.
My friend Richard Exley wrote a book titled “Strength for the Storms.” He’s written many books but this one is at top or at least near the top of my favorites. I think it is because we all have storms no matter who we are. Richard writes in his book, “There are some who believe that God sends the storms in our lives, but I cannot conceive of our loving heavenly Father doing something like that. Perhaps He allows them to come. For certain, He redeems them—that is, He touches them with His Spirit, transforming them into instruments of grace that work for our eternal benefit. Of course this does not make the troubles we suffer painless, but it does give our pain purpose. Now instead of viewing pain as an enemy to be overcome, we see it as an ally.”
The storms blow and we see the damage, but He takes the rain and fills the lakes so that in the drought we have water we need. Jesus redeems our pain and turns it to good. Whatever storm you are in just remember it will stop, it always does and begin to look for the hand of God redeeming your storm.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me strength for the storms of life and faith to see Your blessed hand at work making them something blessed and profitable in my life. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
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