August 1, 2012 Jesus Loves You

Jesus Loves You Matt 14:13-14 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. DO YOU want to know if Jesus loves you? Look here, and you will see Jesus’ love. Jesus is responding to the news of John the Baptist’s death. He goes off by himself. He grieves what has happened to his earthly cousin and his Spiritual child. It certainly was under God’s sovereignty that John died, and his death fit the whole purpose of God’s plan of salvation. Yet, Jesus grieves John’s death, necessary to conquer sin. To fulfill God’s purpose of salvation, some, such as John the Baptist, are called to martyrdom. I can’t tell you why God doesn’t arrange it in other ways, but I do know the evidence is clear through the centuries that some who stand for Christ and proclaim his name, are taken to Heaven “early” from our worldly point of view. Jesus mourns the need for death. He mourns for the sin that is in your heart. He weeps for the limitations sin puts on your life. And then lovingly he does something about it. He has compassion on those who are ill and have come to him to be healed. He loves them. He wants them whole. He wants them to experience the fullness of his restoration powers—to bring peace back to his people who are broken because of sin. Then Jesus himself would die as the sacrificial Lamb of God. He would rise from the tomb and ascend to heaven, so you might live forever. It’s True! Jesus hates sin. He loves you.

July 31, 2012 Spirit-Filled Church

Spirit Filled Churches Matt 13:1-2 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. DO YOU marvel at the huge crowds that followed Jesus and listened to him speak? What marvelous events they must have been for those who participated—to be part of something special, to know that here is a preacher, a teacher, a rabbi who has something profound to tell, one who talks about loving God and loving each other. This must have been amazing teaching to hear. In churches, we are often happy to have 40, 50, 100, 200, 300 or more. But thousands are rare. Why would we be pleased with these low numbers? Certainly no pastor is Jesus, but wait a minute; who truly draws the people to the Son of God? Of course, it was the Spirit of God. There was such a profound movement in the hearts of the Jews and Gentiles in Israel at the time that they had to go hear Jesus. The Holy Spirit anointed his teaching and opened people’s hearts and minds to the truth. What must we do to grow the church? We must pray for the Spirit to anoint people with a desire to hear God’s Word. That he will send people, and God’s Word is spoken in the Spirit’s power. Now, will you pray to the Holy Spirit? Will you pray he will open hearts and minds in to hear and know God’s Word? Pray for hearts to be full of Jesus. Pray we have to worship outside, that our walls will not hold all who come. Pray the Spirit moves to save. It’s True! The Holy Spirit is a filling, growing Spirit of truth.

July 29, 2012 Jesus-Filled

Jesus-Filled Matthew 12:43-45 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” JESUS’ words disturb me. Look at what happens when God does not occupy one’s soul. Evil spirits fill the emptiness. One comes and more enter to fill one’s soul with evil. I am disturbed by this today because I see people come searching and looking for something different in their lives, looking to learn more about that inner knowledge of God that rustles within each one of us. They come for a time, seem to enjoy the experience and show an interest in knowing more about Jesus. Then they go away. What happens after they go away? I believe sometimes Satan takes a greater hold on them. I sense in them evil spirits have formed in them a mindset to make excuses and be satisfied in those excuses avoiding church, Bible study and fellowship. They come so close to knowing Jesus, the Savior—just as the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ day. Those men stood with him, heard directly from God; yet, they did not believe. And afterwards, as the parable says, they were more filled with evil than before. My heart weeps for the people who spiritually run from Jesus. Seek Jesus. Help others seek Jesus. He is Savior. It’s True! A soul filled with Jesus has no room for evil.

