Pastor Mike's Blog

Rock Solid Addendum

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:51:00 +0000

We recently finished a series called “Rock Solid” addressing the subject of developing rock solid faith.

We spent 4 weeks discussing “Faith Stealing Experiences” that WILL come into our lives and how to be ready for them and be strong through them coming out the other side of the battle victorious.

Our first week we addressed that faith is trust, not some weird super-spiritual thing. We also looked at the importance of faith and all that it accomplishes in our life and the world around us. We also saw that the non-Christian world and the spiritual forces of wickedness are not only going to not support and encourage our faith, but will down right assault and undermine it.

So, the first step in “Rock Solid” faith is to be alert and on guard. Recognize how important our faith is and don’t take it lightly. Remember we live in a world system that will try to at best twist and distort your faith and at worst steal and destroy your faith.

The next step we looked at was the importance of saturating our lives with the knowledge of God’s word.

We saw that faith comes by hearing the message, and if we want strong faith in Christ then we must be hearing His message over and above the message of the world.

Our lives are constantly bombarded with secular messages in commercials, books, movies, tv shows, magazines, radio, internet, and people we’re around. It’s important that we make the time to fill ourselves up with the truth of God’s word. If we are diligent to do this we will find ourselves having stronger faith in what God says than in what the world says.

The next (third) step we addressed was the importance of putting the Bible into practice. It’s not good enough to know what it says. We must do what it says. If all we have is knowledge of what the Bible says then all we have is an intellectual philosophical argument, but if we do what the Bible says we will experience God in the process and this strengthens our faith even more.

By doing what the Bible says we are cooperating with God and what He wants to do in our lives and through our lives in the world around us. These cooperative efforts (obeying what the Bible says) produce experiences with God that out weighs any intellectual philosophical argument. We should always use the Bible to help us interpret and analyze our experience, because it is the measuring stick of truth by which we measure and evaluate all information and experiences of life, but having the experience solidifies all the more what you believe. You may not know all the answers to every question and mystery regarding God and the Bible, but you will know that you believe and whom you believe in, because you will have knowledge of the parts you understand and the experience of working with God Himself and seeing Him do great things.

We said the last step (fourth) is to filter all that we hear (learn) and experience through the filter of God’s word and our experiences with God. We learned that we must not believe just anything we hear or experience. We learned that there is deception out there. There are things that sound and feel like the real thing, but are a deception.

We must not have a double standard in our filtering. We cannot give favor and merit to the non-Christian scientific community when their theories have many unanswered questions, but look with disgust and consider Christian Faith foolish and naive because there may be mysteries or questions that we don’t have answers for, yet. We must be fair on how we evaluate, measure, and filter.

We learned that everyone is a person of faith, even the atheist, because faith is trust and we are all going to put our trust, faith, into someone or something. The question is not do I have faith, but rather where do I choose to put and grow my faith/trust? Will it be in what man can do and understand or will it be in what God can do (has done) and understand? I know people well enough to know that no matter how smart they are they will never scratch the surface of the intelligence of God.

We also saw that there is a cost, no matter where I choose to place my faith, be it in God and the work of Jesus Christ or in man and what he understands and has achieved, either way it will cost me… everything!

To live life God’s way and get His results it will cost me everything in this life, but I will gain so much more for all eternity.

To live life the worlds way and get all that it has to offer it will cost me everything in this life and in the life to come. I may gain everything the world has to offer, but I will loose it all and so much more for all eternity.

There is a choice to be made and make it we shall. Where will we put our trust/faith?

Now the addendum:

After all that we learned I was disappointed because there was one more key ingredient to “Rock Solid” faith that I didn’t get to address due to time issues.

So, here it is… Community/Fellowship. I know, some of you are like, “oh no, here goes Mike on his soap box again” and others of you are thinking, “that’s it? I read this whole stupid thing to have you tell me I need fellowship/community?”

Before you stop reading let me tell you, you cannot over emphasize the importance of community/fellowship. It is a key reason my faith is so strong today.

When I am weak others are strong. There is strength in numbers. We can do more and know more together than we can alone.

Community provides things I don’t like to do on my own, like holding myself accountable to do the things I should do and not do the things I shouldn’t do.

Community/fellowship provides alternative viewpoints that can help us better answer those questions we struggle with.

Community/fellowship provides encouragement in those times we would feel weak, weary, and want to quit.

Community/fellowship provides prayer support. Not only do we sometimes fall short in our prayer life and their prayers help fill the holes, but even when we are faithful in our prayer life there is strength in numbers. Our prayers may accomplish much on our own, but they accomplish so much more when coupled with the prayers of others.

Community/fellowship provides growth opportunities as I learn to serve, think about, and help others as well as learn to get along with people that are different than me and resolve conflict. As I learn to live life outside of just me, when life includes more than just what I want and prefer, I begin to live life to the full. As I share life with others, our good times and bad times, life is so much fuller than it would be if I lived a self-centered self-absorbed life where all I live for is me.

Lastly, Community/Fellowship provides fun/refreshment. We all need times to just chill out with good people that we know love us and just have fun; Fun that is constructive, not destructive. We need others to spur us to get out of our depressive funks, to pull us out of those isolationist tendencies.

I hope it’s clear that God knew what He was saying when He said, “Two are better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9) and “Do not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25).

The truth is, we cannot do this alone… not faith and not life. We need one another. Together we are stronger. Together we are “Rock Solid”.

What on earth am I here for?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:19:00 +0000

It seems that I am regularly talking to people who are confused about which step to take next.

Life is full of decisions and even as Christians the buffet of choices can be a bit overwhelming.

We pray and ask God to show us the next step and sometimes we feel He shows us, sometimes we feel like He’s withholding from us, and other times we feel He spoke but then circumstances get weird and we begin to second guess and question whether we really heard from God.

This little post isn’t meant to answer the question “How does God speak to us” and “how can we be sure it’s God”, but rather a different issue, but one that is of vital importance if we are ever going to get this “following God” thing right.

It has to do with our launch pad or starting point of decision making.

You see, most of us find ourselves in a situation where we are asking God to guide us and show us His will, but then we start weighing the options; Which choice has greater “earthly” benefit?

We all make decisions based on natural reason. Reason was given to us to operate on a daily basis, but if we are walking with Jesus then we have to be open to Him leading us in ways that don’t make sense. That’s where life moves from natural to supernatural, from just life to Life-to-the-Full.

Most of us look at a situation and say… Hmm, I should go to this school, because it offers this or that, or I should work at this job, because it pays more or has good benefits, or that couldn’t be God because it’s not a sure thing, it’s not a guarantee, or it doesn’t pay as much.

Here is where we miss it. We are asking the wrong question(s).

Do we really think God moves us to a place just to become informed, make money, get benefits, or because it’s a sure thing?

God’s ways, purposes, and plans are much higher than that.

What on earth am I hear for? NOT to get educated, NOT to make money, NOT to get good benefits, NOT to have it all and do it all. Material, Intellectual, and Ego gain are not high priority on God’s list.

Each of these (excluding unhealthy pride/ego) are a byproduct of following Jesus, but they are not THE POINT.

I don’t go to work to make money; I go to be a witness/missionary. God didn’t give me this job to make money or even make a living, He gave it to me as my mission and in doing it I will make money/a living.

God can send you anywhere to make money and get educated. In fact, He can do both these things without the aid of any man, so if we’re going to get better at this “following God” thing, then we must clear our vision from those things that are obstructing the view.

Jesus said, “31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:31-34

We are not to be trying to play God and figure it all out. We’re not to be trying to make sense of it all. That is great if we do understand and can see how it all works together and how it will work out, but we must learn to trust God and know that often times He leads us in ways we would never reason out for ourselves, because He is God and He knows factors that we do not.

We can trust that He is always desiring what is best for us, so though He plays outside the box of what we can understand in natural reason, we can understand one thing for certain… He loves us and wants what’s best for us and He knows what is best for us better than we do.

Jesus said that our launch pad for decision making is NOT earthly concerns/gain. Nor is our launch pad for decision making to be one based on worry (trying to be in control and figure it all out).

Instead THE launch pad for ALL decision making is “seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness”.

There you go! That is it!!!! That’s is why we are here!!!!! This is the starting point of my decision making process!

I should pray and ask God where He wants me to God, what He wants me to do, and then watch… not to see which choice has greater earthly benefit from what I can see and understand, but rather to see which choice God is moving in.

Where do I see Him more at work? Where do I see my life having the biggest impact for His kingdom? Where do I see myself growing in Christ the most? Where do I see my life shining the biggest light for Jesus? Where do I see myself compromising, getting distracted, settling, or getting involved in a lifestyle or behavior that is not right in God’s eyes?

When we get our eyes on the things of this world as factors in our decision making we can miss what God wants. That is what the non-Christian world chases after and lives for. That is their ambition and priority. Not so for the Christ Follower.

In fact, Jesus warns us how the earthly things (though they are not evil or wrong in and of themselves) can blind us to God’s best or choke out God’s guidance in our life.

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” Luke 8:14 and “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:19

Jesus said that the direction or message is given, but it is choked out, not heard, not clearly seen or understood, because of an earthly focus. As we get our focus on the worries of this life, riches, pleasures, and the desires for other things we get distracted or worse blinded and cannot see or hear clearly what God is saying and wanting to do.

So, let me say it this way…

You are NOT here on earth to build an earthly kingdom, for yourself or someone else. You are here to build an eternal kingdom.

The issue that gets so many Christians side tracked and confused on what God is leading them to do is that they get caught up in “seeking first their kingdom or the worlds kingdom and their happiness and provision and pleasure” instead of “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”.

We don’t have to worry about chasing after/pursuing those things because Jesus makes it clear that all these things will be taken care of and given to us if we make our first priority His kingdom and His righteousness.

So, there you go. What launch pad are you starting your decision making process from… “What’s in it for me?” or “What’s in it for God?” Do I put my trust in what I can figure out and understand and make happen and control, or will I put my trust in God, even when his infinite wisdom and purpose doesn’t fit in my finite understanding, reason, and plans.

