Prayer Verse

This week's prayer verse is from Colossians 3:12-13

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

My guess is that we wouldn't be told to "bear with" and "forgive" if it were a natural response. Maybe that's why the passage continues with "forgive as the Lord forgave you".

Hope

I love these verses from the old hymn The Solid Rock by Edward Mote:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
...
All other ground is sinking sand.

The apostle Paul told the Corinthians "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Cor 2:2)

Always On Mission

Wade Hodges on "Why We Love Jack Bauer" (January 19, 2006)

"I’ve never missed an episode of “24.”

From the very first season, I’ve been a fan of Jack Bauer.

After the gut-wrenching four hour premiere earlier this week I’ve been meditating on exactly what it is that makes Jack Bauer so compelling to me and to so many of my friends. Especially surprising to me is how many pastors and paid minister-types are Jackaholics. What’s the attraction? Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

1. Jack Bauer is always on mission. He has a purpose. He knows what it is and he let’s NOTHING get in his way.

2. Every minute of Jack’s life matters. Everything he does connects to a larger story. Jack can’t afford to waste even a minute of his day. His time is too important.

3. Jack is willing to make and has repeatedly made sacrifices for the mission. Jack’s therapist should be a millionaire by now after having helped him work through what can only be described as PTSD on steroids. Such is the cost of saving the world.

4. Jack gets to say and do things that in the deepest part of hearts we wish we could say and do. Jack’s best line from the premiere: The only reason you’re still conscious is because I don’t want to carry you. What preacher/pastor hasn’t wanted to say that at an elders/board meeting at one time or another?"

True Gratitude

Jonathan Edwards on True Thanksgiving

Jonathan Edwards has a word for our time that could hardly be more pointed if he were living today. It has to do with the foundation of gratitude.

True gratitude or thankfulness to God for his kindness to us, arises from a foundation laid before, of love to God for what he is in himself; whereas a natural gratitude has no such antecedent foundation. The gracious stirrings of grateful affection to God, for kindness received, always are from a stock of love already in the heart, established in the first place on other grounds, viz. God's own Excellency.

In other words, gratitude that is pleasing to God is not first a delight in the benefits God gives (though that is part of it). True gratitude must be rooted in something else that comes first, namely, a delight in the beauty and Excellency of God's character. If this is not the foundation of our gratitude, then it is not above what the "natural man," apart from the Spirit and the new nature in Christ, experiences. In that case "gratitude" to God is no more pleasing to God than all the other emotions which unbelievers have without delighting in him.

You would not be honored if I thanked you often for your gifts to me, but had no deep and spontaneous regard for you as a person. You would feel insulted, no matter how much I thanked you for your gifts. If your character and personality do not attract me or give me joy in being around you, then you will just feel used, like a tool or a machine to produce the things I really love.

So it is with God. If we are not captured by his personality and character, then all our declarations of thanksgiving are like the gratitude of a wife to a husband for the money she gets from him to use in her affair with another man. This is exactly the picture in James 4:3-4. James criticizes the motives of prayer that treats God like a cuckold: "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?" Why does he call these praying people "adulteresses"? Because, even though praying, they are forsaking their husband (God) and going after a paramour (the world). And to make matters worse, they are asking their husband (in prayer) to fund the adultery.

Amazingly, this same flawed spiritual dynamic is sometimes true when people thank God for sending Christ to die for them. Perhaps you have heard people say how thankful we should be for the death of Christ because it shows how much value God puts upon us. What is the foundation of this gratitude?

Jonathan Edwards calls it the gratitude of hypocrites.

Why? Because, they first rejoice, and are elevated with the fact that they are made much of by God; and then on that ground, he seems in a sort, lovely to them. . . . They are pleased in the highest degree, in hearing how much God and Christ make of them. So that their joy is really a joy in themselves, and not in God.

It is a shocking thing to learn that one of today's most common descriptions of how to respond to the cross may well be a description of natural self-love with no spiritual value.

We do well to listen to Jonathan Edwards. Does he not simply spell out for us the Biblical truth that we should do all things-including giving thanks-to the glory of God. And God is not glorified if the foundation of our gratitude is the worth of the gift and not the Excellency of the Giver. If gratitude is not rooted in the beauty of God before the gift, it is probably disguised idolatry. May God grant us a heart to delight in him for who he is so that all our gratitude for his gifts will be the echo of our joy in the Excellency of the Giver!

Excerpted from John Piper, A Godward Life (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 1997), 213-214.

Prayer

Our prayer verse for this week from Colossians 3: 12-13

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

I guess as we meet someone we (at least somewhat) notice what they are wearing. Pray that as we encounter others today they will see us in the clothes of God's nature. Being covered in His Spirit will be an "inside - out" putting on of clothes. Not that we are going to determine by our own willpower to be kind today as much as we ask God through His Spirit to transform us and enable us to show His nature of kindness. After all, we do have God's power! (Ephesians 1: 18-19a: I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know ... his incomparably great power for us who believe.)

Discipleship

Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional

January 30

THE DEFINITION OF DISCIPLESHIP

Encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Jesus' primary call to His disciples is seen in His words "Come to Me" (Matthew 11:28) and "Follow Me" (Matthew 4:19). Mark records: "He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons" (Mark 3:14, 15). Notice that Jesus' relationship with His disciples preceded His assignment to them. Discipleship is the intensely personal activity of two or more persons helping each other experience a growing relationship with God. Discipleship is being before doing, maturity before ministry, character before career.

Every Christian, including you, is both a disciple and a discipler in the context of his Christian relationships. You have the awesome privilege and responsibility both to be a teacher and a learner of what it means to be in Christ, walk in the spirit and live by faith. You may have a role in your family, church or Christian community which gives you specific responsibility for discipling others, such as husband/father, pastor, Sunday school teacher, discipleship group leader, etc. But even as an appointed discipler, you are never not a disciple who is learning and growing in Christ through your relationships. Conversely, you may not have an "official" responsibility to disciple anyone, but you are never not a discipler. You have the opportunity to help your children, your friend, and other believers grow in Christ through your caring and committed relationship with them.

Similarly, every Christian is both a counselor and counselee in the context of his Christian relationships. A good counselor should be a good discipler, and a good discipler should be a good counselor. Biblically, they are the same role. Your level of maturity may dictate that you do a lot of Christian counseling. But there will still be times when you need to seek or receive the counsel of other Christians. There will never be a day when we don't need each other.

