Here’s a powerful, new song by Desperation Band called Light up the World.
Sep
20
“4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” - Ephesians 1:4-6
Just as some parents choose to adopt children, God chose to adopt you. God chose to adopt us into His family, not because of anything that we have done. It was not out of obligation. He did it out of love for us. He loved us so much that He paid the ultimate price of His son’s death on the cross. You are not a mistake, God perfect will is for you to accept Jesus into your life. How cool is that?
Jul
20
What is your response when your cheese is moved? Cheese could stand for your job, a relationship, money, a possession, etc. Change will happen in your life how will you react?
The characters, Sniff, Scurry, Hem & Haw, illustrate the different ways we respond to change. This quick read is well worth your time, especially if you are dealing with change in your life.
Jun
14
The consequences of sin are huge! Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
The cost of sin:
- Jesus’ life
- messes up your relationship with Christ
- messes up other relationships in your life
Throughout Scripture, there is a consistent theme that every sin has a consequence.
Examples of sin & its consequences
- David & Bathesheba (2 Samuel 12) Son died & sword never departs his house
- Hezekiah Pride and arrogance, led him to show Babylon all of Judah’s riches. The consequence was that Judah would be taken into captivity.
- Moses hit the rock, disobeying God. He was not allowed to enter the promise land.
- President Clinton His legacy was tarnished, he had to answer private questions in public, and his family saw him on the news constantly.
- Ted Haggard He lost his livelihood, had to move, hurt his family, and lost friends.
Your sin will affect not only yourself, but also your friends and family. Sin may lead to addiction. The first drink, the first smoke, the first time that you do drugs, may lead to an addiction that costs you everything that you hold dear.
Sin is just not worth it!
Romans 6:1-4 talks about not continuing in sin. Even though Jesus took care of our eternal price for sin on the cross, He did not take away the consequences of sin that we have to pay here on earth.
Romans 6:20 tells us that we should no longer be slaves to sin, but now we should be sold out for God.
Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. Sin is just not worth the price that you will have to pay. Every sin has a consequence.
Jun
08
Hezekiah was king of Judah during the time of Isaiah. He made a lot of reforms including destroying the idol worship that had been so prevalent in his country. In his fourteenth year, he decided to stop paying tribute, money in exchange for peace, to the Assyrians. The Assyrians went to war. They defeated at least 4 countries on their way to Jerusalem.
The Assyrian army took position near the aqueduct, the place where the water flowed into Jerusalem. Their chief of staff met with Judah’s secretary of state and other officials. The Assyrians asked, “Who are you relying on that you would rebel against Assyria? Are you counting on Egypt? If you are counting on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your waist and pierces your hand. Egypt is completely unreliable.” The men from Assyria also said that the Lord God had directed them to invade Judah. Judah’s officials asked them to speak in Aramaic, for the people of Jerusalem knew Hebrew. The Assyrians refused because they wanted all of people to hear their message.
The Assyrians continued to insult Judah. They said that king Sennacherib would give Judah 2,000 horses, if they just showed that they had enough men to ride them. The Assyrians told the men of Jerusalem not to rely on their God for the other nations’ gods failed to protect them from Assyria.
King Hezekiah’s officials told him all that they had said and the king tore his clothes and headed for the temple. Hezekiah’s prayer is found in Isaiah 37:14-20. Through the prophet Isaiah, God told Hezekiah not to worry that He would take care of it and take out King Sennacherib. That night, the angel of the Lord slaughtered 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. King Sennacherib heard that the king of Ethiopia was going to attack his country so he returned to Assyria. One day while he was worshipping his false god, Sennacherib was assassinated by two of his sons.
When tough times came, Hezekiah sought God and God delivered big time.
Later on in Hezekiah’s life, he got very ill. The prophet Isaiah spoke a word from God that he should get his affairs in order because he was going to die. Hezekiah sought God once again. God granted his request and said that Hezekiah would live another 15 years.
So whether it is a challenge for our church or a personal challenge, your solution will be found in seeking God. He will come through for you.
May
31
I didn’t intend to embrace the silence on my blog, but apparently it’s been about 5 weeks of silence on here.
Another time we should embrace silence is when we present the gospel. Sometimes, I rush through the gospel and don’t give people enough time to digest what I have told them. This goes for both one-on-one explanations and presentations to groups of people. I’ve heard Greg Stier say several times that we need to lean in towards those awkward silences when sharing with people. It is during those awkward silences that the Holy Spirit works to draw people to Christ. When we rush through it, we can lose a great chance for God to work. Embrace the silence and the tension when sharing the gospel and expect God to work!
Apr
24
How often do you pause? Noise is almost constant in our lives. TV, radio, blogs, facebook, twitter, texting, music,… it never seems to stop. However, with all of the noise (even the good, productive kind) it can be difficult to hear God’s voice.
Why do we run from silence? The awkwardness of silence can be a very productive time for the Holy Spirit to work. Embrace the silence!
We must take time on a regular basis to pause and be silent. In prayer, we should talk to God AND listen to Him.
The Gospels are full of times when Jesus left the disciples and the crowds to spend time alone with God. Luke 6:12 is a great example:
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Take time to pause today, embrace the silence, and listen for God’s voice.
PS. I need to apply this post as much as anyone.
Apr
23
Over the last few weeks, I have lost my blogging rhythm. For those of you who check my blog regularly, I’m sorry. You can always follow me on twitter for random updates/ideas in 140 characters or less. I finally have some thoughts that I will post over the next couple of weeks. So here’s one:
What makes a ministry effective?
- the # of attendees
- the # of visitors
- the # of people who accept Christ
- the # of disciples
- stories of life-change
- the Word being taught (it won’t return void.)
- fellowship/relationships
- the gospel explained
Is it one or some of these? Did I miss it all-together? Do we have to define a “win” for each ministry?
I would love some feedback on this idea: What makes a ministry effective?
Apr
07
We used this video in church on Sunday:
Researchers say that 82% of people who are invited by a friend will agree to go with them. What if everyone invited 5 people to church and 4 of them came? Our churches would be full and people would be getting saved every week. Have you invited your fab five?
Mar
22
What would you be willing to do to see a friend or family member saved? Every person is someone’s friend or family member.
Would you be willing to…
- give up your style of music in church?
- come early to church so that the walk-through for the service is done properly?
- pray all week for Sunday mornings?
- welcome people who may not look like you?
- pick someone up on your way to church?
- give food to someone who is hungry?
- pack a shoebox for a kid who would otherwise not get Christmas presents?
- share the gospel with someone?
I dare you to take action this week to make a difference in someone’s life.
