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."

---

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. "

--
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!

----

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)

----

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

Pray This Week

In light of the Ephesians 6 admonition to "... always keep on praying for all the saints" we are praying Romans 15:5-6 this week for our body of believers:

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.

Kick the Raccoon Out

Aaron's sermon yesterday was on 3 things (call them resolutions) that are worth the effort:

1. Eliminate pet sins (that's where the "kick the raccoon out" illustration came in) -- maybe there is a persistent sin that you ignore by telling yourself "that's just who I am" -- gossip, lust, temper -- stop coddling pet sins.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 2 Peter 3:14

2. Mend at least one relationship. Love others in spite of themselves -- don't view relationships as disposable.

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

3. Build two relationships -- for the same purpose -- to become more Christ-like. The two relationships are to find a mentor and to find someone to mentor. [Sounds like discipleship.]

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1: 3-4

Joy Will Overflow

This is Paul's desire of what will happen as a result of his fellowship with other believers:

so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. Philippians 1:26

This is a good goal for each of us.


Jesus also talked about believer's joy:

So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16: 22-24

Pray On!

January 12

WITH ALL PRAYER AND PETITION

With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).

The mother of one of my seminary students was a psychic. She said to him once, "Jim, have you been praying for me?" "Of course I have, Mother." "Well, don't," she insisted, "because you're disturbing my aura."

I say pray on! We never know completely the effects of our prayers, but we do know that God includes prayer as part of His strategy for establishing His kingdom and ensuring our spiritual victory.

One of the most dramatic deliverances I have observed happened in a man who was a high priest in the upper echelons of Satanism. Six months after he was set free he gave his testimony in our church. At the close of his testimony I asked him, "Based on your experience on 'the other side,' what is the Christian's greatest strategy against demonic influence?"

"Prayer," he answered forcefully. "And when you pray, mean it. Fervent prayer thwarts Satan's activity like nothing else."

What is prayer? It is communication with God by which we express our dependence on Him. God knows what we need in our battle with the powers of darkness, and He is more ready to meet our needs than we are to ask. But until we express our dependence on Him in prayer, God may not act. In prayer we say, "You are the Lord, not I. You know what's best; I don't. I'm not telling You what to do; I'm asking." Prayer is a means by which God guides and protects His children.

Praying in the Spirit is God's way of helping us pray when we don't know how: "The Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us" (Romans 8:26). Helps (sunantilambano) depicts the Holy Spirit's role of coming alongside us in our condition of human frailty and spiritual vulnerability and bearing us to the other side of spiritual protection and victory.

Thank You, Lord, that prayer is such a powerful weapon in my arsenal against the powers of darkness.

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

In Christ Alone

I really like the lyrics to this song by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

----

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: 13-14

Live Out What I Tell You

... "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you."


... "I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave. A slave is a transient, who can't come and go at will. The Son, though, has an established position, the run of the house. So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through.


John 8: 31-32, 34-36 (The Message)

Boasting

This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Word of God Abiding in Us

Excerpt from The Word of God Abides in You, and You Have Overcome the Evil One by John Piper based on 1 John 2:12-14

...

In the Bible, God speaks to us, and in prayer, we speak to him. And the two are interdependent in their effectiveness. The Scripture teaches us to pray and shows us what to pray and how to pray and tells us the basis for prayer and fills us with encouragement that God hears our prayers. And prayer applies the Scriptures to ourselves and others. It turns the word into prayer, and it pleads for help from God in understanding the meaning of the word and living the word. So prayer and the word are interdependent in the way they help us be conformed to the image of Christ.

...

... But the principle is the same for every Christian, old or young, man or woman. The evil one—the devil—is conquered by the strength that comes from having the word of God abide in us.
That is the main point I want to emphasize today: Our strength to triumph over the evil one comes from the word of God abiding in us. If you don’t get anything else, please get this: Your strength to overcome the evil one comes from having the word of God abiding in you—1 John 2:14. My prayer is that this will be an incentive to you this year to become more and more Bible-saturated. May the Lord say of you at the end of 2007, “You are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

--- see link for entire message ---

Key Thought: "Your strength to overcome the evil one comes from having the word of God abiding in you—1 John 2:14"

Power

OUR DYNAMIC POWER SOURCE

. . . the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might . . . (Ephesians 1:19).