Father, help me remember that I will never be so mature that I need not receive godly counsel from my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ All Rights Reserved Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson

Persevering Grace

If the grace of God were suddenly taken away from you, what would you be? If God removed all of His restraints of love and grace, what would you do?

Jude, in the last two verses of his postcard epistle, stated our need to preserve clearly. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen" (Jude 24-25).

It is impossible to live the Christian life without keeping ourselves in the love of God. "Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life" (v. 21). He is able if we are willing!

True believers are “preserved” and cannot be lost. However, there is the danger of our stumbling or going astray in out daily walk. We can lose our fellowship, but not our ‘sonship.’ If we persist in our disobedience, the Holy Spirit will chasten us and bring us back into fellowship with God. God in His sovereign grace has chosen and has saved some of the greatest sinners who have walked on the face of the earth. He has reached down and cleansed some of the foulest sins ever committed, and He is still doing it and will continue until Jesus returns.

The LORD God will be glorified throughout all eternity by that great body of people who are trophies of God’s grace. "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Ephesians 1:4). We have been adopted and placed in God’s family “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (v.6). Our whole life is to be lived “to the praise of His glory.”

Spurgeon observed, “A thousand Christians can scarcely do such honor to their Master as one hypocrite can do dishonor to Him. If you have ever tasted that the Lord is gracious, pray that your foot slip not. It would be infinitely better to bury you in the earth than see you buried in sin.”

When Jesus returns in glory with those saints who have gone to heaven before us, they will be arrayed in the righteousness of Christ to the praise of God’s glory. Christ will “present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27).

The constant appeal in the New Testament epistles is for the believer to persevere in prayer, "So that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world," (Philippians 2:15).

To remain faithful we must live and walk as in the sight of God. Every born again believer must give great care to perseverance. “Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure.”

Those individuals whom Jesus Christ has taken into vital union with Himself shall be with Him where He is for all eternity.

A simple faith brings us into that vital union with Christ. Jesus Christ keeps that new born faith alive, and that faith enables us to persevere and enter heaven. “What is the value of union to Christ if that union does not insure salvation?” Spurgeon asked. God makes all His chosen people persevere to the end.

Jude teaches us that there are none so bad as those who once seemed to be good. They are like salt that has lost its character. It is good for nothing.

The person who has been truly saved will persevere. He brings forth fruits of grace through the inner work of the Holy Spirit. Perseverance is the badge of the true child of God.

The blood of Jesus shall never lose its power to cleanse all who call upon His name.

Free grace saves the humble sinner who will believe on Jesus Christ. But it not only saves, it keeps us saved. The way to be saved is to simply trust Christ. There is nothing the sinner can do, great or small, because Jesus Christ has done it all for everyone who believes on Him.

All that a just and righteous God owes any of us is punishment in hell, but God in His sovereign, saving grace has chosen to reach down to us in our sin and spiritual poverty and save us. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.”

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Not About People Populating Programs

Excerpt from We Can't Do Megachurch Anymore

"During my first six months, I was leading a Bible study with the leadership team, and I suggested that we start with a study of the gospel.

One of the leaders responded, "I think we've already got the gospel figured out. Why do we need to study that? Let's figure out how to start moving the ball down the field."

I was sure we didn't already have the gospel figured out and that what we were calling "the gospel" was actually only a small slice of what the gospel is all about.

That conversation was one of the first indicators that we had a problem, that the modern we-have-it-figured-out megachurch concept would clash mightily with the emerging ideas of what gospel means, what it means to be a missionary in our own culture, and what it means to live it outside the walls of the church.

At the same time, the rehabilitated leadership structure relapsed and some of the old problems began to show up again. Attendance, which had remained steady and even increased a bit during the get-well season, began to drop.

Some left because they didn't know who was in charge anymore. Others left because they perceived the church wasn't focused on proclaiming the gospel anymore. Still others left because it seemed the current leadership was soft on truth.

Now, six years later, numbers in attendance and giving are lower than ever and a spatula is needed to elevate morale. On paper, Garnett appears to be in pretty bad shape.

Yet on our good days, we're hopeful that God is up to something important among us.

God is doing something at Garnett Church of Christ that seems counter to what I previously thought God would do in a church. The Spirit, I believe, is teaching us that it's not about people populating programs but about God inhabiting every moment of our lives, most of which happens outside the walls of the church.

And we're learning that these church walls must come down."

More Active Waiting Thoughts

"HAVING PATIENTLY WAITED, HE OBTAINED THE PROMISE." HEBREWS 6:15 (NAS)

Waiting is difficult, but it serves a vital purpose. Over 40 times in the Old Testament God says, "Wait." At 75, God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations. But he had to wait for 24 more years before he "obtained the promise." God promised to free Israel from Egyptian slavery, but it took 400 years, including 40 years in the wilderness, before it even began to come to pass.

Waiting isn't just a passive something we do until we get what we want. Indeed, active waiting produces patience, understanding, maturity, and character. What God accomplishes in us while we are waiting is often more important than the thing we are waiting for. Waiting also forces any potential weakness to the surface. The truth is that time spent waiting can be time spent learning and growing. Active waiting is not an excuse for dodging reality, shirking responsibility or not doing the right thing. For example, if you are in a financial mess because of overspending, don't sit around waiting for pennies from heaven. They're not coming! Instead, discipline yourself and make it a priority to learn sound financial principles like budgeting, tithing, and not buying unessential things until you can pay for them.

Active waiting is total reliance that even though God's timetable and ours is often very different His is always best. Active waiting takes making a daily decision to trust and obey God, even when things aren't going the way you plan.

Active waiting says, "Lord, I'm counting on You - and I don't have a back-up plan!"


(c)2006 Timothy L. Hudson, UGA Christian Campus Fellowship

Prayer Verse

Our prayer verse for this week is Colossians 3:12-13:

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

---

We are God's chosen people:

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will ... In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1: 4, 5, 11

And don't forget why we were chosen: "... for the praise of his glory."

Sermon: Raise Your Sail

Andrew preached yesterday on the question: Waiting for God: Active or Passive?

[1] waiting for physical needs (Ps 104; Matthew 6).

