You may read this and previous devotions on my blog at come2lifechurch.blogspot.com.
Many years ago Bill Gaither wrote a song that was popular among all, but seemed to feature children often in its presentation. It was just cute to hear children sing “He Still Workin’ on Me.” The song asked for patience while God finished His work in our lives. It was cute for kids but important for all of us to realize that no matter how long we have been, as they used to say, “in the way, He’s still working on us. I saw a bumper sticker a while back that said, “Be patient with me. God’s not finished with me yet.”
1 Corinthians 1:8 (NCV) Jesus will keep you strong until the end so that there will be no wrong in you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Philippians 1:6 (NCV) God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.
Two things jump out at me from those Scriptures. What kind of work is He doing? “A good work.” Not just any work... a good work. Paul said in Ephesians that God has prepared in advance “good works” for us to do, and He is doing a “good work” in us.
The second thing is when will it be finished? “When Christ comes again.”
I was talking with one of my board members at our meeting last night. They have just returned from a vacation trip to South Dakota. He was telling us about Mount Rushmore and how magnificent it is. Then he talked about the carving of Crazy Horse, a famous Indian. The entire Mount Rushmore carving of four presidents could fit on the face of the Crazy Horse work. It is still a work in progress. They just recently revealed the first fifty years of work and are working on the next fifty years. It has taken more than fifty years just to form the head. The family is committed to finish the work no matter how long it takes.
God is committed to finish His work in us, but don’t get discouraged if you still see flaws and unfinished parts. We live in a day of fast food, quick fixes, extreme makeovers where houses are removed and new ones erected in seven days, but this makeover of our lives takes a lifetime.
1 John 3:2 (NCV) Dear friends, now we are children of God, and we have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him, because we will see him as he really is.
So be patient with me, and I’ll be patient with you, and we will all trust in Jesus who will make us perfect when He comes again. What a day! It will be sooner than we think. Next month ( the last four Sundays in July) I will be teaching on prophetic themes reminding us that this is the shortest life we will ever live. There is another one coming and if we die in Christ or leave in the Rapture it will be a perfect one.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your commitment to work on me and for Your patience with me in the process. I know I haven’t always been the most cooperative subject, but help me to be more submitted to Your design for my life. Make me a blessing in the process as well. I am not just a lifeless statue, but a living work. I want my living to be for You and to please You. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Friday, June 22, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Integrity... Is it still important?
The story of Joseph’s rise to power in Egypt is always exciting. Remember after he had survived all the challenges and sat comfortably on the throne his brothers came asking for help for they were starving in their country. They did not recognize Joseph so he decided to test them and had their money put back in their sacks without their knowledge. When they discovered the money their father told them to return it but double the amount. Genesis 43:12 (NIV) “Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.”
“Perhaps it was a mistake.” Have you ever been given too much change? If we are short changed we are quick to let it be known and expect it to be made right. But are we as quick to notify of being given too much? Is it easy to walk away and think, “Oh well, they should have been smarter or more careful. It’s the price you pay.” Several weeks ago I was ordering at a fast food establishment. I ordered a chocolate shake and was charged on my bill for a chocolate cookie. I immediately noted that to the lady waiting on me. She seemed shocked that I would say anything. Surprised at honesty?! What a shame! She gave me the shake at the price of a cookie, but it bothered me that she was surprised by honesty.
We are fast coming upon Presidential elections once again in America. They seem to come around much faster than they used to. There was a time when the central focus of political campaigns was whether or not the candidate had integrity or not. Lincoln ran on this platform in 1860 and 1864. Theodore Roosevelt did the same almost fifty years later. But now, a century since Teddy, the fact that a man or woman has shown less than sparkling character during the course of their personal lives seems to be of little importance in a more “pragmatically focused” world.
To quote a former president caught in gross immorality, “our personal lives are none of the nation’s business.” (Bill Clinton, 1998.) I would vehemently disagree! Issues like whether or not you have cheated on your spouse or faithfully served your country in the military or, for that matter, believe in God, have been relegated to the scrap heap and called time-worn and irrelevant ideas that are no longer applicable to our times. By the way, if you ever have wondered what common thread tied Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt in such a way as to be the faces depicted on Mt. Rushmore, you need look no farther than this: each man led a life of integrity.)
Honesty and integrity should be something we can expect in a presidential candidate and everyone else as well. Ted Engstrom gives the following definition of integrity, “Simply put, Integrity is doing what you said you would do.”
Integrity means you keep your promises. When you promised to be faithful to your mate, integrity says you’ll stay with that person no matter what -- for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. If you promised the Lord that you would give Him the glory, integrity means you keep on doing that whether you’re reduced to nothing or exalted to the highest pinnacle on earth. If you promised a friend that you would return a call, integrity means you return it. If you promised your child that you would spend Saturday together, integrity means you keep that appointment. A promise is a holy thing, whether made to a chairman of the board -- or to a child.
In a world that seems to have given up on values that made us what we are let us be counter culture, go against the grain, live with integrity in all our lives. Don’t even think gray. It’s black and white, right and wrong. If there is a question then go to the side of honesty and integrity.
