We have a tradition at our church where the women do the entire service one Sunday in October in order to help celebrate appreciation for our pastor. I was honored to be asked to give the sermon. The link below will take you to the video at YouTube.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Friday, October 23, 2015
Be different in order to make a difference
The world we live in measures success by things like how many “followers” do you have and how many “likes” did you get. Success values results and production. The end result is all that counts no matter what you have to do to get there.
It’s all about the “return on investment.” and it doesn’t matter whether the investment is money, time, or talents. We measure our success by how many came to our event, how much money we raised, or how many raised their hands to accept Christ. My success isn’t about the results. Jesus didn’t measure the disciples success by their results. He gave them grace when they failed. He had patience with them while they were learning.
Success for the disciples (and for me) Is an internal thing, not an external thing. It isn’t something that can be seen or measured. It’s a matter of changing me. It’s about my character becoming what it needs to be. It’s about continually being conformed to the image of Christ – because that is the ultimate goal for my life.
The world would have me sacrifice my character in order to reach my goals. What Jesus wants to do is refine my character. He knows if I handle what’s going on in my life from an eternal perspective, I will be what is changed. As I change and am different, I can then make a difference in the world around me.
Forget success based on measurable results. Success is about character transformation. Let God transform you into the person He created you to be so that you can impact the world in the way He imaged you could from the start.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
What is missing?
I think we’ve lost our fear of God, our reverence for Him.
We’ve remade Him in our own image. Jesus has become our “bro”, our friend, our problem-solver, the “big guy upstairs.”
That’s not who He is. He’s the eternal, everlasting God of the universe. He is holy and righteous and demands our worship… and deserves our worship.
He is the One for whose glory I live.
Psalm 9:1-2
“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High.”
We, as a body of believers, lack conviction and intensity. We lack whole-hearted worship. We miss the idea that when we worship, we are coming into the presence of the Most High God.
We need to reread Isaiah 6 and see Isaiah’s response to being in the presence of God. We need to reread Revelation 1 and see John’s response to being in the presence of God.
A.W.Tozer said “The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.”
The Apostle Paul wrote “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21)
Lord, help us keep a proper perspective on who You are. You are the creator of the universe. You are almighty, infinite, omniscient, and sovereign. You choose to have a relationship with us – Your creation. Help us to to come to You with an attitude of awe and reverence.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Some thoughts from this morning
I come to God in complete surrender. I have no rights. My rights were nailed to the cross when I accepted Jesus as my Savior. It’s all about Jesus – His glory, His mission. Knowing and loving Jesus is the goal of my existence. And so because of this, I study the Word, pray, seek, press on to know Him better every day.
Surrender. Then surrender some more. Sometimes it is surrendering the same things over and over again. Other times God reveals new things in my life that need surrendered – things I didn’t even know were a problem.
The more I surrender, the more I discover I need to surrender, and so the more I surrender. And the more I surrender, the more I discover it is really a moment-by-moment practice of surrendering. Then I need to remember to keep my hands off – leave it on the altar.
God is constantly working in the midst of my crazy life. God is preparing me for His purposes. He is working in me so that He might work through me.
Be faithful in wherever He has me. Be faithful in my job. Be faithful in the Word. Be faithful in prayer. Be faithful in reaching out to others. Be faithful in teaching. Be faithful as a wife and a mom. Represent Jesus well everywhere and all the time. Be faithful in the small things. God is shaping me and remaking me into the vessel that He is going to use. Relax and enjoy the process.
Surrender my desires. Surrender my wisdom. Surrender everything. Trust God with everything. Surrender the desire to be comfortable. Surrender the desire to know the plan. God’s going to get me from Point A (here) to Point B (who knows where). I don’t need to know the details on how.
It’s not about “just doing it” or “gittin er done”. It’s about waiting and growing. It’s about trusting and obeying. It’s about letting God be God.
He who has promised is faithful. God will not break His Word. Nothing is impossible for Him.