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6: 33-34)


[2] waiting for spiritual refreshment (Ps 130; Ps 131; Isaiah 40)

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope. (Psalm 130: 5)

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40: 31)


It is active (Rom 8:18-25)

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8: 22-25)

God Hears

God Hears Our Prayers

By Max Lucado

The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him, and he saves them from all their troubles (Psalm 34:17 NCV).

When [a friend] told Jesus of the illness [of Lazarus] he said, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” He doesn’t base his appeal on the imperfect love of the one in need, but on the perfect love of the Savior. He doesn’t say, “The one who loves you is sick.” He says, “The one you love is sick.” The power of prayer, in other words, does not depend on the one who makes the prayer, but on the One who hears the prayer.

We can and must repeat the phrase in manifold ways. “The one you love is tired, sad, hungry, lonely, fearful, depressed.” The words of the prayer vary,but the response never changes. The Savior hears the prayer. He silences heaven, so he won’t miss a word. He hears the prayer

Inwardly

Our prayer verse for this week (Ephesians 3: 16-17a):

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

---

I notice that the Spirit's strengthening is in our inner being. That's where all strengthening and transformation and renewal starts. For example, in 2 Corinthians 4:16 we read "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

Pray today for our body of believers that we will each be renewed inwardly by the Spirit.

Hurt Feelings

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Friday, January 26, 2007 - You Hurt My Feelings

What does one do when your feelings have been hurt and you can’t put it out of your mind? Here’s my suggestion.

1. Bring it into the open. If you feel you have truly been offended, write out how you were hurt, and put it away for two days. Then read it again, and if you are still truly offended, determine how you will confront that person in a biblical, loving way. Chances are good that after two days you’ll tear up the paper and say to yourself that it’s really not that big a deal.

No good can be gained by stuffing our feelings and pretending all is well while we’re seething on the inside. So if something or someone has truly hurt your feelings, then you need to deal with it. This suggestion of writing it out and saving it for two days is a very smart one. First of all, it means you will not react out of an emotional response, but you’ll have time to pray about it and get a good perspective on it.

Secondly, the process of writing it out can help you determine whether you’ve over-reacted or not. Make yourself write what actually happened, not what you perceived. When you start to see it in writing, it will either confirm your feelings that a wrong has been done to you, or you will realize that it’s not such a big deal after all.

Then after two days if you are still convinced this was an intended or offensive act that needs to be addressed, you are far better able to make a good decision about how you will address it. The outcome is much more likely to be beneficial and not make matters worse.

Keep in mind the biblical principle that when you have something against someone you go to that person personally and try to resolve the matter with them one-on-one. Avoid the tendency to tell others about your hurt feelings. Keep it quiet and pray much, then confront in love and see if the issue can be resolved in a positive manner.

When we can make progress in this area of controlling our hurt feelings, we are becoming more and more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. It will take God’s power to change these long-ingrained habits of hurt feelings, but if we are born from above, we have the power of God’s Spirit to enable us to do this.

Then you can turn hurt feelings into an opportunity to pray for that person, reach out to that person, and let God’s love flow through you. This can be one of the best gifts you’ll ever give yourself, as you are set free from that overly-sensitive reaction and all those hurt feelings.

Facing A Decision

Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional

January 26

FACING A DECISION

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths (Psalm 25:4 NIV).

In today's and tomorrow's devotionals, I would like to share with you 10 questions you'll want to ask yourself and pray about when you're faced with a decision. The first five are generic. They represent moral issues and godly wisdom that are normative for all times.

1. Have you prayed about it? Prayer was never intended to be a fourth-down punting situation in which we ask God to bail us out of our hasty decisions. It was intended to be a first-down huddle. We aren't supposed to ask God to bless our plans; we're supposed to ask God for His plans.
2. Is it consistent with the Word of God? In our culture, ignorance of God's Word is no excuse since resources abound. I believe that every home should have at least a concordance, a Bible dictionary, a topical Bible, a good commentary, and a study Bible with notes. Most pastors would love to share what God has to say about a given matter. If they wouldn't, you have called the wrong pastor!
3. Can I do it and be a positive Christian witness? A seminary student stopped by my office and told me about a job he had been offered. It would take care of his financial needs, but he had some reservations concerning the sales pitch he was required to use. I asked him if he could use the sales technique and be a positive witness for Christ. He didn't take the job.
4. Will the Lord be glorified? Can I do this and give glory to God? In doing it, would I be glorifying God in my body? Am I seeking the glory of man or the glory of God? Am I doing this to be noticed by man or am I seeking to please the Lord?
5. Am I acting responsibly? God doesn't bail us out of our irresponsibility. But when we are faithful in little things, He will put us in charge of greater things. Don't get ahead of God's timing or you will be over your head in responsibilities. Seek to develop your life and message, and God will expand your ministry.

Dear Lord, help me take a good, hard look at these questions and then avoid at all costs any compromise with Your will in my life today.

Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ All Rights Reserved Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson

Testimony

COACH MARK RICHT'S TESTIMONY

This is the story of University of Georgia football coach (Mark Richt) in his own words:

After playing quarterback at Boca Raton High School in Florida, I signed a football scholarship with the University of Miami. In 1978 I arrived on campus with my own agenda. I really believed that I would be the starting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes my freshman season.

I planned on being an All-American my sophomore year, winning the Heisman Trophy as a junior and then leaving early for a very successful career in the NFL. Shortly after arriving on campus all of my plans were quickly interrupted by another freshman quarterback named Jim Kelly. I did not get to start as a freshman and going into our second season fall practice Kelly was named as the starting quarterback. I realized then that none of what I had planned for my career would become reality.

Instead of growing and working harder, I allowed circumstances to dictate my behavior. During the summer before my junior year, one of my teammates went on a retreat. He and I had spent our college careers aimlessly pursuing the party scene and upon his return I immediately witnessed a change in his life. He began to talk to me about GOD and how he had received CHRIST into his life. He would open the Bible and share scripture with me He was excited about his new life and had an authentic passion for telling others about it. I was very drawn to his new found faith and really considered the Christian life.

As I thought about the cost of following CHRIST, three barriers came up.

1) I thought that in order to become a Christian, I had to be perfect.

2) I thought that GOD would want me to give up football and send me someplace that I didn't want to go.

3) My girlfriend and other friends were due to return from summer break and I did not want to give up anything that had to do with my current relationships.

As I struggled with these thoughts, it wasn't long before I was back to doing what I wanted to do.