Only one launch pad is the right one. Only one launch pad will produce the results and kind of life that Scripture describes for the believer.

What will you choose? How will you look at things (from God’s perspective or earth bound perspectives)? How will you reason out situations? What approach with capture your heart and mind? What will you be caught up in?

Intolerance

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:06:00 +0000

I was speaking on the subject of faith and I said, “It’s time to be intolerant…”

Everything I spoke after those five words was irrelevant for a young man who literally got up and walked out.

What did I have to say? What did I mean by using that word? None of that mattered.

The fact was I offended this person by using that word. In his mind, no matter what I said, what he heard me say was the word “Hate”. He heard me telling people to hate others.

Now, this couldn’t be further from the truth, but let me just say, that for those who heard me use the word “Intolerance” or “Intolerant” and thought I was teaching people to “hate”, I truly apologize and want to make clear that is not what I was saying at all.

Tolerance is a buzz word in our society, especially in the politically correct arena and in that arena “Intolerant” is equal to “hate”, so anyone from that background would’ve heard me say “hate”, and I am sorry.

I won’t change the that culture or their view of that word, but for clarification, the use of the word that I was trying to communicate is as follows…

Intolerant - Not enduring
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

There are other usages of the word that are very negative, but what I was trying to communicate was that we as Christians should not passively endure and accept the worlds influences and opinions that would lead us to compromise on the message or practice of Christian beliefs, nor should we embrace said contradicting behaviors or philosophies, nor should we sit by passively doing nothing while special interest groups and anti-Christian people groups strip away our American rights to free speech and freedom of religion.

I was speaking to the fact that this non-Christian world is not a supporter of our faith and it’s teachings and in fact will try to influence us away from them. The world’s philosophies and lifestyles undermine and smack against our Christian faith.

I don’t apologize for the truth of God’s word that there is a right and there is a wrong and we should not confuse the two, and woe to those who do, but I do apologize for coming across as communicating something that is not a part of my faith or the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t teach the hatred of anyone. He teaches the hatred of sin, not the sinner, but the sin, and not just because it’s wrong morally, but because it is destructive both to the ones committing the sin and to those who are connected to the perpetrator. There is always a ripple effect that causes the destructive forces of sin to overflow from the life of the perpetrator into the lives of those around him/her.

As Christians we should not sit by enduring passively letting these behaviors go on without a word being said, not just because they are wrong, but because they are destructive.

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve been, what you’ve done, God loves us all and Jesus died for us all and I know this for a fact personally because I am a receiver of this great Grace, not because of me, but in spite of me. By God’s great love, He has forgiven this wretch and made me an object of His forgiveness, mercy, and favor.

God doesn’t love me more than anyone else. He doesn’t love the Christian more than the non-Christian. He can just do more in the life of the faithful Christian because the faithful Christian is cooperating with Him instead of engaging in destructive behaviors working against God (note: I said “Faithful” Christian).

God loves all people in this world and just like the woman caught in the act of adultery Jesus speaks to us the same words, “…neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:11

And just as Jesus came into the world to “destroy the works of the devil” (1John 3:8) so too have we been sent on this same mission (John 20:21)

Drawing The Line

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:54:00 +0000

One of the hardest things in the world to do is “be in the world, but not of it”.

As a follower of Jesus for the last 19 years it’s been a constant struggle to find balance with the role of all that this world has to offer while living faithfully and whole-heartedly for Jesus.

It’s easy to see why so many people turn to legalism to combat compromise, because it’s so easy to settle with the extremes. It’s so easy to just say, “abstain” instead of exercise discipline and live in balance or moderation.

All this said the real thing weighing on my heart is the fact that as Christians, sooner or later we will have to draw the line. We will have to choose what, where, how, how far, and so on. We’ll have to take a stand on what is acceptable, right, pure, enough, honoring to the Lord, and true to Biblical standards and we’ll have to take a stand on what is unacceptable, wrong, impure, not-enough, dishonoring to God, and compromising to Biblical Standards.

As a Christian who deeply loves Jesus and passionately desires to live for and please Him I am finding myself in a battle.

I see this world constantly trying to woo me, constantly trying to win my attention and affection. I feel it’s pull and hear it’s rational behind every argument to justify compromise, but in my heart I can not accept. I must draw the line.

I know there will be many who don’t see eye to eye with where I draw my line. I know that many think of me as quite liberal because I tend to be pretty flexible about personal convictions that do not directly/clearly contradict or disobey scripture. I tend to have a “Redemptive” approach to the things of this world, taking that which was meant for evil and using it for good, but even that we must be careful with. There are obvious things that are beyond redemption, just like the devil.

I’m regularly challenged by Psalm 106:35-39 35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. 36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. 38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. 39 They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves.

I want to break it down a little.

35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
How have we mingled? Mingling can’t be wrong, because how else are we to reach them, but it’s the next part that gets us, “Adopted”. How have we adopted their customs? What customs have we adopted that contradict scripture (regarding family, relationships, pleasure, wealth, entertainment, morality, speech, attitudes, church, spiritual disciplines, etc.)?

36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
What idols of the culture/world have we worshiped? Remember, worship isn’t singing songs to the idol or bowing down to a statue. True worship is a life lived to pursue or gain; it’s a lifestyle. If we look at our calendar or checkbook we may be surprised to see what our lifestyle proves that we truly live for, what we pursue most, spend our lives on.

37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
How many Christians have joined the world in sacrificing their children/family for personal gain or gratification. No, we may not be shedding blood, but we are still contributing to the harm of our children’s spiritual, behavioral, social, and other developments.

38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.
Regardless of the fact that we’ve not killed our children physically, many are certainly contributing to their spiritual death and the negative ripple effects from that child’s life into the lives of others as they engage in unhealthy behaviors and attitudes.

While each child will ultimately grow up and be held accountable by God and man for their personal choices, the scripture is clear that God will hold us parents responsible too.

39 They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves.
Our misbehaviors are not seen as okay in the eyes of God, they defile us.

Defile is a word we don’t use much. It means to be ruined, spoiled, violated, tainted, made unclean, impure, or polluted.

We make our lives spoiled (unusable) by engaging in compromise. Imagine pitcher of lemonade with one drop of dog pee in it. Would you drink it? How many drops of dog pee are too many? Where do you draw the line on when the lemonade is polluted and undrinkable?

Where do you draw the line? I don’t have the answer for everything, but I do know that for a long time as a baby Christian I was always asking the question: “How close to sin can I get before I actually sin?” but I never found the answer. Then one day God convicted me and told me I was asking the wrong question. The question is not, “How close can I get to sin before I actually sin?” but rather, “How close can I get to God in this and every area of my life?”

Because we are in a constant state of transformation with the final goal being like Jesus, I believe the line is constantly moving, not back and forth (that means we are floundering and sometimes pulling away from God) but rather constantly and consistently toward Jesus.

I believe there is a clear right and wrong on many things and there are other issues that are more gray, but in it all the key issue is our heart.

Is our heart open to God bringing the change He wants to bring into our life? Is our hearts desire to please, love, honor, and pursue God? Is He my number one ambition and pursuit? Do I worship (live for) Him or do I say “I believe/love Jesus”, but really still chase after the things of this world?

I don’t want to be a prostitute in the eyes of God. Prostitution is not just sex for hire; it is the selling of ones self for anything that is immoral, base, unworthy, lowly, or ungodly.

I don’t want to sell my soul, my family, or my family’s souls for material gain, physical gratification, or anything else that this temporary world has to offer.

Outside The Box

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:34:00 +0000

So, I was putting my kids to bed after our prayers and Bible reading and they bombarded me with all their spiritual questions like they always do (so they can stay up later) and we got onto the discussion of why God answered my prayers for a certain situation one way, but then didn’t answer them the same way in a similar situation, but instead answered the prayer in a completely different way.

It made me think about the series we are doing at church right now through the Christmas season, called “Ordinary”. We’re looking at the fact that God is in the business of taking ordinary people and circumstance and doing extraordinary things. In other words, God loves to “play outside the box.”

We all have a box, a set of boundaries and parameters that limit who God is and how God works. We all have this understanding and list of expectations of what we think God is like, how He would or would not do things, and so on. What I have found is that God likes to frequently do things outside of the parameters of what I know, understand, and am comfortable with. He loves to break out of the limitations and restrictions I tend to place on Him in my life and the world. The question is… Why? Does he just do it because He can? Is He a show off? Is there a reason for it? Yes. I’ll explain, but before I do, let me prove first that God likes to play outside the box.

1Corinthians 1:20, 27-31 20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

If ever it’s taught that God likes to work out of the box it is here in this scripture. Why? Partly to “show off”, to display His greatness, power, and wisdom, partly because He can and wants to so that our lives can be better, and partly because He wants us to see we can’t do it on our own, we need Him, and He alone is the answer.

We see all these things here, plus in other scriptures that reference God’s miracles as “signs and wonders”. What is a sign? It’s a message that “shows off” something good about a thing or place to get your attention so you’ll partake. It’s not the real thing, but it points you to the real thing.

God frequently defies our natural logic, understanding, comfort zone, and ways of doing things.

He calms storms with a word. He walks on water and enables others to do so. He casts demons out of people with a word. He made a lame man walk with a word. He healed a blind man by putting mud made of spit and dirt on the guys eyes. He enabled one disciple to survive boiling vats of oil without any harm, while He led another to lay down his life and be crucified for the faith. He provided for His servant through ravens. He cause a jar of oil to not run out for a very long time. He made an ax head float. He had His servant marry a prostitute. He had His servant lay naked for years on one side, only to tell him to flip and do it on the other side for a while. He used a pagan king to execute His judgment. He parted the Red Sea so His people could pass through on dry ground. He caused a virgin to be pregnant without the involvement of a man. He established His rule as King of the universe by entering our world as a humble servant and sacrifice.