In Ephesians 1:19-21, Paul gives us a peek at the dynamic source of our authority in Christ. He explains that the authority at our disposal flows from the reservoir of power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead and seated Him at the Father's right hand. That power source is so dynamic that Paul used four different Greek words in verse 19 to describe it: power (dunameos), working (energeian), strength (kratous), and might (ischuos). Behind the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ lies the mightiest work of power recorded in the Word of God. And the same power which raised Christ from the dead and defeated Satan is the power available to us to overcome the works of Satan in our daily lives.

Paul opens our eyes to the expansive scope of Christ's authority which is "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come" (Ephesians 1:21). Think about the most powerful and influential political or military leaders in the world. Imagine the most feared terrorists, crime kingpins and drug barons. Think about Satan and all the power of darkness marshaled under his command. Jesus' authority is not only above all these human and spiritual authorities past, present and future, but He is far above them. We share the same position because we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, which enable us to live in freedom and victory over demonic intrusion and influence.
Don't be deceived. You are not under Satan's power or subject to his authority. You are in Christ above all demonic rule, authority and power.

Reigning with You, Lord – what a liberating thought! I praise You today for the power You share with me.

Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ

All Rights Reserved

Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson

God Listens

God Listens
By Max Lucado

I cry out to the Lord, I pray to the Lord for mercy (Psalm 142:1 NCV).

You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter His presence, he turns to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God, and he listens.

He listens to the painful plea of the elderly in the rest home. He listens to the gruff confession of the death-row inmate. When the alcoholic begs for mercy, when the spouse seeks guidance, when the businessman steps off the street into the chapel, God listens. Intently. Carefully.

Glory of God

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1

Who Is This Divided Man?

"This is one of the most famous texts in the book of Romans and one of the most controversial. Here we have the well-known words of verse 19: "For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want." Here we have a divided man, or a man with a divided will, or a divided heart. There is the part of him – the "I" – who wants to do good and does not want to do evil. And there is the part of him – the "I" – who does not do the good he wants but does the evil he does not want.

One of the biggest disagreements over this text is who this man is. Whose experience is Paul describing? Is this the experience of Paul, the believer? Or is this the experience of Paul, the unbeliever? Christian or non-Christian? Or should we pose the question with more precision: Is this a morally awakened but unconverted Paul? Or is this the spiritually quickened converted Paul who is new and immature in the faith? Or could this be the mature Christian Paul, but in times of lapsed faith and vigilance?"

---

This is how John Piper begins his first lesson about Romans 7: 14-25 entitled Who is This Divided Man?

John Piper has a six part series of lessons on these verses:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Why Do I Always Feel Guilty?

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Monday, January 8, 2007

GUILT–Oh, how I hate that word. My life has been hounded with guilt. Why?

Because of my past.
Because many people think I’m nicer than I really am.
Because I don’t live up to my own expectations.
Because I automatically accept blame.
Because I’m not the perfect mother–or daughter, or sister, or friend.
Because I teach more than I live.
Because women are easy targets for guilt.

How long a list would you like? And I’m certain you could add some guilt of your own. There are few days in our lives that are guilt-free, and for far-too-many of us, our days are filled with guilt.

Life under a load of guilt is not the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. Guilt steals our joy, hinders our productivity, interrupts our peace, harms our relationships, and worst of all, makes us self-focused. Yet many of us continue to live with guilt because we feel guilty if we don’t feel guilty! Little wonder that the enemy of our souls, Satan himself, wields this weapon of guilt so broadly and with such effectiveness.

Guilt is both a fact and a feeling. It is possible to be guilty without feeling guilty. It is possible to feel guilty without being guilty. And obviously, it is possible to be guilty and feel guilty. No doubt we have all experienced these three conditions. However, feeling guilty even when we are not guilty is false guilt caused by wrong thinking.