During our senior year Jim Kelly went down with an injury, and I was given the opportunity to start. Because of some self centered decisions that I had made, I was disciplined and the opportunity of finishing my career as the starting quarterback for the University of Miami Hurricanes was gone.

After graduating from UM in 1983 I worked out in hopes that I would be drafted by an NFL team. I never got drafted. I did receive the opportunity to tryout with the Denver Broncos, but soon after arriving in camp another quarterback named John Elway arrived. Less then a week later I was cut. I moved back to south Florida and worked several odd jobs. I was very depressed and had no peace in my life. I thought that the only way that my life would matter or any chance that I had to be happy was to play football in the NFL.

That next year I received the opportunity to tryout with the Miami Dolphins, but soon after arriving in camp another quarterback named Dan Marino arrived. Less then a week later I was cut. I realized then that the plans that I had made for my life were shattered. As I was preparing to leave the premises, I was approached by an athletic trainer that worked for the Dolphins organization. He asked me what I was planning to do now and asked if I ever considered a career in coaching. During my short stay in Miami I scored very well on the QB tests and having been around Kelly, Elway and Marino I had a pretty good grasp on what a great quarterback looked like.

After some time had passed I got a call from Florida State Head Coach Bobby Bowden. He offered me a graduate assistant position working with the quarterbacks at FSU. I jumped at the chance and in 1985 I moved to Tallahassee Florida. I was into my second season at FSU and thought that I was doing fairly well, until one fateful day in September. We had an off weekend and one of our players was shot and killed while attending a party. This tragedy was terrible and heartbreaking for our team. The next day Coach Bowden called a team meeting. No one was allowed in the room but players and me. Being a graduate assistant I was in there to take roll.

Coach Bowden addressed the incident and towards the end of his message he began to talk about spiritual matters. He pointed to the empty chair that was assigned to the fallen player, and talked about death and his faith. He asked every one of us in the room to look at the chair and then he asked, if that was you do you know where you would spend eternity? He communicated the Gospel to us that day. Coach Bowden explained that God loved us and that He had sent His one and only SON to die for our sins. He assured us that if a person receives Christ that he will live for eternity in a real place called Heaven.

At the end of that meeting he told the players that if they had any questions or anything on their hearts, to please come and speak to him. I was a broken young coach, so the next day I went to see him. He took me through the Gospel and explained what it meant to be a Christian. I remembered back to my college days, sitting with my roommate and hearing of God's love for me. It was time. My life had not turned out like I planned, I understood how self centered and prideful I was. I saw my sin revealed and the reality of God's love for me. Coach Bowden led me in a prayer that day, and I received God's mercy, forgiveness and peace through what Christ had done for me. understood that my life would never reach the point where I would be good enough to earn God's love. It is a free gift.

I left Coach Bowden's office a new man. I found peace and meaning for my life. I married my beautiful wife Katharyn in 1987. We had our son Jon in 1991 and David in 1994. We began to address the topic of adoption with our Sunday school class at church and in 1999 we welcomed Zach and Anya home. During these years I had the wonderful opportunity of coaching at Florida State and working for Coach Bowden. I love Coach Bowden and am eternally grateful to him for giving me my first job in coaching and most importantly leading me to the Lord.

In December of 2000, University President Michael Adams and then Athletic Director Coach Vince Dooley came to Tallahassee and interviewed me for the position of Head Coach of the UGA Bulldogs. After many hours of prayer, Coach Dooley called me and I accepted the position. We moved to Athens in January of 2001 and have truly been blessed. We have a great church, an outstanding school for the children and a wonderful staff. Throughout all of life now I try to live according to Colossians 3:23: "And whatever you do, do heartily, as to the Lord and not to men."

-- From Jimmy Turner

Dwell

Our prayer verse for this week from Ephesians 3:16-17a:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.


I'm thinking today about the purpose of this "strengthen[ing] ... with power" which is so that "Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith". Dwell means "to live or stay as a permanent resident". Dwell seems similar to me to the concept of abiding in John. I am struck by the idea that this happens by faith and that we need God's strength for this dwelling to take place. So, continuing in this thought I wonder what is it that I need to believe (faith) for this dwelling to take place. The answer could be from verse 18 "may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ". Again we see "power" and it is power to grasp the magnitude of the love of Christ. We need to know the love of Christ. Then we will choose to abide. But it is not just our will or determination for this to happen. We need God's power.

God is the Supreme Value

Excerpt from No Condemnation in Christ Jesus by John Piper

Romans 8:1

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

"The greatest danger today in all the talk about faith-based social organizations is that Christians will begin to think about their faith the way the world does. For over twenty years I have battled in my own mind not to think this way. Because the temptation is tremendous, and comes from outside and inside the church.

The world views Christianity, and other religions, as useful, depending on what social, psychological, or physical benefits it may bring. In other words, the world doesn't assess Christianity in the categories of true or false, but in the categories of useful or harmful. The world does not think of Christianity as divine revelation but as human opinion. The world does not believe that God must reveal our deepest need, and then provide the remedy in Jesus Christ. The world believes that we know our deepest needs and that religion can be respectable if it helps meet them.

The danger that Christians start to think this way is huge and deadly. A reporter interviews a pastor, and immediately defines, by his questions, the categories for explaining Christianity. "What are you doing about affordable housing? How do you help people get jobs? What's your strategy for improving health care?"

Those are valid questions. But if you let the secular mind determine your starting point and then define the categories for explaining Christianity, then you will promote the erroneous notion that the church of Jesus Christ and the gospel of Jesus Christ are not an authoritative revelation from God that is true and necessary, but instead, an activity of man that is useful.

I begin this way because I am going to come back in a few minutes to point to some of the sweet, precious, practical effects of truth from our text. But I want you to know from the outset, and to feel, that if you start where the world starts – by thinking you know your real needs and that God is useful in meeting them – you will not know what Christianity is.

The Essence of Christianity

The essence of Christianity is that God is the supreme value in the universe, that we do not honor him as supremely valuable, that we are therefore guilty of sin and under his omnipotent wrath, and he alone can rescue us from his own condemnation, which he has done through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, for everyone who is in Christ. Knowing this, if what we promote is housing, jobs, health care, sobriety, family life minus this message, we are not Christian – we are cruel. We comb man's hair in the electric chair and hide his freedom in our hands."