Here’s another example of God playing out of the box.

Job 33:14 For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it.

As I understand this scripture, it’s not that God doesn’t talk/speak, it’s that He doesn’t do it the same way each time and thus many don’t hear Him, perceive Him speaking, or get the message.

Again we see God playing outside the box, not wanting to be stuck in the limitations of what we can fathom, understand, or are comfortable with.

Why?

Partly because of all we addressed earlier, but another reason is because God wants us to not only stand in awe of Him, but also trust Him and be passionate about Him.

God doesn’t want to have a formula that we just go through and begin to take Him for granted. God doesn’t want us to think we’ve got Him all figured out. He wants us to stay in a place of love, awe, trust, and dependence. He doesn’t want us to get stagnant and loose our passion for Him.

God is a person, not a vending machine. We have a tenancy to forget that, and so our “prayer lives” typically become the approach to the machine and the deposit of the money and the pressing of the buttons to get what we want.

God wants our “prayer lives” to be a conversation, and our lifestyle to be in “relationships” with Him. Yes, He wants to bless us and do things for us, in us, and through us, but in the context of relationship, not ritual or mechanism. And when God does do “His thing” in our lives He wants to do it His way and He wants us to trust Him that His way is the BEST way. It will be bigger and better than anything that we could do on or own or ask Him to do for us, but our way.

As I look back over my life of following Jesus I first have to say thank you to God for all the times He DIDN’T answer my prayers the way I wanted Him to. I thought I knew, but man I didn’t have a clue. Praise God He answered my prayers His way. Secondly I have to say that it is in those experiences of God answering my prayers His way that I’ve experienced the great adventure and joy of following Jesus. This things is so much bigger and more amazing and more awesome than we understand.

So, we may not always understand, or be comfortable, but we can always trust and follow knowing that God loves to play outside the box impressing His people and the world, wooing our hearts, and making this relationship the most exciting thing in the Universe for all eternity!

Missing The Promise

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:26:00 +0000

As we enter into the Christmas Season we talk about so many different aspects of the coming of the promised Savior of the world, the Messiah (Christ), God in the flesh.

We talk about God’s love being demonstrated. We talk about the humility of God, the Grace of God, the purpose of His coming, and many other things.

One thing that we often touch on, but never really address is… How could the Jewish people miss the very promise they were waiting for so eagerly? When they have the same prophetic scriptures (the Old Testament) that we have, when they made it their custom for each male to memorize the Scriptures by a certain age, and when they had religious leaders who studied the scriptures daily and taught them regularly, how could they not recognize their God in the flesh? How could they not recognize the manifestation of the promise that they clung to so tightly?

The Jewish nation was regularly, due to their unfaithfulness to God, overcome by foreign kingdoms. At the time of Christ’s coming they were occupied by the Roman Empire. They were praying for, believing for, and eagerly watching for the coming of their King, Messiah/Christ, and Savior. Yet, when He came not only did they not recognize Him (the Promise of God manifest), but they rejected Him and killed Him. Why?

I believe that the reason is very similar to why we often times fail to recognize God’s blessings (in the various forms they come in) in our life.

I don’t think the issue is ignorance. Most people of God know enough to know there is a promise, to ask and believe for the promise, and to watch for it.

I don’t think the issue is lack of adherence to religion. Most people of God who take it serious are faithful in their attending worship services at least and maybe studying scripture, praying, etc.

I think the issue is a few things…

1) I think the biggest thing is they put God in a box. They limited how God would fulfill His promise to how they thought He should fulfill it. They limited God’s promise to their narrow understanding of what it was. They had a picture in their minds of what and how and when it didn’t line up with that, rather than saying, “We missed it, we’re wrong! This is it!” they rejected the real thing and said, “This isn’t it. We’ll wait until God gets it right, until it’s the way and how we think it should be.”

How often do we limit God’s blessings/promises in our lives? How often do we end up rejecting that manifest blessing/promise, thus resisting God and His work in our life, in order to hold out for something in the method and form we think it should be.

2) I think they were proud and thus stiff-necked, about what they thought they knew. They were inflexible, unteachable, and unwilling to admit they were wrong or didn’t understand and then change.

This unwillingness to be shaped and molded, this unwillingness to be teachable and recognize that we don’t know it all, and even what we think we know may only be a small fragment of a much larger picture that will require us to change some things as we gain a more fuller understanding, this unwillingness to change when we’re wrong or when God wants to work outside the box of what we understand, what is convenient, and what is comfortable is sin and robs us and others of God’s best, His blessings/promises as He sees best to give them.

3) I think they were too busy with their own agenda. The were so busied with practicing a dead religion/covenant that God said was over, that they had no time to work with God in this new thing He was doing.

How often do we cling to dead things that are not producing? Maybe they worked in the past, but they aren’t today. How often do we cling to things because it’s what we know or prefer and are comfortable with? How often are we busied by the things of this world, even by religious activities, that we aren’t available to work with God on what He is doing? Thus we go about doing something for God rather than with God, spending our time, money, and energy in things that He’s not even a part of.

4) We know they were living a less than wholly devoted life to the Lord. Jesus regularly referred to them as hypocrites. We know they taught and practice one thing publicly, but privately they lived out something different. It’s not that they didn’t believe in God, but they didn’t walk in the Fear/Honor of God.

This lack of integrity in their faith/spirituality placed them at odds with God rather than coworkers and friends with God. This half-hearted approach to walking with God left them in a place where they had false security, thinking they were right with God, thinking they knew, when in fact they were neither right with God or right in what they thought they knew.

A lack of integrity in our walk with God puts us in the same position. We can lie to others and deceive them, we can even lie to and deceive ourselves, but we can never lie to and deceive God. He knows what we do and say in all places, not just church and around certain believers. He knows what we really think and feel in spite of what front we may put up to cover it.

5) They didn’t have that authentic, intimate, and passionate relationship with God and because they didn’t walk with God faithfully everyday, they were not in the position to really hear from Him and recognize His activity, what He was up to, and in fact they didn’t even recognize Him. They went through all the right motions, but what they had was a substitute for the real thing. They had religion and ritual, but they missed the whole point of this creation… relationship with God.

Relationship isn’t easy and to have a happy, healthy, passionate, and thriving relationship it takes work, investment, and sacrifice. It is for these reasons that many settle for less in their earthly marriage relationships and it’s why many Christians settle for less in their spiritual relationship with God. We think it requires to much from us, we think it costs to much, we want something and don’t want to give it up (we’re selfish). But the fact is, lack of quality relationship with God is probably the key reason we are robbed of God’s best in our life. It’s probably the key reason we don’t hear from God and experience God like He says He wants us to and that we should.

I realize that all 5 of these issues are connected and overlap; yet each one is a specific issue that we must take to heart and take to God.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t want to become confident in where I am and miss where God wants to take me. I don’t want to become cemented in what little I know and miss the more God wants to teach me. I don’t want to be praying for the blessings/promises of God and then miss them when He gives them to me. I don’t want to think I’m all right with God, but in reality be in a disjointed or even broken relationship with Him.

I want to become all God made me to be. I want to experience all God has for me to experience. I want to walk with God, know God, know His ways, and work with Him in what He is doing and how He is doing it, breaking free from my natural standard of living and break into a supernatural way of life.

One Life To Live

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:45:00 +0000

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 39:4-6 4 "Show me, O LORD, my life's end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man's life is but a breath.
Selah
6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

Psalm 144:4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.

In May of this year (2008), not far from my house, there was a car accident in which 2 teenage boys were killed and a third seriously injured while goofing around with friends.

Yesterday, 11/18/2008, a 26 year old woman, mother of two, was killed in a car accident on ice.

Not to long ago a young mother, in her 30’s, died of cancer.

We live in a broken world that doesn’t work right, the way God created it to. We now have death, disease, deformities, and depravity of every kind (moral and physical). Life here on earth is fragile and fleeting.

My compulsion in sharing is not so much to address the bad things of this broken world, but rather to emphasize the reality that we all have only one life to live and we should live it well and wisely.

Whether we live 18 years or 80 years, the fact is we are all going to die and the time here on earth we do have is relatively short in the light of eternity.

I want to encourage us to live life to the full. Don’t settle for anything less than God’s best.

I want to encourage us to live with eternity in our view. Don’t waste your life living and striving for things that are of no value eternally.

Keep life, the good and the bad, in perspective. It can always be better, it can always be worse, but the truth is that neither matter because this world is not our home, it is not where we will spend the majority of our existence.

I want to encourage us to live a life that is meaningful and one that God can bless and take pleasure in, one that stores up for us much reward/treasure in the next life.

I want to encourage us to live a life that doesn’t leave people guessing about our eternal destination.

I know so many people that go to church, claim a belief, but by their lifestyle cause you to wonder what they really believed. Where was their heart? What did they truly believe and live for? If actions speak louder than words, then many weren’t living up to the claims of their mouth. If actions speak louder than words, then they were telling us by their lifestyle a whole different set of values and beliefs than they were saying with their mouth.

It is these kind of people that make funerals so hard. Complete Godless heathens aren’t hard. Faithful Christians aren’t hard. It’s the wishy washy, lukewarm, double minded, half-hearted, and hypocritical that make things very difficult. You believe and hope for the best, but there is always that gnawing ache in your mind and heart that makes you struggle with the question, “Where did they end up?”

Let’s live in such a way that when our day does come to leave this world and all that is in it behind, let’s be able to look back with no regrets. Let’s be able to look back and know our life counted for something more than just living as a selfish consumer. Let’s be able to look back and see that we made a contribution to the world, an eternal contribution. Let’s be able to here that commendation, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

We all have one life to live. Let’s make it count. Let’s give it our BEST shot.