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Passionately Pursuing Jesus
Here’s a preview:
What gets you excited? When you get up in the morning, what can't you wait to do? Who can't you wait to see? Who do you long to spend time with? Who do you seek when you need advice? Who or what can't you live without? What inspires you? Have you discovered God's calling on your life? What's the most important thing in your life? Are you satisfied with your passion for God? Are you satisfied in that relationship? Or, are you seeking more? How do you love God more? How do you seek Him above anything else? How do serve Him better?
This book will attempt to answer those questions. So, won't you join me in "Passionately Pursuing Jesus"?
Here’s a direct link to the page on Amazon.
All proceeds from my books go to missions.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Pray for your Pastor
Ever have one of those days when you feel like you are supposed to pray for someone and you don’t know why. I’m having one of those today and it is for my pastor. Our church is blessed with a pastor who loves God with his whole heart. He brings the Word every week and doesn’t hold back. You can tell he’s sought God and heard from Him. He preaches with passion and conviction. I am so glad that I get to sit under his teaching each week, but I know that he also needs prayer.
As I was thinking through just what to pray for him this morning, I came up with these ideas:
- I pray that he will love Jesus with his whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and that the “ministry” never steals him away from his first love.
- I pray that he will continue to lead with passion and conviction.
- I pray that he will continue to walk in confidence.
- I pray that he will continue to be a good “shepherd” caring for his sheep with love and compassion.
- I pray for his encouragement. I pray for protection from the attacks of the devil. I pray for protection from people who might seek to discredit him, slander him, or speak evil about him.
- I pray that his teaching and preaching will continue to be bold, convicting, encouraging, anointed, and Christ-centered.
- I pray that God will protect him from burnout.
- I pray for his rest spiritually and physically. I pray that he stays physically healthy.
- I pray for his study time and his prayer time. I pray that God will minister to him through his Word.
- I pray that he takes time to have fun, do things he enjoys, spend time with his wife, and that he takes time to find solitude.
- I pray that God will raise up people around him to assist him, serve him, encourage him, and pray for him. And, I pray he allows people to help him.
- I pray that ministry, teaching, preaching, and leading will never become a chore for him, but that it would always be a joy and a blessing to serve the Lord. I pray that he will enjoy every aspect of leading, whether hard or easy, for the glory of God.
- I pray that he will be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit in his own life. That he will continue to grow in grace, truth, and character.
- I pray that God will abundantly provide for him and his family. I pray that they lack nothing.
- I pray that God will give him wisdom and direction.
- I pray that he will have godly friends that he can receive encouragement from.
- I pray that he will walk humbly with God every day of his life.
Pastors are people, too. They need our love and support. They need our prayers. They work long hours and are a blessing to the people they encounter every day.
Take some time today to give thanks for your pastor and to pray for him.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Be careful what you pray for
My devotional time this morning was in 2 Kings 20-21. The story of King Hezekiah. In 2 Kings 20:1 God tells Hezekiah to put his house in order because he is going to die. Hezekiah prays and reminds God that he has walked faithfully with him his who life. He cries and prays for his life to be spared.
In verse 6, God says that He has heard his prayers and seen his tears and that He will heal him. God tells Hezekiah that He will give him 15 more years to live.
What happens next? Hezekiah gets proud. He welcomes visitors from Babylon. He shows them all this treasures (vv 13-18). Isaiah rebukes him and tells him that he is going to lose everything. (vv17-18)
When Hezekiah dies, his 12 year old son, Manasseh, takes over. That means Manasseh was born in the “extra 15 years” that God gave Hezekiah. In 2 Kings 21:9, it says that Manasseh led the people astray and “did more evil than the other nations that the Lord had destroyed.” It goes on in verse 16 to describe how he shed innocent blood.
Because of Manasseh’s sin, God brought judgment on Israel.
So the last 15 years of Hezekiah’s life was an absolute disaster. God answered his prayer even though it wasn’t in Hezekiah’s best interest. He gave Hezekiah what he asked for even though it meant a disaster for the nation of Israel.
Perhaps the reason God was going to take Hezekiah home 15 years earlier was because He could see what the future was going to bring. It was God’s will to take him before all these problems.
When we pray, we need to be sure to be seeking God’s will and God’s best solution to problems and issues. He is so much wiser than we are. We can’t see what tomorrow holds, but God can. We need to trust in His love and care for us.
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