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Key Thought: "But I want you to know from the outset, and to feel, that if you start where the world starts – by thinking you know your real needs and that God is useful in meeting them – you will not know what Christianity is. ... The essence of Christianity is that God is the supreme value in the universe ..."

Christian Life of Love

Excerpt from "Faith: The Link Between God's Love For Us and Ours for Others" by John Piper


"What is it practically that converts the love of Christ for us into our love for others?
...

Let's begin with the first answer: the Holy Spirit. Look first at Galatians 5:13-16,

You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' 15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

So walking by the Spirit is the way not to bite and devour each other but to serve one another through love. The Spirit is the key.

Then look at verse 22:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

The first fruit of the Spirit listed here is love. So it is plain that one crucial link between our being loved by Christ and our loving others is the Holy Spirit. Love for others is a fruit that grows in our lives by his doing. Somehow he makes it happen. It won't happen without him. And when it does happen we don't get the glory for it, God does.

The Christian life of love is a supernatural life. It is not produced by merely human forces. It takes resources that we do not have. This is very crucial for us to admit. It is humbling. Left to ourselves we cannot love. But this is very encouraging. Because what it means is that, if you are sitting there and feeling: I am not by nature a loving person, you are not at a disadvantage, because in fact nobody is by nature a loving person. If we were, love would not be a fruit of the Holy Spirit; it would be a fruit of our personality or our upbringing or our chromosomes. In fact you may be farther along than a person who feels that love is a natural thing. They will have a harder time learning how to love because they may not look for the resources in the right place.

So the first answer is that the Holy Spirit is the link between Christ's love for us and ours for each other. He works in us in some supernatural way to bear the fruit of love. "

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Key thought: "The Christian life of love is a supernatural life. It is not produced by merely human forces. It takes resources that we do not have. ... Left to ourselves we cannot love. ... nobody is by nature a loving person. If we were, love would not be a fruit of the Holy Spirit; it would be a fruit of our personality or our upbringing or our chromosomes."

Balance

The quest for balance lacks the notion that life is to be given to something bigger than ourselves.

It lacks the call to sacrifice and self-denial-the wild, risky, costly, adventurous abandon of following Jesus.

Ask hungry children in Somalia if they want to help you achieve balance,

and you will discover that they were hoping for something more from you.

And I believe that, deep down, you are probably hoping for something more from yourself.

So is God. Jesus never said, "If any want to become my followers,

let them deny themselves, take up their cross and lead a balanced life."

He wants us to do what he would do if he were in our place.

From The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People

by John Ortberg

Power

Our prayer verse for this week is Ephesians 3:16-17a:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

I'm thinking today about how the riches from His glory strengthen us with power through His Spirit. This is what we are praying for each other .. that God will strengthen each member of our church body with power through His Spirit. Wow. Think about the potential for each of us strengthened by God's Spirit .. His power.

Later in this same chapter we read "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever." In this verse we read that the result of His power at work within us is His glory in the church.

Riches of His Glory

Our prayer verse for this week is Ephesians 3:16-17a:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

In looking at the NIV and also the ESV below I notice that what we are asking God to do will come from "his glorious riches" or "riches of his glory". When we ask someone for something then one consideration is whether that person has the capacity to give. When we ask of God the reality is that God has riches beyond our comprehension. There is no limit to what God has. And what he has is "glorious". Or, as the ESV reads, the riches of his "glory". Just think that out of who He is .. glory .. His nature .. He will give. What could be better than God giving out of who He is. Glory!

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Ephesians 3:16-17 from ESV

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

Ephesians 3:14-19 from the Message

My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-17 from NASV

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

You Hurt My Feelings

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - You Hurt My Feelings

Have your feelings been hurt lately? How easily and often unnecessarily we allow our feelings to be hurt. Think about what happens when our feelings are hurt.

Typically we retreat, we become very self-focused, we become angry or bitter, and we suffer! Hurt feelings cause many to drop out, to sit on the sidelines, to refuse to take part in activities. I wonder how many good ministries and projects have been harmed or torpedoed because of hurt feelings. No doubt the enemy of our souls uses our too-sensitive feelings as a way to keep us from doing what God wants us to do.

The Causes of Hurt Feelings

We women tend to filter most every experience first through our emotions. That can cause us to assume that everything is all about us.

For example, if a co-worker is not very communicative on a given day, we can allow ourselves to think "it’s all about us." We assume that person is not speaking to us because she doesn’t like us, or we’ve done something to upset her–we can imagine many negative scenarios as we wallow in our self-absorption. If we don’t move from that emotional "why-isn’t-she-talking-to-me" mindset to think that she may have something very heavy weighing on her mind, or maybe a headache, or who knows what, then we fall into that "it’s all about me" syndrome and the hurt feelings happen.

I have often reminded women that people are not thinking about you nearly as much as you think they are thinking about you! We assume it’s all about us, when most of the time it isn’t. We think we are far more important in the lives of others than we really are! Most people’s worlds revolve around themselves, not us!

I’ve discovered that anytime I am self-focused, whether negative or positive, thinking things are all about me, I am in for pain and misery. Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25). He is teaching us that being self-absorbed is the pathway to loss. Overly sensitive feelings, which frequently throw us into the "it’s all about me" syndrome, can cause us to lose our life. We can lose the purpose for which God created us; we can lose the peace and joy Jesus came to give us; we can lose the opportunity to reach out to others with God’s comfort and love.

Think of all the opportunities for ministry that we miss because we’re licking our wounds over some supposed offense or hurt. That person who didn’t speak to us in an acceptable way, or who seemed to ignore us, may desperately need a compassionate word, a smile, a helping hand. But if we think "it’s all about us," we don’t even realize that we need to reach out with a loving word to help that person.

I hope you’ll think about what triggers your hurt feelings and ask God to show you if you’re falling into that trap of thinking it’s all about you.

Grace

Occasionally a grace note sounds, high, lilting, ethereal,

to interrupt the monotonous background growl of ungrace.

Grace comes free of charge to people who do not deserve it and I am one of those people.

I think back to who I was—resentful, wound tight with anger,

a single hardened link in a long chain of ungrace learned from family and church.

Now I am trying in my own small way to pipe the tune of grace.

I do so because I know, more surely than I know anything,

that any pang of healing or forgiveness or goodness I have ever felt comes solely from the grace of God.

I yearn for the church to become a nourishing culture of that grace.