It is not God’s will for us to live in guilt. Galatians 5:1 says, ″It is for freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.″ Living with false guilt is living with a yoke of slavery. It’s time we start refusing to submit to the yoke of guilt. But, you’re thinking, that is easier said than done.

Of course it’s easier said than done! What isn’t? But it is possible to learn to live without constant debilitating guilt! We have power to do it because we have God’s Spirit in us, if we have been born from above into God’s family.

Sermon

Yesterday Aaron talked about "when you see the face of God what expression is on His face when He looks at you?" based on Luke 5:33-39.

A basic idea was that holiness does not equal sourness. Somehow we've come to think that we cannot be holy and have fun -- that is, we have to suffer! Reminds me of a C.S. Lewis quote "If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is not part of the Christian faith."

Key thought: "enjoy the cookies"

Pray

John Piper: Ask Your Father in Heaven (excerpt)

Matthew 7:7-12

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

When you pause to consider that God is infinitely strong and can do all that he pleases, and that he is infinitely righteous so that he only does what is right, and that he is infinitely good so that everything he does is perfectly good, and that he is infinitely wise so that he always knows perfectly what is right and good, and that he is infinitely loving so that in all his strength and righteousness and goodness and wisdom he raises the eternal joy of his loved ones as high as it can be raised—when you pause to consider this, then the lavish invitations of this God to ask him for good things, with the promise that he will give them, is unimaginably wonderful.

The Tragedy of Prayerlessness

Which means that one of the great short-term tragedies in the church is how little inclination we have to pray. The greatest invitation in the world is extended to us, and incomprehensibly we regularly turn away to other things. It’s as though God sent us an invitation to the greatest banquet that ever was and we sent word back, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it,” or, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go to examine them,” or, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” (Luke 14:18-20).

----- see link for more ------

Key Thought: "Which means that one of the great short-term tragedies in the church is how little inclination we have to pray."

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:18

Refuge and Strength

Be still, and know that I am God;

Psalm 46:10

Fran & Jesus: Finances

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Friday, January 5, 2007

Money problems are crisis points for most of us, aren't they? Fran is learning how money problems affect every part of her life. Jesus has just reminded her that she has a choice, either to trust Him or to panic.

Fran mulls that over in her mind. "It's my choice, you say? Either I can continue to act and react like I've done today, or I can refuse to get upset and pray more about it and trust you. But when I feel that panic set in, I just can't avoid it," Fran tells Jesus.

"Feeling the panic doesn't mean you're not trusting me," Jesus says. "But at that point of panic, you must make a choice either to continue in panic mode or to trust me. Remember, if you go by your feelings, you'll often be in trouble. In spite of the panic feelings, you can trust me, even in the midst of them."

"It brings to mind that verse I learned when I was a kid in Sunday School: 'What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee," Fran says. "David said, 'I will trust in you.' Guess that's what you mean when you say I have to make a choice, huh?"

"Yes, Fran," Jesus says, "regardless of your feelings, if you will set your will to trust in me, you'll discover that the fears subside. And when the fears subside, then you can think correctly and hear my voice and know what to do. But when fear takes over, trust goes out the window and you're going to find yourself doing and saying all kinds of things you wish you hadn't."

"Wow, that sure happened to me today," Fran says, as she re-thinks her day. "I blew up at everybody. I was out of control." Fran spends a little more time reading her Bible and talking with Jesus, and then goes to bed with a quiet spirit.

The next day her talk with Uncle George encourages her. He explained she had some options she'd never thought about. She could refinance her home at a lower interest rate and cut her payments by almost $150 a month.

He also pointed out that she could claim another deduction on her income tax and have an extra $40 to $50 in her paycheck, instead of getting a refund check each year. He also gave her the name of a friend in real estate who could give her some good advice on selling her house.

As Fran drove home, she said to Jesus, "I do have some options, don't I, Lord? Thanks for putting Uncle George in my life to help me. Now I just need to know what is the best thing to do."

"Well, Fran, keep praying for wisdom and seeking good advice," Jesus reminds her.

"And keep cutting back on costs, right," Fran smiles.

