Sunday, November 20, 2011

Speak with Boldness

And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your message with complete boldness...When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God's message with boldness. Acts 4:29, 31, HCSB

This past week a young man I knew died. I hadn’t seen him in about three years but these are some of the things I remember about him. He loved sports, movies, music, and he loved to joke-around. He was attractive, tall, and had a pleasant disposition. He loved his parents and spoke of them often. He loved his brother and his niece and nephew; in fact, he LOVED children. His love for children was such that he spent time working with children diagnosed with disabilities.
What I don’t know about is the condition of his soul. I know that when I last saw him, he was not a believer. The last contact I had with him was to let him know I was praying for him. Whether or not he ever accepted Christ I do not know nor will I ever know.
I have cried over the loss of someone so young. I have cried over the pain I know his parents are feeling. Most of all I have cried because I know that if he died without Christ he is forever lost. And that pain is the most acute of all.
I would like to put the painful memories aside and begin to forget; but I cannot. For the death of this young man is now a reminder to me of the urgency of the gospel. The urgency of the gospel is that Christ could return at any time and it is also that any of us can step into eternity at any time because we do not know the day of our death. All we have is the moment in which we now live.
The urgency of the gospel is that we live in a world of lost and dying people. And these people live around us; they aren’t all strangers—they are family members and friends. It is our job to tell them that Jesus died on the cross to save them; to tell them about how on the third day Jesus arose and is now seated at the right hand of the Father; to tell them it is not about how good or bad they are but it is about how good God is and how much He loves us. "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life”. John 3:16, HCSB
Pray for courage; speak with boldness and spread the gospel with urgency.
God Bless!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

What Are You Doing?

Even though we are speaking this way, dear friends, in your case we are confident of the better things connected with salvation. For God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you showed for His name when you served the saints—and you continue to serve them. Now we want each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the final realization of your hope, so that you won't become lazy, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance. Hebrews 6:9-12, HCSB

I think most of us evaluate our day’s work in one way or another. I typically think in terms of, “what did I accomplish today” and I love days when I can say to myself, “Wow. I got a lot done today. It’s been a productive day.”
However, I’ve heard my pastor say more than once we should ask ourselves daily, “What have I done today that made an eternal difference?” Posing that particular question to yourself at the end of each day will most definitely change your focus and your view of your day’s accomplishments. Suddenly the evaluation of your day’s work is far more poignant.
Hebrews 6:9-12 certainly seems to support working on behalf of God’s kingdom by saying we aren’t to become lazy, (v. 12) but, in fact, are to continue to serve, (v.10). The book of James also supports this. In chapter 2, verses 14-26, the author, James, presents his case for faith and works. James specifically writes in verses 17, 18, and 26 that faith without works is dead. Further, he tells us, using examples to support his claim, it is through works that faith is perfected; hence, active faith is demonstrated through works, (v. 22).
Our works will not save us. We are saved through the mercy and grace of God, through faith, Ephesians 2:8. But once we are saved we are most definitely to be doing, working, serving, etc., because of our faith and because of the outpouring of love of our Almighty God that compels us to do so.
Make no mistake—other are always watching us. They watch not only to see what we do but they also watch to see what we do not do. Further, how you re-act is as important, if not more so as how you act.
Recall that Jesus, as a twelve-year-old, was accidentally left behind in Jerusalem after the Passover. His family returned, searching frantically for Him. When they found Him (after three days!), He asks them, "Why were you searching for Me? Didn't you know I would be involved with my Father’s business?" Luke 2:49
What are you doing and how involved are you in your Father’s business?
God Bless!

Friday, November 4, 2011

To Know You

 I long and yearn for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God. Psalm 84:2, HCSB

A line from a song written by Mark Hall of Casting Crowns says, “To know You is to wanna tell the world about You.” The chorus of the song includes this line, “To know You is to want to know You more.”
I have found both statements to be true in my own life.  The more I read, learn, and come to know the character and person of Christ, the more I want to know and the more I want others to know of Him. I believe this a desire based in God’s love and I believe it is a yearning that will not be fully satisfied this side of heaven.
Lysa Terkeurst writes in her book, “Made to Crave” that “We were made to crave—long for, want greatly, desire eagerly, and beg for—God. Only God,” (21). Lysa goes on to say, “God never intended for us to want anything more than we want Him,” (29).
Psalm 84 tells of longing for God and His house.  It speaks of yearning for the house of the LORD and crying out for God, v. 2; it says happy are those who reside in God’s house and praise Him continuously, v. 4; it also says happy are those whose strength is in the Lord, v. 5; and happy is the person who trusts in the Lord, v. 6.
David wrote in Psalm 19:1 that the heavens declare the glory of God and they proclaim the work of His hands. Since nature itself proclaims the greatness of God surely it follows that those who know Him personally as Lord and Savior would want to proclaim His great name; His glory; and His power.
Pray with me that not only will we crave God more and more but that we will also come to know all the fullness of the Holy Spirit within our lives. Pray that our lives will become a bright and shining witness for Jesus Christ in the world—proclaiming His love and glorifying His great name. Amen.
God Bless!