Lastly, let’s keep in mind that this is true of every person around us to. This life is fragile and sooner or later each of those people will also leave this world. Are they ready? Are we doing what we can, in word and deed (lifestyle), to reach these people for eternity? Are we giving them every reason we can in word and deed to turn to the only one who can give them that guaranteed future of life, peace, love, and bliss? Or are we giving them another excuse of why this whole God, Jesus, Heaven, and Hell thing is just bunk and shouldn’t be followed?

“If it were true, wouldn’t the Christians really live it?”

Many people find the proof that the Bible is true is that we faithfully live it, and in their minds the proof that it’s no big deal and just a fairytale or waste of time is that we, who claim to believe it, don’t live like we do, we don’t live like it’s all true.

Live your one life for God’s approval, to be a reason not an excuse for people to follow or not follow Jesus, and determine to settle for nothing less than your life being all God made you to be, experiencing life to the full and making your life count having maximum impact.

God Bless America

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:28:00 +0000

We have all heard the phrase and probably even said or prayed it ourselves, but what is it we’re really asking for?

When you say the word blessing the first thing that comes to most peoples mind is some thing or experience that results in pleasure/personal gratification fulfilling the desires of our flesh, or ego, or emotions, or all three. Most think of a blessing as getting what I want.

But, a blessing is a thing or experience that BENEFITS the one who receives it. It may involve pleasure and gratification, but it may not. It may be getting what we want, but it may not.

Jesus said, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?” (Luke 9:25 NLT)

God wants to bless us, meaning He wants to work in our life that which will benefit us, and sometimes it’s not getting what we WANT, but rather what we NEED. Sometimes it’s getting the answer we don’t want to hear.

A good friend of mine was teaching on the power of prayer and said, “Some people accuse God of not answering prayer. It’s not that God doesn’t answer. It’s that sometimes the answer is ‘No’.” It’s not what we want, but it’s what we need, and it is an answer.

Jesus tells us it’s not always to a man’s benefit to gain the whole world (i.e. get what he wants all the time), but in fact may be to his detriment.

Sometimes the prayer, “God bless so and so…” is asking God to NOT give them the things/pleasure they desire. Sometimes it is to our benefit that God says no.

Taking it a step further, sometimes the benefit is even painful. When my children are purposefully disobeying and misbehaving after being corrected they experience love in the form of punishment. I’m not out to harm them. I don’t want to inflict pain because I hate them. I want to train and help them now while the pain is controlled and minimal, rather then let them go off and destroy themselves and others with wrong living.

If this is true for the individual then what does this mean on a national level?

When we say “God bless America” we may be thinking a prosperous economy, peace, freedom, pleasure, happiness, etc. But, it may very well be an invitation for God to show his love by giving us what we NEED and not what we WANT. It may be an invitation for God lovingly withhold even the perceived good things to help us enter in to the great things down the road.

Often in our narrow and selfish perspectives on life we fail to see the destructive nature of some wants in our life. Because they seem fun, exciting, pleasurable, etc. we think they’re for us (a blessing), and yet to have it, or more of it, or other things would be a curse not a blessing.

Getting what we want all the time, always getting our way, things always being handed to us, being free from discipline/punishment and consequences are not a blessing, but rather a curse.

So, on a national level, I wonder if our request for God to bless America is being fulfilled in some of the difficult situations our country is facing. Rather than pointing fingers and blaming one or two people, perhaps we need to realize that America has been blessed with a lot of stuff and opportunities, but maybe we’ve become such a selfish people so caught up with our own agendas that God is saying, “Wake Up! I’m not giving you what you want (a life of comfort, ease, stuff, and pleasure). I’m giving you what you need.”

Maybe we NEED to learn to trust Him more. Maybe we NEED to make the things of this world less of a focus and priority in our life. Maybe we NEED to begin to think of the needs of others and not what we WANT. Maybe we NEED to focus more of our resources on building the Kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of this world. Maybe we NEED to learn to walk more in the truth, love, grace, and mercy of God.

Some might be tempted to say that America really hasn’t done anything so bad or depraved, compared to other nations, which would warrant punishment from God. But, depravity doesn’t come just in the form of immorality, although we have plenty of that to go around too. The depravity that led to Sodom’s destruction wasn’t just homosexuality, there was behavior/depravity that led up to that final straw that broke the camels back.
(49 " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. Ezekiel 16:49-50) I don’t know about anyone else, but the descriptions “arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned, haughty, and not help the poor and needy” sure reminds me of a lot of Americans.

Sure the detestable things get us in trouble too, but that’s not all.

I don’t think America is on God’s black list, but I do think we’re naive to think that asking for God to bless our country or us as individuals is always going to result in pleasurable things or experiences. God loves us and He loves us enough to bless us with what we NEED not what we WANT. He is truly out to benefit us even when it doesn’t make sense to us.

So, as we pray for God to bless our nation, others, or ourselves, let’s not put God in a box of what that will be and look like. Let’s trust that God knows best and that while we may not understand, nor even like the initial blessing, lets look for what the benefit of the blessing is.

I do want to clarify one thing… I do not believe that God is the cause of every negative or bad thing in our life. There are four sources of negative experiences… 1) We live in a broken world that doesn’t function the way God created it to, so things break down and bad things happen to good people. 2) We live in a world of broken people, so whether the bad and foolish choices of others or our own bad and foolish choices we experience the negative consequences and because we are not truly independent of others our lives affect others people’s lives for better or for worse. 3) The devil and demons are at work in our world to work death, destruction, and all kinds of wickedness, pain, and harm. 4) There are those rare occasions where a person or nations sin has reached such a point that God pours out His Judgment/Wrath. This is not as often as some would like to think and when it happens people are warned and have a chance to repent.

When I refer to God disciplining, punishing, withholding, etc in the name of a blessing I’m not talking about tragic things like birth defects, premature death, etc. I’m talking about God withholding pleasures, materials, etc that are a WANT, not a NEED.

A Biblical Response To New Goverment Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:24:00 +0000

With the election coming to an end and a new President, Vice President, Congress, and Senate being declared there are many mixed feelings and views among God’s people and the people of the United States in general.

While there are many people filled with joy over results of the election there are many that I have spoken with that are full of fear and concern.

Everyone has questions and the truth is NO ONE has immediate answers. Time will tell what kind of leaders the people recently elected will be, but there are some very clear answers as to what our Christian response should be to the present situation.

We must apply God’s word to our life and present circumstance whether you voted for or against the present administration, if we’re going to experience God’s best for our selves, family, and nation.

Here are some thoughts and then I’ll share the scriptures.

1. Understand and keep in mind that no political figure will ever be our savior. There will come a day where one claims to be, but here’s a clue… God tells us who he is and that we don’t want to follow him.

2. Understand that God is not Republican or Democrat and when Jesus does return He is not coming back to take sides. He’s coming back to take over. We may live in this country, which I personally love and am a patriot of, but our true citizenship is to God’s Kingdom. This world is not our home.

3. We are not to Fear, but rather have Faith. God calls us to trust him and be of courage both when things go the way we want them and when they don’t. God is Sovereign, which means that while He gives mankind free will, He knows what we will choose and strategizes and orchestrates things in such a way to accomplish His ultimate plans and purposes for His people working around and with the free will of people.

4. We are not to hate, be bitter, or dishonoring to those newly elected to positions of leadership and authority. Even if we completely disagree with the person, even if they act like the devil himself, that does not give us reason or excuse to not act like Christ and obey His commands. We’re expected to honor and obey those in authority over us as long as they do not ask us to disobey Gods commands.

5. We are to pray for those in leadership and for the country and city in which we live that we may live in peace and see prosperity.

6. We are to be the change we want to see. We are not to go into hiding from the lost and immoral world. We are to engage it for the cause of righteousness, freedom to those held captive by the devil, and the advancement of the Kingdom of God. We are meant to be agents of change, catalysts of transformation, not isolated fear mongers who have zero influence or impact on a lost and dark world. We’re meant to be a light. If all the Christians go into hiding how much darker will this world be with no light shining? Don’t sit back and let godless people take over society. Pray and do your part to make sure that as much as possible to keep our freedoms in tact.

7. Have a clear understanding of what God says is the future of the world. Some Christians must be on drugs because they act like everything is going to be peace and prosperity forever. God says differently. As the earth clock winds down things are to go from bad to worse and then along comes the Anti-Christ to declare peace and prosperity to the world and for a season it happens, but all the while freedoms are being undermined and eventually the worst of all times comes.

Here are some scriptures to consider regarding the above thoughts:

1Timothy 2:1-4 1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

1Peter 2:13-17 13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Jeremiah 29:7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

2Timothy 3:1-5, 12-13 1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 12In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Matthew 24:4-14 4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

1Thessalonians 5:1-6 1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

4But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

2Thessalonians 2:3-4 3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Revelation 13:5-17 5The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

9He who has an ear, let him hear.
10If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
The Beast out of the Earth
11Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Revelation 22:12-13 12"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

The Law Of Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:28:00 +0000

At Open Arms Community Church we’ve been doing a series called “Growing Closer To God” and this weekend we covered the topic of how community grows us closer to God.

In this discussion we crossed paths with a scripture that leapt out at me, Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Interestingly, in the scripture the new testament, specifically the books of Romans and Galatians, address the fact that we are no longer under the law, that we are now free from having live up to a law we could never keep in full, and we are free from the consequence of breaking the law.

In all the discussion, Paul makes a statement in Romans 3 that even though we are free from the law, we do not nullify the law. Rather we uphold it. Is this a contradiction? Not at all! Paul is referring to something deeper, something more profound.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. '38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. ' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22) Jesus simplified all the commands of the old covenant into two simple commands, which he later simplified into one command, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15). He also stated to “Remain in my love” and in another place “This is my command: love each other.” (John 15)

I realize that many people out there are trying to find deeper revelation and understanding about God, his will for their life, and secrets to the abundant life Jesus promised, but God spoke through Paul in 1Corinthians 13, “1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

God tells us that what really matters is one simple word, LOVE! This is the “law of Christ” that Paul was writing about in Galatians 6:2. James refers to this as the “royal law” (James 2).