I think God deals with all of us through money. If that's where you are now, learn to trust God, not money. Determine that you will seek good advice and be a good steward, but you will not live in fear of the lack of money. As Jesus pointed out to Fran, this is one area where many of us have great difficulty really trusting God. He has promised to supply all our needs, and He never fails.

Goals

Freedom in Christ Ministries Daily Devotional

BLOCKED GOALS

The fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:9).

One morning I rose early, had my devotions and started making a special breakfast for my family. I was stirring the muffin mix, singing and feeling great when my sleepy-eyed son, Karl, wandered into the kitchen. He grabbed a box of cereal and an empty bowl and headed for the table.

"Hey, Karl, just a second. We're not having cereal this morning. We're going to sit around the table together and have a big breakfast with muffins."

"I don't like muffins, Dad," he mumbled, opening the cereal box.

"Wait, Karl," I insisted, starting to get annoyed. "We're going to sit around the table together and have a big breakfast with muffins."

"But I don't like muffins, Dad," he repeated.

I lost it. "Karl, we're going to sit around the table together and have a big breakfast with muffins!" I barked. Karl closed the cereal box, threw it in the cupboard, and stomped back to his room. My great idea had suddenly turned to shambles. I had to spend the next several minutes apologizing to Karl for my outburst.

Like me, I'm sure you have suffered your share of blocked goals. You had this great plan to do something wonderful for God, your church, your family, or a friend. Then your plan was thrown into disarray by hectic daily events over which you had no control. You didn't get your way at the board meeting. Your child decided to be the lead guitarist in a rock band instead of becoming a doctor like you planned.

When you base your life on the success of plans that are subject to people and circumstances, your life will be one long, emotional roller coaster ride. And the only way to get off the roller coaster is to walk by faith according to the truth of God's Word. Who you are must not be dependent on the cooperation of others or favorable circumstances. Decide to become the spouse, parent, leader or worker God wants you to be. No one can block that goal except you.

Heavenly Father, show me today where I have allowed people or circumstances, instead of You, to determine what You want me to be.

Copyright © 2006 Freedom in Christ

All Rights Reserved

Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson

The People God Gives

You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly.

Ephesians 4:4, The Message


"Most disappointments in the church are because of failed expectations. We expect a disciplined army of committed men and women who courageously lay seige to the worldly powers; instead we find some people who are more concerned with getting rid of the crabgrass in their lawns. We expect a community of saints who are mature in the virtues of love and mercy, and find ourselves working on a church supper where there is more gossip than there are casseroles. ...

At such times it is more important to examine and change our expectations than to change the church, for the church is not what we organize but what God gives, not the people we want to be with but the people God gives us to be with."

Reversed Thunder


God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson

Run!

Two key scriptures from class last night:

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

1 Corinthians 9


1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12

Intentionality

Don't Waste Your Life Study Edition by John Piper

"Millions of people are wasting their lives pursuing dreams of happiness that don't rise above a good marriage, nice kids, a successful career, a nice car, fun vacations, nice friends, a fun retirement, a painless death, and (hopefully) no hell. John Piper calls this a tragedy in the making. He argues that we were created for joy. We were designed to have one passion. In this book he describes his own journey toward this great, single passion. And He pleads that at all costs we pursue our joy in the crucified Christ, who is the glory of God. The cost is great. But the joy is worth any cost."

We Are God Encircled

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.
NIV (Psalm 125:2)

Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.
NLT

Mountains encircle Jerusalem,
and God encircles his people—
always has and always will.
The Message

But I Don't Feel Called

Elizabeth Elliot Daily Devotional

Title: But I Don't Feel Called

Author: Elisabeth Elliot

A seminary student stopped me a few days ago to ask the question that troubles many young people today. It is not new. I struggled with it when I was a student, as I suppose people have for many centuries. "How can I tell if God is calling me? I don't really feel called."

Usually the question refers to a life's work. Nobody seems to stew very much about whether God is calling them to run down to the grocery store or take in a movie. We need groceries. We like movies. If the refrigerator is empty or there's a good movie in town, we jump into the car and go. Even Christians do this. Spiritual "giants" do it, I guess. They don't even pray about it. But this matter of the mission field. Oh, God, do you want me there? Shall I risk everything and launch out to some third world backwater, some waterless desert, some dreadful place where there are starving children, refugees, Marxists, dictators? Are you asking me to drag my wife, my children, to a place like that?