Prayer: Father God, You have never failed to keep a promise. Help me to live a life of integrity that brings honor to Your name. Even when at the moment it seems that integrity costs me something give me to courage to be honest in the confidence that in the end it will be greatly rewarded. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
“Perhaps it was a mistake.” Have you ever been given too much change? If we are short changed we are quick to let it be known and expect it to be made right. But are we as quick to notify of being given too much? Is it easy to walk away and think, “Oh well, they should have been smarter or more careful. It’s the price you pay.” Several weeks ago I was ordering at a fast food establishment. I ordered a chocolate shake and was charged on my bill for a chocolate cookie. I immediately noted that to the lady waiting on me. She seemed shocked that I would say anything. Surprised at honesty?! What a shame! She gave me the shake at the price of a cookie, but it bothered me that she was surprised by honesty.
We are fast coming upon Presidential elections once again in America. They seem to come around much faster than they used to. There was a time when the central focus of political campaigns was whether or not the candidate had integrity or not. Lincoln ran on this platform in 1860 and 1864. Theodore Roosevelt did the same almost fifty years later. But now, a century since Teddy, the fact that a man or woman has shown less than sparkling character during the course of their personal lives seems to be of little importance in a more “pragmatically focused” world.
To quote a former president caught in gross immorality, “our personal lives are none of the nation’s business.” (Bill Clinton, 1998.) I would vehemently disagree! Issues like whether or not you have cheated on your spouse or faithfully served your country in the military or, for that matter, believe in God, have been relegated to the scrap heap and called time-worn and irrelevant ideas that are no longer applicable to our times. By the way, if you ever have wondered what common thread tied Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt in such a way as to be the faces depicted on Mt. Rushmore, you need look no farther than this: each man led a life of integrity.)
Honesty and integrity should be something we can expect in a presidential candidate and everyone else as well. Ted Engstrom gives the following definition of integrity, “Simply put, Integrity is doing what you said you would do.”
Integrity means you keep your promises. When you promised to be faithful to your mate, integrity says you’ll stay with that person no matter what -- for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. If you promised the Lord that you would give Him the glory, integrity means you keep on doing that whether you’re reduced to nothing or exalted to the highest pinnacle on earth. If you promised a friend that you would return a call, integrity means you return it. If you promised your child that you would spend Saturday together, integrity means you keep that appointment. A promise is a holy thing, whether made to a chairman of the board -- or to a child.
In a world that seems to have given up on values that made us what we are let us be counter culture, go against the grain, live with integrity in all our lives. Don’t even think gray. It’s black and white, right and wrong. If there is a question then go to the side of honesty and integrity.
Prayer: Father God, You have never failed to keep a promise. Help me to live a life of integrity that brings honor to Your name. Even when at the moment it seems that integrity costs me something give me to courage to be honest in the confidence that in the end it will be greatly rewarded. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Are You Courageous?
Eddie Rickenbacker said, “Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are afraid.”
Too often we think courage is the absence of fear. John Wayne said it this way, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
Theologian Karl Barth said, “Courage is fear that has said it prayers.”
In the first chapter of Joshua the young man is hearing God speak to him. He is reminded that Moses is dead and it is now his responsibility to lead this people across the Jordan River to the land promised to them. His mind had to speed back forty years when he along with 11 others had spied out the land. He wanted to go then. He was ready then. It was different then... Moses was leading. Today he is leading. It’s different when you are following and when you are leading. But good leaders are always those who have first been good followers of great leaders.
Here’s the Biblical account...
Joshua 1:2-11 Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them — to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates — all the Hittite country — to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 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. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.'" NIV
You have to face fear with courage today. You have followed fearless leaders, but today it will be your turn to lead with courage. You have been prepared for this day... you are ready. Step up, stand up, and move forward. Here’s God word to us today. “I will give you every place where you set your foot.” Some people have so little, accomplish so little in life because they are paralyzed by fear and never take a step. Take one, then two, then three. Every step increases your possession, your success. God can only give us what we in faith and courage step up for. He has great plans for us. Ephesians 2:10 (MSG) “He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, infuse me with unusual courage today. I do not ask You to remove fear but give courage to run past my fears. I ask for faith to walk, to possess what You have already ordered for my life today. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Too often we think courage is the absence of fear. John Wayne said it this way, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
Theologian Karl Barth said, “Courage is fear that has said it prayers.”
In the first chapter of Joshua the young man is hearing God speak to him. He is reminded that Moses is dead and it is now his responsibility to lead this people across the Jordan River to the land promised to them. His mind had to speed back forty years when he along with 11 others had spied out the land. He wanted to go then. He was ready then. It was different then... Moses was leading. Today he is leading. It’s different when you are following and when you are leading. But good leaders are always those who have first been good followers of great leaders.
Here’s the Biblical account...
Joshua 1:2-11 Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them — to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates — all the Hittite country — to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 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. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.'" NIV
You have to face fear with courage today. You have followed fearless leaders, but today it will be your turn to lead with courage. You have been prepared for this day... you are ready. Step up, stand up, and move forward. Here’s God word to us today. “I will give you every place where you set your foot.” Some people have so little, accomplish so little in life because they are paralyzed by fear and never take a step. Take one, then two, then three. Every step increases your possession, your success. God can only give us what we in faith and courage step up for. He has great plans for us. Ephesians 2:10 (MSG) “He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, infuse me with unusual courage today. I do not ask You to remove fear but give courage to run past my fears. I ask for faith to walk, to possess what You have already ordered for my life today. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
Thursday, June 14, 2007
How are You in Adversity?
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
"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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