What does this look like?

First we know that we operate under grace, not law. So, skip the idea that it’s a list of do’s and don’ts. It’s not a list of rules written on paper. It’s something written on your heart (Hebrews 8:10). It’s not something that is followed out of religious duty.

By Jesus’ statement that the greatest command is to “love” God and other people we understand several things.

1) Everything we do for God and others is motivated by Love, not religious duty/law.
2) Everything we’re involved in with God and others is to be done out of the context of relationship, not religious duty/law.
3) Everything we do for God and others is because we want to, not have to.
4) Living a life of love is the fulfillment of all God wants and desires for us and the entire universe.

The law of Christ is Love!

How important is it? Well, Paul made it clear in 1Corinthians 13 that without love everything else is in vain! The Holy Spirit spoke through John, “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” And again, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” (1John 3)

So, we can see that this “law of Christ” is of huge importance to our eternity. Our living a life of love is proof of our new birth in Christ, proof that we are really God’s Child. Our living a life of love is proof that we’ve passed from death to life! This makes love huge!

So, back to the question… What does it look like. The simple answer is look at the example of Jesus. That’s what love looks like. It’s not always convenient, comfortable, painless, and happy. True love costs and is inconvenient and is even painful at times.

For those that like lists or descriptives to help them better understand what this love is that we’re called to live out, here you go… (1Corinthians 13:4-8 Amplified) 4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

Every time I read this list it challenges me. Every time I read this list I feel like getting militant and making it my code. In part that’s okay, taking it seriously, but love is something that comes from the heart, not a list.

Some people seem to think this love is simply saying, “I love you”, but Jesus teaches us different.

We are meant to live out of our heart/spirit. The fruit of the spirit is love, etc.

This list gives us an understanding of the person and character of love (Jesus), but is exemplified by the very life lived and laid down by love in the flesh (Jesus).

We are meant to follow this example, walk in the way of love, live a life of love, and let love be our guide.

It’s one simple question… Is my motivation, my attitude, my thoughts, or what I’m about to say or do, love?

Anything less is not Christian.

The Great Disconnect

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:25:00 +0000

All you have to do is hang around a church long enough and you’ll see people come to Jesus, be really excited, get involved serving the Lord, and then after a while they begin to fizzle out in their passion for the Lord and His mission. They become discouraged, discontent, and ultimately disconnected.

At Open Arms Community Church we’ve been doing a series of messages on “Growing Closer To God”. Last weekend we addressed the role of prayer, the week before that the role of Bible reading, and this coming week the role of Community.

Whether out of emotions or just plain laziness, we can watch “the great disconnect” slowly begin to take place in the life of a Christian. It’s not an overnight thing. It’s like the song by Casting Crowns called “Slow Fade”. We don’t fall away from Jesus in a day. It takes time and little backward steps, small compromises here and there, and the next thing you know we don’t feel or hear Jesus anymore, we don’t have the passion and compassion we used to have. The love has grown cold toward the Lord, my church family, and the lost.

How does it happen?

As I mentioned it could be emotional. I may have some negative feelings (offense, depression, unmet expectations, etc) that cause me to become focused on me and how I feel and less on the Lord and what He thinks and says.

It could also be busyness. I may be so overloaded and busy in my schedule that I just “don’t have the time” to read my Bible, pray, or go to cell group or church, or even if I have the time, I’m so worn out I “don’t feel like” going today. Then today turns into next week, next month, and pretty soon, not at all.

It may also be laziness. I don’t have the desire and self-discipline to get out and do. This has a lot to do with an indifferent attitude toward the things of God (a lack of the Fear of the Lord). We don’t value the things of God as of first importance. We would say that they’re important to us, but by our actions we see that doing what is easy and self-gratifying is more important.

There are three areas where “the great disconnect” can start and if not dealt with it will take over all three.

First, time with God in his Word (reading our Bible). If we become slack in connecting with God in his Word then we will be spiritually malnourished. Jesus said, “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4). If we are not feeding on God’s word faithfully you can easily understand the negative effect; go try to function every day, doing all you do, with just one meal a day (or week) for a year. It won’t happen. This is one area of “the great disconnect”.

Second, time with God in prayer. As the Word of God (Bible) is food for our spirit, prayer is like breath or water to the body. The Bible uses symbols of air and water for the Holy Spirit. What happens if our body/flesh doesn’t get air or water? Spiritually speaking the same result takes place to our spirit/relationship with God if we do not spend time in prayer (which is simply communication/conversation with God… a breathing/drinking in of His presence and power in our life). You can see how without this area being strong and healthy, without drinking/breathing in enough we will suffer weakness, disorientation, and even death.

Third, time with God’s people (Community). Community, sharing life together, is no easy thing. It’s hard. People let us down, hurt our feelings, demand time and resources from us. People are weird and do things differently. Community is tough, but it is where God teaches us, stretches us, and molds us beyond our self. We learn to see things we didn’t see before, and even things we’ve seen before we learn to see differently. We learn to love differences, we learn to forgive and be patient, we learn to think of others and sacrifice to bless and help others. There is so much that Community accomplishes in us.

When my son, Mike, had a broken leg the doctor told us that after a certain point in the process of healing he would need to start walking on the leg while it was still in the cast. The doctor said that this would strengthen the bone because of the pressure. That’s kind of what Community is like. It puts pressure on us (broken people) to help us heal properly, healthy, and strong. God doesn’t want us to just get a little bit of healing. He wants us to be functional.

Lastly, fourth, is time in God’s work/mission (ministry/mission). Unless we’re serving the Lord we’re serving ourselves. Unless we’re involved serving the Lord we will loose our passion and compassion. We may feel pity toward people and their circumstances, but we will not be inclined to get involved in helping and being part of the solution.

Let’s face it ministry/mission is not easy. It’s hard work, it’s difficult, it’s sometimes painful, it’s inconvenient, and it regularly costs something, but it’s here that God helps us experience life to the full, life beyond me. It’s hear that I find true life, a life worth living. It’s in these hard and difficult places that I grow and am stretched and become so much more than I ever would just living for me/self. There is something about giving of my time, energy, talent, and money that changes me, grows me, in a way that nothing else will.

You can’t separate any one of these components. They are all important.

What is the fruit of “the great disconnect”?

Usually people who become disconnected from God, His mission, and His people become discouraged, disgruntled/bitter/critical, cynical, self-absorbed, skewed in perception and perspective, and begin to get so disoriented to God that they have a hard time finding their way back if they ever do at all. They often end up laying all blame on others (the church people, the church leadership, all Christians, etc.) and rarely ever take any kind of personal responsibility for their condition and thus are rarely inclined to take the necessary steps and make the necessary changes and sacrifices to restore themselves into right relationship. The fault is always everyone else. The weird thing here is the lack of common sense… how come it’s the people that do/give the least that scream the most? And it’s those who have the most that give the least?

We begin to fall prey to satan’s strategies to get us to be so consumed with ourselves that we miss all that God wants to do in and through us, thus widening the gap.

Remember, satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1Peter 5). I learned some time ago that lions can’t distinguish the individual parts of a group/herd, so they will stalk a heard keeping their eye on the blob (herd) and watch for an individual animal to become separated/disconnected from the group, and then they will attack that single animal rather than the whole herd.

Change starts with a single step. We have a gracious, merciful, and compassionate loving heavenly Father who is very forgiving and runs after us with open arms. God wants us to see our condition and what got us there and make the changes to walk right with Him.

It will not be an overnight fix, but it can start now, with a simple prayer and decision.

If we stick it out, our testimony will be one that can be used to encourage others who have fell prey to “the great disconnect”.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/986696/the_great_disconnect.html?cat=34

Good Apples and Bad Apples

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Jesus taught you would know a tree by its fruit. He went further in the analogy to say that He was the vine/trunk and we (His followers) are the branches. He talked about the branch bearing fruit, good fruit, fruit that will last.

Paul continued this analogy and said that there are two trees, a cultivated tree (the tree of life) and the wild tree (a tree that leads to death. Hmm, could this be the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?).

He also stated that each branch (person) bears fruit according to the tree it is living out of. A branch that is living according to the wild tree (the selfishness of fallen man) will produce one kind of fruit (which is bad/sinful/wrong) and the branch living according to the tree of life (the Spirit) will produce another kind of fruit (which is right, just, love, joy, peace, etc.).

There is a whole lot of talk about producing good fruit, but the questions is: Where does the fruit come from?

The reality is the fruit comes from what’s inside the tree. The branch is an extension of that tree. The Fruit is what it is because of what is on the inside, not because it tries to be something different.

Another important thing to remember is that no branch is perfect; perfectly good or perfectly bad. There is no branch that is all good fruit. Even good branches have a few bad apples from time to time. There are very few branches that have all bad fruit. Even some of the worst of branches have at least a couple good apples here and there.

The key issue is what vine/tree am I (the branch) connected to? The kind of tree I’m a part of will determine the primary kind of fruit I produce. But, in the fallen broken world death does exist and so from time to time we will all have some bad apples even on the best of branches.

Do we accept the bad fruit? No! Do we cut the branch off and throw it away because of a bad fruit here and there? No! According to Jesus the only branch that was going to be cut off and thrown away was the branch that didn’t produce any fruit (John 15).

We need to aspire to be the best branch we can be, allowing the Holy Spirit of God to prune out those areas of our life that are unproductive branches, so we can be even more fruitful.

We also must remember that if the overwhelming majority of the fruit being produced in our life is bad fruit we really need to check and see if we are really connected to the right tree.

One more thing to remember is that growth and more fruit come because the branch allows the life of the tree to flow through it (it’s a giver), not hold on to it for itself. The more fruit bearing a branch is, the more the live of the tree is flowing through that branch, thus the greater the experience and fuller the life of that branch.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/970640/good_apples_and_bad_apples.html

Love Of The Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:58:00 +0000

At Open Arms Community Church we’ve been going through a series called “Growing Closer To God”. Last weekend we discussed the topic of how studying God’s Word (the Bible) grows us closer to God.