The call of God to Saul of Tarsus was dramatic--he was blinded, knocked flat, and clearly spoken to. God got his attention. But later in Antioch the Holy Spirit spoke to certain prophets and teachers. "Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me, to do the work to which I have called them." That was good enough. Barnabas and Saul obeyed the divine call, even though it came through other men.

It was during the Mass of the Feast of St. Matthias, in a chapel in the midst of a great, silent forest, that Francis of Assisi heard the call of God. It was not through an angel or a disembodied voice from beyond, but through the reading of the Gospel for that day: "Go and preach the message, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!' ...Freely you have received, freely give." When the young man heard the words read by the priest, he felt that God had finally illumined his path. He did not, however, trust his feelings. He asked the priest to explain the passage. The priest said that Christ's disciples were to preach repentance everywhere, to take nothing with them, and to trust God alone to supply their needs.

Francis thrilled with happiness at this revelation and exclaimed enthusiastically: "That is what I want! That is what I seek! That is what I long to do with all my heart!" On the instant, he threw away his staff, took off his shoes, and laid aside his cloak, keeping only a tunic; replaced his leather belt with a cord, and made himself a rough garment, so poor and so badly cut that it could inspire envy in no man.

Omer Englebert
St. Francis of Assisi

There are at least six lessons in this short story:

1. The man wanted God's direction.
2. He went to church, where he could hear godly preaching.
3. He listened to the Word of God.
4. He asked for help from one who was his spiritual superior.
5. He accepted the help.
6. He acted at once.

It is significant that he found in the words of the Lord the answer to a deep longing in his heart.

In C. S. Lewis's Preface to Paradise Lost, he describes Aeneas' unfaltering search for the "abiding city," his willingness to pay the terrible price to reach it at last, even though he casts a wistful side-glance at those not called as he is. "This is the very portrait of a vocation: a thing that calls or beckons, that calls inexorably, yet you must strain your ears to catch the voice, that insists on being sought, yet refuses to be found." Then there were the Trojan women who had heard the call, yet refused to follow all the way, and wept on the Sicilian shore. "To follow the vocation does not mean happiness," Lewis writes, "but once it has been heard, there is no happiness for those who do not follow."

Yes. My heart says yes to that. What agonies I suffered as a young woman, straining my ears to catch the voice, full of fear that I would miss it, yet longing to hear it, longing to be told what to do, in order that I might do it. That desire is a pure one. Most of our desires are tainted at least a little, but the desire to do the will of God surely is our highest. Is it reasonable to think that God would not finally reveal his will to us? Is it (we must also ask) reasonable not to use our powers of reason, given to us by him? Does it make more sense to go to the grocery store because groceries are needed than to go to foreign lands because workers are needed? If we deny the simple logic of going where the need is most desperate, we may, like the Trojan women, spend the rest of our lives suspended

Twixt miserable longing for present land
And the far realms that call by the fates' command.
Aeneid, V, 656

While Virgil wrote of mythical heroes, his lines echo the more ancient lines of the Psalms which are rich with assurances of God's faithful guidance of those who honestly desire it, and of the lasting rewards of obedience.

Happy the men whose refuge is in thee,whose hearts are set on the pilgrim ways!
The Lord will hold back no good thing
from those whose life is blameless.
84:5, 11 NEB

Very near is the Lord to those who call to him, in singleness of heart.
He fulfills their desire if only they fear him."
145:18, 19 NEB

It is the sixth lesson from the St. Francis story that is most often overlooked. Obedience is action. Often we do not have any instant light on the particular question we've been asking God, but he has shown us something we ought to do. Whatever it is, however unrelated it may seem to the "big" decision, do it. Do it at once. We thus put ourselves in the path of God's will. A single step taken, if we have his Word as a lamp for our feet, throws sufficient light for the next step. Following the Shepherd we learn, like sheep, to know his voice. We will become acquainted with his call and will not follow a stranger's.