July 29, 2012 Heart Leader

Heart Leading Matt 9:35-38 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” NOTICE HERE how Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ compassion. He saw his people as “harassed and helpless” victims of the life. They were wandering aimlessly along each day, not sure of what to believe or who to follow. Have things changed any? I don’t think so. In fact, it seems our world today is more “harassed and helpless”, more confused than ever about who to follow and what to do. Why is this? I think for one thing, our “shepherds” in the modern era have been untrustworthy. We see in politics and in the church, in our communities and in our homes, a lack of God-based leadership. People in authority are too often seeking after their own desires. This was certainly true of the Pharisees—they so ignored Christ’s healing power, they claimed he was of the devil! Their fear of losing power and authority in their little world blinded them to the true universal reality Jesus showed to them. And that is too often the way it still is. Too many leaders today are more concerned about their own authority than about Christ’s truth. The result is confusion reigns as people lead in their own way for their own purposes. Where does change begin to follow Jesus in our world? It begins in your heart, your family, your church and your community. It’s True! Jesus needs you to be a heart leader for Jesus.

July 28, 2012 Golden heart

Golden Heart Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. HUMILITY is such an important trait in God’s kingdom. In Mark’s Gospel Jesus talks about sowing the kingdom seeds and how God grows the kingdom. Many people involved in Kingdom work, faithfully following Jesus want to be both the sower and the grower. We think it is “us” who make a church grow or keep it from growing. That’s a prideful attitude. That’s faithlessly forgetting that God is sovereign in his kingdom work. Humility is missing in those thoughts. Humility certainly is essential to live in the Golden Rule Jesus gives you here. This is a great picture of peace, and many of you love the idea of treating others in the way you want to be treated. But what do you do? Do you stop being rude and disagreeable to people who “get in your way”. Are you humble enough to listen to others’ ways and others’ thoughts? Do you live lives of peace and patience? Is this hard to do? Most certainly it is! Your nature is to be prideful, to push your own agenda, to look at life only from your point of view. What do you do to change that? Turn to the Savior who loves you and determine to love him back. Then turn to his own and love them as Jesus does. With Jesus’ love in your heart, you can have a “golden” heart that rules your life. It’s True! The Golden Rule comes from a golden heart.

July 27, 2012 Pray for Life

Pray for Life Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. THERE ARE times when God wants you to make his name known to the world, and there are times when he wants to be with you one-on-one. Sometimes, prayer is a time to be one-on-one with him. When you pray to God and there are no distractions, your mind opens to his reality in your life. Some days as I sit in prayer, sometimes ardent prayer, sometimes quiet prayer waiting on God, I am touched by a deep sense of his presence in my life and at my side. I feel his comfort, encouragement and peace. Sometimes I don’t know what to pray, and he will open my mind to the needs of those in my congregation, my family and my circle of acquaintances. There is fruit in having an intimate talk with God. He is listening, you are speaking. He is speaking, and you are listening. It’s a pure two-way conversation. It is a conversation meant for intimacy and to build trust. It is a time for you to get to know a God who loves you and is seeking after you. He is interested in you. He wants to be at your side. And he is delighted when you invite him to sit down beside you. Make it a habit to get alone with God. Get involved with him. Talk to him. Listen to him. Respond to his love for you and love him back. Being in a “closet” with God can open your world to the bright and glorious future he has for you. It’s True! Jesus gives life advice.

July 25, 2012 The Best Compliment

The Best Compliment Romans16:19 But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. WHAT is the best compliment someone can give you? I hope it is the same compliment Paul gives to the believers in Rome—“everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord.” This kind of reputation goes a long way toward giving glory to God. To live a life that is in tune with God’s Word is to live a life that brings harmony to the world around you. I think of people I know whose faith is a very powerful aspect of their families’ harmony. I know people who bring peace to their church because they rest in God and obey his leading. I know people who make a difference in their classroom because they follow God’s ways and use his teaching as the basis for their relationship with their students. When one obeys God, it is evident in the way they speak to others and react to others. They speak peace and forgiveness. They react calmly to those who criticize them, and they offer to pray for people who express difficulties in their lives. People who obey God pray often, and they listen closely to what God is saying. People who obey God “do” their faith. Would you like to “do your faith” better? Then walk each day in the ways God guides you. You know where to go. Put on your spiritual shoes and walk there. God is waiting to show you what a joy it is to obediently follow his ways. It’s True! Obedient walking is happy walking.