We saw many warnings in the scripture about deceiving spirits at work in our world and deceptive teachings that will come. We also saw the antidote for the rampant deception in our world, a love of/for the truth.

When we use that phrase “love of/for the truth” we are to understand first that this has always been God’s expectation, that what we do in pursuing Him and obeying Him would be motivated by a loving relationship not religious duty. That’s the first and greatest command, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength”.

We are also to understand that true love compels us to pursue. If we really “love” then we feel compelled. Whether you say, “I love my wife” or “I love ice cream”. Either way you feel compelled by that affection/affinity to pursue them.

You have to wonder what many Christians have in this Christian Faith, relationship or religion, because so many seem so unmotivated in pursuing God (reading His Word, obeying His Word, spending time with Him in prayer, and spending time with fellow saints).

So many seem to “Believe” in God/Jesus and do the obligatory “church attendance” (sometimes), but seem to resent the imposition that Jesus and His commands make on their lifestyle. They seem to have thought that following Jesus would simply be adding a little bit of religious duty to their pre-existing lifestyle, but Jesus tells us He came to give a whole new way of life (not just a few religious habits), so we should understand that there will not just be a few changes to our way of life, but a completely different way of life.

In following Jesus we may stay at the same place of work, but we may not. We may stay in the same geography, but we may not. God has a way of taking those who follow Him and changing their life drastically.

Why do some seem to have these powerful life changing experiences for life long and others not? Why do some seem so easily moved off coarse, but others are more stable and stay on track? The answer is simpler than we think.

In 2Thessalonians 2:1-10 we find God warning us that as the clock of earths existence winds down there will be an increase of deception. Spirits and spiritual teachers will come try to teach things that sound, feel, smell, and seem good, right, and true, but in fact are wrong, dangerous, and destructive.

God tells us in these verses that the people being deceived and ruined by the deception will go from bad to worse simply because of one thing… they did not love the truth. As we reject or just take lightly the truth, the easier we swallow satan’s lies and the harder it can be come to swallow God’s word.

That is the second thing we need to learn from this phrase “love of/for the truth”.

Jesus tells us His “word is truth”, that His word is “flawless and eternal”, and that those who “hear it and do what it says” are blessed, but those who “hear it and do not do what it says” fall under a lack of blessing, a curse, even destruction”. (Matthew 7)

The availability of God’s Word, especially to us in America and those with regular internet access, makes this truth all the more convicting and us all the more accountable/responsible to God for how seriously and diligently we pursue God and His truth.

God is at work in our world. He is moving and doing awesome things, but so is the devil, and unfortunately to many Christians are buying satan’s lies and living a less than Christian life; A life of which I do not know for sure the final outcome.

So, what do we do?

First, 2Timothy 2:15 tells us to “do your best to show yourself approved” or “diligently study to show yourself approved” by God in “rightly handling the word of truth”. Do we “rightly handle” the word? Not only are we to handle it “rightly” by understanding it accurately, but we’re also to handle it “rightly” by actually handling it, using it, not letting it sit on our shelf or the back of our toilet collecting dust.

Second, as we feed on this Word of Truth we will fulfill God’s command to “grow in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.” 2Peter 3:18

Thirdly, we must understand that there will be things in the Bible we don’t understand at first, but the more we read it and the more we live it, the more we will understand, but even after decades of following Jesus and studying the word of God, there is much we still don’t fully understand, so what do we do.

Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us the knowledge that is hidden belongs to God (that is His business), but the knowledge that is revealed (understood by men) is given to us so that we may do what it says, in other words OBEY IT.

If we do these things we will be blessed and are true disciples/followers of Jesus. If we do not do these things we are easy prey for satan and his minions, we are going to experience less than God’s best in life, and we may not be authentic disciples/followers of Jesus (we may fall into the category of simply believing in God, but still on our way to hell with satan who also believes in God. James 2).

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/967870/love_of_the_truth.html?cat=34

The Other Side Of Spiritual Warfare

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:24:00 +0000

There is much discussion in sermons and books on the subject of spiritual warfare. When the phrase is used the first things that come to mind are the devil and demons sneaking around doing bad things to us, or maybe motivating non-Christians to mistreat us, or maybe even orchestrating tragic circumstances. While all these may be a huge part of spiritual warfare there are two other sides of the spiritual warfare cube that are not talked about much, but we must understand if we’re going to persevere and win the battles we will most certainly face as we do God’s work.

The first “Other Side” I want to address is the side where “Christians” are used by the enemy. Christians that are well-meaning, but very misguided.

We don’t hear to often about this, but the reality is that Christians can oppose us. Fellow Christians can be the tool of the enemy against us. We see this exemplified in the book of Acts where the circumcised brothers (Christians) were coming against the Apostle Paul and his ministry to the uncircumcised brothers (Christians).

Not only did they not like that Paul was reaching out to them with the Gospel, but once that ministry was accepted and approved, the circumcised believers had the expectation that these new uncircumcised believers would get circumcised and when Paul taught against it, these circumcised believers got all nasty with Paul.

We see Paul teaching us in 2Timothy (in Vs 10 & 14 we see that Paul is writing about Christians) 22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Note Vs 26 “the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

Paul tells Timothy that there will be Christians (the elect) who will quarrel with and oppose him and he tells Timothy that these people are in the devils trap and are the devils captive to do his (the devil’s) will.

Fellow Christians, influenced by satan, fueled by pride, selfishness, worldliness, fear, prejudice, and so on can become quarrelsome, argumentative, and even oppose (resist) us and the work the Lord has us doing.

We may find ourselves at odds with a dear brother or sister in the Lord. We may find them saying and doing the most unbelievable things to us. They may speak evil, they may try to divide, and even purposefully hurt (emotionally or physically or financially).

We’re taught that we are to love these people, bless (not curse), forgive, gently instruct, and pray for these people to come to their senses and escape satan’s trap.

I can tell you from personal experience this is a very painful aspect of spiritual warfare; people who say “Love ya, brother!” turning around and being nasty or just abandoning the relationship.

We must be ready for this and ready to respond in a Christ-like manner.

Now, the second “other side” of spiritual warfare (perhaps as painful or more painful than the first), the side of Me.

That’s right! If a Christian can become influenced by satan and fueled by pride, selfish ambition, worldliness, fear, prejudice, and so on to the point of becoming quarrelsome, argumentative, and even resistant (opposing) to other Christians, then I, as a Christian, could be one of these. I could step into satan’s trap.

We hate to hear it, but the truth is that if we’re not humbly submitted to Jesus and His way of doing things and regularly checking ourselves we can get off coarse and start making decisions that put us at odds with God and other Christians doing Gods work. It’s this case where the old saying is true, “I’m my own worst enemy.”

The sad thing is, this side of spiritual warfare is the least understood and accepted. We like to be able to blame the devil for all that’s going, or non-Christians, or even other Christians, or at the least God, but not me. Surely I’m not my problem. Surely it’s not my attitude, words, or actions that are the cause of my problems. Surely I’ve not opened the door for the enemy to come in and work havoc.

It’s the hardest thing in the world to take personal responsibility and acknowledge that by our choices we’ve partnered/cooperated with the devil, we’ve taken his side and worked his work and yet, this is exactly what is happening in so many Christian’s lives.

The answer to this particular problem is simple to state, but hard to apply… Repent (change! Turn away from the wrong and back to the Jesus way, Confess your sin and ask forgiveness and accept forgiveness), Restore (work toward doing it the right way. This may include going to others and working at undoing what you’ve done and fix what got broke), Submit yourself wholly to God, and then resist the devil and he will flee!

These are two sides we don’t hear much about, but if we’re going to succeed in spiritual warfare we must understand all the players and all the battlefronts, and the first battlefront of spiritual warfare is our own heart (but that is another message).

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/950155/the_other_side_of_spiritual_warfare.html

Submission in Serving

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:51:00 +0000

At Open Arms Community Church we’re doing a series of messages right now called “Growing Closer To God”. In this series we’ve recognized that unfortunately most Christians lives look no different from their Non-Christian counterpart, and sometimes look even worse.

We’ve been looking at various attitudes and behaviors we can engage in to grow closer to God and become the person He made us to be and experience the life He desires us to have.

Last weekend we discussed the topic of serving/giving. We saw that serving and giving are synonyms. When you give you’re serving, when you serve you’re giving.

Something that I wanted to share on is the issue of HOW we serve.

Being a leader in a church (a volunteer organization; aka: an organization run mostly by volunteer help) I deal with people serving all the time and I regularly have to deal with the issue of people wanting to serve as long as it’s “their way”.

As a Christian we’re called to serve and when we serve we’re called to serve as unto the Lord. In other words, what I’m doing I’m doing for the Lord, for His approval (so I should give Him my best), and submitted to Him. It’s not for me or about me.

I often see people want to serve as long as things are done their way. Here in lies one of the reasons we don’t grow and benefit from our acts of service. Serving isn’t about WHAT we want or HOW we want it. It’s about WHO we’re serving and what they want and how they want it.

If I go to serve someone and will only do it my way, how is that a blessing to them? Did it really help? How is that growing me? I’ve stayed the same.

This doesn’t mean we can’t offer our insights and suggestions, but ultimately, as a servant, it’s not what I want, but what they want that determines what and how I serve in a particular situation or place.

I’ve seen some people not only not submit to the vision and desires of those they were supposedly serving, but I’ve even seen some try to bully, manipulate, and control by withdrawing their service, support, and contributions until a thing is done the way they want it done. This is not serving/giving. This is selfish and immature. It is robbing our self and the others from the blessing and growth God intends for all to experience.

When we serve I want to encourage us to keep a humble servants attitude and remember that if we’re really serving others then it is not about what we want or how we want it. It is about what they want and how they want it, because we’re serving THEM, not us.