Copyright© 1988, by Elisabeth Elliotall rights reserved.

Resolved

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

1 Corinthians 2:2

Resolutions

A few of the 70 Effective Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards from Leadership Blog: Out of Ur (December 26).

Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration.

Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.

Holy Ambition

As you think about 2007 and perhaps even make resolutions I encourage you to think about a "holy ambition". I was introduced to this idea in John Piper's Holy Ambition: To Preach Where Christ Has Not Been Named based on Romans 15: 18-24. A few excerpts follow.


A Holy Ambition

Verse 20: “And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation.”

Paul was controlled by a holy ambition. I say he was controlled because he says in verse 22, “This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.” And he says at the end of verse 23, “I have longed for many years to come to you.” When you long to do something for years and years, but you don’t do it, something is controlling you. ...

... I am calling it “holy” because its aim is holy—to see people from all the nations who have never heard of Jesus believe in him and become obedient to him and be saved by him from their sin and from God’s wrath. And I am calling this ambition “holy” because it comes from God and his holy word, as we will see in a few moments. It is right and it is good to be controlled by a holy ambition.

Do you have a holy ambition? Not everyone should have Paul’s ambition. One plants another waters (1 Corinthians 3:6-8). Each has his own gift (1 Corinthians 7:7). Each stands for falls before his own master (Romans 14:4). But I think God would be pleased if each of his children had a holy ambition.

The Source of Holy Ambition

Where does it come from? A crucial part of the answer is given in the link between verses 20 and 21. “Thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, [then Paul quotes Isaiah 52:15] ‘Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.’”

Now here is the amazing and relevant thing about this for us. We know from Acts 9 and 22 and 26 that Paul was called by the risen Christ on the Damascus road. Jesus gave Paul his mission in Acts 26:18, “I am sending you [to the Gentiles, the nations] to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” So he got a calling straight from the risen, living, all-sovereign Jesus Christ to be a light to the Gentiles.

But that’s not what he says in Romans 15:21. He doesn’t say, “I have this ambition to be a light to the nations who don’t know Christ because Jesus called me on the Damascus road.” He says, “I have this ambition—I am controlled by a passion to preach where Christ has not been named—because Isaiah 52:15 says, ‘Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.’”

What do you make of that? Here’s what I make of it. When Jesus called Paul on the Damascus road to take the gospel to the Gentiles who had never heard, Paul went to the Old Testament and looked for a confirmation and explanation of this calling to see how it fit into God’s overall plan. And he found it. And for our sake he speaks this way. He doesn’t just refer to his experience on the Damascus road, which we will never have. He refers to God’s written word that we do have. And he roots his ambition there.

So my answer to the question Where does your holy ambition come from? is this: It comes from a personal encounter with the living Christ (not necessarily as dramatic as the Damascus road) shaped and informed and empowered by the written word of God. As you meditate on the law of the Lord day and night (Psalm 1:2)—as you immerse yourself in God’s word—he comes and takes some truth of that word and burns it into your heart until it is a holy ambition. If that hasn’t happened yet, saturate yourself with the word of God and ask him for it.

...


Thought to Ponder: "As you meditate on the law of the Lord day and night (Psalm 1:2)—as you immerse yourself in God’s word—he comes and takes some truth of that word and burns it into your heart until it is a holy ambition."

Glory

... I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

Romans 15:17

----

I Will Boast by Paul Baloche

Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom
Or the strong man boast in his strength
Let not the rich man boast in his riches
But let the humble come and give thanks
To the One who made us
The One who saved us

Chorus:

I will boast in the Lord my God
I will boast in One Who’s worthy
I will boast in the Lord my God
I will boast in the One Who’s worthyHe’s worthy

I will make my boast in Christ alone

New

A few verses that speak of "new" (NIV, emphasis added):

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

Lamentations 3


25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Ezekiel 36


16"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

Matthew 9


33"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

John 13


16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

2 Corinthians 5


Do you have a favorite "new" verse?

Sermon

Aaron preached yesterday on "Praying with Chutzpah" based on Luke 11 and Luke 18.

Key quote: "I'm praying and I'm not giving up!"