From What's So Amazing About Grace?

by Philip Yancey

You Hurt My Feelings

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Monday, January 22, 2007 - You Hurt My Feelings

I’m addressing a "touchy topic". I’m calling it "You Hurt My Feelings," and I want to discuss how much time and energy we can waste on hurt feelings. Often it is self-inflicted pain. Here are some examples of how our feelings can so easily be hurt:

• You walk into a room and one really well-dressed woman seems to look at you in a disapproving way. "Oh, brother," you think, "she doesn’t like the way I look." You become very self-conscious and your feelings are hurt.
• A good friend makes a comment that you interpret to be critical. Instead of talking with her about it, you retreat with hurt feelings and allow it to damage your relationship.
• You send an email to a business associate, asking for information, and a week later you still have not received a reply. You have always felt that this person doesn’t like you, and this just confirms it further. Your feelings are hurt.
• Your boss asks you to make some corrections to a report. She gives you some specific criticism and suggestions for improvement. You take it personally and consider it an insult to your intelligence– and your feelings are hurt.
• Your husband comes home from work and has very little to say. Your questions seem to irritate him rather than draw him into a conversation. You interpret it to mean that he doesn’t like to talk with you and you wonder if he still loves you. He has hurt your feelings.
• You learn that a friend at church had some other friends over for dinner and you were not invited. Your feelings are hurt.

Do any of these sound familiar? These are some everyday examples of self-inflicted pain that we can so easily heap upon ourselves when we allow our feelings to be hurt.

This is more a female problem than a male problem, because women were created with more sensitive natures, and we feel things more deeply than most men do. Men are able to isolate their feelings and put them on hold, and that’s why they aren’t nearly as prone to take things as personally as we are.

God gave us these nurture natures for good reasons, but like everything good that God created, sin has polluted and damaged it, and if it is not controlled, that sensitive nature can become our Achilles heel, our fatal flaw, and a source of continual self-inflicted pain as we allow our feelings to be hurt far too easily.

Prayer Verse

Our prayer verse for the week is Ephesian 3:16-17a

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Please pray this each day this week for your family and for our church body.

Sermon: The Power of Yes

Aaron spoke yesterday on 2 Cor 1:18-22.

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

As Aaron reminded us the purpose of God is always His glory, and when this is also our purpose the answer is always YES.

"The answer from God to you this morning is yes."

Missional

Excerpt from Talking to a Man From the Future: A Conversation with Michael Frost by Fred Peatross in New Wineskins Magazine J-F 2007

Fred: How do leaders prepare, begin, and ultimately practice (missional) culture building in faith communities that have relied upon the attractional model for their growth?

Michael Frost: You want me to answer that in a few minutes!? It took me two whole books to answer that question!! Well, the attractional model relies on the old Field of Dreams mantra: “If you build it, they will come.” It assumes that there is a big constituency out there hankering to get back to church if only church was done to their taste. So attractional churches are turning themselves inside-out trying to find the right combination to get the crowds back to church. Dynamic preaching, comfortable seating, convenient parking, excellent children’s ministry, healing ministries, spirit-filled worship, classic hymns, contemporary music etc. etc. etc.

But the terrifying thought that besets us is this: what if people “out there” don’t care how you do church? What if they don’t want conventional church no matter whether it’s contemporary/classic/spirit-filled/Bible-centred/you name it? Well, in many parts of America that’s exactly the case. If all our eggs are in the attractional basket, we are preparing church services for a constituency that no longer exists, or at best is dwindling.

How do we inculcate a missional paradigm? We have to take committed followers of Jesus out into the world to model Christlikeness right under the noses of those who won’t come to our church services. And to do that, we need to free those committed Christians from the various church-based and church-focused ministries they’re currently doing. The opposite of the attractional mode is the incarnational one—that is, the sent mode. For me to live incarnationally I need the freedom and time to hang out with neighbours, join local affinity groups, and to build meaningful relationships with those not yet set free by Jesus. But I can’t do that if I’m in the church band or choir, on various committees, and attending three or four church meetings a week.

Church leaders have to teach their congregations the biblical principles of incarnational mission and then restructure the church programs in order to release people, not to hold on to them. Some churches are so thoroughly self-focused it seems hardly likely that they will be prepared to even take these simple first steps. We, as the church of Jesus Christ, do not exist for ourselves. But as Bonhoeffer says, “We are a church for others.” If we can’t manage this shift in our thinking and practice there will be little hope left in the decades of decline into secularisation that is coming.

Glory!

Prayer verse of the week (Romans 15:5-6):

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.


The aim of this God enabled unity is that God will be glorified.

God's glory is always His aim: "in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1: 12-14

One Heart and Mouth

Our prayer verse for this week:

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6

For today I'm thinking about our body having "one heart and mouth". Philippians 2: 1-2 speaks to this. Notice the "ifs" in the verses: united with Christ, comfort from Christ's love, fellowship with the Spirit, tenderness and compassion. I think these are the reasons we should be "one in spirit and purpose" (verse 2). But also notice in verses 3 and 4 the things that are barriers: selfish ambition, vain conceit, pride, interested only in ourselves.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Phil 2:1-4

Worship

Thoughts on Defining Worship by Bob Kauflin

"Biblical worship is God’s covenant people recognizing, reveling in, and responding rightly to the glory of God in Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit."

Biblical worship…to separate what we do as Christians from all other types of worship. This also implies that God is the One who determines how we should worship Him. (Jn. 4:23-24)

Is God’s covenant people…God’s plan from the beginning of creation has been to redeem a people for his own possession who would give him glory endlessly. The basis of our relationship with Him is His unchanging character, His unfailing love, and His unrepeatable sacrifice for our sins. (Ex. 19:5-6; 1 Pet. 2:9-10; Rev. 5:9-10)

Recognizing...This implies mental awareness and perception, as opposed to a highly individualized emotional encounter. (Ex. 34:6-7, Jer. 9:23-24)

Reveling in…One of the definitions for “revel” is “to get great pleasure from.” It is in that sense that we “revel” in God’s glory in Christ. When we find our highest joy, pleasure, satisfaction, and good in knowing God, we are worshipping Him. Although worshipping God involves more than our emotions, it doesn't involve less. (Ps. 32:11, 37:4; 1 Pet. 1:8-9)

And responding rightly…There are countless wrong ways to respond to God, including ungratefulness, anger, and idolatry. Our right responses include both adoration and action, both what we do in specific meetings as well as in all of life. (Rom. 12:1-2; Heb. 10:24-25; Heb. 13:15-16)

To God’s glory in Christ…We have been saved to see that God’s glory has been most clearly revealed in the person and work of His Son. (2 Cor. 4:6) This is a precious truth that we must proclaim and protect. (Heb. 1:1-3)

In the power of the Holy Spirit…While they may disagree on the application, Charismatics and cessationists can both affirm that the worship of God is impossible apart from the power of God’s Spirit. (John 4:23-24; Eph. 2:18)

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From Bob Kauflin, WorshipMatters (Defining Worship, Pt. 4, November 9, 2005)

Death and Life

Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional

January 18

THE EFFECTS OF THE FALL

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).