Ultimately when we serve we remember that it’s not even them we’re serving, but the Lord, so we should not only serve humbly and out of love and care for the other person/people, but we should also serve with excellence.

There is a lot said about excellence, but I like to use this definition… giving your best or your all, and nothing less. Jesus said, “love others as you love yourself”. Paul went on to say, “you are not serving men, but are serving the Lord.” Jesus said, “when you did it to the least of my brothers, you did it unto me.” So, if I’m preparing a meal, giving a gift, running sound at church, mowing a lawn, teaching the children, or cleaning a toilet I’m to do it all for the glory and pleasure of Jesus.

I don’t think Jesus would be pleased if I went in to serve someone, but instead did it my way and really served myself.

This is where we apply the scriptures of “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” or “consider others better than yourself”.

Again, it’s not that we don’t have good ideas and can’t share them, but there comes a point where we accept the desire and will of those we serve, otherwise it’s not service it’s rebellion.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/949841/submission_in_serving.html?cat=34

God Finding You In The Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:03:00 +0000

Not long ago I wrote about finding God in the moment, becoming aware of His activity in our daily lives and work in cooperation with Him.

In a series we’re doing at Open Arms Community Church called “Growing Closer To God” we’ve been discussing different factors involved in us really going deeper with God and growing up into the greater things God has for us.

We just covered the topic of “Serving/Giving” and in particular “Sacrificial Serving/Giving”, and it caused me to question… What about God finding us in the moment?

I wonder… with all the busyness, agendas, plans, hustle, and chaos in our lives are we available to God?

In any given moment can God interrupt us and use us or just share with us?

So often we’re concerned about finding God in the moment, but the real question is can God find us in the moment?

The greatest obstacle in experiencing God and God’s best in my life is not the Devil, it’s not someone else, it’s not work; it is me (self). I’m the one who busies myself. I’m the one who takes on all the extra stuff. I’m the one who sets the agenda. I’m the one who chooses what to do or not do. I’m the one who decides what I will pursue and chase after.

All to often we’re concerned about whether God will show up and move, but what we really need to be concerned about is whether we’re available to God.

It’s not an easy focus to keep. With all the cares of this life (the pursuit of pleasure, the deceitfulness of wealth, etc; Matthew 13), chaos, distractions, and so on it’s easy to become disoriented and out of touch with God.

There are simple disciplines and attitudes that help us “stay available” to God. Daily Prayer, daily Bible reading, and the constant asking of the question, “God what do you want to do here (in me and through me)?”.

When it comes to the topic of Serving/Giving we’ve got to be in touch with God so as not to miss those opportunities God gives us to shine the light of His love and truth.

When it come to giving/serving “sacrificially” we really have to be in touch with God so as not to give in to selfishness, fear/doubt, or worldly wisdom and resist God and what He wants to do in and through us. Only by the presence and power of God do we have a chance of overcoming the Old Self and the Ways of This World.

One more thing… Should God find us in the moment, what would He find us doing? Are we about the Fathers business or other business? Are we living in such a way that would please and honor Him, or the opposite? Would we be in a position to be used of the Lord?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/949683/god_finding_you_in_the_moment.html

Submission, the secret to success

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Everybody wants success! Success in their relationships (with God, spouse, parents, siblings, children), success in society and the workplace, and so on.

Everybody wants love, peace, joy, and so on.

What if it wasn't as hard as we think to find ALL of this?

To read more click the link below:

Submission, the secret to success

Finding God in the moment

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:34:00 +0000

Why Some Find Him and Others Don't...

Ever find yourself in a place with a group of people sharing a particular environment or event and you walk away with some having experienced God and others not?

For some thoughts on why this happens and how to find God in the moment of each day, each event, each church service, click the link and read the article.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/840203/finding_god_in_the_moment.html

Hungry

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:03:00 +0000

Are we filling up on the junkfood and missing out on God's best for our lives?

Read more...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/795825/hungry.html?cat=34

What if... to What next

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:19:00 +0000

We just finished up a very challenging and inspiring series titled “What if…” which capitalized on the potential of those two words.

We saw that these two words could inspire, encourage, challenge, and build up, or they could discourage, depress, tear down, and steal away.

We saw that the determining factor in the effect of these two words was our Faith and Thought-life. What we choose to believe is ultimately what will happen and our thoughts are ultimately what we gravitate toward being and doing.

We saw that God has uniquely designed each of us for a unique and special plan and purpose. We also saw that God’s plan and purposes are always with best in mind, never less than best. God’s plans and purposes always intend for you to be reaching your fullest potential, never less, for you to be living life to the full, never less. In a nutshell, God’s plan is for you and your life to always be at your/its best, never less than best, according to the talents, abilities, interests, dreams, and resources God has given you.

We saw that to be best or great at anything there is always a price to pay. This is no less true in following Jesus and becoming all He made us to be and experiencing life at it’s best, as He intended.

The question is NOT “WILL we pay a price?” The question is “FOR WHAT will we pay the price.”

Many people pay the price for wealth, others for health, others for pleasure, others for fame or prestige, others for accomplishment, many for a combination of the above mentioned.

But, Jesus said, “27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:27-34

Or how about Matthew’s version… “25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34

So, we see that as a Christian we have a real issue with the above list of goals, ambitions, and priorities. Jesus isn’t in it! Even if He was in the list, would that be enough? Not according to Jesus. Jesus teaches us that life at it’s best isn’t experienced when we just add Jesus to our lives and plans. Jesus teaches us that life at it’s best is experienced when Jesus is our life and plan; when He becomes the first priority and leading factor through which all other things are filtered.

So, What if…
What if we were fully devoted to Jesus and His ways?
What if we really LOVED Him?
What if He was our PASSION?
What if I lived my life like Jesus, His teachings, and people really mattered.
What if we really put Jesus first?
What if we really lived like this world was not our home?
What if we really lived like people mattered to God?
What if it really was all about Jesus?
What if you could really know Jesus?
What if Jesus really loved us?
What if Jesus meant what he said?
What if it really was spiritual?
What if it really was practical?
What if we lived according to the teachings of Jesus?
What if we prayed for people?
What if we told people about Jesus?
What if we blessed the people around us?

I could go on and on. The “What if’s” never end. But these are just a starting point and a waste of ink, paper, cyberspace, and thought if we don’t ask the real question…

What Next?

Will we apply or just add this information to the files in our brain, but do nothing with them?

In our series we saw that most of us know WHAT God’s standards are and what we should be doing. The problem is NOT ignorance. The problem is obedience.

We know what the Bible says; the question is “will we DO what the Bible says?”

Jesus tells us…”24Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

It’s sad, because I see people meet Jesus all the time. I see people experience God’s touch in their spirit, their mind, their emotions, their body, their relationships, their finances, their family, etc. and for a while they make Jesus #1 and priority in their life, but over time as the things in this world press in we lose sight of Jesus, but not just Jesus, we lose sight of who He made us to be and do, His unique design, plans, and purposes for us. We get caught up in the rat race of life as a regular earthling.

So, what is next? What will we do with the information, inspiration, talents, abilities, interests, time, money, relationships, and all that God has given us? Will we be like those who don’t know God and don’t know any better and live for the things of this temporary world? Will we just file the information into the hard drive of our brain to be forgotten or collect cyber-dust? Or will we apply/obey the teachings of Jesus?

Remember, the single greatest cause of atheism is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, but then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.

And, may I add, that besides the selfishness of our own hearts, the single greatest cause of backsliding is that people know what the Bible says, but because they don’t do what the Bible says they lack the experience with God, and thus satan and their own mind reasons them into believing that it’s not that big of a deal, or worse, that it’s not true.

I want to encourage each of us to answer the important question… What next?

How will you go about pursuing and seeking God? How will you apply His commands in your life? How will you use the abilities and talents to serve God and others? How will you use all the resources God has given you to serve and honor the Lord, to bless others, and advance the Kingdom of God, thus investing in a world and life that is eternal?

What would our lives look like, what would the effect be in our community and world, if we simply did what Jesus told us to do and didn’t do what Jesus told us not to do (AKA: Obedience, which is the proof of faith)?

Do I care? Do I believe?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:45:00 +0000

I’ve been serving Jesus now for 18 years, 13.5 of which has been in pastoral ministry. I’ve studied hard, preached as accurately and in line with scripture as I could. I’ve tried to hit all the important topics and even the not so important ones. I’ve worked to make biblical principles and application clear, so we can know what the Bible says and do what the Bible says.

Some of the topics I’ve addressed in the last 16 months are sex (4), relationships (13), Finances (5), life fulfillment (4), leadership (2), attitude (2), healing (1), spiritual disciplines (11), mission (13); false spirituality (4); practical Christian living (8) and within each series I address many other issues we face as human beings.

The point: In this time I’ve watched people continue to struggle with poor financial management even though I’ve preached on the subject 5 times. I’ve seen relationships suffering and even ending in divorce even though I’ve taught on healthy relationships at least 13 times. In spite of preaching on mission and personal responsibility and life fulfillment about 25 times very few of our people are really sharing Jesus with the lost. And in spite of talking about spiritual disciplines at least 11 times we still have people that are not reading their Bibles, making prayer a priority, are not connected in fellowship, are not generally applying the Bible as they learn it, and in a nutshell aren’t maturing.

So what? Well, I have had to ask myself the question… What will make the difference? Because year after year I see some peoples lives transformed and others stay bad or even get worse. Even in my own life, knowing what I know, there are times I fail to experience God’s best in particular areas of my life. Why?

Why have some people heard the messages I’ve taught and they’ve grown and benefited from them? Their life and relationships and finances have been changed! But others have heard the same messages and been unchanged or perhaps have even gotten worse.

What is the answer? What’s the difference between these two groups? It’s not the message I teach, that’s the same for both.

I realized while driving for 4 hours and talking with Marne (my wife) that THE key issue is three things:

1) Do I care? Meaning, do I the individual care about the issues in my life and trying to change them and thus do I care about what I can learn and apply from the message of God’s word?