Unfortunately, the idyllic setting in the Garden of Eden was shattered. Genesis 3 tells the sad story of Adam and Eve's lost relationship with God through sin. The effects of man's fall were dramatic, immediate and far-reaching, infecting every subsequent member of the human race.

What happened to Adam and Eve spiritually because of the Fall? They died. Their union with God was severed and they were separated from God. God had specifically said: "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17 NIV). They ate and they died.

Did they die physically? No. The process of physical death was set in motion, but they were alive physically for several hundred more years. They died spiritually; their souls were separated from God. They were banished from God's presence. They were cast out of the Garden of Eden and guarding the entrance were cherubim waving a flaming sword (Genesis 3:23, 24).

After Adam, everyone who comes into the world is born physically alive but spiritually dead, separated from God. Paul wrote, "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live" (Ephesians 2:1 NIV).

How did Jesus remedy this problem? In two dramatic, life-changing ways. First, He died on the cross to cure the disease that caused us to die: sin. Romans 6:23 begins, "The wages of sin is death." Then He rose from the dead to give us spiritual life. The verse continues, "But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Jesus Himself said, "I came that they might have life" (John 10:10).

The bad news is that , as a child of Adam, you inherited spiritual death. But the eternally good news is that, as a child of God through faith in Christ, you will live forever because of the life He has provided for you.

Thank You, heavenly Father, for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sins and then raising Him from the dead so I may have life.

Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ All Rights Reserved Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson

"Key to Mission is Always Worship"

Excerpt of Interview with N.T. Wright in Christianity Today

"For generations the church has been polarized between those who see the main task being the saving of souls for heaven and the nurturing of those souls through the valley of this dark world, on the one hand, and on the other hand those who see the task of improving the lot of human beings and the world, rescuing the poor from their misery.

The longer that I've gone on as a New Testament scholar and wrestled with what the early Christians were actually talking about, the more it's been borne in on me that that distinction is one that we modern Westerners bring to the text rather than finding in the text. Because the great emphasis in the New Testament is that the gospel is not how to escape the world; the gospel is that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Lord of the world. And that his death and Resurrection transform the world, and that transformation can happen to you. You, in turn, can be part of the transforming work. That draws together what we traditionally called evangelism, bringing people to the point where they come to know God in Christ for themselves, with working for God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. That has always been at the heart of the Lord's Prayer, and how we've managed for years to say the Lord's Prayer without realizing that Jesus really meant it is very curious. Our Western culture since the 18th century has made a virtue of separating out religion from real life, or faith from politics.When I lecture about this, people will pop up and say, "Surely Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world." And the answer is no, what Jesus said in John 18 is, "My kingdom is not from this world." That's ek tou kosmoutoutou. It's quite clear in the text that Jesus' kingdom doesn't start with this world. It isn't a worldly kingdom, but it is for this world. It's from somewhere else, but it's for this world.

The key to mission is always worship. You can only be reflecting the love of God into the world if you are worshiping the true God who creates the world out of overflowing self-giving love. The more you look at that God and celebrate that love, the more you have to be reflecting that overflowing self-giving love into the world."

As You Follow Christ Jesus

Our prayer verse this week:

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6


My thought for today about this verse is that (1) we look to God to give us the spirit of unity, and (2) it comes as we individually follow Christ. Therefore, my encouragement to you today is to pray to God for Him to give us a spirit of unity and to follow Christ. I believe unity among believers happens when we are each united with Christ.

For example, John 17: 22-23 -- I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Spiritually Alive

Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional

January 17

SPIRITUALLY ALIVE

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:11, 12 NIV).

When God breathed life into Adam, he was both physically and spiritually alive. Adam was spiritually alive because his soul was in union with God. We were never designed to be separated from God or to live independently of Him. We were born to be spiritually alive.

For the Christian, to be spiritually alive is to be in union with God. This concept is repeatedly presented in Scripture by the prepositional phrase in Christ. Being in Christ is the theme of the New Testament. Like Adam, we were created to be in union with God. But Adam sinned and his union with God, and ours as well, was severed. It is God's eternal plan to bring human creation back to Himself and restore the union He enjoyed with Adam at creation. That restored union with God, which we find in Christ, is the essence of our identity.

When you were born again, your soul was united with God and you came alive spiritually, as alive as Adam was in the garden before he sinned. As the New Testament repeatedly declares, you are now in Christ, and Christ is in you. Since Christ who is in you is eternal, the spiritual life you have received from Him is eternal. You don't have to wait until you die to get eternal life; you possess it right now!

The apostle John wrote, "He who has the Son has the life" (1 John 5:12). He probably remembered Jesus' statement to Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:25, 26). After Jesus said this to Martha, He added, "Do you believe this?" (verse 26).

The Word of God is clear: Because of Jesus, we will continue to live spiritually even after we die physically. Do you believe this?

Dear Father, I declare my wholehearted belief that my spiritual life — eternal life—is in You. Help me live today with eternity's values in view.

Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ All Rights Reserved Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson

The God Who Gives

Our prayer verse for this week is:

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. [Romans 15:5-6]

I notice that God is described as giving endurance and encouragement. The evil one often attacks us by despair (so we give up too soon) and discouragement. Thank God today for the endurance and encouragement that He gives!

Baptism

Between Two Worlds: An Interview with Tom Scheiner on Baptism by Justin Taylor

A few excerpts. Please follow link for entire interview.

-----------------------------------------

Is baptism necessary for salvation?