Relationships… Do I really care about the person(s) I’m in relationship with and thus do I care what this message is saying about how I can experience God’s best in this area of my life?

Finances… Do I really care about being a good steward, having financial freedom, pleasing God, helping others, and being out of debt and thus do I care what this message is saying about how I can experience God’s best in this area of my life?

The degree that people care is the degree that transformation becomes possible, because it’s to the same degree that information becomes more than just data, but life!

The honest answer for most people on this first question is, NO! I’m content to live in this mess. I’m to tired or lazy or hopeless to put forth the effort it will take to even try to change if it’s even possible. And that leads us to #2.

2) Do I believe? Meaning, do I the individual believe that with God and doing things His way my circumstance can really change and be great instead of nominal. Do I believe God will really keep His promise to change this situation?

This can be a cause or an affect from the first issue of “Do I care?” but the point is, this is often the energy source needed to do what needs done to make the changes.

If I have no hope for the future, I’ll have no strength for the present.

If I don’t believe the goal is attainable, I will not be motivated to put forth effort to reach it.

Crazy thing is, what I believe I can do I can and what I believe I can’t do I can’t. Jesus made it very clear, according to our faith things happen.

3) Selfishness. Most people suffer and don’t experience God’s best because they’re not willing to die to the selfish desires in their life. They aren’t willing to kill the behavior that gives them mediocrity and surrender to and apply the behavior that will give them great.

Relationships… They know certain behaviors are destructive, but they don’t care, because they care more about gratifying themselves through the destructive behavior.

Finances… They know certain behaviors are poor stewardship, displeasing to God, and beyond their financial means, but they don’t care, because they want it and they want it now! If they can’t afford it, that’s okay, use plastic!

It’s easy to break these down and identify them in discussion, but in real life these are connected with each other, kind of like the triangle of death.

I would say in my humble assessment of the people I’ve ministered to over the years these are the 3 core issues of peoples being victorious or victims, living nominal lives or great lives, being spiritual dynamos or luke-warm religious folk. I’ve seen probably thousands of people hear the same information from me; some it helped and some it didn’t. What was the difference, the message or the heart of the hearer?

Are you ready for 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:39:00 +0000

It's a new year. We face war, presidential elections, a questionable economy and world scene, but the real question is are you ready for what God wants to do in YOUR life?

Click here to read more... http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/512975/are_you_ready_for_2008.html

Getting Serious

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:50:00 +0000

We just finished a series called BECOMING A SPIRITUAL BLACKBELT where we emphasized Spiritual Maturity.

We discussed the 4 key disciplines that are necessary to build upon a persevering/unwavering commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. The application of these 4 key disciplines will cause us to grow and mature, but a breakdown in any one of these disciplines effects the whole experience. It is important to understand that you are only as mature as your weakest area.

In a nutshell the 4 disciplines were 1) Growing in the knowledge of God, 2) Application of the knowledge we gain, 3) Prayer, and 4) Community.

Here’s the breakdown:
1) Growing in the knowledge of God – If you don’t know it you can’t do it! How do you know what you believe or how you should behave?

2) Application of the knowledge we gain – The experience is in the doing, not the knowing. So, get busy applying/obeying those commands of loving one another, serving one another, telling the Gospel to others, tithing, giving generously, correcting, staying sexually pure, taking a Sabbath, and so on.

3) Prayer – talking to God and listening to God talk to us. Maintaining lines of communication and tapping into the supernatural side of life.

4) Community – We can’t do this alone. We need one another to instruct, encourage, hold accountable, correct, rebuke, and pray for each other. No one knows it all. No one can do it all. We need each other. No ONE of us is as smart or as strong or as productive as ALL of us!

All that said… the question is… what do we do now?

The answer: Get Serious! No playing games with God. Notice these scriptures:

Hebrews 2:1-3 1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?

Hebrews 3:12-14 12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

Hebrews 10:23-31 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 12:1-4 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

2Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

2Peter 1:5-11 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

How serious do these scriptures come across regarding the subject of living out our faith sincerely, whole-heartedly, passionately, zealously, eagerly, without compromise?

When you read these scriptures do you sense a seriousness about it? Do you sense an urgency? Do you sense that your faith/relationship with God/doing God’s will should be a priority in your life? I sense that this is a BIG deal!

To the Baby Christian/New Believer these may seem scary or intimidating… don’t let them be. While these can warn and encourage you (the new believer) to take your faith seriously, these are actually written for those who have claimed to follow Jesus for some time and should be mature in their faith. But, new believers should also hear this message and take their faith seriously from the start so they do not fall prey to satan’s strategies to keep them ineffective in their knowledge of God.

So many of us believe whole-heartedly the truth of God’s Word when it comes to Jesus and salvation, but we seem to stop there. We stop reading or listening. The truth is there is more to the Christian life, more in promise and more in responsibility.

We’re told we will all be held accountable for what we did and didn’t do (in thought, word, and deed) in life with all our talents, time, and wealth.

It’s not always that we’re off sinning doing something wrong/immoral. We may simply be NOT doing what we should. Or, we may be doing something that is simply different/less than what God has called us to do. This too is sin.

If we’re constantly busied by pursuing our own selfish ambition, or by working to make that extra buck to buy that extra unnecessary thing then how will we have the time to fulfill God’s commands of being a faithful follower of Jesus, a Godly Spouse, Godly Parent, Faithful Friend, and Faithful Witness? We won’t! Something’s got to give! We cannot do it all!

We will have to decide what is most important, what is the biggest priority. We can always tell what is most important because that is what you are most serious about. You invest the majority of your time, energy, and money into what matters most.

You can say it’s God and family, but what does your schedule and check book say? How much time are you really giving to spending time with the Lord? How much time are you giving to serving the Lord? How big of a giver are you? How much time do you spend with your family? How serious do you take the commands of God? How serious are you at following God’s instructions and commands? How seriously do you pray for the lost and look for the opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus with those around you? When is the last time you led anyone to Jesus? How easily do other things distract you and cause you to stray from faithful pursuit of God? How easy is it to get you to compromise in your commitment to the Lord in time, giving, obedience, morality, serving, etc? How quickly do you gossip or speak negatively/critically of others?

Many people walk around declaring their belief and commitment to the Lord, but you can tell what kind of tree it is by the fruit that it produces. Loyalty, commitment, faithfulness are three words that some would say to look for and they’re right, but it’s not just these three words… it’s WHAT they are loyal, committed, and faithful to! Is it God and his ways and his purposes and his priorities or is it something of this temporal world?

So what do we do? Get serious! Determine not to be nominal. There are rewards to gain or loose. There is a judgment day to face. There will be an account with our Heavenly Father.

How many times have we ditched God for something less important? How many times has God placed us among sinners to be a light and we never told them about Jesus?

Let’s do what we claim to be! As a follower of Jesus… Follow!

We can say, these other things came up, but the reality is… we do what we want to do. If we want to go to church, nothing can keep us from it. If we want to be at cell group, nothing can keep us from it. If we want to tithe, nothing can stop us. If we want to tell the lost about Jesus, nothing can keep us from it. If we want to be stingy, gossipy, dishonoring to God, work excessively, be materialistic, lie, steal, stay home and watch football, commit adultery nothing will keep us from it. We do what we want to do!

What do you want? What is your priority? What is most important to you? Is it Jesus or the things of this world? Don’t fool yourself, because you’re certainly not fooling God or anyone around you.

1John 2:15-17 15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

The Power of Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:52:00 +0000

How do we release the positive and blessings into our life?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/455790/the_power_of_thanksgiving.html

Religion or Relationship?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Mike) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:05:00 +0000

Roughly 98% of the people in the world believe in God. While most people believe in God many struggle with the question: Which religion is right? The answer is none of them. In order to accurately understand this statement we must define religion.

Religion is simply manmade rules, standards, traditions, and rituals.

What bearing do any of these have on our relationship with God (Yes, Relationship)?

No matter what “religion” you subscribe to they all have a few common beliefs. God is real, he created the universe and everything in it, there is a right and wrong, and there are blessings and curses to be experienced, and there is an eternity in the balance for each person.

While some religions have described God as being somewhat disconnected from humanity and it’s plight, Jesus taught a very different view.

Jesus taught that God cares for people and that He created people for a purpose, that purpose was not servitude out of religious duty, it was not to make church goers, it was not to make slaves, it was to make children. Jesus taught that God made people to be his children, His objects of deep love and affection, and that He (God) desires a relationship with His creation.

Jesus taught that the greatest commandment of all was to “love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:30 NIV). The point of this is two fold… 1) Love is the issue! We’re to have a loving relationship with God and this relationship isn’t just a religious hobby, it’s our life. We live for it with our entire being. 2) This relationship is then the motivating factor in all our life decisions. This gives us guidance in how to live.

Like any relationship, because we love and care about the person and what they think it alters our behavior and way of life so we can live in harmony with them and experience the relationship at it’s best. This is how it works with God.

Does this mean all religion is bad? Not at all!

It is written, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27 NIV)

So, religion, as previously defined, that encourages addressing causes of social justice and personal purity/morality is seen as good and acceptable. Religion then is nothing more than a tool to help people in their relationship with God and their pursuit of being the person God made them to be.

So, which religion is “right”? The answer is none of them. If you follow the teachings of Jesus He taught relationship with God through His (Jesus’) sacrificial work and this relationships was the motivating factor for spirituality and morality. Everything else is just tools.

What do you do with tools? Use them when they work. Put them in the box when they don’t. If they’re broke throw them away. Common sense!

Religion isn't especially bad or wrong or right, it's just a tool. Devotion to religion isn't bad, or wrong, or right it just can't supercede or take the place of your relationship/commitment to God.

When Religion helps you live out the truths of God's word, grow in your relationship with God, and become the person God made you to be then use it, but when it becomes God in your life, or becomes dead lifeless rituals, or becomes as authoritative as the Bible in your life then it's time to reevaluate and perhaps move on to a different tool.