The mere mechanical act of baptism doesn’t save. Cornelius and his friends received the Spirit before baptism (Acts 10:44-48), showing that they were saved before baptism. Paul makes it clear in 1 Cor. 1:14-17 that baptism must be understood in light of the gospel of grace, not vice-versa. On the other hand, Bob Stein argues convincingly in his chapter that baptism is part of the complex of saving events. {JT note: cf. this SBJT article by Stein.} So, if someone understands that God commands baptism and then refuses to do it, one has to wonder if such a person is saved.

If you don't need to be baptized as a believer in order to be saved, why is it so important? If this is a non-essential doctrine, is it really worth debating and dividing over?

I would refer readers here to my answer above. Baptism is important because it is associated in the NT with the saving events of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is “the” initiation rite into the Christian church, and hence it is not “optional” or “insignificant.” I don’t believe that baptism in and of itself saves, and someone may be a Christian and not undergo baptism because he or she misunderstands what Christ requires. In any case, believer’s baptism is important because it relates to our understanding of the nature of the church. The church is composed of regenerate church members (or at least it should be). Those who baptize infants compromise the purity of the church because they allow into the church those who are unregenerate, for baptism in the NT always follows faith.

How Do I Wear All These Hats?

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

When we have a variety of hats to wear–roles to play–we have a juggling act to do that can be challenging at times.

What are some of these potential dangers and pitfalls that face us in this new era where we are expected and required to wear several hats?

First of all, frequently we try to make our hats–or some hat we're trying to acquire–meet our needs. We all have within us an incredible void, a deep spot way down inside that longs to be satisfied. And so often we get this crazy idea that one of these hats will meet that need. We try our best to force one of our hats into that empty void, or we try to get some hat we don't have, convinced that a new role, a new identity, a different set of circumstances will scratch that itch way down inside us.

For ten years I did just that, convinced at times that the right man with the right credentials could meet that deep need. But again and again I was disappointed. There were times when I thought that my career hat might be able to meet my need. So, I climbed the ladder higher, with more recognition and more money. I bought more clothes; I bought bigger houses to impress myself and others. But it all left me with that emptiness still gaping inside me, longing to be filled.

Then several years ago, at the end of my rope, I finally had to face the fact that even when I got what I thought I wanted, even when the hat met my qualifications, it didn't meet my needs.

Are you trying to find in your hats–in your roles–a fulfillment that they can never, never give you? That's not an accident. God has made us with a void that can be filled only with Himself.

Do you want to be free from that driving, consuming need to find a hat that meets your needs? Are you frustrated and tired of being continually disappointed as you discover that the latest acquisition or change didn't give you what you expected? As one who spent many years in that frustrating condition, I want to tell you that there is an answer, and it's found in a person, Jesus Christ. He is the One who is qualified to fill the void, to scratch the itch, to give you peace and contentment.

Blessed

Is the joy of your relationship with Jesus overflowing to those around you?

Is their prayer life deepening because of time spent with you in prayer?

Has their boldness in witnessing ratcheted up a notch because your witness rubs off on them?

If so, God's hand of blessing is upon you.

To be blessed is to be pushed deeper, higher, and further into the heart of the Savior,

so that his comfort and encouragement can be passed on to others.

From Pearls of Great Price
by Joni Eareckson Tada

Rejoice

Rejoice, and again I say Rejoice!

Have you learned to rejoice in everything?

The Bible says, “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). A couple of verses later it says, “. . . in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (v. 18). “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

Sometimes it is not easy to rejoice or to give praise to the Lord, but that does not change the command.

“It is God’s will that we find joy in prayer in Christ Jesus in every condition of life,” writes A. T. Robertson. There are no circumstances in the Christian's life where he cannot give thanks. God works everything together for good for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28).

“Rejoice . . . pray . . . give thanks” is God’s will for every believer in every situation.

Nehemiah knew “the joy of the Lord is your strength” when he saw his workers weeping as they listened to the law read to them (Neh. 8:10).

The apostle Paul writing from prison in Rome said, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). “Rejoice” is in the present, active imperative as in 3:1 when Paul said, “rejoice in the Lord.” Paul repeats it in 4:4 for emphasis.

Paul did not tell his readers to “be happy,” but “rejoice in the Lord.” We are to “Rejoice in the Lord,” not our circumstances. Our rejoicing is to take place in Christ. We are to delight in Him. The apostle Paul had inner joy when his external circumstances did not look very promising.

What for you is the most difficult time or situation for you to rejoice? Do you find it difficult to “rejoice in the Lord always” when your good name and reputation have been smeared? Do you find it overwhelming to “rejoice in the Lord” when you are under the weight of despondency or depression? Is it hard to “rejoice in the Lord” when you are slandered for the sake of Christ? Illness, sickness of a child, aging parents, and bankrupts are times to “rejoice in the Lord.” There is no limit to the exhortation to “rejoice in the Lord.” In deed, as one beloved pastor said, “Through fire and through water, through life and through death, rejoice evermore.’”

Whatever happens rejoice. That is an attitude. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ everything that really matters in this life and the next is yours in Christ. If you trust in Jesus Christ the whole covenant of grace is yours with all of its infinite inheritance. You have a right to everything that grace provides as a coinheritor with Christ.

“Rejoice in the Lord” is something every Christian can do regardless of the chances, changes and circumstances that come in your life.

Is your hope fixed on Jesus Christ? Rejoice in Him! Are you a partaker of the life that is in Him? Rejoice in Christ! Have you been begotten to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Rejoice in Him!

The Psalmist said, “Delight yourself also in the Lord.” Have you been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ? Rejoice in Him! Do you know the electing grace of the Father that has given you eternal life? Rejoice in the Lord! Have you experienced the forgiveness of all your sins? Rejoice in Christ! Has the Holy Spirit spread abroad in your heart the love of God? Rejoice in Him! Do you delight in knowing you have been saved by grace through faith in Christ? Break forth with rejoicing with all your heart and soul! Do you delight in knowing Jesus Christ died as your substitute on the cross? Rejoice in the Lord!

If you have been saved the Holy Spirit has taken up permanent residence in you. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in His dwelling in you, quickening you, comforting you, and the illuminating His Word. Rejoice in Him! Is He abiding in your forever? Rejoice and be glad!

And there are many, many more great and mighty things God has done in Christ that should make you rejoice and keep on rejoicing. His covenant of grace, redeeming blood, divine sovereignty, effectual call to salvation, justification, sanctification, glorification, final perseverance, vital union, etc., etc.

Rejoice forevermore!

Will Pounds